The world was a blur of unfamiliar faces and whispered conversations. Everything felt wrong, like a glitch in a system no one had bothered to fix. In the heart of Konoha, under the bright skies of a peaceful village, a nameless teen stood, his eyes scanning the landscape with an unsettling calm.
This wasn't where he was supposed to be. No, this wasn't where he was supposed to ever be.
He knew that much. The rest? Well, that was a different story altogether.
His name? That was gone. His past? Erased. All he knew was the sensation of waking up—somewhere—and not remembering how he got there. The system—Shadow Enlistment—had activated with a dull hum when he first awoke, flickering into existence before his eyes with an eerie sense of finality.
A message had appeared.
[Code Phantom: Reactivate Forgotten Protocols]
[Locked Skill: [Code Phantom]]
That was it. A command and a title. Nothing more. No instructions. No history. Just the knowledge that something—someone—was missing.
There was no time to question it. No time to even understand it. His body had instincts of its own. The sharpness in his eyes, the silence in his steps, the way his body moved through the village without anyone taking notice—it was as though he had been trained to blend in, to vanish, to be invisible. All things considered, it was a useful skill. Too useful.
He stood at the gates of the village academy, watching children younger than him rush past, oblivious to his presence. They laughed, shouted, played with an energy that only youth could provide. They had no idea that his very existence was a contradiction. A glitch. A wrinkle in the fabric of time itself.
"Another new face?" A voice suddenly broke his thoughts, dragging him back into the present.
He turned, meeting the gaze of a boy no older than him, his eyes sharp but curious. The boy had spiky black hair, and his forehead protector was tied around his arm, a symbol of the village's pride. He looked like one of the academy students—just another potential shinobi. But to the nameless teen, the boy's presence was nothing but an anomaly. He had been too focused on the overwhelming sense of not belonging, and now, someone was speaking to him.
"Yeah," the nameless teen said, voice low and hoarse. "I'm just—passing through."
The boy tilted his head, sizing him up with a look that seemed to pierce through the quiet walls the nameless teen had erected. "You look like you're lost. Not really the academy type, huh?"
"I'm... new here," the nameless teen lied, the words tasting strange on his tongue. Am I new here?
The boy didn't press him further, but his expression shifted, almost like he was trying to read something deeper than just the words spoken. "Yeah, sure. I'm Sasuke Uchiha. If you're planning on staying here, maybe you should try not to stand out too much. The Academy isn't kind to... outsiders."
Sasuke's warning hung in the air like an unspoken threat. It wasn't a typical greeting, and the nameless teen felt the weight of it. The Uchiha clan's reputation preceded them. Every shinobi knew who they were—and more importantly, what they were capable of. He wasn't here to make enemies, but neither did he want to play the role of an invisible pawn. Not again.
He nodded curtly. "I'll keep that in mind."
Sasuke's gaze lingered a moment longer, but he ultimately turned and walked off, leaving the nameless teen to his thoughts once more.
As the academy gates opened and the flow of students moved, he followed along, stepping into the vast, unfamiliar structure. Inside, the walls were lined with pictures and banners, the symbols of Konoha's proud shinobi heritage. His eyes scanned each portrait, each emblem, but none of them triggered anything—nothing clicked. There was a hollow feeling deep inside, as if something was missing... something vital.
"New student?" A voice suddenly came from beside him, drawing him from his thoughts once again. This time, it was a woman—short brown hair, her forehead protector positioned like a headband. She wore the standard academy uniform, her demeanor warm but curious.
He nodded. "Yes. Just enrolled."
"I see," she said, eyeing him closely for a moment. "We don't get many new students. I'm Hinata Hyuga. Welcome to the academy. Are you familiar with our system?"
He wasn't familiar with anything, but the words came out as if rehearsed. "I'll catch up."
She smiled kindly but didn't push further. "I'll take you to the principal's office. You'll need to meet with him first. We can discuss placement and such."
The nameless teen followed Hinata through the maze of hallways, his footsteps echoing in the empty spaces around them. She spoke about trivial things—classes, tests, village history—but none of it stuck. His mind was elsewhere. He wasn't here for an education. Not really. No, his presence here, in this timeline, was much more important than that. The fragments of memories—distant and foggy as they were—told him that he had a mission. A purpose. And it involved Naruto Uzumaki.
But what could he do in a world that wasn't his own? In a timeline that didn't belong to him?
The principal's office was an unassuming room with walls lined with paperwork. The man behind the desk was older, graying, but his eyes were sharp and calculating. He studied the nameless teen for a moment before offering a polite smile.
"Ah, a new student, yes?" The man asked, as if his presence was a surprise. "I'm Principal Iruka. I'll get you settled in just a moment. But first, tell me a little about yourself. Where did you come from?"
The nameless teen froze. The questions, though simple, carried weight. No history. No name. No origin. Nothing.
"I... don't know," he said, voice quieter than before. The words felt like a lie, but they were the only truth he had.
Iruka didn't seem alarmed by the response. Instead, his gaze softened. "Lost your memory? That's... unusual, but we can work with it. As long as you're here, you'll be treated just like any other student. For now, I'll place you in the same class as Sasuke. He's a little... difficult to approach, but he's an excellent student. I'm sure you'll do well with him."
Sasuke again. The name rang in his ears like an echo. Why was this boy so important? Was Sasuke the key to everything? Or was he simply another piece in the complex game the nameless teen had somehow been dragged into?
Iruka placed a hand on a stack of papers, shuffling through them. "Alright, I've enrolled you in the academy. Your first class starts tomorrow. Be ready."
The nameless teen nodded, though the weight of everything was crushing him. This was just the beginning. The beginning of something far bigger than a simple academy placement.
As he turned to leave the office, the door behind him slammed shut with a finality that felt too heavy to ignore. And that was when it happened.
The system flickered into his mind again—Shadow Enlistment—and a new message appeared.
[New Protocol Detected]
[Unfamiliar Enemy Identified: Sasuke Uchiha]
[Objective Updated: Investigate Sasuke.]
His heart skipped a beat. Sasuke. The very same boy who had warned him not to stand out.
The mission had already begun.