I placed my palm against the mirror's edge and looked within, but the reflection staring back was not my own.
A small nose, fair skin, long silky pink hair, and a pair of big, bright green eyes.
Most people would be frightened by such a phenomenon, but I just looked calmly at my new reflection.
I was calm because I knew from the moment I awoke that this body was not my own.
I am not a morning person. Once I wake up, it takes me a long time to feel awake. I had always been this way, and I had thought I would always remain this way.
So the moment I woke up completely awake in an instant, full of energy to start the day, I knew something was wrong. I have never felt this way before in my life.
People shouldn't feel this way.
Power was coursing through me; I was stronger, faster, and my thoughts were rapid. This was what spiderman would feel, not myself.
I was obviously not myself, I didn't even need to look down at myself or around the room to know this. I could feel it instantly.
So, I was not surprised to see someone else looking back at me, but I did raise an eyebrow at who exactly it was that looked back.
The girl who looked back at me was obviously Sakura Haruno, she was very recognizable, even as a real person, not a cartoon.
I clasped my hand into fist. Feeling the power it contained, I could knock someone out with just one blow.
I was just plain better than ever before. However, despite this newfound power, the truth was stark. I was actually the weakest here. Useless.
With my recognition, I looked directly into her eyes, my eyes, and all of her memories suddenly came to me as if they were my own.
With the jolt, I realized I just got my ninja headband yesterday after passing the test at school. Just as quickly, I realized that no, it was not me, it was her, Sakura. I was not Sakura, even though I am now.
My identity was confused, but this confusion was unhelpful, so I ignored it and moved on.
Just six days from now will be team assignment day… the day after, Kakashi's test. And then all the other things that would come after, the Wave mission, the Chunin exam, many other terrible things including eventually aliens.
My mind raced faster and moved to instinctive avoidance.
'Can I quit being a ninja?'
An obvious question, but with a surprising answer, I actually can quit, war hasn't been declared. However, I quickly realized that I absolutely shouldn't quit.
One would think that living by the sword, dying by the sword, killing or being killed, would tip any logical person towards running away.
This idea would be correct in a perfect world, a safe world, but this world is anything but safe. There is nowhere to run, nowhere safe. I never knew how good I had it.
Even if I ignore all the world ending disasters in Naruto, just left everything up to Naruto and Sasuke and that didn't backfire causing the world to be destroyed. This world is not safe for normal people. Not even the Land of Fire despite being the strongest country, despite having radios and other technological products, was a safe country, no country on this planet was. People can die here for no rhyme or reason. This is a land full of psychopaths.
Ninja by comparison are actually a higher social class, live better, and are safer than ordinary people because they can defend themselves and are protected by Konoha. The missions we do are ranked for safety, and we can drop any mission that goes outside of that rank without any consequences.
C ranks turning into A ranks is not the norm. Kakashi could have dropped the wave mission as soon as the demon brothers appeared. With a Jonin as my sensei, I should have been in the safest place in the world. Kakashi continuing the mission was so strange that people can't help but think of conspiracy theory about that mission.
There is a reason why in Konoha the civilians try so hard to let their children become shinobi.
Obviously, wealthy and noble families do not need to do this, but for the civilians, it is a large step up. Ninjas are a part of the middle class. If you go out into the country-side you can still see many people living in wooden huts with straw roofs. They live in squalor and they die without reason.
I was currently living in a two story house that would not have been out of place in the suburbs of America. We have a TV, a couch, a modern kitchen, and soft modern beds. The security here is very good. My parents didn't need to worry about me being in danger when going out to play as a child.
This is with only my Dad's income as being a part of the Genin Corps. My Mom doesn't make any money, she retired from being a Genin a long time ago and is now a part of the Allied Mothers Force, which does not do any fighting except to defend Konohagakure during times of war and are not paid unless doing so.
My parents were still paying the mortgage on the house, but this is indeed surprising. Genin obviously make less money than all other ninja ranks. Even in 2025 America, this would be an amazing achievement, at the level of a winner in life, let alone in this terrible place.
It may seem immoral to join a profession that kills people just for the sake of safety and modern convenience. However, being a ninja doesn't guaranty having to kill innocent people. It's not like I am joining AMBU or Root. To top this off I cannot even remember Original Sakura, from the show, killing anyone at all.
For the guilty, I don't see a moral problem with killing them to defend myself or others, I feel that this would be the same as being a police officer or soldier. I have always supported the police and army.
As for the idea of not being a ninja but training as if I was a ninja to protect myself, I already knew that this was impossible. I had to be a ninja to protect myself and there was no other way.