Chapter 1

(POV MC)

Sunshine hit my face making me frown in irritation. Once it reached its peak I couldn't help and let a growl of annoyance escape. Not wanting to get out of bed I briefly opened my eyes to check what options I have to continue my stay in bed with minimal effort.

As I opened my eyes I noticed a head full of long, blond hair in front of me reminding me of what happened yesterday. A smile graced my face as I drew closer to the woman lying next to me. Moving myself to hug her tightly and escape the sunlight, I nuzzle into her nape and kiss her shoulder as I take in her sweet scent.

"Mhm~"

Looks like I have woken her up with my actions. Never mind, I'll just continue cuddling her. Seemingly perceiving my actions I could sense a smile gracing my partner's face, seemingly enjoying the little intimacy. I could already feel it; today was gonna be a good one.

*****

(POV Kunou)

'Mhm~ Hm~ Mhm~'

I couldn't help but hum as I skipped through the mansion as I made my way towards mama's room. It's been a year and a half since papa came into our life but the happiness has yet to wear off.

I always felt something was missing before I met him. While I still had mama, she was always busy with work. Despite that I tried to never be angry at her as I knew of her burden and could see the exhaustion in her eyes.

Regardless of my understanding mind; my heart was different. It was full of loneliness, anger and even resentment. While I did my best to hide all those feelings deep inside me I think mama was aware of them as I could catch glimpses of guilt in her eyes.

Bad thoughts go away! I don't need to remember the lonely past, I just need to focus on the future! At least that's what papa always tells me.

Thinking of papa; I still remember how he got into my life, it was the greatest day, ever!

*****

(POV MC, Shortly after his death)

"I'm so sorry!"

As I regain my consciousness I can see a kneeling beauty seemingly begging for my forgiveness. Being completely confused I held out my hand to help her up. "I don't know what's going on, but please stand up first. We can talk about everything after that."

Seemingly surprised by my actions she looked up with a shocked face before she hesitantly took my hand. Once she stood up and dusted herself off she summoned a table, two chairs, tea and snacks. Giving her a questioning glance she just smiled and motioned to me to sit down.

From here on things were happening fast, I was introduced to the Goddess named Lydia, how she made a mistake that ended my fate prematurely, how divine intervention in lower worlds like Earth would bring quite severe consequences if not dealt with properly and how she was going to use her own divine powers in an attempt to clear the newly formed karma between her and me.

I didn't bother to ask any question, or god forbid throw a temper tantrum. I've read a lot of fanfiction and I was always appalled at how MCs were annoying higher beings or testing their patience. In order to make sure I receive the most benefits I'll just silently wait for the formalities to end. Goddess Lydia smiled seemingly pleased with me and my behavior.

*****

Do not mistake her for a pushover just because she was kneeling the moment she met. She is known to be a rather temperamental woman among Divinities.

The only reason she was willing to lower her head and entertain this mortal was because she needed to resolve any karma with the lower world as cleanly as possible so she played the pitiful and kind Goddess making sure the mortal went along with her plans.

*****

"I have already prepared everything for your transmigration into your new life as well as a few gifts to make amends."

I could somehow sense that her patience was running thin despite my co-operative stance and behavior. This ordeal must've really taken her out of her comfort zone.

Unwilling to test her patience any further I quickly nodded to indicate my approval. She gave me one last glance explaining my new gifts to me.

"I have given you a daily Check-In System from those Chinese novels you like so much. As a bonus I'm giving you a random character template from your favorite series. The character templates will be refined, meaning their weaknesses eliminated and their existing skills strengthened appropriately."

Her tone was boring, yet it contained a trace of finality. I could feel the veiled threat underneath it. Regardless I took a deep breath and bowed.

"Thank you for everything, Goddess Lydia. I'll forever be grateful to you and accept your gifts with humbleness."

I could feel her gaze boring into me as she waved her hand making me lose consciousness once more. The last thing I saw was a spinning wheel with pictures of my favorite characters.

*****

What happened next was something beyond my understanding. I was suddenly reliving someone else's life. How did I know it wasn't my own? Maybe because in this one I was a f*cking fireball-spitting ninja.

Halfway through I was feeling my very being changed. It wasn't just me learning the skills belonging to someone else, it was as if those skills were fusing with my very being, the source of my existence.

After reaching the end of the foreign life's memories I saw myself standing face to face with the "owner" of the life I was watching. A tall, middle-aged man with spiky silver hair and a scar running across one of his eyes.

Needless to say it was Kakashi from Naruto. Without a doubt one of my top 5 favorite characters. Unlike the Kakashi I know though, this one had not one, but two Sharingan and not just any Sharigan. Kakashi Hatake had two f*cking Rinne-Sharingan.

