[Sunagakure, Lands of Wind]
Sunagakure.
One of the five major hidden villages, arguably the weakest economically.
Most people reincarnating in the world of Naruto would find themselves in Konoha in fanfictions, but this was not the case for Seok. He was born as an orphan. His parents were civilians who died in the First Shinobi War. This was one of the worst settings to be found in.
Yet, he could not complain.
He was better than most.
Wars were unsettling, horrific, and left generational hatred behind. This was common sense, known throughout the world. However, people often underestimated the backlash of those wars, perhaps due to their frequency.
After twelve years in this world, Seok realised he was part of the lucky ones. As poor as Sunagakure was, he received enough allowance to go through his childhood and the academy without going hungry. Sure, there were difficult times.
Times he wished he had been reborn in a wealthier village.
But then he stopped blaming his fate. He started pouring in efforts. As much as a civilian shinobi could, that is. He had a major weakness.
His bloodline.
In the world of shinobi, bloodline was similar to a template. With the same amount of effort, a civilian shinobi would only achieve a tenth of what a noble clan heir would be able to do. And that was an understatement.
[Seok - Level 17 Sunagakure Genin
Experience: 1 865 / 3 200
Attributes:
Strength - 27 (+3) | Agility - 25 | Vitality - 30 (+2) | Chakra - 12 | Chakra Control - 26 (+5)
Perks: Kenjutsu Talent [C] (Kenjutsu profiency rises 100% faster), Civilian Shinobi [D] (Chakra control increased by 5, EXP requirements doubled)
Genjutsu: Desert Hell View [D] (90), Sand Dream [D] (89)
Ninjutsu: Wind Shuriken [D] (56)
Taijutsu: Sunagakure General Corps Taijutsu [E] (42)
Kenjutsu: Sunagakure Kenjutsu Style [C] (112), First form:Mirage Draw [D] (85), Second form: Scorpion Thrust [D] (68), Third form: Wind Barrage [D] (45)
Items: Sunagakure Headband [D] (+2 Vitality), Sand Goggles [D] (+3 Strength), Iron Katana [E]]
The merchant's caravan had just vanished over the dunes, their coin already spent in Seok's mind on rations and training scrolls. He exhaled, rolling his shoulders. The last mission's EXP had pushed him to 1,865 EXP, so close to Level 18, yet so far. His perk, closer to a curse, Civilian Shinobi [D] ensured he grew slowly.
Double the grind. Half the respect.
At first, he thought he inherited some overpowered system that broke any limit he may have.
Little did he know, for it just raised them beyond what was thinkable.
He looked at his teammates.
[Ryu Chikamatsu - Lv. 21 Genin]
[Yuki Shikabane - Lv. 32 Chunin]
Ryu was a puppeteer from the Chikamatsu Clan, one of the three noble clans of Sunagakure. Shanon, the Second Kazekage, had founded this clan. Unlike others, it was not bound by blood, but by skills. At this point, the puppet brigade was not yet created, and all puppeteers belonged to this clan.
His second teammate was Yuki Shikabane. Blonde hair, crimson eyes. Ninjutsu specialist, with the rare bloodline release Blood Manipulation. Suiton ninjutsu specialists could not thrive in a desertic region like the lands of wind. One clan managed to overcome this environmental barrier, using their own blood as a catalyst.
These two clans did not exist in the series. Like many others, they probably went extinct in the second shinobi war, where countless sunagakure shinobi would lose their lives. Seok had ambition to change Sunagakure's fate. It had been his ambition since day 1, and it had only gone stronger as time passed.
12 years later, he had achieved little.
95 D-rank, 12 C-rank missions completed. Yet still a genin of the Sunagakure General Corps.
As a civilian shinobi, he had worked harder than everyone. In the mornings, in the evenings. Sleepless nights too, where he would study general knowledge. His only perk: Kenjutsu Talent, saved him from an ordinary future and allowed him to enter the elite class, where most clan members studied.
It allowed him to be paired with Ryu and Yuki.
As a civilian shinobi, Seok was the dead last in ninjutsu. His lack of funds also led him to create bets in the class, almost getting excluded many times by the teachers. His greed for money was known to all.
As a puppeteer, Ryu was the dead last in taijutsu. On top of that, he was dumb as a rock, if you excluded engineering, that is. Rather than being dumb, one could say he was obsessed with puppets, disregarding everything else.
As for Yuki, she was a genius. The second strongest of their class, and a ninjutsu talent. But there was not a single shinobi in the class who did not beg not to be teamed up with her, Seok included. She was as arrogant as she was strong, her cruelty unsettling.
Some said her bloodline was cursed.
Others said her crimson eyes brought bad luck.
Two years later, however, Seok had grown accustomed to their companionship. Ryu had become a reliable puppeteer, with two original creations he could wield at the same time, a great feat for a genin.
Yuki had managed to defeat a chunin in combat in their last C-rank mission, proving her overwhelming strength.
As for Seok himself, he focused his efforts on kenjutsu.
Their efforts paid off.
They were considered an Elite Genin Cell in the Sunagakure General Corps. With this title came freedom, as they were allowed to choose their own missions, be it patrols or investigations.
More importantly, they were one of the only two genin teams from the elite class not to have a lost member. Despite the first shinobi war ending nearly 12 years ago, the tensions were high. He still had roughly 8 years before the second shinobi war, but the casualty rate was just too high.
This was the hell he was reborn in.
Sunagakure hell.