Silence.
Everything was dark… near his eyes.
"Huh… what happened? Did I really die? Fuck…"
His thoughts echoed with frustration and a peak of anger.
"That bitch married that rich old man… Fuck that bitch."
He clenched his teeth in rage.
Then—he felt something, he didn't have teeth in mouth.
He suddenly opened his eyes.
The first thing he noticed was his hand.
"Ohhh shit…" he exclaimed in his mind—though it made no sound.
Because right now… he was a newborn baby.
"So the old people were right… people really do get reincarnated after death. Hell yeah! I got another chance!" he thought, glancing around with limited vision.
Just half a meter away, he could see a beautiful woman with red hair, and behind her, a man with bright golden hair—both of them pierced by a giant claw.
He tried to look up to see the creature that owned the claw, but his underdeveloped eyes couldn't see clearly. Still, the shadows were visible enough.
Looking at the scene again, he put the pieces together.
Then it hit him.
"Oh fucking shit! I'm not just reincarnated… I've been transported into the Naruto world! Not only that… I've become Naruto Uzumaki himself!"
He realized what moment he was in: he'd just been born, and Minato and Kushina had died, right after sealing the Nine Tails.
It sounded crazy—but not to a diehard Naruto fan like Sunio. He'd watched Naruto countless times, read dozens of fanfics, and fantasized about being in this exact situation.
"Damn, I'm a little late," he sighed.
"Would've loved to hear Kushina's heartwarming speech… but no worries. No worries."
Now then… cheat? System? Grandpa? Where are you? Come out already!
He began calling for his "golden finger"—as any self-respecting reincarnator should.
"Huh… nothing?"
"Maybe I'll get a Devil Fruit then…" he thought, remembering how in so many fanfics he read, travelers got absurd devil fruit powers.
[Ding! Host, the Protagonist Hunting System has arrived!]
Suddenly, a blue transparent screen appeared near his face.
He was shocked at first—but calmed down quickly. After all, he'd dreamed of this kind of thing countless times in his previous life.
But… the name made him pause.
"Protagonist Hunting System?"
He felt a bit of fear.
He was a protagonist too, wasn't he?
Was he the one about to be hunted?
But then he thought—maybe it's a good thing. Maybe the system chose him instead of someone else.
Because if he didn't have it… he could be the one getting hunted by others.
"System, what's your function?" he asked in his mind, hesitantly.
[Ding! As the host guessed, the system's function is to hunt protagonists—but not the main one like you. Only the fake ones.]
That calmed him down a bit.
But… fake protagonists?
"System, what do you mean by fake protagonists?"
[Ding! Fake protagonists are other travelers who enter a novel world and become 'protagonists' themselves—replacing the original MC and stealing everything that belongs to them or changing whole story in their own direction]
Naruto's tiny newborn face twisted in shock.
"What?! So you're telling me all those badass travelers from fanfics I used to enjoy… they were actually taking over someone else's life and that was bad?"
As a reader, he never felt bad. It was fun, after all.
But now—being in the shoes of the real protagonist?
"It feels like eating shit."
He imagined someone else coming in, replacing him, stealing his parents' powers, and taking his story.
"System, how do you help me? Quickly—tell me!"
He was anxious now.
Because those other travelers… they were monsters.
Some got invisible powers at age 6, others awakened the Sage Body just by picking up a strand of Naruto's hair. Some could copy talent. Others could absorb the powers of any dead body they touched.
And right now…
Minato and Kushina—two top tier experts with insane power—were lying dead right next to him.
If someone like that got their powers…
Disaster.
[Ding! Host is correct. Currently, there is a traveler on route. He works as a death body collector in Konoha's cemetery. He's been in this world for a month, and his cheat is exactly what you guessed—but with one condition: he can only absorb powers from people who died within the past 12 hours.]
"And this situation fits perfectly."
Naruto's newborn face twisted even more.
"System! Do something! What can I do with these tiny hands and feet? I can't even say anything except 'abada daba chaba'... I'm literally useless here!"
His frustration reached its peak.
[Ding! System acknowledges host's concern. Issuing newborn gift package.]
**[Ding! Congratulations, host! You've received:Anti-Cheat Seal,4 chances to draw inheritance from your parents,100-meter-square System Storage Space]**
[Anti cheat seal- once put on anybody, none of other traveller cheat can get anything related to that person]
"Whoa! This Anti-Cheat Seal sounds amazing!"
Excitement returned to Naruto's heart.
A seal that made someone immune to travelers' cheats?
That was a nightmare for fake protagonists.
Put the seal on a body, and they couldn't extract anything from it.
"System, quickly! Put the Anti-Cheat Seal on my parents—and one on me too!" he said urgently in his mind.
[Ding! As you wish, host.]
Nothing seemed to happen—but that made sense. The seal was invisible.
"Alright, now use the inheritance chance! I want my parents' abilities!" Naruto said quickly.
[Ding! Executing parent inheritance lottery.]
Suddenly, the system screen changed.
Two lottery wheels appeared in front of him.
One had an image of Minato Namikaze, the other Kushina Uzumaki.
Each wheel was filled with items—from clothes and money to jutsu, skills, and even bloodlines.
Naruto's heart pounded in excitement.
To be continued...