A New Beginning
The battlefield lay silent, the echoes of conflict fading into the distance. Uchiha Itachi, his form ethereal and shimmering from the effects of the Edo Tensei, stood before his younger brother Sasuke. The weight of years of secrets, sacrifices, and unspoken love hung heavy in the air between them. The once-lush forest around them was now a scarred wasteland, testament to the intense battle that had just concluded.
Itachi's lips curved into a gentle smile, his eyes - no longer bearing the fearsome Sharingan - filled with a mixture of pride and sorrow as he gazed upon Sasuke. The younger Uchiha's face was a mask of conflicting emotions, tears streaming down his cheeks as he struggled to process the truth of his brother's actions and the depth of his love.
"Forgive me, Sasuke," Itachi murmured, his voice barely above a whisper. "This is the last time." The words carried the weight of a lifetime of regrets and sacrifices, a final plea for understanding and forgiveness.
As he spoke these words, Itachi felt the pull of the afterlife, the jutsu that had reanimated him beginning to unravel. He closed his eyes, ready to embrace the eternal rest he had been denied for so long. His form began to disintegrate, particles of light drifting skyward like fireflies in a summer evening. The sight was both beautiful and heart-wrenching, a visual representation of a soul finally finding peace.
But fate, it seemed, had other plans for Uchiha Itachi.
Just as the last fragments of his reanimated body were about to disperse, Itachi felt an excruciating pain unlike anything he had experienced before. It was as if every fiber of his being was being compressed, twisted, and reshaped. The agony was so intense that even the stoic Uchiha prodigy couldn't withstand it. A silent scream tore through his mind as his consciousness slipped away, engulfed by an all-consuming darkness.
When awareness returned to Itachi, he found himself in a hospital bed, the sterile scent of disinfectant filling his nostrils. The soft beeping of medical equipment echoed in the room, a rhythmic counterpoint to his own steady breathing. Confusion clouded his mind as he tried to make sense of his surroundings. The ceiling above him was a stark white, dotted with fluorescent lights that seemed far too bright and modern for any hospital he had ever seen in the shinobi world.
A nurse, dressed in a crisp white uniform, noticed his awakening and gasped in shock. Her eyes widened, and she quickly rushed out of the room, calling for a doctor. Itachi remained still, his brilliant mind working overtime to assess the situation. He flexed his fingers slightly, feeling the softness of the sheets beneath them. The sensation was oddly vivid, more real than anything he had experienced during his time as a reanimation.
One thing was clear - this was not Konoha, nor any place he recognized. The technology around him seemed far more advanced than anything he had ever encountered. The air felt different, charged with an energy unlike chakra.
The doctor arrived promptly, his face a mixture of surprise and concern. He was a middle-aged man with graying hair at his temples and kind eyes behind wire-rimmed glasses. "How are you feeling?" he asked, checking Itachi's vitals on the monitors before turning his full attention to his patient.
"I'm fine," Itachi replied, his voice hoarse from disuse. It felt strange to speak, as if he was using vocal cords that weren't quite his own. "Where am I?"
The doctor's brow furrowed, lines of concern etching deeper into his face. "Do you remember anything about yourself?" he asked gently, pulling up a chair to sit beside Itachi's bed.
Itachi paused, considering his response carefully. He could feel that this body wasn't his original one, and the world around him was clearly not the one he knew. Deciding that honesty - or at least partial honesty - was the best approach, he said, "Only my name. Uchiha Itachi."
The doctor's expression grew grave, his eyes filling with sympathy. "I'm afraid I have some bad news," he began, his voice soft and measured. "You were found in the aftermath of a dungeon break. Your parents were killed in the incident, and their bodies were never recovered." He paused, allowing Itachi a moment to process this information before continuing. " You've been in a coma for three years."
Itachi absorbed this information silently, his mind racing. A dungeon break? Coma? None of this made sense in the context of his previous life. The loss of parents was a familiar pain, but the circumstances were entirely alien. He realized that he had somehow been thrust into not just a new body, but an entirely new world.
"Do you remember anything?" the doctor asked gently, clearly concerned by Itachi's prolonged silence.
