Rain.
Cold raindrops hit her face, once, and again, as if someone was impatiently patting her cheeks.
Rin’s consciousness drifted and sank in a state of chaos.
Am I… dead?
No, dead people wouldn’t feel cold.
And they definitely wouldn’t feel… hungry.
Rin used all her strength to open her eyelids, and her vision remained blurry for a long time before slowly focusing.
Cold rainwater slid down her cheeks and trickled into her neck, bringing a piercing chill.
She struggled to sit up, pressing her palms against the ground, only to sink into slippery and sticky mud.
Rainwater mixed with dirt, soaking her body thoroughly.
” What the fuck… is going on?
”
Rin opened her mouth, wanting to curse, but found her throat as dry as smoke, and the sound she made was so hoarse and weak that it was almost inaudible.
She lowered her head and looked at her hands.
They were very small and thin hands, covered in dirt, with dirt caked under the fingernails and a few small cuts on the backs of her hands.
This was definitely not the pair of otaku hands that she had used for years to tap on keyboards.
A ridiculous thought popped up in her mind.
Could I have… time-traveled?
Before she had time to think further, a wave of intense dizziness struck.
Her stomach was empty, with nothing inside except stomach acid.
Only then did she realize how weak this body really was; hunger, cold, and hypothermia, all negative statuses were fully stacked.
” Someone is here!
”
A voice came from not far away, carrying a bit of childishness, yet exuding a vigilance that shouldn’t belong to this age.
Rin tried to turn her head to look, and three small figures appeared in her blurry vision.
The rain was too heavy to see clearly, and she could only vaguely recognize that they were three children, two boys and a girl, all wearing ragged clothes and standing in the rain looking at her.
” It’s a girl.
”
One of the orange-haired boys ran over first, squatted down beside Rin, and reached out to test her breathing.
” She’s still alive, but her condition is very bad.
”
A girl?
Who are they talking about?
Rin’s brain was groggy, and she hadn’t reacted yet.
The girl with light blue short hair also walked over.
She squatted down, looking at Rin’s mud-stained face with a hint of pity in her eyes, while the red-haired boy beside stood silently to the side, a pair of peculiar eyes looming faintly in the shadows.
” Yahiko, she’s not going to make it.
”
The blue-haired girl said softly, ” We have to take her back.
”
” But Konan, we can barely even feed ourselves… ”
The orange-haired boy named Yahiko scratched his head, swallowed half of his words, and sighed.
” Forget it, we can’t just stand by and watch someone die.
Nagato, give me a hand.
”
The red-haired boy nodded silently.
Rin wanted to speak, wanted to ask who they were, and wanted to ask what place this was, but when she opened her mouth, she couldn’t even make a single syllable.
Her consciousness was like a kite with a broken string, drifting further and further away, and the last image she saw was the blue-haired girl’s worried look and outstretched hand.
Then, the world plunged into darkness once again.
When she regained consciousness, Rin felt a trace of warmth.
The bonfire baked her skin, dispelling the chill that had seeped into her bone marrow, and the air carried a faint scent of firewood, as well as the aroma of rice porridge.
Rice porridge?
Rin’s stomach convulsed reflexively.
She tried to open her eyes and found herself lying on a crude makeshift bed on the floor, padded with a layer of hay and rags, with a patched coat draped over her body.
Above her head was a rough rock wall, and not far away the bonfire was crackling, casting flickering lights across the entire cave.
I fucking really transmigrated.
Before she had time to digest this information, a face leaned over.
The light blue short hair clung wetly to her cheeks, and the brown pupils looked like two transparent glass beads under the reflection of the firelight.
She was holding a broken bowl containing white porridge so thin that it could almost reflect a person’s silhouette.
” You’re awake?
”
The girl’s voice was very soft, as if she was afraid of startling her.
” How do you feel?
”
Rin opened her mouth, wanting to reply, but found that she didn’t even have the strength to speak, and her chapped lips hurt whenever she moved them.
” Don’t talk for now, drink some porridge.
”
The girl carefully brought the rim of the broken bowl to her lips, ” Drink slowly, don’t choke.
”
The warm rice soup slid down her throat like a warm current melting into all her limbs and bones; although it was so thin that she could hardly taste the rice grains, for this body nearing its limit, it was already a godsend.
Rin drank greedily, and a bowl of porridge quickly bottomed out.
After finishing it, she felt her strength recover a bit, and leaning against the rock wall, she looked around.
The cave was not large, with the bonfire occupying the center, and some worn-out sundries piled in the corner.
The orange-haired Yahiko was squatting at the cave entrance, while the red-haired Nagato sat on the other side of the bonfire with lowered eyes, occasionally sneaking a glance at her.
” Where are you from?
”
The blue-haired girl put down the empty bowl and asked softly, ” Why did you pass out outside alone?
Where are your family?
What about your Village?
”
A series of questions smashed over, and for a moment Rin didn’t know how to answer.
She opened her mouth and said:
” Who… are you guys?
”
The moment the words fell, she was stunned.
This voice was wrong.
It wasn’t the slightly hoarse adult male voice she was familiar with, but a crisp, childish, and soft little girl’s voice.
A female voice.
Rin’s brain crashed for a full three seconds.
She stiffly lowered her head and looked at her own body.
Beneath the ragged collar was a thin, flat, but undeniably female body, with slender arms, small palms, and the imperceptible… on her chest.
A chill rushed straight from the soles of her feet to the crown of her head.
He… no, she… abruptly reached out and groped beneath herself.
Empty.
There was nothing.
At that moment, Rin heard the sound of her world collapsing.
” What’s wrong with you?
”
Konan was startled by her reaction.
