Afterlife [Naruto Fanfiction]

[Patch 1.1]

I tried focusing my unprepared eyes on our surroundings, trying to pick up details out of the blur that went by, but to no avail. That woman literally left a trail of dust behind when she raced away from that orphanage. And it didn't seem as though she wanted to slow down anytime soon, much to my dismay.

I tried hard to squint my eyes and figure out ANYTHING that was happening around us but, oh well. It wasn't working. The only thing I noticed and instantly made me thoughtful, was the fact that we were jumping above the rooftops of the village. Normal citizens weren't particularly supposed to be able to do that kind of ninja stuff. Sure, I didn't think it was that hard, but still, I saw Naimi all the time at the Orphanage, she shouldn't even have the time to keep her body fit enough for this kind of activity.

Plus, she went at a speed that didn't really match my expectations for a simple caretaker as well. Had she been a shinobi of some sort before she started taking care of children like me?

I got ripped out of my trance when we abruptly stopped, shaking the living hell of my tiny body. I admit, during the months I had been able to build up the slightest muscles. Mainly because I tried to open my chakra coils which put so much strain on my undeveloped body and muscles that they were forced to build up. Also, I had tried to move around as much as I could, but it wasn't exactly much since I was still only around 4-5 months old.

Now that I thought about it, maybe it wasn't the best idea to already blow my cover. I was too young to actually go against whatever people would do to me or wanted me to do. Not to mention that I was apparently born into a Senju body, which meant I was probably the last living Senju besides Tsunade.

Apropos, was it possible that Tsunade didn't leave yet? I still didn't quite know in which time I was reborn. All I could tell was that it wasn't Boruto's time, judging by all the traditional and run-down buildings around us. Now that I could actually see them, BECAUSE NAIMI DIDN'T RUN THRICE THE SPEED MY EYES COULD TAKE.

We stood in the middle of Konoha's busy streets, people were walking and wiggling all around us, some calling out to sell their products, others happily engaged in conversations to catch up on the newest events. I could hear children running around in the mass, laughing and enjoying this sunny day. A warm breeze gently blew above my still developing, silky skin and face, bringing the calming smell of trees and water to my nose.

I was...mesmerized. This village, it seemed so peaceful. So friendly and bright. It had been a long time since I had this melancholic but calm feeling that let my heart feel so incredibly light. And I couldn't help to smile at that. I could see now why Konoha was being claimed as the nicest village of all. If Kirigakure was the bloodiest and deadliest village, Konohagakure indeed was a ray of hope that shone above the horizon. Even though I knew there were many, many deadly shinobi that had their origin in the Village Hidden in the Leaves, it still...it felt like a fairy tale.

But, the more peace emitted from this place the more I began to see how dark the shadow of this village had to be to make it shine so brightly. No wonder all those villains, well rather the people we saw as villains, had so much darkness and anger in them.

The brighter the light, the darker the shadow indeed.

My eyes wandered all over the place, observing our surroundings, until we halted right in front of a huge building. Behind it I could see an even more gigantic wall of stone with three faces in it-

Wait. Only three? Did that mean I-I was born into the times before Naruto? Minato hadn't even been Kage yet? If that was true, then either I was born right into the third shinobi war, or into the second. As much as I knew, Hiruzen became Hokage after Tobirama Senju died in the first shinobi war. Oh jesus, please don't let me be born into the sannins times. I pray to all heavens and hells, please don't. I didn't want to be an old hag when Naruto would be born. And I didn't want to be old enough to be Kakashi's and Itachi's mother.