Chapter 1 — Rebirth
"HAH!"The woman's cry shattered the silence of the night, followed by the sharp wail of a newborn. In the midwife's arms, a child with sparse hair, red as blood, deep black eyes, and skin pale as the moon opened his eyes for the first time.
"What shall we call him, ma'am?" asked the midwife, her voice hoarse from witnessing countless births.
"Riki. His name will be Riki," replied the mother, her voice sweet though exhausted. Her eyes sought the man beside her, who held her hand firmly."Tekka, do you like the name?"
"Y-yes. It's... great," Tekka murmured hesitantly, gazing at the baby with an unreadable expression."Riki Uchiha..."
Sensing the tension in the air, the midwife gave a slight nod and quietly left the room, closing the door softly behind her.
"Tekka... are you alright? Do you regret this?" Akemi asked, furrowing her brow.
"No, Akemi. I would never regret us or our son. I'm just... worried. We still live in times of war, Konoha is fragile, and the fear inspired by the Chinoike clan still haunts the world. I fear what might happen when you return."
"Are you saying you intend to abandon us?"
"Never! I will do everything in my power to convince Konoha to accept you, and I swear I will protect each one of you."
Tekka then averted his gaze to the baby, who squirmed restlessly in his arms. Had he been able to hear his son's thoughts at that moment, he would have been stunned.
Damn... damn, damn, damn! This can't be happening. I've been reincarnated. And not into a peaceful world, but the worst possible one: the Naruto universe. Of all imaginable worlds, this is the most chaotic. Endless wars, clans wiped out, and people with power enough to topple mountains. This must be a nightmare.
How did this happen? Naruto was supposed to be just fiction, a story created by Kishimoto... But now here I am, trapped in this absurd reality.
Unaware, I began to wriggle in the arms of the man holding me. He must have thought I was hungry, for he soon passed me into the arms of the woman—my mother, apparently. With a tired smile, she embraced me and began feeding me, believing I only needed sustenance.
Four Weeks Later
A month has passed, and now there is no doubt: this is no dream. It's a nightmare. I am trapped in a cruel world where violence is the only constant and where entire clans vanish in the shadows of manipulation and war.
As if that weren't enough, I was reborn into the worst possible scenario: a ruined village, nestled in infertile lands, forgotten by the world.
I am Riki Chinoike... or perhaps Riki Uchiha. And my origin story is an odyssey of struggle and tragedy.
My mother, in this world, is Akemi Chinoike — daughter of a woman from the Chinoike clan and a descendant of the Uzumaki. Two clans marked by the same fate: ruin.
It all began with the fall of Uzushiogakure, the Hidden Village of the Whirlpools. When they realised the war was lost and that Konoha would never send reinforcements, the leaders of the Uzumaki clan made a desperate decision: to scatter the survivors to distant lands, hoping to preserve their lineage.
The Ashes of War
One of the destinations chosen by the survivors of Uzushiogakure was the Hell Valley, an isolated region in the Land of Hot Springs.
Upon arrival, the Uzumaki discovered the valley was already inhabited by the Chinoike clan—survivors of a dark past clinging to life in miserable conditions.
The land was too barren to sustain crops, and work as mercenaries barely provided enough to keep weapons sharp, let alone feed hungry mouths. When the Uzumaki arrived, they found not refuge, but new enemies.
Conflict erupted almost immediately. Both sides were exhausted: the Uzumaki, drained from weeks of flight and exile; the Chinoike, starving and weakened by malnutrition. It was enough to ignite the spark of a brutal and prolonged battle. Neither clan, however, had the strength to annihilate the other.
The terror of those days is etched into collective memory: blood and death everywhere, screams of pain cutting through the mountain silence, as two peoples on the brink of extinction fought like cornered beasts.
The Uzumaki had few warriors fit to fight. The caravan that reached the valley was mostly composed of children, elders, and the wounded—a group of refugees, not soldiers.
The Chinoike, on the other hand, knew the valley's geography well, and their blood manipulation skills gave them the initial advantage.
But the Uzumaki had something the Chinoike did not: resources. Supplies, weapons, and materials hidden in storage seals. They had come prepared to survive, if only briefly. This prolonged the combat, dragging it out for weeks, perhaps months—long enough for many deaths on both sides.
Yet it was desperation that, ironically, united them.
At the peak of the conflict, when there was no strength or food left to continue, the leaders of the two clans negotiated. The Uzumaki offered their provisions and knowledge of fūinjutsu in exchange for shelter and access to the valley's secrets. The Chinoike leader, understanding his clan's survival depended on this truce, agreed.
Thus, two shattered clans tried to rebuild something from the ruins.
There was no friendship in that alliance. No trust. Only necessity. Fear. Hunger.
And even now, one can feel the weight of that history in the eyes of those who live here. People smile, but there is a hollow behind their gaze. A scar that never truly healed.
And here I am now—fruit of that fragile union—trying to understand how to survive in a world that has already given me so many reasons to fear it.
With the arrival of the Uzumaki, the Chinoike clan, once reduced to a handful of survivors, saw its numbers grow again in Hell Valley.
The newcomers brought knowledge of seals and sealing techniques. Gradually, small improvements appeared: rudimentary protective barriers were erected; the land, once sterile, slowly responded to the joint effort. Small crops sprouted, torn from the earth with sweat and chakra.
This coexistence also changed the relations between the clans. Though the Chinoike still harboured resentment towards the Uchiha, blind hatred gave way to silent, pragmatic tolerance.
The Uzumaki, for their part, were not allies of Konoha. But they were not enemies either. They were simply too weary for that.
Over time, the union between the two groups grew stronger—especially among the young. But the wounds of the past still ached. And life in the valley remained relentless. Many were forced to take on mercenary work to support their families.
It was on one such mission that Akemi Chinoike met Tekka Uchiha.