” Your complexion is so bad!
Are you feeling uncomfortable again?
”
Rin slowly raised her head, looking at the face in front of her—light blue short hair, brown pupils, childish and exquisite facial features.
This face was almost identical to the face she had just seen in the reflection of the broken bowl’s water surface.
The only difference was the color of the hair.
One was blue, one was red.
It was like looking into a mirror.
Rin’s lips trembled, and only one thought remained in her brain:
The last second I was staying up late playing video games, and the next second I turned into a little girl in the Naruto world who looked like Konan?!
And judging by this situation…
She re-examined the blue-haired girl in front of her, then looked at the orange-haired Yahiko at the cave entrance and the red-haired Nagato by the bonfire.
This fucking is the Land of Rain, the trio of war orphans, the future founders of the Akatsuki Organization.
And she, a hardcore otaku from her past life, turned into a red-haired girl who popped out of nowhere in this Ninja World, and was even picked up by Konan herself.
Rin took a deep breath and slowly exhaled it.
Calm down, calm down a bit.
Figure out the situation first before talking.
She raised her head and looked at the blue-haired girl in front of her with those purple eyes that were almost identical to Konan’s, save for a slight difference in color, her voice trembling slightly:
” Um… what place… is this?
”
Before Konan could reply, Yahiko on the side swaggered over:
” This is the Land of Rain, the cave where we are temporarily staying.
What about you?
Whose child are you?
Why are you outside alone?
Was your Village attacked?
”
Yet another rapid-fire string of questions.
Rin’s brain was a complete mess, and she had no idea how to make up a story.
She couldn’t possibly say: My name is Rin, male, twenty-six years old, died of sudden cardiac arrest from staying up late last night, and woke up like this.
Just at this moment, Nagato, who had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke.
He stared at Rin’s wet red hair, his voice low and carrying an imperceptible hint of anticipation:
” Your hair… is red.
”
Rin was stunned, and following his gaze, she looked down at the hair hanging over her shoulders.
It was indeed red, glowing with a warm sheen under the firelight.
Nagato’s gaze was burning, and something seemed to be surging within those peculiar eyes:
” I… also have red hair.
”
He looked at Rin, as if expecting some answer.
Rin: ” … ”
Hey hey hey, don’t look at me with that kind of gaze, bro.
I know the Uzumaki Clan has been wiped out, and I understand you want to find fellow clansmen, but I really don’t know you well…
Fine, my hair really is the same shade as Nagato’s right now.
She opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but saw Konan reach out and gently brush the stray bangs from her forehead, with a gentleness that didn’t seem like a seven- or eight-year-old child.
Then, Konan stared at her face for a long while, a flash of astonishment crossing her brown eyes.
” Yahiko… Nagato… look at her face.
”
Yahiko leaned in, tilted his head to look, and then let out an “eh,” his gaze bouncing back and forth between Konan and Rin:
” She looks… just like you, Konan!
”
” It’s not just looking like.
”
Konan stared at Rin’s face, her voice trembling slightly, ” Almost… identical.
”
The firelight flickered in the cave, illuminating two almost identical faces.
One with blue hair and brown pupils.
One with red hair and purple pupils.
Konan was silent for a long while, then suddenly reached out, gently holding Rin’s cold little hands, her voice becoming exceptionally earnest:
” What is your name?
”
Rin stammered, her brain running at top speed.
How would she know what her name is now?
How should she make up this name?
Who was the original owner?
Where did she come from?
How did she collapse in the rain alone?
Seeing that she didn’t speak, a trace of heartache flashed in Konan’s eyes, thinking she had been frightened or had lost her memory due to the war.
She bit her lip, scrutinized Rin’s face once more, and suddenly said softly:
” If you don’t have a name… I’ll give you one, alright?
”
Rin was stunned.
Konan looked at her, the corners of her mouth slightly curving into a tiny arc:
” My name is Konan.
From now on, you are my younger sister.
”
” Eh?!
”
Yahiko beside her widened his eyes: ” Konan, you’re moving way too fast?!
”
Even Nagato raised his head, a trace of surprise in his eyes.
Konan ignored them and just looked earnestly at Rin, her gaze carrying a firmness that didn’t belong to a child of this age:
” It’s very chaotic and dangerous here, and one person cannot survive.
If we are together, we can survive.
Are you willing… to stay?
”
Rin looked at the face in front of her that was identical to her own, strange emotions surging in her heart.
A seven- or eight-year-old little girl, who was herself struggling to survive amidst the war, yet still wanted to pick up a stranger and say she wanted to take care of her as a younger sister.
This is Konan.
That Konan who in the future would burn everything with six hundred billion explosive tags for the sake of her companions.
Rin opened her mouth, but before she could reply, a mechanical prompt suddenly sounded in her mind—
[ Ding! Destiny Rewriting System has been activated. ]
[ Detected that the host has established a bond relationship with key plot characters. ]
[ Novice quest issued: Survive (Phase 1) Survive in the Land of Rain for seven days. ]
[ Quest reward: Basic Chakra Refining Technique × 1, System Points × 100. ]
Rin: ” … ”
Oh right, there’s also a system.
This transmigration package is quite complete.
She raised her head, looking at the earnest-looking Konan in front of her, then at the vigilant and curious Nagato by the bonfire, and Yahiko at the door who was complaining verbally but showed not a shred of opposition in his eyes.
In the dim cave, she suddenly felt that this fucking transmigration didn’t seem quite so bad after all.
” … Okay.
”
She heard herself say in that unfamiliar voice, ” I’ll stay.
”
Konan’s eyebrows curved upward, like the first ray of sunlight breaking through after the rain stopped.