Сhapter 1

"It's... so weird." I whispered softly, my hands exploring the thick and silky hair with slightly trembling emotions that overwhelmed me. The reflection in the mirror exactly repeated my movements, leaving no doubt that the boy looking at me from a slightly stained and dusty mirror is me. Or rather, my new body, which even sounds kind of wild and strange, but the fact remains that from now on I am Naruto Uzumaki. A fictional character of one not too intricate, but still interesting story…

Yeah, life didn't prepare me for this, but I don't feel any particular negativity towards this whole situation. The initial shock has already somehow come to naught, and my head does not hurt so much, even though my thoughts are still confused because of all the information that I got from the last owner of this taurus. But in general, I have already fully realized and even accepted the situation… Having remained that completely satisfied.

Yes, to be in a child's body, which has not yet turned six years old, is still a pleasure and a wild stress for the adult mind. Well, the knowledge of history, in which my new name appeared too often, only added to this whole situation of surrealism and a certain absurdity… But having calmed down a little, I can really consider myself lucky. To be in a new, completely healthy and literally bursting with life body ... for me is almost the main dream of the last ten years.

Well, the fact that this body is a child's and not mine at all is not a significant trifle. And even the possible problems that may fall on my carcass in the future do not bother me much now. The main thing is that the heaviness in the chest and the eternal headaches have finally come to naught… And in general, I felt better than ever, knowing perfectly well that the severity of the years I have lived and hereditary sores no longer have power over me. And I am sure that most of my peers, well, those who have already passed the fifth decade, would be willing to give very, very much for the chance to be in my place…

I myself have been struggling with my own body since I was twenty years old, knowing perfectly well that you can't trample against nature ... Hereditary heart problems that almost all of my male relatives got, as well as not the healthiest lifestyle of the first twenty years of my life. All this left a serious imprint on me, which is why by the age of twenty the doctors clearly told me that I would not live to retire. Actually, that's how it turned out in the end. Despite all the medications, a healthy lifestyle and all my struggles of my last years of life, I never made it to my fifty-third birthday.

And even the fact that fifty-two years could be considered a family record in the male line did not comfort me too much. Of course, I am glad that I did not repeat the fate of my father and grandfather, who died long before their fiftieth birthday, but it was not so easy to live with acute heart failure ... as well as a whole bunch of concomitant diseases. So yes, I was really glad to have a new body. And even if all this is an illusion of an agonizing brain…

I won't be too upset. Although, I tried not to think much about such an option. The idea of taking the place of one of those "popadavnets", which in recent years has not been heard of except by a person who is very far from literature and modern culture, caused only a wave of inspiration and sweet expectation. Although yes, I was really far from the modern culture of youth… But the love of books, which I got along with a whole bunch of sores from my father, did not allow me to remain completely ignorant of this topic.

Well, it's hard to overestimate my love and dedication to this genre. It's not just that in my old age, if I can say so about my age, I got carried away watching anime and reading near-funny literature, which literally abounded in this genre. The idea that death is just the beginning of a new adventure excited my mind, forcing me, like a hungry beast, to pounce on more and more new works in this genre.

At the same time, I was well aware that my own death was not far off. It's hard to be optimistic about this when your body itself is literally screaming about imminent death. In the last few years, this has been felt especially acutely, because my heart simply stopped coping with the load... And the missed medication promised to result in severe chest pains, weakness and even hallucinations due to lack of oxygen. So, the spiders twisting their web right in front of my eyes have long been perceived by me as an inevitable evil, hinting at an imminent fainting and the next few days of headaches, or even blackouts in memory…

Yeah, against the background of all this, the new body was a real salvation and a gift of fate for me. Well, the fact that the fate of the body itself scares me a little and depresses me, especially with its unreality and absurdity, because of which I, in fact, never mastered the finale of that story about the boy whose name, appearance and body I borrowed… But these, really, are such trifles. Against the background of the opportunity to breathe deeply and look at the world with a clear eye again, some kind of future can hardly be called a problem.

Although, of course, I think I will be getting used to the new reality for a long time. But the day after tomorrow I will have to get acquainted with the environment of my unwitting donor in person… That he has been going to the academy of local soldiers-mercenaries-assassins-ninja-Shinobi for half a year now. And something tells me that this acquaintance is unlikely to please me. Still, my predecessor's reputation was still that... here the prejudices of the adult villagers at my expense played a role. And the very ambiguous behavior of Naruto himself, who was a very noisy and in many ways a bully child, affected the general attitude towards my new carcass.

- It will be difficult. I whispered softly, stopping mocking my own hair. Although not for long, yet the thick hair of this body frankly pleased me. I lost my own hair in a previous life too early, having gone bald before the end of the cart. So the lush mop of wheat hair on my head will delight me with its appearance for a long time. - But I'm not ready to give up my new life just because of this. - Still without raising my voice, I drawled, squeezing thin, childish fingers into an equally childish fist…

And he almost laughed, noticing a very funny picture in the mirror out of the corner of his eye. My appearance was now poorly combined with a serious expression on my face. My face was too childish, and the famous mustache-scars only complemented the picture, making me just ridiculously cute… A kind of pouting kitten that squeezes his fist with force in anticipation of a new day. And then even the understanding that this kitten is, as it were, me, weakly helps me in the fight against laughter. My appearance is really quite the same.

Well, I hope there won't be any special problems with her. Although, I still need to dig into my memories a little, in order to be able to repeat Naruto's facial expressions and behavior if anything happens.… At least approximately to repeat, anyway, the boy had no close friends or buddies. And a sad grimace, if anything, will help me get rid of unnecessary suspicions in my direction. I can definitely win back the sadness, and it's not difficult to come up with a reason for this sadness. Moreover, it's better than playing the role of a hyperactive child.

My acting skills are hardly enough for this… Especially if you remember that from now on I live in the settlements of professional warriors and assassins. This contingent should definitely figure out my game for one or two. Well, at least that's what I think, preparing for the worst case scenario.