Chapter 2: Another Sudden Death?
Gojo Yoru, age six, transmigrator.
A sudden death had transformed him from a twenty-five-year-old adult into a newborn infant in an instant.
Thanks to the Japanese language elective he'd taken in high school and his part-time work with fan translation groups during college, Yoru had recognized exactly what kind of world he'd been reborn into the moment he could understand speech.
Not some unfamiliar fantasy realm, but a world where the entire universe apparently spoke Japanese—the anime world. Specifically, one of the Big Three shonen manga: Naruto.
Learning he'd transmigrated into the Naruto universe would have been exciting enough. Discovering he'd been born into a family with no bloodline limit? That realization had felt like the sky was falling.
The Big Three shonen series were often called "the bloodline manga" for good reason. Each protagonist started as seemingly ordinary, only to be revealed as the world's chosen child by the end.
Over a thousand chapters of the Rubber-Rubber Fruit suddenly becoming the Human-Human Fruit, Model: Nika—could you even believe that plot twist?
Before the Rubber Fruit's true nature was revealed, Naruto had been criticized as the worst offender of bloodline superiority among the Big Three.
This world operated on bloodline supremacy. The entire story was essentially a chronicle of the Otsutsuki clan's family disputes played out across generations.
No matter how talented a shinobi might be in ninjutsu, there was a ceiling. The Second Tsuchikage Mu and the Third Raikage A represented the absolute pinnacle of what non-bloodline shinobi could achieve—the peak of the Five Kage.
Only those connected to the Otsutsuki bloodline, or those who became the Nine-Tails jinchuriki and earned the complete beast's acknowledgment, had any hope of reaching the realm beyond Kage-level power.
Being born as a civilian without a bloodline limit was already a catastrophic start. Then, at age three, his father—a well-rounded jonin—and his mother—a tokubetsu jonin—along with their entire squad, had all been killed in action during a large-scale mission.
Yoru's world had gone dark.
His backing, his connections—all gone in an instant.
By all rights, this kind of "star of calamity" opening should have been the beginning of a protagonist's journey.
Yet from his parents' deaths until now, Yoru had detected no sign of a cheat ability or system.
If not for one sliver of possibility for turning things around, he would have seriously considered ending it all to see if he could transmigrate again.
Yoru opened a locked chest and retrieved a small red scroll from beneath a pile of jutsu scrolls filling the bottom. He channeled chakra into the seal on the scroll's surface. The kanji for "seal" slowly faded, and he unrolled it to reveal a blank interior.
Biting his thumb until it bled, Yoru smeared blood across the scroll's surface. His hands flashed through seals before he pressed both palms against the scroll and called out: "Release!"
With a puff of white smoke filling the dim basement, the blood on the scroll vanished. In its place appeared several stacked notebooks and a pencil case.
As he did routinely, Yoru sat cross-legged before the scroll and picked up the topmost notebook.
The pages were filled with a cipher combining Pinyin romanization and Cantonese—even though this world had Japanese, English, and kanji, no one could decipher this code unless they literally read Yoru's memories from his brain.
Yoru rapidly flipped through the notebook, reinforcing his memories to avoid losing his greatest advantage as a transmigrator.
"Main Story Timeline," "Important Characters' Personalities and Histories," "Complete Akatsuki Member Profiles," "Approximate Chronicle of Events," "Estimates for Which Year Various Plot Events Occur..."
As he finished reviewing each journal, Yoru picked up the final notebook while his other hand retrieved a pencil from the case.
He continued reading the notes inside, though this time much more slowly, his gaze contemplative as he organized and processed information.
The title page of this journal read: "On the Possibility of Defying Fate!"
The following contents represented a comprehensive strategy guide Yoru had created specifically for himself, leveraging his transmigrator advantages—knowledge of the plot and deep understanding of the original characters.
"Shortcuts to Obtaining Status and Resources!"