Itachi shook his head. "No, I don't," he admitted, allowing a hint of vulnerability to show in his voice. It wasn't entirely an act - for the first time in either of his lives, Uchiha Itachi felt truly lost.
"We'll do our best to help you adjust," the doctor assured him, patting Itachi's hand comfortingly. "It must be very disorienting. We have specialists who can help you relearn about the world and your place in it. For now, rest. We'll start your education and rehabilitation tomorrow."
Left alone, Itachi began to piece together his situation. He concluded that the original owner of this body must have died, and somehow, his soul had been transferred into it. But the nature of this world remained a mystery. He closed his eyes, focusing inward as he had done countless times before, searching for the familiar flow of chakra.
To his surprise, he found no chakra pathways. However, he sensed something similar - an energy that flowed through his body in patterns reminiscent of chakra, but distinctly different. This, he surmised, must be what people in this world called 'mana'.
Over the next three days, Itachi learned about the reality he now inhabited. He discovered that more than nine years ago, mysterious gates had begun appearing around the world. These gates led to dungeons filled with monsters - creatures of myth and legend brought to life. Alongside these gates came the emergence of superhumans known as hunters, individuals with extraordinary abilities who could enter and clear these dungeons.
The world had changed dramatically with the appearance of the gates. Economies had shifted, new industries had sprung up around dungeon clearing and monster-derived resources, and the very fabric of society had been altered. It was a world that blended modern technology with magic and monsters, a concept so foreign to Itachi that it took all his considerable intellect to process.
Curious about his own capabilities in this new body, Itachi waited until he was alone in his hospital room late one night. He closed his eyes, concentrating on the unfamiliar energy he had sensed earlier. Focusing his will, he imagined fire - the heat, the light, the very essence of the flame. To his amazement, when he opened his eyes, a small flame danced in his palm.
Itachi quickly extinguished the flame, his mind racing with the implications. In this world, magic was cast through something called 'skills' but Itachi was able cast it through focused thought and mana manipulation. It was both similar and utterly foreign to the jutsu he had known in his previous life.
During his extended stay at the hospital for monitoring, Itachi experimented with his newfound magical abilities. He learned to store mana in his body, much like he once did with chakra. He discovered that mana could regenerate naturally and that his capacity for it could increase with practice. Each night, when the hospital staff had finished their rounds, Itachi would quietly practice, pushing the limits of his new abilities.
Upon his discharge, Itachi was faced with a hefty hospital bill of 10 million yen, even after a discount. The sum was staggering, especially to someone who had just awakened in this world with no resources. When he inquired about the fastest way to earn money, the receptionist, a young woman with a sympathetic smile, informed him that being a hunter was the most lucrative profession.
"But be careful," she warned, her eyes serious. "It's also very dangerous. Many hunters don't survive their first dungeon."
The Hunter's Association provided Itachi with a small apartment for two months, a bare-bones living space in a crowded part of the city. As he settled into his temporary home, Itachi contemplated his next steps. The weight of his debt hung heavy on his shoulders, a new kind of burden for the former shinobi.
He needed to register as a hunter to earn money, but he also knew he needed to learn more about this world before diving into its dangers. Moreover, he was curious about the original owner of this body and his parents. What kind of life had they lived? What circumstances had led to their tragic end in a dungeon break?
As night fell on his first day of freedom, Itachi stood by the window of his small apartment, gazing out at the unfamiliar cityscape. The distant roar of traffic and the occasional wail of sirens created a urban symphony unlike anything he had known in Konoha.
The world he once knew was gone, replaced by one of gates, dungeons, and magic. Yet, as he had done so many times before, Itachi steeled himself for the challenges ahead. This was a new beginning, and he was determined to make the most of it. He had been given a second chance at life, and this time, he would live it on his own terms.
As he turned away from the window, Itachi's eyes fell on a small calendar hanging on the wall. Tomorrow, he decided, he would begin his journey to become a hunter. But tonight, he would rest and prepare himself mentally for the challenges that lay ahead. With a deep breath, he settled onto the small bed, his mind already formulating plans and strategies for navigating this new world.
This was just the beginning of Itachi's new life, and despite the uncertainties, a small part of him couldn't help but feel a spark of excitement for the adventures that awaited him.
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He will get his chakra pathway back don't worry. I am not very good with this mana thing.