Heavy rain poured over the city of Tokyo on a quiet night. In a small third-floor apartment, an old man sat alone before a brightly glowing television. His face was wrinkled, his hair had gone white, and his hands trembled as he held the remote.
His name was Takeshi Yamamoto, sixty-seven years old. His entire life, he had never married, never had children, and barely had any friends. All he had were the anime, manga, and figures that filled every corner of his apartment. Especially Naruto—the anime that had been his companion for decades.
"Hah... this episode again," he muttered quietly while coughing dryly. His chest felt tight. The doctors had already warned him that his heart was very weak. Any day could be his last.
On the television screen, his favorite episode was playing. The episode where little Naruto sat alone on a park swing, watching with envy as other children played with their parents. That scene always made him sad.
"Naruto... that poor child," Takeshi whispered. Tears ran down his wrinkled cheeks. "If only I could be there... if only I could protect him..."
Takeshi knew it was impossible. Naruto was just a fictional character. The shinobi world was just someone's imagination. But deep inside his lonely heart, he had always wished he could be part of that world. A world where friendship, family, and struggle held genuine meaning.
Suddenly, his chest erupted in sharp pain. The remote fell from his hand. His breath came in gasps.
"Ah... it seems... this is the time..." he said with a fading voice.
His clouded eyes fixed on the television screen. Little Naruto on that swing was still barely visible. Takeshi smiled faintly.
"If only... there was a second life... I would want... to protect you..."
Darkness. Total darkness swallowed him whole.
Takeshi Yamamoto closed his eyes for the last time in that world.
Warmth.
That was the first thing he felt. A gentle, comfortable warmth, like an embrace he had never experienced his entire life.
Sound.
He heard vague voices. But not the Japanese he knew. More like... shouting? Moaning?
Light.
His eyes—or whatever he had now—began catching light. Blurry, bright, blinding.
"UWAAAAAA!!!"
Wait. Was that his own voice? But why did it sound like... a baby?
"Congratulations, Kushina-san! It's a boy! Healthy and strong!" A woman's voice rang out happily.
"K-Kenji... his name is Kenji..." Another voice, weak but filled with tender love. The voice of a mother who had just given birth.
Kenji? Who is Kenji?
Slowly, consciousness began returning. But not the consciousness of sixty-seven-year-old Takeshi Yamamoto. This was a different awareness. Fresher, clearer, but also smaller.
I... was reborn?
Shock. Confusion. Disbelief. All those emotions swirled together in his tiny new mind.
Several days passed. Or weeks? Time was difficult to track as a baby. But gradually, memories from his previous life began merging with his new awareness. Takeshi—no, Kenji now—began to understand his situation.
He had been reborn. Reincarnated. Into a new world.
And when he first saw his mother's face clearly—long red hair, a beautiful face with distinctive marks on her cheeks—his small heart stopped for a moment.
Kushina Uzumaki.
Impossible. This can't be possible.
But when he saw the blond-haired man with gentle blue eyes beside her—Minato Namikaze—every last shred of doubt vanished.
I'm... in the world of Naruto?
The second shock was more overwhelming than the first. Every piece of knowledge about this world flooded through his mind. Konoha. Shinobi. The Kyuubi. The wars. The Akatsuki. Everything he had watched for decades had now become real.
And the most crucial fact of all—he was the child of Kushina and Minato.
Which meant...
"Kenji, look! This is your little brother!" Kushina's cheerful voice snapped him out of his daze.
Kenji—now roughly four years old and already able to walk and speak—stared at the tiny blond-haired baby cradled in his mother's arms.
Blue eyes. Faint lines on the cheeks. A small smile even as a newborn.
Naruto.
Kenji's heart pounded hard. A strange wave of emotion washed through him. This was his brother. His own flesh and blood. Naruto Uzumaki, who he had only ever seen on a screen, was now right in front of him. Real. Warm. Alive.
"Kenji, you have to protect your little brother, okay? Be a good older brother," said Minato while gently ruffling Kenji's hair.
Kenji nodded slowly. His eyes never left little Naruto.
I will protect you. Whatever it takes.
But that happiness didn't last long.
The village alarm screamed through a night that should have been peaceful. Kenji, who had been sleeping, was jolted awake by a deafening explosion.
