"I'm sorry." He panted, sweating, both from fatigue and anxiety.
Standing before him were two people that he trusted; two people that, despite their bloody backgrounds, were people that knew for a fact, wouldn't stab him in the back the moment he turned around. And in a world filled to the brim with shinobi, loyalty wasn't that easy to come by.
Both were from the same clan. Both shared the same dark hair. Both her males. Both had piercing red eyes that could properly observe anything. Both of them were prodigal sons of the Uchiha. Both of them were ANBU.
Their names, were Itachi Uchiha and Shisui Uchiha. Both still young.
A pale blonde haired kid, no older than seven, stopped before them and wiped the sweat off his forehead. He gave them a satisfactory grin and raised a finger up to his lips, telling both of them to shush.
"Don't tell the old man Hokage about this. And don't tell granny Biwako I was here either!" He told them both, leaning towards the side as he did while moving his other arm to hide the scroll he had in his grasp.
Shisui smiled, a twinkle of amusement was visible in his gaze.
"Don't worry. We won't tell them, right Itachi ?" He looked at his partner, the prodigal son of Fugaku Uchiha and the older brother of Sasuke Uchiha. He was the youngest ANBU ever and the person who would later massacre the entire Uchiha clan.
Itachi smiled at the boy and said, "Of course. Your secret is safe with us."
"Thanks!"
The boy then disappeared from sight, his body flickering before completing disappearing.
"Ah, he's gone already. And he body flickered to." Shisui commented, shaking his head but he couldn't hide the pride in his tone as he spoke.
"Naturally. That boy has been a prodigy for as long as I've known him."
"Heh! So I've heard." Shisui huffed when he heard Itachi praise the boy that had essentially just stolen a scroll that was filled with information on how to use certain ninjutsu techniques.
"Ryuma Senju. The last remaining Senju within the Village Hidden in the Leaf. That's common knowledge, at least. The public isn't aware of his parentage. He's the son of Tsunade Senju and Jiraiya, two of the Legendary Sannin. And I need not mention the Wood Release..." Shisui laughed as he spoke about Ryuma freely, his best friend smiling back at him.
Shisui turned towards Itachi while laughing. "Did you know some of the higher ups actually believe he may be the reincarnation of Hashirama Senju ?"
Itachi looked at him in mock amusement. "Reincarnation of the famed First Hokage — the God of Shinobi ? Don't be ridiculous..."
Meanwhile a Ryuma has body flickered to a different place, surrounded by walls on all sides. She flicked his hair away from his face and smiled, sweat trickling down his face.
'Well, they're not wrong about about the reincarnation part. After all, I really was reincarnated into the world of Naruto. And surprisingly, I had all my memories intact. Normally, you're supposed to loose your memories after you reincarnate, but it seems I kept mine!'
Ryuma was a child, barely seven years old. He had long blonde hair, lustrous and well kept. He also inherited his caramel brown eyes from his mother. He had some small red marking below the lateral edges of his eyes, near the edge of his eye sockets above his zygomatic bone.
At hindsight, he clearly inherited most of his looks from his mother and not much from his father.
'I'm not the reincarnation of Hashirama though. That's Naruto, not me! He's the second reincarnation of Ashura. I'm just a guy that got reincarnated into the world of Naruto, as a character that didn't exist in the original story.'
•••
He remembered the first feeling he registered after his, what he assumed was, death. Because he was absolutely certain that he has died and he was simply waiting for his consciousness to fade.
He wasn't aware if there was an afterlife or not. He assumed he would just fade away. And if reincarnation was a real thing ? Well, his memories will be cleansed so he'd still fade away anyways. Or he'll life and afterlife in heaven... Or hell. He had no idea at this point.
He was awake, conscious even. His eyes were closed though. His tried to open them, with great difficultly. But opening his eyes didn't allow him to see any better, as it was all pitch black. It was like there was no light at all. Additionally, it was warm and wet. The environment was dark and uncomfortable. He felt claustrophobic, because there really wasn't much space to move around.
Based on his body position, it was safe to say he was curled up. And he was in some kind of liquid-like environment. It was wet, warm and sticky.
He couldn't see. He couldn't hear anything, and whatever he could was muffled. The only eal sound he could hear and also feel for some reason, was a familiar yet peculiar rhythmic booming. He couldn't open his mouth at all, so no tasting. He couldn't move much either, it was as if he had no strength in his body. He was floating in some kind of liquid, but that's all he could feel.
Man... This sucks...!
If this is the afterlife, he'd rather kill himself. It was boring and dark. Of course, there was still a chance that his was hell and he was cursed to suffer eternal loneliness....
...he really hoped that wasn't the case. Eternal loneliness sounded like the worst possible hell. No light, no sounds, no movement, no body, no people; only darkness.
'I REALLY hope it's not that. I will break down, cry and go fucking insane if it is...!'
He also noticed that he couldn't stay awake for much. He was constantly falling asleep and was unable to actually formulate complex thought. Occasionally, he was able to stretch and kick his legs, but that's it.
...
He had a small theory, but it was an absurd one. It would only hold true, if reincarnation was a real thing.
