When sorting through the records of my previous life, I find myself marvelling at the resilience of the human brain—or at least, mine.
Though short, it was the entirety of a human existence. To fully integrate that weight without memory degradation or psychological collapse is no small feat.
I wondered if this mental fortitude, alongside the Rinnegan, was what people call a 'reincarnation cheat'—a hidden perk granted to those who cross the threshold of death.
Of course, I haven't breathed a word about my memories or my eyes to anyone.
It wasn't that I was plotting anything. It's simply that explaining it is a nightmare. I have no confidence in my ability to convince anyone of the truth. Even if I tried to use 'future knowledge' to prove my case, the memories I hold are centered around the 2020s. Right now, it's only the 1980s. Unless I start shouting about the 9/11 attacks, Lehman Brothers, or the invasion of Ukraine, I have nothing immediate to say. And even then, being branded as a Cassandra—a prophet of doom whose warnings go unheeded—is a fate I'd rather avoid.
"Can I truly use all the abilities of the Six Paths of Pain...?"
The Asura Path: mechanical and physical transformation, a cornerstone of the Rinnegan's power.
The Preta Path: the absorption of chakra—or rather, pure energy.
The Deva Path: control over attractive and repulsive forces through Shinra Tensei and Bansho Ten'in.
As for the Animal, Naraka, and Human Paths, I hadn't tested them. Their methods were opaque, and their danger levels were far too high for a suburban living room. Yet, the instinct that they were 'usable' vibrated clearly within my consciousness.
However, the scale of this power was significantly diminished compared to the version I remembered.
The Shinra Tensei of the Deva Path, which could theoretically level an entire village, exhausted my reserves just by pushing a desk across the room. The Preta Path could only wither a handful of flowers. The Asura Path's transformation was limited to turning my fingertip into something resembling a gun barrel.
Still, it wasn't as if these eyes were useless.
Chakra... well, whatever that world of ninjas called it, this 'energy' was versatile. If I absorbed the life force of a few flowers, my body recovered instantly even after ten minutes of intense sprinting. If I couldn't open a candy wrapper, I'd manifest a blade from my finger via the Asura Path and slice it open.
Though microscopic, I could feel the Rinnegan's power growing stronger with every use. Riding that momentum, I threw myself into training like a child obsessed with the 'Black Flame Dragon' residing in his left arm.
Granted, there were setbacks. I occasionally failed to control the output and vaporized my mother's flowerbed, and once, I nearly fainted from exhaustion while trying to summon something through the Animal Path—a truly rare, albeit agonizing, experience.
Time passed. Two years after awakening my past life and the Rinnegan, I graduated from kindergarten and reached the age for elementary school. Unlike in Korea, Japanese children enter elementary school at age six. Fortunate or not, I was separated from all my kindergarten acquaintances into a different class.
Not that it mattered. Friends could always be made anew. I was living my own life, after all.
"...Or so I'd like to think."
"Karma-kun, have you still not made any friends?"
The one speaking to me was Sister Yuika, a nun at the church near our dojo.
Her defining trait was that she always walked with her eyes closed, as she was virtually blind. When I first met her, I wondered how such a thing was possible. Apparently, due to a compensatory phenomenon caused by her lack of sight, her hearing was incredibly sharp. She could navigate her daily life without even needing a cane.
"I don't know. Anyway, this world is at fault. It's the world that's wrong."
"Oh dear... You shouldn't have such a negative view of the world so early, Karma-kun. Come, shall we pray to our Lord?"
To a stranger, it might look like she was trying to convert me, but our conversations were always like this.
I'd stop by the cathedral on my way home from school, chat with the priest in the empty hall, snatch a few snacks, and—if I failed to make a clean getaway—be forced into a single prayer before leaving. That was my daily routine.
I was a Catholic in my previous life. Now, having reincarnated, I've become an atheist, so I have no real aversion to churches. However, experiencing reincarnation firsthand and wielding the powers of the Six Paths—rooted deeply in Buddhist philosophy—felt... conflicting. Praying in a cathedral felt logically 'wrong' in more ways than one.
"Ah, that reminds me. My older sister said she wanted to meet you, Karma-kun."
"...Miss Ritsuka Suse?"
"Yes. She said she's free from her part-time job next Sunday. Would you happen to have time to meet at Café Janus, Karma-kun?"
* * * * *
By the time I finished the conversation and arrived home, the sky was painted in the beautiful, bleeding hues of a deep red sunset.
It was late, but nobody in this district was bold enough to mess with a kid who had been running around these streets since he could crawl. Any would-be delinquent would be beaten senseless by the shopkeepers who treated me as their unofficial mascot.
"I'm home~"
"Welcome back, Karma! How was school? Did you make any friends?"
"..."
As I sank under my mother's direct hit, my father chuckled.
"Haha, he's gone quiet. Don't push him too hard, Asuna. Let's just eat for now."
"Alright, Kazuto. Karma? Go wash your hands!"
The conversation flowed naturally.
When I returned from washing up, the dinner table was set as if it were the most natural thing in the world, with my seat waiting for me. My mother and father beckoned me to sit.
...Indeed, what does it matter if I have memories of a past life? What does it matter if my parents look like light novel characters or if I possess monster-like eyes?
In the end, this is the family that has raised me and given me unconditional love for seven years.
Past memories are just that—past records. For me, the most important thing is this family.