PROLOGUE

Sakura hated many things, but nothing more than the Naruto character who shared her name. The powerless, pink-haired girl in the anime infuriated her. How could someone be so useless in a world brimming with opportunity and power? It gnawed at her, this thought, twisting like a knife in her chest. What if it was her in that world? What if she had the chance to change everything?

She was so lost in these thoughts that she didn't notice the world around her. The evening air buzzed with distant sirens, but she walked on, oblivious. Her footsteps were quick, her mind racing with fantasies of strength and courage—everything she believed her namesake lacked.

Then came the sharp crack of a gunshot, ripping her from her daydream. She froze, her heart hammering in her chest. The sound echoed, sending a cold wave of dread washing over her. She turned, only to see a man running toward her, his eyes wild, desperate. Behind him, police officers shouted, their voices drowned out by the panic now surging through her.

Before she could react, she felt the cold, unforgiving press of metal against her forehead. The world seemed to narrow down to that one terrifying moment, the gun's barrel biting into her skin, its chill spreading like poison through her veins. She stared into the man's eyes, seeing nothing but chaos and madness reflected back at her.

Time slowed to a crawl. Thoughts collided in her mind—regret, fear, disbelief. This couldn't be happening. It wasn't supposed to end like this, not here, not now. Her body trembled, a visceral, uncontrollable reaction to the primal fear that gripped her.

Then, in an instant, everything shattered. Searing pain exploded in her head, white-hot and blinding. She gasped, the world slipping away, darkness swallowing her whole.

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When she awoke, everything was different.

She found herself standing in a vast, white landscape, the cold biting into her skin, deeper than any she'd ever felt. It was a cold that made her bones ache, that numbed her fingers and toes until they were nearly useless. She shivered uncontrollably, the icy wind cutting through her like a knife.

The landscape stretched on endlessly, an infinite, empty void. There was no sky, no horizon—just an overwhelming, oppressive whiteness that made her feel small and insignificant. Fear coiled in the pit of her stomach, a gnawing, growing dread that something was terribly wrong.

Then, a voice broke through the silence, deep and resonant, echoing around her. It was neither kind nor cruel, but it held an undeniable power that made her blood run cold.

"Let me see how well you do in the place of your pink-haired counterpart. I will even give you a gift package as a bonus."

The words reverberated through the empty space, and for a moment, all she felt was confusion. Then, as the reality of the situation dawned on her, terror gripped her heart. She opened her mouth to speak, to question, to plead, but the words wouldn't come. The cold intensified, and before she could comprehend what was happening, the world around her began to dissolve, pulling her into the unknown.

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