As I was gaping at Kakashi his eyes started reverting all the stages back, until only his regular eyes were left. Before I could wonder what was happening he opened his mouth, at least I assumed he did since I couldn't tell under his face mask.

"No need to think too much, Goddess Lydia refined your template to the highest degree possible. It basically contains the maximum potential the Narutoverse could handle."

With that said he just disappeared into motes of light that flew towards me seemingly getting fused with my soul. I didn't even get the chance to say anything as I blacked out once more, probably out of pain since I can only remember a sharp sting.

*****

When I came to myself I was lying on the ground just beside a stream, surrounded by trees. As I pick myself up from the ground I can feel the difference in me. My body moves differently, I perceive the world differently than before and I find myself taking notes of details in my surroundings; things like escape routes and possible trap placements.

That said, I knew that the initial boost from the template didn't include everything, at least powerwise. I had all the knowledge and skills of the refined template, but no idea how to properly use them, that would require training.

Despite all of that there was something I needed to do, something monumentally important! My excitement spiked and my very soul resonated. I felt my body moving into a very 'chuuni' posture as I practically screamed "Sharingan!"

My chakra moved with my desires and I could feel my eyes change. It was as if I suddenly put on a high spec contact lens. Perceiving the world through a Sharingan was a strange experience.

The best way to describe it, would be needing glasses but never wearing them before and suddenly putting them on for the first time in your life allowing you to see the world in all its glory.

I was probably dazing around a while until I realized that I had no idea how many tomoe my current Sharingan held. Looking into the water I could see "myself". A young Kakashi with his iconic scar. But the most eye-catching thing wasn't his scar; it was my blood red eyes. I currently have two-tomoe, not bad for a 16 year old. At least I think I'm currently 16.

A sudden influx of information hits me. It is telling me I'm indeed 16, apparently I died at that age so I get to keep it. My personal memories seem to have been wiped though. I can't seem to remember things like my first crush or which school I went to. Kinda sad actually but at least I can remember all the anime, manga and light novels I've consumed.

*****

As I admired my new eyes I finally realized what I was wearing. It was his anbu attire, a simple blue suit with a gray flak jacket, strapped up sandals and arm guards that go up to my elbows. On top of my head I wore Kakashi's fox mask and on my face the iconic face mask.

After I finished admiring my current self I remembered that besides the character template I also received a system, so I tried calling it. After wasting 15 minutes saying things like "System!" out aloud I had an epiphany of what the magic words could be.

"Check in"

[Checking in, current location; Tutorial Forest.

Congratulations, you've received; Body Tempering Pills (F) x 100

Items are stored inside the system space and can be called out with

a single thought.]

Sweet. I already have an idea what it does but I hope I can check with the system.

[Body Tempering Pills (F-Rank): Body Tempering are alchemical pills

used to aid mortals in training their physique. A single pill lasts 2 hours

and provides a 10% boost. Every 12 hours the Host can consume a pill.

Over consumption may lead to implosion due to the energy they contain

and result in death. Consuming this pill will leave impurities behind.]

What a bummer I wanted to use them during the training but I'm not a fan of stocking up impurities. As soon as the thought passed my head I was once again hit with information. Nice, apparently after the year in the tutorial, my system will be flushed of everything. What a good day to be alive.

*****

Having sorted out my thoughts and feelings I finally started acting as one would expect from an anbu captain during a survival situation. Checking the location, building shelter and gaining a water source. Now all that's left is food. After scouting ahead I have already located several wild animals.

The more I move, the more the memories seem to seep into me, allowing me to gain proficiency over refined-Kakashi's skills at an almost inhuman rate. Having the White Light Chakra Sabre was a tremendous help as well, making everything blade related extremely easy.

*****

It has been half a year since I've arrived in the Tutorial Forest, which turned out to be the last gift of Goddess Lydia. During the past six months, checking in brought me nothing significant aside from daily items like soap and clothing but that was enough for me.

As for the training, it went very well. I've long since reached the level of an anbu recruit and gained sufficient mastery over the basics of a shinobi. Stealth and reconnaissance being at the front of those skills since they helped enormously during hunting food and killing bandits.

Training with the Sharingan was suprisingly easy. Unlike the original Kakashi I was perfectly able to handle them, probably another perk of having a refined template compared to a regular one. Lydia did say that all the weaknesses would be removed.

*****

As it turns out the Tutorial Forest is inside a Tutorial World, containing countries, villages and bandit camps. All of this was very useful for my training. That said, not everything went as smoothly as it could. I had my fair share of close calls, especially at moments I became too conceited because I thought too highly of "my" skills.

It was those moments that reminded me that this would be my life from now on. A life that would be a constant dance on top of the edge of the knife with me trying to court Lady Death without dying.