You ever have one of those days where everything's going almost too normal, and you get that weird feeling in your gut like something's about to go sideways?
Yeah.
That was me. Eighteen years old. Orphan. No siblings. No girlfriend. No plans for the future except maybe grinding out another rank in whatever game my friend Kazu was about to drag me into.
Life hadn't exactly been kind, but it also hadn't been cruel enough to make for a good backstory. Just… mediocre. The kind of mediocre that makes you feel like a background character in your own life.
So there I was, walking down the street with my phone in hand, having just finished the latest Boruto chapter. And yeah, I know, I know, Boruto gets a lot of hate. But come on, the latest manga chapters were actually kinda fire. I was hyped. Kazu texted me "hurry tf up" with like five exclamation points, so I was already mentally picking my character in whatever fighting game he wanted to lose at.
That's when I heard it.
SCREEEECH!!!
My head snapped up on pure instinct. Headlights... A massive delivery truck barreling straight toward me, driver probably texting or having a seizure or something. Time didn't slow down like in the movies. It was just pure adrenaline.
"Truck-Kun!?"
I threw myself to the side.
My shoulder slammed against the pavement, phone skittering out of my hand. The truck missed me by what felt like inches. I could feel the heat of the engine, the wind ripping past.
"HOLY SH--!"
For a second, I thought I made it. I actually thought I dodged Truck-kun's legendary isekai delivery service.
Then I heard the CRUNCH of metal hitting metal, followed by the sickening sound of something snapping above me.
The truck had swerved into a light pole.
A really tall light pole.
The kind that doesn't just tip over, it falls...
I barely had time to look up before everything went dark.
= CRUNCH =
---
When I opened my eyes, I was standing.
That should've been my first clue. I'd just been crushed by a giant metal pole. There's no "standing up" after that. You're more like… a pancake. A red, messy pancake.
But nope. I was standing. And everything was white.
Not like "white walls" I mean infinite nothing white. No floor, no sky, no shadows. Just me, floating in the world's emptiest void.
"…You've gotta be kidding me."
"Not kidding. Just very, very routine."
I spun around.
Behind me was a glowing white orb. Not like a lightbulb, more like a floating pearl the size of a basketball, pulsing with this soft light. No face. No limbs. Just… a ball.
"The fuck are you supposed to be?"
The orb pulsed. I swear it sounded offended.
"I am what your species so creatively refers to as a 'ROB.' Random Omnipotent Being. Though I prefer the term 'Cosmic Administrator.' Sounds more professional."
I stared at it.
It stared back. Well, I assume it did. Hard to tell with a floating ball of light.
"You're shitting me."
"I do not defecate. I am pure energy."
"…Right."
I looked down at my hands. No injuries. No blood. I felt fine. Better than fine, actually. That heavy, tired feeling I'd been carrying for years was just… gone.
"I'm dead, aren't I?"
"Yep." The orb bobbed up and down like a nod. "Truck-kun's success rate is approximately 97.3%. You were in the unlucky 2.7% who dodged but still died. Congratulations?"
"That's not how you congratulate someone."
"It is in my realm."
I wanted to argue, but honestly? What was the point? I was dead. The big sleep. End of the road.
Except apparently not.
"So what now? Heaven? Hell? Some kind of cosmic waiting room?"
The orb, ROB, I guess, pulsed again, and suddenly the void shifted. A desk appeared beneath my feet. A chair. A computer monitor. Hell, there was even a coffee mug with "#1 Omnipotent Being" written on it.
The orb floated behind the desk like it was settling into a chair it didn't have.
"Now we go through the standard procedure. I'll reincarnate you into a world of your choosing. You get one wish. One. And before you ask, no, you can't wish for more wishes. That rule exists for a reason."
I blinked. "Reincarnation? Like… isekai?"
"If you insist on using that term, yes. But I prefer 'multiversal relocation.' Sounds less like a light novel title."
I crossed my arms. "Okay, hold up. This feels like a joke. A floating orb offering me a second life? I was expecting some old dude with a beard or a hot goddess or something. Not a… a glowing ping-pong ball."
The orb went silent for a moment.
Then it pulsed hard.
"I can read your thoughts, you know. And for the record, I am several billion years older than your entire species. So maybe show some respect for your elders, junior."
I snorted. "You sound like my old math teacher."
"Your math teacher was a mediocre mortal. I am literally the reason gravity exists in "Over 9,000" universes."
"…Fine. Fair enough."
I pulled up the chair that definitely wasn't there a second ago and sat down. If this was real, and honestly, what did I have to lose?... I might as well play along.
"So any world? Any wish?"
