The world was fading.
A searing pain twisted through his chest as blood poured from the jagged blade lodged between his ribs. Screams echoed around him, but they were distant, almost like a dream. His hands trembled—scarred, calloused, hardened from a lifetime of survival and struggle. And yet… he had lost.
"Another betrayal," he muttered bitterly, his vision darkening. "Should've known…"
The last face he saw before the light faded was hers—his most trusted partner. Her kiss had been warm. Her kunai, warmer still.
And then—
Silence.
When he awoke, the world felt… wrong.
The ceiling above him was old wood, the smell of dust and ink thick in the air. He jolted up with a gasp, expecting pain, but found none. No wounds. No scars. No age.
He was… young.
No, not just young. His body was different—lean, firm, strong, but unfamiliar. He stumbled to the nearby cracked mirror. The face that looked back at him wasn't his own.
"Wh—what is this…?" he whispered.
The reflection showed a man in his early twenties. Dark red eyes. Black hair tinged faintly with crimson at the tips. No clan symbol on his clothes. A civilian…?
Suddenly, searing heat filled his skull.
[Desire System Activated]Gain strength through intimate connections.Current Level: 0Chakra Affinity: LockedFirst Reward: Minor Chakra Pool ExpansionCondition: First Emotional or Physical Bond
"What… kind of cursed system is this?" he muttered, clenching his teeth as the pain faded.
Then it hit him.
The voices outside the window.The shinobi flak vests.The banners flying across the rooftops.
He was in Konoha.
And from the faces passing by, from the styles of clothing and ninja armor, he could tell the exact era—before the Third Great Ninja War. The era of Minato Namikaze, young and rising. The era where everything began to collapse.
His heart raced.
"This is… a second chance?"
The orphanage matron, a kind but exhausted woman named Shira, knocked on his door.
"You're late for chores again, Ren. Come down.
Ren.
That was this body's name.
The memories came in fragments. A quiet orphan, bullied and overlooked. Laughed at for being weak, ignored by the shinobi academy. No parents. No bloodline. Nothing.
But now?
Now he had memories from a previous life, knowledge of what would come—and a system that promised power in exchange for something… personal.
He walked to the window and stared out over Konoha.
The village looked so peaceful. Clean streets. Laughter in the distance. The Hokage Monument watching over them all.
It wouldn't last.
The wars were coming. Blood would soak these streets. Hiruzen would grow complacent. Danzo would grow bold. Uchiha would burn. Naruto would suffer. Madara would rise.
Unless someone stopped it all before it began.
He smiled, dark and confident.
"Let's begin again… but this time, I'll take it all. The power. The village. The women. The world."