In his previous life, Shimizu Uzuki had been one of countless ordinary people—so ordinary that he barely stood out at all.
His parents both worked at small companies, in commonplace sales and administrative positions. With such an unremarkable background, he never had access to elite private schooling. He attended ordinary public middle and high schools, and eventually was admitted to an average university.
Average grades.
Unremarkable looks.
No family connections.
How brightly could a boy like that possibly shine in such a society? Could he ever bridge the gap between social classes?
Relatives boasted about other people's "exceptional children." Social media feeds were filled with luxury brands. On Weibo, there were endless displays of million-dollar cars and private jets.
What did any of that have to do with him?
Shimizu simply lived his quiet, ordinary life. His upbringing had taught him one truth:
Ordinariness is life itself.
No one ever taught him the ruthless rules of social survival. No one stood behind him, constantly driving him forward. He didn't even know how much potential lay within him.
If a person never pushes themselves to the limit, they will never discover how capable they truly are.
He should have lived out an ordinary life from beginning to end.
But when he opened his eyes again—
He had arrived in a world consumed by war.
The world of Naruto.
How should a modern person survive in such a chaotic, war-torn world?
Perhaps continuing to live as an ordinary person and peacefully finishing one's life would be a reasonable choice.
But—
Was he willing?
Was he content?
Could he let such an opportunity slip through his fingers?
Knowing he had entered a world of endless warfare—
A world where strength reigned supreme—
Where possessing powerful chakra, mastering advanced ninjutsu, bloodline limits, even Tailed Beasts—
Could allow one person to face a hundred… a thousand…
Where Kage-level experts could stand against ten thousand like gods among men—
Having arrived in such a world, if he did not burn brightly at least once, would that not betray fate itself?
So at the age of two, he successfully refined chakra.
From that moment on, he firmly set foot upon the path of a ninja.
He never once doubted that pursuing strength was the wrong choice.
He never once believed that killing was inherently wrong.
Because in this world, reason often meant nothing.
Only the size of one's fist mattered.
The law of the jungle.
The survival of the strong.
Whether for the dream of becoming Hokage…
For survival…
For fame…
For revenge…
Or for true freedom…
He had countless reasons to grow stronger.
And so he endured eighteen years of relentless training. Even when stuck at the rank of chūnin for years without progress, his resolve to obtain power never wavered.
Step by step, he walked this path.
He overcame countless crises.
He had even faced two true dead ends before:
One during the meat grinder of the brutal Second Great Ninja War.
Another during an S-rank mission this July along the border between the Land of Rain and the Land of Rivers.
And now—
He faced death once more.
What he had thought would be a routine S-rank mission had turned into a desperate fight for survival.
Heh… wasn't this supposed to be a smooth luring operation? Is this what happens when you casually raise a death flag? How am I supposed to break this deadlock?
Shimizu pushed himself to the limit, racing farther from the Three Tails, which was on the verge of unleashing its ultimate attack.
Even at the edge of life and death, he remained calm.
More and more, he felt that he had truly adapted to this world.
No—
Perhaps for someone like him, a turbulent world like this was his true home.
This—
This was the stage upon which he could shine.
...
About two kilometers away now… If only I had more chakra…
He glanced back.
Isobu's three silver tails lashed wildly in the air.
It's coming!!
He flicked his gaze down to the increasingly violent ocean beneath his feet.
Even now, he did not dare enter the water.
No one could guarantee that the Tailed Beast couldn't cast something like a Water Prison Technique from two kilometers away.
The sheer control it had demonstrated over the sea made him unwilling to gamble.
If such a scenario occurred—
From the moment he submerged into the depths—
Only death would be waiting for him.
He had no choice but to endure it head-on.
Hand seals formed rapidly.
Water Release: Water Formation Wall!
High-speed spiraling currents surged up from the sea surface, quickly enveloping Shimizu within.
Just seconds later, an invisible shockwave swept across him, slamming into the Water Formation Wall with violent bangs. He could even see the front side of the barrier nearly deforming under the sheer force of the impact.
A few seconds after that—
The piercing sonic boom reached his ears.
That had only been the prelude.
A shockwave exceeding the speed of sound.
He lifted his head—
And witnessed a sight that chilled him to the bone.
On the distant horizon, a white line rose from the surface of the sea.
It was a tsunami!!
How high?! Tens of meters?!
No—
Hundreds of meters tall, impossible to measure. Its width stretched beyond the limits of his vision.
What kind of apocalyptic tsunami was this?!
And within the advancing wall of water, countless gigantic water dragons twisted and roared.
It was like an overwhelmingly amplified fusion of the Great Waterfall Technique and Water Dragon Bullet—
But… could ninjutsu truly produce such devastation?
This felt less like a technique and more like the cataclysmic tidal wave born from a planet striking another world.
How would this compare to the Second Hokage's "Water Release: Hard Whirlpool Water Blade," said to be capable of destroying heaven and earth?
The absurd thought flashed through Shimizu's mind.
A technique like Water Formation Wall could not provide three-dimensional, flawless defense.
He had to rely on the defensive jutsu developed by the Second Hokage—
Water Release: Water Wall.
Only this freely configurable, seal-less defensive technique had any chance of allowing him to survive this calamity.
But—
He had never successfully cast it before.
Though it appeared simple, mastering this seal-less technique was extraordinarily complex.
At some point, the half-palm-sized mutant fish had burrowed into the flesh of his abdomen.
Even with half its body severed, it stubbornly clung to life.
Shimizu tried once more to tear it off—
But if he forced it, it would rip away a large chunk of muscle with it.
He could not afford further blood loss.
Severe injury would slow his chakra recovery.
And right now, he desperately needed chakra and stamina to withstand the impending attack.
This was no illusion.
This time, activating Water Release: Water Wall felt unusually smooth.
The familiar obstruction he once felt was gone.
Two enormous columns of water suddenly shot upward from the sea surface.
Responding to his will, they intertwined in midair.
Within a single breath, they formed a perfectly spherical barrier, sealing him inside.
It worked!
Shimizu funneled the very last of his Chakra into this "Water Wall," praying it would be his wall of life.
The endless tsunami, carrying its legion of water dragons, finally crashed into him...
"BOOM!!!"
Like the wrath of nature itself.
In a single collision, the infinite force shattered the Water Wall—the final hope upon which Shimizu had staked his life.
With its destruction, he was instantly swallowed by the violently rotating currents and dragged into the depths.
Grievously wounded.
Bleeding.
Chakra completely exhausted.
The crushing impact of the Water Dragon Bullets pinned him in place.
He could not move.
He could only let the ravenous dragons pull him down into the boundless abyss.
The last rays of the setting sun flickered and died, as if taking the final light of hope with them.
The grey, freezing ocean; the endless deep.
Oxygen fading.
Consciousness slipping.
Through the blur, Shimizu thought he saw Asakusa Natsue.
She was smiling softly—
Waving at him.
Are you waiting for me, Natsue…?