Transformation Jutsu

'Naruto?' As in from the show Naruto? I watched it as a kid. While I didn't complete the show, I knew major characters like Naruto, Kakashi, etc. Back in the day, I even had a Jiraiya and the Frog hoodie. Now that I think of it, that kid mentioned Sasuke too. The kunai or whatever he had with him was sharp enough to snap the rope, and he was accurate enough to hit it while managing not to injure me. Still, how did I end up here?

I sat down on the dry, crackling grass trying to comprehend the current scenario. No matter how I thought about it, it didn't make much sense! I have read some stories regarding transmigration, rebirth, and all sorts of things. But me being here didn't make any sense at all. I wasn't a die-hard Naruto fan. Heck! I haven't watched the other half of the series where Naruto grows up. 

Sigh! These are just excuses. I wouldn't have remembered it even if I had watched it. I can't recall completely the parts I watched. I have a nagging suspicion that it might be related to the vortex that swallowed that pip-squeak's t-shirt. Whatever! There is no point in stressing about what I can't control.

If Naruto was right, I had to leave for the academy immediately, or I might miss the test! First of all, I needed to figure out my identity. It would be stupid to move around carelessly in a world full of dangerous spells and unseen perils… I went to the nearby creek and looked inside the clear, rippling water to get a picture of what I looked like. 

To my surprise, I looked around that kid's age. While I looked decent, I didn't care much about my physical traits. Looking at the cheap and worn-out clothes made me miss my precious silk shirt and jacket. Curse that rat! I spent more than a month's salary on that shirt alone, and I didn't even get to wear it for a day. I lamented the loss of my precious hand-woven silk shirt to that unskilled savage who didn't have any qualms about claiming loot. 

Soon, some memories started to resurface. Although it began slowly, the process soon picked up pace, and I understood what exactly happened.

This kid, Shen, was born with two consciousnesses in his body. You might ask, how did I know that? These memories and sensations… the signature of my presence was etched on them! This meant that these memories weren't from this body. To add to that, I had no muscle memory regarding the events. They were discreetly mine and of the same metaphysical type as the realm in which those vortexes manifested and I resided post-death. 

The experience of my consciousness in this body was a third-person view from the spiritual realm. Reviewing these memories made me realize a terrible fact. After my transfer into this world, my spirit and consciousness latched onto the first unstable entity it found in this world. 

'This kid was never supposed to be born!' I exclaimed.

While my consciousness allowed him to sustain his life, the borrowed time was over as soon as my consciousness gradually recovered the ability to contain and articulate thoughts. 

'It's horrible that he evaporated as I woke up!'

Though unfortunate, such were the ways of Yama. One can't cheat death twice! To call the preadolescent either fortunate or unfortunate was a matter of perspective. Moving forward, it's been ten years since I came to this world. That meant I was in the same year as Naruto. I needed to get accustomed to life here soon. 

'From now on, I'll live as Shen.' I had enough of being Stanley. It was the chance that I always wanted. A fresh life with an untainted body, clean like a blank slate. A body devoid of the infatuation with liquor and kidneys that still functioned properly, I couldn't possibly ask for more. I had to make this count. That was the least I could do for my past self who dreamt unreasonably of another chance at a better life. 

It doesn't matter to me if I was responsible for his death. He's the one who hijacked the precious ten years of my life anyway! I had much more important stuff coming up to keep tabs on past events.

One of them being, "How am I gonna perform in the test?"

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With a nervous attitude, I set off toward the Academy. Following the directions I vaguely remembered, I navigated through the busy streets of the Hidden Leaf. Children and adults went about their monotonous lives making noise, but for some reason, it made me a little calmer.

After the short walk, I arrived at the academy. Taking a deep breath, I pushed open the doors and walked in. 

'What were you doing, Shen? You're late! Come fast. You'll demonstrate the jutsu after Hinata,' said Iruka as he pointed towards the blue-haired girl. She looks as timid in real life as in the show. Honestly, I never got why she appealed to fans. Well, never mind. 

I nodded and stood next to her in the line. Some of the kids glanced at me. I identified a few of them...Sakura, Sasuke, Choji, and Shikamaru. Of course, Naruto was also there fidgeting with a kunai. 

Still, chakra was almost alien to me. Though I had memories of watching chakra flow into the previous Shen's body, there was a dissonance between the body and the mind. I had no muscle memory of using chakra with my body. Seeing someone use chakra and using chakra yourself are completely different. And it wasn't like the previous Shen was going to be a competent shinobi. At most, he would be an average shinobi. Trying to learn from watching his flow would be incredibly slow. 

Soon Hinata went to the front of the class where Iruka was evaluating the students. 

She exclaimed, 'Transformation jutsu!'

'Transform!'

She soon transformed into Iruka. While transformation jutsu was pretty common in the anime, seeing it with my own eyes was incredible. There were no visible flaws in the attire and body structure. Perfect transformation, inch by inch. Copying body shape was very tricky. She also changed her body language to align more with Iruka's. The transformation was much more comprehensive than I originally thought. 

While the hand signs were pretty easy, getting the flow of chakra right was much more important. 

I wanted to observe Hinata, but she was done pretty quickly, giving me no time to observe her. 

"Shen! It's your turn now. Come forward!" announced Iruka.