"THE KYUUBI IS ATTACKING!"
That shout made his blood run cold.
No. This is too soon. Naruto was just born!
Their apartment shook violently. Dust rained down from the ceiling. Kenji—still only four years old—ran out of his room.
"MOTHER! FATHER!" he screamed in panic.
Kushina came running toward him, holding baby Naruto tightly against her chest. Her face was pale but she tried to appear strong.
"Kenji! Listen to mother! You have to run! Follow the evacuation!" she said with a trembling voice.
"No! I don't want to leave mother and Naruto!" Kenji shouted, tears streaming down his face.
Minato appeared in his Hokage cloak. His face was grave, but his eyes radiated a deep sadness.
"Kenji," he called while kneeling before his eldest son. "Father and mother have to go. Father has to protect this village. But father needs you to protect Naruto."
"I-I'm... I'm not strong, father!" Kenji cried. He knew what was going to happen. He knew how this night would end.
Minato embraced Kenji tightly. "You are stronger than you know, Kenji. Father believes in you."
Kushina embraced Kenji too, kissing his forehead. "Mother loves you both. So very much..."
Then they were gone. Leaving Kenji alone in the middle of the chaos.
Explosion after explosion rocked Konoha. The sky glowed red from the Kyuubi's chakra. Buildings crumbled. Screaming filled the air.
Kenji ran. He didn't know where to go. His instinct said only one thing: survive.
In the middle of the panic, something appeared before him. A transparent screen, glowing blue, floating in the air.
[SYSTEM: CRAFTING MASTER — ACTIVATED]
[Welcome, Master: Kenji Uzumaki]
[Emergency Mission: Survive the Kyuubi Attack]
[Reward: Basic Blueprint — Tactical Combat Knife]
[Ability Unlocked: Weapons Craftsman Level 1]
Kenji stared frozen at the screen. In the middle of chaos, death, and destruction—something impossible had appeared.
A system. Like in the isekai novels he used to read.
But he had no time to think. A massive explosion went off not far from where he stood. Rubble rained down from collapsing buildings.
"NARUTO!"
His instinct screamed. Somehow he knew—Naruto was there. In the middle of the wreckage.
Kenji ran with everything he had. His small legs stumbled again and again, but he didn't care. His knees bled, his hands were cut, but he kept running.
There. Among the still-falling rubble. A baby basket lying on its side.
Naruto was crying loudly.
Without thinking, Kenji leaped. His small body covered the basket completely. Debris rained onto his back. It hurt. It hurt so much.
But he didn't move. He protected his little brother with his own body.
"Ugh... Naruto... don't... cry..." Kenji whispered with labored breath.
Slowly, the rubble stopped falling. A momentary silence.
Kenji lifted his head. His back was in tremendous pain. Possibly broken. But Naruto... Naruto was safe.
[Mission Complete: Survived the Kyuubi Attack]
[Reward Granted: Blueprint — Tactical Combat Knife]
[Bonus Reward: Survival Instinct +10]
The system screen appeared again, but Kenji ignored it. His eyes only saw Naruto, still crying.
"It's okay... your brother is here..." he whispered before consciousness faded away.
When Kenji opened his eyes, he was already in the hospital. His body was bandaged. Pain lived everywhere.
Beside him, a basket held a sleeping Naruto.
A nurse entered. Her face was sorrowful.
"You've woken up, Kenji-kun?" she said gently.
"M-mother... father...?" Kenji asked even though he already knew the answer.
The nurse shook her head slowly. "They... they were heroes. They saved this village."
Tears came again. Kenji cried. He cried for a loss he had known was coming—and yet it still hurt just as deeply.
"But you still have each other," said the nurse while looking at Naruto. "You still have family."
Kenji looked at his little brother. Innocent Naruto. Naruto who didn't know anything. Naruto who would inherit a heavy burden.
Kenji reached out his small hand and touched Naruto's even smaller one.
In my previous life, I could only watch. Now... I will protect you. Whatever it takes.
The system screen appeared again before him.
[New Mission Available: Protect Your Little Brother]
[This is a Lifetime Mission]
[Reward: Unknown]
Kenji smiled faintly even as tears still fell.
"I accept."
[END OF CHAPTER 1]