Renji woke up on cold, uneven ground.
Dizziness fogged his head like smoke. The first thing he noticed was the sky — not the soft black sky of night but a smeared, furious red that painted every cloud and roof.
The air itself tasted of ash and metal. Somewhere close, people screamed. Metal clashed. Over it all rose a sound that caused his heart to tremble: a roar filled with power...and hatred.
He pushed himself up on unsteady arms. His palms met sticky warmth. When he looked down his fingers were coated red — blood. He blinked, feeling drops of blood falling over his eyes.
Suddenly, something heavy hit against the back of his head, and stars erupted across his vision. The world folded inwards. Before unconsciousness took him again, a single terrible image hung in the sky: a colossal fox, nine tails whipping like huge flames, rearing its head and roaring straight at the heavens.
When he opened his eyes again, he was in a clean room full of injured people on beds. He was also in one. The overhead light was dim; rows of other cots spread out in the room, bodies wrapped in bandages, moans and the faint, antiseptic sting of medicine in the air. This looked like a hospital.
He clutched his head and tasted iron in his mouth. A woman approached him holding a pad and pen — professional, calm, the sort of person who moved with the efficiency of someone who'd seen chaos too many times. She wore the look of a medic: a practical robe, a satchel of supplies, and eyes that assessed without unnecessary pity.
"What's your name?" she asked.
His tongue felt heavy. The first name that surfaced was one he didn't remember ever choosing for himself. "Renji… Renji Aoki," he lied — or maybe he told the truth, he couldn't tell.
The woman nodded once, brisk. "You're very lucky. A ninja pulled you out of the rubble and got you here in time. You should thank them when you can. We managed to patch you up—stay for observation for another day, then you can leave."
She gave him a glance and turned to leave. "Can you tell me who saved me?" he asked. She was about to answer, but noticed something and pointed to the door. "She's here.",she said, and walked away.
He turned his head and looked at a girl that entered then. She looked slim, hair black and wild to her upper back, long locks falling on either side of her red eyes that looked exhausted. A forehead protector with Konoha's leaf symbol was tied around her brow. She wore a uniform, with red sleeves, and a mesh inner wear, but was mostly covered in bandages.
She noticed him watching her and swiftly approached.
Pausing at his bedside, she took in the bandages, and let out the smallest breath. "It's good you're awake. From how you were bleeding, I… wasn't sure you'd make it." Her voice was soft but steady.
"Did you save me?" Renji managed looking at her.
She nodded. "Yes. I was part of the search and rescue. Nice to meet you, I'm Kurenai." He recognized that name.
Nodding gratefully, he tried to sit up, when she placed a careful hand on his shoulder to keep him still. "No need," she said. "Just recover for now. I need to check on the others." She turned to leave.
"Thank you for saving, miss Kurenai! If there's anything I can do, please don't hesitate to ask me." Renji blurted as she stepped away. It came out quieter than he intended.
Kurenai waved a hand without looking back. "Just rest," she said.
He watched her walk away, looking for others she saved that night. What a kind girl! Kurenai Yuhi — the name fit the woman who'd just left; it fit the world that he was suddenly, impossibly inside. Naruto world. He exhaled and let his eyelids fall, thinking.
If this was the Naruto world, then the timeline had to be right after the attack — or during it. He knit together the bits he knew: newborn Naruto, the Nine-Tails' attack, Minato… Kushina… lines that had been stories before but now became his new reality.
He looked at his current body: fifteen, maybe. No ninja tools or power flowing in my body — no chakra. A civilian, most likely.
A bitter laugh squeezed out of him. One night he'd gone to sleep in his original life; the next he woke to a world with tailed beasts, killer ninjas, aliens, and more. It would be nice to have a cheat power right about now, he thought with a hollow hope.
Something small and abrupt blinked into his vision like a glitch in reality: a bright exclamation mark hovering in the corner of his sight. He blinked. Is this a system notification?
He focused on it, half expecting it to vanish.
It didn't. Instead a long column of text unfurled before him, hanging in the air like a translucent tablet. He was suddenly much more cheerful!
[ SYSTEM LOG — USER INTERFACE ]
[Welcome to Naruto world! You have been chosen to have a new start in this exciting world!]
[You have a starter package. Would you like to open?]
[You have a starter package. Would you like to open?]
....
The same line repeated, and repeated, in a loop. He squinted, was this because I was unconscious?
After an index of duplicates came a new entry.
[Considering the user did not respond for 24hrs, emergency protocol has been activated.]
[Checking vitals… OK.]
[Checking surroundings… OK.]
[Checking consciousness… ERROR: user unconscious.]
[As the user is unconscious but alive, the package will be opened and resulting gifts will be held until he wakes up.]
[Package opened — obtained Sage body!]
[Congratulations! This will be held until user wak—WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! Main frame infiltrated. System disconnected from *******]
[Attempting to integrate sage body; skipping user consent and neglecting the risk of detection.]
[ERROR: Sage body overwritten with Bayonetta's Umbra Witch power by an external force.]
[Change accepted.]
[Congratulations, user — you have been gifted Bayonetta's Umbra Witch powers! Hope you enjoy your new life!]
[WARNING! Incompatible power detected! Core functionality activated. System's source energy will be used to convert this power to be usable by the user in the current world.]
[Note: majority of functions will be shut down as the source energy is used to prevent the incompatible power from rampaging the user's body and convert it for use. Please provide alternate energy to the system to recover them.]
[Good luck, user.]
Renji stared at the hovering text until the letters seemed to swim.
Did the system get attacked by something? Bayonetta? Umbra Witch? I'm a man!, he thought, a frantic little panic flaring up in his chest. Men can't be Umbra Witches. Right?
The log kept pulsing, then stuttered and died mid-sentence as if someone had yanked a cable out of the wall. The last line dissolved like static.
Renji opened his eyes again. Watching the roof of the ward, he thought, I'm screwed!
End of chapter.