"Any world within reason. And any wish that does not immediately break the cosmic balance. I'm not sending you into a world as an omnipotent god. That's boring for everyone."
"Right, right. No omnipotence."
I leaned back, thinking.
Worlds flashed through my head. One Piece? Too chaotic. Too many people with broken powers. Bleach? Cool, but Soul Reaper stuff seemed like a pain in the ass. Dragon Ball? Absolutely not. I'd get blown up in the first arc.
Then it hit me.
Naruto.
Not too dangerous. I mean, yeah, there were giant demon foxes and reality-warping aliens, but the power system was solid. Chakra. Ninjutsu. A world where hard work actually mattered. Plus, I'd grown up on that series. I knew the lore, the characters, the plot twists.
If I played my cards right…
"I'm going to the Naruto world."
The orb bobbed. "Predictable, but acceptable. And your wish?"
I thought for a long moment.
I couldn't ask for something broken. ROB already made that clear. But I needed something that would give me an edge. Something that would let me grow without instantly making me a target.
Then I remembered one of my favorite series.
That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime.
Rimuru's skill. The one that started it all.
"I want 'Unique Skill: Great Sage.'"
The orb went still.
"Hm. The analytical engine from the Tensura series. Interesting choice..."
"I'm not stupid. Raw power is nice, but if I don't know how to use it, I'm dead. Great Sage can analyze, calculate, and guide me. It's not broken on its own, but combined with the right training…"
"It becomes a cheat skill. I see." The orb shimmered. "Very well. I approve. But just to be clear, this is the Unique version, not the Ultimate Skill: Lord of Wisdom Raphael. You get the basics. The skill will evolve based on your own growth, but it starts at square one."
"Will evolve later on?, That's all I need."
"Then we have a deal."
"the first evolution will occur after 10 years, and the second evolution will take half the time of the first."
"Noice."
The orb pulsed brighter. A warmth spread through my chest, and I felt something click into place. Like a switch flipping in my brain.
A voice echoed in my mind. Calm. Mechanical. Almost emotionless.
« Unique Skill: Great Sage acquired. Initializing… »
And then silence.
I grinned. "Hell yeah."
"Don't celebrate yet. You're about to be reborn. And I should warn you, your parents in this new life? They won't make it. Mother dies in childbirth. Father dies shortly after. You'll be an orphan from day one."
My grin faded.
"…Seriously?"
"The world you chose has rules. I don't control them. I'm just the delivery service." The orb floated closer. "You still want this?"
I thought about it.
Loneliness was nothing new. I'd spent eighteen years with no one. What was another lifetime of it? Besides, in this new world, I'd have a chance to change things. To fight. To grow.
To finally live.
"Yeah. I still want this."
The orb pulsed one last time.
"Then good luck, Ryū. Try not to die too fast."
The void shattered.
---
Pain.
That was the first thing I felt. Not the cold emptiness of death, but real, raw, agonizing pressure. Like my entire body was being squeezed through a tube made of fire.
I tried to scream, but nothing came out.
I tried to open my eyes, but everything was too bright.
And then... air.
Cold, sharp air rushing into my lungs for the first time. My lungs? I had lungs? I was...
Crying.
Not from sadness. Just… instinct. The automatic wail of a newborn.
I heard voices. Muffled. Distant.
"A boy… healthy…"
"Quiet. The Kyūbi attack is still ongoing. We need to move him to safety."
I tried to focus, but my brain was mush. Everything was sensations. Light. Sound. The feeling of rough fabric wrapped around my tiny body.
And then I heard it.
Not the voice of Great Sage. Not yet. Something else.
A scream.
A woman's scream, cut short.
And then a man's voice, hoarse with grief:
"No… no, no, no... please!"
My mother.
She was gone.
I felt myself being lifted, passed into someone else's arms. A medic-nin, probably. The grip was steady but rushed.
"We have to go. The Hokage is!... the fox is... we need to evacuate all newborns to the shelter!"
Footsteps. Running. Chaos all around.
I tried to hold onto consciousness, but my newborn body was failing. The world was spinning. The sounds of explosions and screams faded into a dull roar.
The last thing I heard before darkness took me again was a single sentence, muttered by the medic holding me:
"Another orphan. On the night of the Nine-Tails attack. Damn it all…"
And then I was out.
---
Unique Skill: Great Sage has completed initialization.
« Awaiting user instructions »
« User unconscious. Entering standby mode »
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END CHAPTER 1
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NOTE: CHECK OUT THE AUXILIARY CHAPTER FOR FMC VOTING!!!
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A/N: I will be uploading around 6-7 chapters today to reach the 15k words mark.