I died.
Yes, you heard me right. I died. It's truly unfortunate. I was in my early forties, still young enough to enjoy life and old enough to command respect from others.
But fate had other plans for me. I suppose you could say it was my fault. I neglected my health for far too long, focusing too much on work and hobbies and not enough on myself.
My hobbies included reading manga, watching anime, and playing games. I had a collection of over a thousand books spanning various genres such as romance, action, mystery, fantasy, science fiction, and more.
I watched anime almost every day and often role-played as my favorite characters. And of course, I played a variety of video games. I had a PlayStation 4, an Xbox One, and a Nintendo Switch. I even played online games like Fortnite and PUBG with friends.
However, my life wasn't just about hobbies. I also worked as an accountant at a large company. I had a steady income, good benefits, and a comfortable lifestyle. I didn't have a girlfriend or a wife, but I had plenty of friends of both genders.
Eventually, though, the consequences of neglecting my health caught up with me. One evening, while watching a new episode of Dragon Ball Super, I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my chest.
I tried to ignore it and continue watching the episode, but the pain intensified.
It felt as if I was having a heart attack. Quickly, I grabbed my phone and called for an ambulance.
The paramedics arrived within minutes and took me to the hospital.
The doctors ran a series of tests and confirmed that I was having a heart attack.
They performed emergency surgery to remove blockages in my arteries, but it was too late. My heart and lungs had suffered severe damage, and I went into cardiac arrest.
I was transferred to the intensive care unit, where the doctors worked tirelessly to save me. But it was futile.
My heart stopped beating, and my brain was deprived of oxygen for too long. The doctors informed my friends and family that I had died.
I remember lying on the hospital bed, feeling as if I were floating above my body. I couldn't move or speak, but I could see everything happening around me.
The doctors and nurses were working hard to save me, but it was in vain. I felt my life slipping away.
"It seems he didn't make it."
Their words were like a death knell.
I felt a sudden pull. It was like gravity, but stronger, as if something was dragging me from the depths of darkness towards the light.
Then I found myself waking up in a strange place.
"I'm... I'm back!" I shouted as I opened my eyes.
.......
Land of Fire, Konohagakure - Uchiha Clan
In one of the clan's houses, in a room decorated with traditional Japanese design.
The ceiling was made of polished dark wood, and the walls were covered with paper panels featuring intricate patterns.
The floor was laid with soft tatami mats, and there were flowers carefully arranged in the corner of the room, adding a touch of natural beauty to the place.
The soft light filtered through the paper panels of the sliding doors, giving the room an atmosphere of tranquility and calm.
The air was infused with a faint scent of incense, adding a touch of comfort and serenity.
"Ah." Isamu suddenly shouted, waking up from a disturbing nightmare.
He slowly opened his eyes, feeling a slight dizziness and a dull pain in his head. As he gradually regained consciousness, he looked around in astonishment to find himself not in his home.
As he tried to comprehend what was happening, Isamu climbed off the soft mattress he had been lying on, feeling its luxurious texture and the comfort it provided.
Isamu began to gather his scattered thoughts, trying to make sense of the mysterious situation he found himself in.
The room surrounding him was both astonishing and confusing, with the details of traditional Japanese decor suggesting he was not in an ordinary place.
"Who brought me to this place?" Isamu asked aloud, looking around with a sense of wonder.
The dark wooden ceiling and the walls adorned with paper panels all raised numerous questions in his mind.
"A place like this must cost a lot of money." This thought brought with it a sense of suspicion; no one could have brought him here without incurring a hefty cost.
"What is going on?" he wondered in a trembling voice, as the thought crossed his mind that perhaps he had been transported to a completely different place.
Isamu tried to calm himself by taking a deep breath, attempting to analyze the situation rationally, but he couldn't shake off the deep sense of unease that overwhelmed him.
He recalled his last moments before losing consciousness in the hospital, how he had felt the sharp pain and the darkness enveloping him, and how, after that, he found himself here, in this beautiful yet undeniably puzzling place.
"Could someone have kidnapped me and placed me here?" This thought brought forth doubts and fears, as he had no logical explanation so far for what had happened.
His voice trembled with anxiety: "I'm just an ordinary person; there's no benefit in kidnapping me for money." But this idea was not enough to reassure him.
"What if they want my organs?" A horrifying thought crossed his mind after recalling the repeated news about human organ trafficking that was shown on television.
The desire to escape overwhelmed him, but his body, which was starting to adjust to this transformation, hindered him.
Movement was difficult, and he felt heaviness with every step he tried to take.
Isamu began to try moving again but found that his limbs did not respond as they usually did.
He slowly raised his hands and noticed they were much smaller than he had expected, feeling soft and free of any scars or wrinkles, which greatly surprised him.
"What happened to me?" he muttered to himself as he examined himself in shock, touching his small face, where his tiny fingers brushed against his smooth skin, and he felt a slight chill spreading through his body.
