(1st Person POV)
So here I am. Standing on a cloud surrounded by a vast, empty sky. I'm dead. I know I'm dead, because I remember the plane crash very clearly. So, where am I exactly?
A few feet ahead of me, there is a set of stairs. The stairs lead up even higher; I can't even see the end of them.
As I kept my eyes up on the stairs as far as I could see, something started getting closer. It was a man... no, calling him a man would be an insult.
He seems to be in his late twenties with thick brown hair and a full beard. His face is perfectly symmetrical, and his eyes are sharp and ever so green. Yes, calling him a man would be an insult to him.
He walked down the stairs calmly, almost lazily. I couldn't help but wait for him, not even daring to think of rushing him. Feeling this man's presence made me realize that he must be God.
(3rd Person POV)
"Hello, Adam. You are right, I am God," God said with a calm tone
"Hello God, why am I here?" Adam said in an awkward tone. Not sure if he should kneel or bow or just stand still
"Sitting down would be fine. You will be doing a lot of thinking." God answered his question before he asked
"Why am I here?" Adam almost sat down, but he felt that would be rude, so he stayed standing.
"You are one of the few children born under a star I created. Your death came too early, and I want to compensate you for that."
"Born under a star? Compensate me how? I'm sorry, but I'm confused."
"You are an avid reader of manga and novels, so I'm sure you know about the concept of 'isekai', right?"
"Yes, I've read many of them actually. So is that what's happening to me?"
"Yes. You are about to get a second chance at a life that would be less boring. With a couple of extra things to help you along the way."
Adam was excited. Who wouldn't? He was bored out of his life. He watched anime and read manga and web novels just to escape, just like many people of his generation do. He wanted to escape life so much that sometimes he would wish things like Sword Art Online would come true, just so that he could live in a fictional world like that and escape from his boredom.
"I accept. I can't even tell you how happy I am to get this chance."
"You should. You're the third person I gave this chance to, ever."
"So, do I get three wishes and pick what world to go to?"
"Yes and no. You will get to make a few picks, but the world will be random."
"Oh. I thought I got to pick."
"No, that would be too boring, and you don't want boring. So let's get the world you are going to figured out first."
Before Adam can say anything else. God snaps his finger, and a spinning wheel materializes out of thin air. The wheel had many options on it. Bleach, One Piece, Attack on Titan, Demon Slayer, Naruto, Dragon Ball, Harry Potter, Star Wars, Problem Children Are Coming From Another World Aren't They, and many more.
"Alright, Adam, spin the wheel. Let's see where your next life is."
"Ok" Adam approached the wheel with excitement. He will get three wishes. He will wish for powerful abilities regardless of which world he gets to, and then have fun.
'Here we go' Adam thought as he spun the wheel. His eyes were on the arrow at the top. It will decide what kind of adventure he gets to have.
Names of many different worlds with many different possibilities passed by, and the wheel started to slow down. Adam was getting anxious and excited at the same time.
The wheel slowed down until it stopped. The arrow pointed at a world Adam was familiar with. One of the most famous pieces of fiction in the world. "Naruto"
"So that means I'm going to the Naruto world, right?" Adam knew the answer, but he still asked out of exasperation more than anything else.
"Seems so, Adam. Now that we know which world you are going to, we can move on to your picks. You get to have three picks. First pick is background. You can choose to create a person who never existed in the original work. Or you can choose to be reborn as someone from the original work. The second pick is an item. You can wish to take any one item from anywhere with you to your next world. The third pick is a boon. It can't be an ability outright, but it can be a talent or something of the like."
"Ok?" Adam was confused. That's not the standard.
"I can tell you're confused. But that is what you get, so make them count."
"Let me think."
"Sure, take your time."
Adam sat down on the cloud and started thinking about his options, while God stood nearby.
(A/N: Sorry, there will be a lot of monologuing. I just wanted to break down his thought process.)
(1st Person POV)
Ok. I have to pick a background, an item, and a boon. Let's take it one step at a time. The background first.
I want a background that will optimize my chances of surviving and thriving. As much as it is dangerous, the leaf is the best when it comes to that. Yes, there is Danzō, but there could be a workaround. So I'm for sure picking the leaf.
Now I need a strong bloodline; I could use my boon for that. But I think I should save that for something else. So, I'm going to choose to be part of a clan.
I hate the idea of hiding your strength and trying to survive by pretending to be weak. My first life was boring. So I for sure don't want to hide and have to look over my shoulder all the time. I need strong backing.
All the clans are no-go except for the Hyūga and the Uchiha clans. Because Danzō can take me to his roots from other clans except for those two clans. For some reason, he has no access to them. I think it's because one is a noble clan and the other is a founding clan.
Or I can pick to be a hair to one of the other clans, but that means I take the place of one of the original cast. Or I can choose to be born much earlier than the original cast.
I think I will stick with being born around the same time as Itachi. It's a good point in time. I will be too young to go to the third shinobi war, or just have to join towards the end of it, and it will give me enough time to grow before the start of canon.
The Hyūga have the whole branch family/main family thing. But that's easy to fix with my background pick. I can just choose to be part of the main clan, simple. But I never found the appeal of their eye abilities. I think the Byakugan is meh at best. Yes, the tenseigan is cool, but let's be realistic. How do I go about getting those?
I think there was a movie at the end of Shippuden that explores that, but I don't remember anything from that movie.
Moving on to my next option, the Uchiha clan.
The Uchiha are facing extermination, and even if I prevent it, I would still be hated. But I'm sure I can grow strong enough to face Itachi...Wait!
Why did I dismiss the Sarutobi clan? Perfect! I can choose to be Hiruzen's grandchild. I can be the same age as Itachi. Hiruzen would never let Danzō take me to his root even if I show too much talent. I would have the backing of the hokage and that would give access to many things that would help me grow. Teachers, techniques, tools, and everything else.
Perfect, so that's my background. Now my Item.
Where do I begin? There are many powerful items throughout all the works of fiction that I can take with me. But I have one in mind. The same one that came to mind when I heard about the item pick. The Nano Machines form the manhwa. My item would be the syringe containing the nano machines.
Now for the boon. Nano gives me many things: resistance to poisons, the ability to learn everything I see, self healing and many other things.
I think I have an idea. Nano will help me to have a perfect physique, so I think having a strong soul would be my boon. I honestly can't think of anything else or have anything other than that. Since everything else is pretty much covered.
"It seems that you're done, Adam." God finally spoke with a smile on his face.
"I am"
"Good. I heard everything, so no need to repeat yourself."
"Thank you so much."
"Before I send you to your next life. There is a slight adjustment to your picks. All are acceptable; there is a slight adjustment to the nano machine pick. Since in your next world, there are clones, taking over other people's bodies, and coming back from the dead. I'll make the nano machines bind to your soul instead of your body. It will function the same exact way, but it will be located in your soul instead of your body."
"Ok? I'm not sure if that's good or not, but I don't have much of a choice, do I?" Adam couldn't help asking
"It's for the best. You will learn more about that when you get to your new life. Speaking of your new life, it's time for you to go." With that, God flicked his hand, and Adam was launched off the cloud, and then everything went dark.
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A/N: Hello everyone, I've been wanting to write this for some time. I'm currently writing another fanfic it's set in the Fire Force world, check it out!