"Sharingan and Hashirama Cells Balance Each Other—Guaranteed Survival as a Wood Release Experiment Subject!"
"Becoming a Jinchuriki and Crafting the Child of Prophecy Identity—Can This Earn the Tailed Beasts' Favor?"
"Optimal Timing to Steal the Rinnegan!"
Whenever inspiration struck, Yoru would refine or modify this strategy guide. Today was no exception.
As he reviewed the pages, he periodically erased sections of Pinyin and text, replacing them with new content.
Upon reaching the blank pages, he wrote and erased new strategies repeatedly.
After multiple revisions, when he could think of no better additions, Yoru finally closed the notebook. He returned the pencil to its case and sealed both items back into the storage scroll.
Emerging from the basement, he found night had fallen. The clock on the living room wall showed 7:52 PM.
Rather than simply filling his ravenous stomach with whatever was convenient, Yoru retrieved ingredients from the refrigerator and prepared a proper meal—not lavish, but nutritionally balanced.
After dinner, he went out for a walk to avoid his solitary lifestyle drawing the village's attention.
His "cold and aloof school tough guy" persona at the academy already made him stand out enough. Overdoing the isolation could backfire badly.
After his walk, Yoru did some light housekeeping, took a quick shower, and went to bed.
The time was approaching nine o'clock.
Early to bed, early to rise. Three balanced meals with proper nutrition. Having experienced sudden death once before, Yoru treasured his body in this life and knew exactly how to maintain it properly.
This was the primary reason he stood taller than Minato and possessed superior stamina.
The next morning at six o'clock sharp, the alarm pulled Yoru from sleep.
After washing up and changing clothes, he began the first morning run of his summer vacation, returning home drenched in sweat at eight o'clock.
Cooking, bathing, reading... Once he'd completed his routine, Yoru began refining chakra.
Yoru's physical condition ranked at the top tier among his peers. With both parents having been jonin-level shinobi, his natural talent actually qualified him as a minor prodigy—just nowhere near the monstrous geniuses with cheat-like abilities.
His chakra reserves far exceeded normal children his age.
Combined with the inheritance his parents had left behind, if he didn't die prematurely, Yoru would definitely become a well-rounded jonin in the future.
But that would be his limit.
To reach elite jonin or Kage-level strength, he'd need to master at least one S-rank ultimate technique.
Yet even the Five Kage were nothing more than slightly larger cannon fodder before those who transcended Kage-level power.
In the eyes of Six Paths-level beings, they were merely inferior creatures.
Yoru refused to settle for such limitations. He would defy fate itself.
But to defy fate required having the strength to seize and claim those crucial opportunities when they appeared.
The greater his ambitions, the greater Yoru's current motivation.
The first term's vacation was long—over a month.
Throughout that entire month, Yoru maintained an unwavering routine: early to bed and early to rise. Mornings dedicated to physical training, reading, and chakra refinement. Afternoons spent practicing shinobi fundamentals. Evenings in the basement organizing his strategy guides. Asleep before nine o'clock without fail. He operated with the discipline of a programmed machine.
During this period, Yoru even celebrated his birthday alone.
In this life, he'd been born on August 18th, Year 24 of Konoha.
On that day, Gojo Yoru turned six years old.
Also on that day, his body underwent a massive change.
"What... what's happening?!"
Yoru had lain down before nine o'clock as usual, but tonight he couldn't fall asleep no matter how hard he tried.
His vitality was abundant, his body still growing—he should have drifted off easily.
Yet tonight, Yoru tossed and turned restlessly in bed, his mind growing increasingly agitated rather than settling down.
Past midnight, he noticed his body temperature rising, though it wasn't a fever.
His heartbeat accelerated, pounding like a drum in his chest.
That sensation—both foreign and hauntingly familiar—made Yoru's eyes fly open wide in disbelief.
"Arrhythmia? How is this possible? I'm so young, and I maintain perfect sleep habits—how could I be showing signs of sudden cardiac death?!"