Everything felt so real. He looked around again, trying to comprehend what was happening, but all he knew was that this was not his usual body.
Isamu discovered that his body had become that of a small child, with soft, short hair and skin smooth and wrinkle-free.
He was wearing a small light blue kimono, fitting his new size. A feeling of fear and confusion overcame him as he began to wonder how this transformation had occurred.
Thoughts raced through his mind, searching for a logical explanation. "Is this a dream?" He had no answer, and all he knew was that he was not in his usual body.
While he tried to grasp what was happening,
Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his eyes, as if thousands of ants were crawling inside them; the pain was unbearable.
He rolled on the mattress in agony until he collided with a mirror beside him.
Isamu grabbed the mirror with trembling hands, and when he looked into it, he was shocked by what he saw.
Reflected in the mirror was the image of a small boy, appearing to be around five or six years old.
But what truly shocked him were his eyes, glowing with a terrifying blood-red hue, in the center of which slowly rotated a black magatama.
"Isn't this... the Sharingan?" he wondered in disbelief. Those legendary eyes, the symbol of the Uchiha clan in the world of Naruto, had now appeared in his new body.
He leaned closer to the mirror, focusing on his deep red eyes, where the magatama spun as if pulsating with a hidden life. Suddenly, a mysterious memory washed over him
.
"I am... Uchiha Isamu?" he questioned in a trembling voice as memories flooded his mind like a mysterious tide.
Yes, his name was now Isamu Uchiha, he was five years old, and a member of the prestigious Uchiha clan from the village of Konoha.
His parents had died when he was very young during a dangerous mission outside the village. Despite losing them, he was not entirely orphaned; he had moved in with his grandfather, one of the clan's esteemed elders, who took care of him.
His grandfather was an old ninja who had fought in many battles during his youth. Those battles had left him with permanent injuries that never fully healed, yet his will remained strong.
Over time, his health had visibly declined, until he recently died in Isamu's presence, where he witnessed his grandfather's last moments with his own eyes, igniting within him deep sorrow and a buildup of negative emotions.
The psychological turmoil that Isamu had experienced since childhood as a parentless child intensified with his grandfather's death.
These negative feelings had accumulated inside him for days after the grandfather's funeral, leading up to a pivotal moment.
That moment was crucial in his life; the surge of his feeble chakra transformed into negative energy, pushing his potential to its limits, forcing him to awaken his Sharingan, the legendary power of the Uchiha clan.
After absorbing the shock of the memories that had overwhelmed him and understanding his new identity, Isamu quietly rose from his place and walked through the door of his room to the end of the traditional Japanese courtyard he was residing in.
The place was quiet, stretching before him motionless, except for the sound of the wind gently swaying the trees.
He raised his head toward the black sky, which concealed endless secrets, his eyes fixated on the moon; that celestial body felt both familiar and strange at the same time.
The cold air brushed against his face as if trying to awaken him from the strange dream he was living.
"How did I end up in this world? Why am I in the body of an Uchiha child? What the hell is happening?" he wondered with an incredulous tone.
Five long minutes passed as he tried to accept the new reality.
In the end, despite his inner turmoil, Isamu reluctantly accepted the truth: he had traveled to the world of Naruto and become a member of the Uchiha family.
Although he had regularly read stories about reincarnation and time-space travel during a period of his life, he certainly never wished to find himself in one of those tales.
Isamu was not the type to be drawn to harsh challenges or perilous adventures. Even though he hadn't achieved much in his small life—being just an overweight otaku in middle age—he enjoyed his peaceful and quiet life, maintaining a comfortable routine between reading his favorite manga and playing video games.
Isamu was not at all ready to give up his solitary life to engage in a world filled with conflicts and harsh battles.
Since childhood, he had been cowardly and disliked confrontations, avoiding them with utmost seriousness.
His quiet routine was a refuge from the reality he preferred to distance himself from.
Despite all this, Isamu was aware that the stories he read recounted tales of characters thrown by fate into unimaginable adventures, and these thoughts sometimes made him wonder how he would feel if he found himself in a similar situation.
However, he never imagined that these thoughts would become a reality he would experience himself.
In the end, Isamu was a person who kept his dreams and aspirations in his own private world, and his desire to stay away from troubles and conflicts was his main priority.
When Isamu closed his eyes and took a deep breath, he wished that everything happening was just a fleeting dream.
But unfortunately, when he opened his eyes again, the small white hands in front of him had not disappeared.
Reality was harder than he expected, and despite that, he had no choice but to confront the bitter truth.
Thoughts began to pile up in his mind: "Will I be stuck here forever? Can I go back?" But in the end, he decided to prepare for the worst-case scenario, which was staying in this world.
Although he was reluctant to accept the situation, Isamu began to realize that he might not be able to return to his previous life.
He felt scared at the idea of remaining in this new world, but remembering the many stories he had read about heroes who found themselves in similar situations, he decided that he had to adapt and survive.
He told himself, "If I have to live here, I'll do my best."