After what felt like an eternity, he finally felt movement. Not from himself, but from the walls around him. He felt contractions and squeezes, and he immediately knew what was going on.
The outside was just as dark as the inside, because his eyes were closed. He still has sludge on his body, uncomfortable. Also, it was cold. He shivered, not used to the cold after the blanket of warmth he was just pushed out of.
'Did I just get freaking birthed?!'
It sounded far-fetched, but if reincarnation is real, then it would make sense. But at the same time, it also doesn't make sense. He's supposed to have his memory cleansed so he can restart. Did God forget to do his thing ?
He then got spanked. He also felt his weight shift, focusing more on his head. He must have been turned and gently spanked. He let out an involuntary wail. It didn't last long, but it happened.
'If I was actually just birthed, then I must be a baby. It also means I'm not crying, so it makes sense that doctors would try to check if I'm alive by making me cry. I need that first breath, after all.'
Since he already knew how to breathe, taking oxygen in and out of his body wasn't hard to do. They even checked his reaction by "fake dropping" him. He inhaled but he decided to make sounds and "cry" to make himself seem normal, and also to remove the fluid from his lungs. And he screamed, all right.
He was able to open his eyes in a bit, but it was so bright that he didn't even bother. It would take some time before his vision actually registered.
He could vaguely make out the shape of his arm though. It was fat, chubby and baby-like. It was exactly like the hand of a baby, and that is exactly what he was.
He felt himself being held by something. A grasp that was as strong as it was warm. As firm as it was gentle. He felt himself getting taken from one pair of hands to another. He felt that warmth increase, both outside and inside him. He felt the flow of the warmth within his own body. He felt warmth flow into his body from the fingers of the person holding him.
The heat was incredible, but not unbearable. It was surprisingly warm.
'Will I actually have a parent this time ?' He wondered.
In his past life, he was an orphan. Not that he had a sad or tragic life or anything. In fact, his life wasn't really bad at all. He just didn't have any parents, so he matured faster than a normal kid would. He grew up in an orphanage and he learned the necessary skills to live by himself. Of course, being lonely left a gap, a void that he wanted to fill. He had friends, but the lack of family still affected him.
That's why he buried himself in fiction. Books, anime and manga. Movies and shows. He would learn new things for fun and spent most of his time online.
It was the main reason why he dreaded the thought of eternal loneliness in hell.
It's also the reason why he enjoyed certain shows like Naruto, which showed what loneliness looked like pretty well.
But enough about that. He was focusing on the now, and he currently didn't know where he was. He did feel like he was being held though, so perhaps he was being held by his mother ?
It was warm and comfortable, very soft. He instinctively moved in and snuggled closely, to what he was almost certain was his mother. The softness and the warmth made him feel sleepy. That and his own newborn brain.
He felt totally sluggish and he even took a small nap too. When he woke up, he was still in someones grasp. He felt their fingers gently rubbing against his face, making his whine. He could already tell that she was smiling while doing this.
"Do you want to name him, Tsunade ?" Another voice said from nearby.
It made him freeze. Tsunade ? It that the name of his mother ? Tsunade ? He's heard of a "Tsunade" before, and if his mind is correct about his assumption, he feels only dread.
'Are you seriously doing this to me god ?'
He looked up, eyes fully open, to register the image of his mother. She was beautiful and young. Blonde hair fell down her beautiful face, messy and disheveled. She looked tired but her eyes held a tenderness one could only see in a mother. Her smile was so gentle and so filled with love.
"What ? You're letting me name him ?" She asked the outsider, surprised by it.
"You gave birth to him, didn't you ? Also, that night of ours was completely my fault. So go ahead; you can name him."
He tried to turn his head around so he could get a good look at the man that was speaking, but he couldn't. Their voice sounded familiar, but he didn't know.
Tsunade smiled and brought her baby up to her face, gently kissing him in the forehead.
"You're name will be Ryuma. Ryuma Senju."
That did not exist... Tsunade never had any kids! Who did she have a child with ? Dan ? No, that's not possible.
He looked around, finally able to watch his surroundings after being lifted up more. He noticed some more people. An old man and woman, and most importantly, a tall white haired male with red markings on his face.
That was definitely Jiraiya...!
Wait...
There's no way.
Jiraiya walked up to him, held Tsunade's shoulder and also started to play with Ryuma.
Was Ryuma's father supposed to be Jiraiya?!!
How did he managed to father Ryuma, with Tsunade no less?! Considering their appearances, it's safe to say that he's got years until the cannon story begins. How did Jiraiya manage to bag Tsunade ? Wasn't she filled with guilt after losing her lover and her younger brother ? What could he have possibly done to make her do it with him ?
Did they get fucking drunk one night ? Is that how he was conceived?!
"He's adorable. He looks mostly like you though." Jiraiya commented, gently nudging his son's head while smiling.
"Well, he's got those red marks under his eyes too. But you're right. He did inherit my looks." A proud smile worked its way up her face and she declared, "That only means he'll grow up to be as beautiful as me!"
This made Jiraiya chuckle.
"Sure, he will."