Slowly, my eyes fluttered open, my vision was hazy and a sharp ache pulsed in both my head and chest.
"What the hell… That was a weird dream." I thought as I pushed myself up into a sitting position—only to notice something off about my surroundings.
"W-what…?"
Instead of my bedroom I found myself in the middle of a grassy field, trees stretching around me under a clear blue sky. The sun shone warmly overhead, far too real to be a dream.
And then I noticed the clothes on my body—clothes I'd never worn before.
The differences didn't stop there. My body was taller, my hair longer, and my senses sharper—so sharp, in fact, that every rustle of the grass and chirp of the birds seemed amplified.
"So… this wasn't just a dream after all." Just now I realized that my voice sounded strange to my ears—deeper, smoother, unfamiliar.
'I've… completely changed. Not just my clothes—my entire being.'
"Seriously, what the hell is happening? And why are my memories so blurry?"
I remembered clearly being in an empty space with the essences, and the information I absorbed there, but that damned buzzing in my ear, like a radio stuck on the wrong station.
"Like… a distorted frequency. Could it be…?" I trailed off, the thought too unsettling to pursue. "No, forget it. I should figure out where I stand first before spiraling into an existential crisis."
"The essences… Maybe I can try to—"
The moment I focused, a golden window flickered into existence before my eyes.
-x-
Name: -x-
Bloodline: -x-
Power level: Tier 9 C
Essences:
Essence of Personal Objects [Processing: 2% Digested]
Essence of the Cultivator [Processing: 4% Digested]
Essence of the Shinobi [Processing: 17% Digested]
-x-
"…What the…?"
It wasn't the floating screen that shocked me, but what was written on it. My name—erased. Blank.
"I'm realy not the same anymore." The realization sank in as I looked at myself.
This wasn't just a physical transformation. My whole identity was shifting into somethin new and strange as it might seem to abandon who I once was so easily, I couldn't deny it.
As the philosopher once said: "No man ever steps in the same river twice."
"Bloodline…" I muttered.
The information appeared in my mind before I could even form the question and apparently some of my essences carried power over my bloodline, mutating their effects and amplifying what I could achieve.
"But why are they still in the digestion phase? Is this some Lord of the Mysteries type shit?"
Closing my eyes I reached inward searching for this new power. Slowly, the world around me grew silent. The wind ceased. The warmth of the sun vanished and yet, instead of fear, I felt… safe.
"…I did it."
When I opened my eyes again, I was sitting on a white cloud, surrounded by nothing but a endless gray world.
"This place should be an island… or maybe an archipelago. But with only two percent digested, this void is all I can access for now."
That means I can't speed up time here yet, but it still works as a temporary refuge, though I can already feel this plane pushing me back to where I came from.
"Well, while I'm here… let's see what else I can manifest. The Shinobi Essence—strange, I don't even remember consuming it, but it's digested more than the others."
Memories stirred. I must have absorbed it by accident. The reason for its faster digestion was clear—it was weaker than the others.
"So… I transmigrated into the Naruto world? Was it because of that video I was watching? I wasn't even that big of a fan! Damn it, universe with your mysterious buzzing—if you're gonna isekai me, at least drop me into One Piece! I'll get to see the ending!"
Frustrations aside, I refocused. As I delved deeper, the gray void cracked and shifted. Corridors spread out. Rooms took form. Lanterns lit the halls.
It was like watching the Infinity Castle from Demon Slayer assemble itself before my eyes. When it was complete, I stood in a vast library, its shelves overflowing with books and scrolls.
"The Essence of Personal Objects is still digesting. Manifesting something this big should be impossible… but thanks to the Shinobi Essence's mutation, I can at least create this structure. I'll call it… The Infinity Shinobi Castle nah bad name… I'll think about that later."
Despite the mention of infinity, the "castle" wasn't actually infinite. Just a six-story complex, its shifting stairways and corridors creating an illusion like Penrose's staircase that pass the ilusion, still pretty cool.
-x-
Name: -x-
Bloodline: -x-
Power level: Tier 9 C
Essences:
Essence of Personal Objects [Processing: 4% Digested]
Essence of the Cultivator [Processing: 5% Digested]
Essence of the Shinobi [Processing: 19% Digested]
-x-
"Oh… looks like the digestion progressed a little."
It wasn't much, but it was progress. I couldn't complain.
Still, the repulsion was growing stronger. My time here was limited. I had to make my preparations for the Shinobi world.
"Bloodline…"
Even though I'd never followed Boruto, I'd grown up watching Naruto. Back then, I dreamed of having the Sharingan, Senjutsu, Susanoo—battling tailed beasts as an equal.
But I wasn't a kid anymore. Now, I want more. Sharingan? Byakugan? Rinnegan? Let others chase them. I would go beyond.
"To be the strongest…" With my eyes closed I meditated, shaping the power I desired. "Senses sharp enough to perceive the truth of the world around me…" The image of a character surfaced in my mind and its power. "True Sight."
A tingling sensation sparked behind my eyes, breaking my focus. But I wasn't finished.
"To be the strongest, I need a powerful and resilient body…" Still meditating, I shaped and visualized more of the power I desired, and unconsciously another character appeared in my mind. 'Kaido.'
"Heh, possessing an iron body and the ability to transform into a dragon? How could I refuse?"
But it couldn't be just a crude transformation. It had to have meaning. A way to fit into the shinobi world. The answer came to me, almost instinctively.
"Senjutsu."
Like Jugo, my transformation would be innate to my lineage—but without the curse of madness.
"…Though now that I think about it, there's Ao Guang—the Dragon King from the second Nezha movie. Majestic, regal… far better than Kaido if I can choose I'll choose Ao Guang."
A second wave of tingling spread through my chest and across my body. My heart thundered—I thought it might burst. And then—something within me snapped and relief washed over me.
-x-
Name: -x-
Bloodline: Dragon Emperor of Nature
Power level: Tier 9 B
Essences:
Essence of Personal Objects [Processing: 6% Digested]
Essence of the Cultivator [Processing: 7% Digested]
Essence of the Shinobi [Processing: 25% Digested]
-x-
"My power level and the essences…"
Before I could celebrate, the dimensional repulsion surged like a crashing wave. Though I stood still, the world lurched—and in an instant, my domain vanished.
I was back in the forest.
"Tsk. What a killjoy."