3 Chapter 3 : Starting Anew

[ Konoha Orphanage ]

A three-year-old boy wakes up. Looking at the clock which says 6 am, he realized he woke up a bit early.

This is Shirou. He has no last name.

'I wonder what happened after my passing.' He thought.

Last year Shirou regained the memories of his past life. The memories are not perfect as some minor bits and pieces are missing. But it doesn't affect him in any way.

Shirou discarded his previous life name as he hated it. It was a reminder of the hell he lived in. He thought about his decision to end his life. He does not regret it one bit. He thought about suicide dozens of times even before his jump. But the faces of his parents, siblings, and few friends were the only reason he didn't do it. But as time went on he was growing tired. He could never find any enjoyment other than fantasy. Finally, nothing mattered anymore.

'I hope everyone managed to move on. I was just not worth it.'

Shirou had been terrified for the first one and a half months when his memories reawakened. The change in surroundings and his body becoming a weak 3-year-old were minor issues. But the major ones were when he managed to look outside the nearby window. A significant distance away was a mountain with 3 human faces carved on it.

Shirou immediately realized this was the world of Naruto. He began suffering from constant fear and nightmares. His thoughts began running wild generating possible bad ending scenarios. Like a Yamanaka ninja reading his mind due to some unknown reasons, he then becomes an experimental subject. Or Danzo recruits and brainwashes him, applying curse seals and turning him into a mindless root ninja. He ends up dying in the Nine Tails crossfire. Or some random spy from another village takes him hostage or worse kills him for whatever reasons.

The wardens were also concerned regarding Shirou as he seemed to suddenly start crying sometimes or wake up not being able to sleep. They called in doctors to check on him but they did not find anything that could cause the fear and sleeplessness. They gave him calming medicines and decided to wait and see.

Luckily as time went on the symptoms became lesser and lesser as Shirou started coming to terms with his situation. The wardens and doctors were relieved when Shirou's symptoms completely disappeared.

'The orphanage is located on the outskirts of Konoha. I would have felt safer if it was a bit closer to the center. But then again with people like Danzo and Orochimaru, being away from the village center is not that bad.' He thought.

During the previous days, Shirou had been investigating the situation in Konoha. He had been listening to the conversations of the wardens, civilians and the occasional ninjas. He found out that it is currently the period of the third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen. The Second Shinobi World War ended not too long ago. This meant that the Third war was not far away.

'I hope that I won't be conscripted. War.. I have only read and seen pictures about it in my past life. I never thought one day I would most likely find myself in one.'

'Why couldn't I reincarnate in anime worlds like Pokemon.'

'This world does not even have anime. While video games and Television exist, they are expensive and not advanced enough.'

'I won't be bored if I could learn how to use chakra. Having superpowers was an obsession that never left me no matter how old I became.'

'I need to get stronger as well. I can't be lazy like my past life. This is going to be the hardest part. I was not able to make consistent progress on most things as after the initial excitement I started to lose motivation. Only entertainment seemed to not have this problem.'

'I never liked the idea of wish granting in reincarnation stories. Retaining memories were ok but powers were... I don't like the concept of being given powers I didn't earn or create with my own hands.'

'But I am conflicted because strength in this world is mainly determined by genetics and bloodline.'

Shirou goes to the bathroom to freshen up.

After that, he took a look at the mirror. He chuckles.

'To think that my second life would be as Shirou Emiya.' He thinks while smiling.