In the Hidden Leaf Village, a teenage boy was running a small street stall, selling grasshoppers woven from palm leaves and other handmade crafts.
While his hands worked with practiced ease, Lint kept an idle eye on the passing crowds, sighing inwardly.
It had been many years since that twist of fate—his sudden transmigration into the world of Naruto.
Now, it was Year 54 of the Konoha calendar. The Third Great Ninja War was drawing to a close, and the Hidden Cloud Village was about to sign a peace treaty with the Leaf.
In just a few more years, the Uchiha Clan Massacre would unfold. Then Pain's assault on the village. Eventually, the Fourth Great Ninja War would erupt.
But none of that really mattered to him.
Because Lint had no chakra.
No talent.
No way to cultivate chakra, no chance to become a ninja.
To make matters worse, his parents had died young, leaving him an orphan. Survival meant relying on himself—selling palm-leaf crafts and woven trinkets just to get by.
Still, he weaved on, his fingers moving steadily as he crafted another grasshopper.
That was when a soft, childish voice broke his focus.
"Excuse me… how much is this wooden grasshopper?"
"Three ryo," Lint replied automatically. He looked up—and froze.
Standing before him was a little girl in a white kimono. She had shoulder-length black hair, soft features, and a pair of pale, almost luminescent white eyes.
Hinata Hyuga. The Hyuga clan's heiress.
Lint recognized her immediately.
If nothing changed, she'd be kidnapped later this year by the Hidden Cloud. The attempt would fail, of course, stopped by her father Hiashi. But his twin brother, Hizashi, would take the fall.
As that memory flashed through Lint's mind, he noticed something odd—Hinata hadn't said another word. She was staring straight at him, her pale eyes filled with wonder. Her expression was innocent, but strangely complicated.
Why is she looking at me like that?
I don't look that weird… do I?
Lint scratched his cheek, puzzled. That tiny motion seemed to snap her out of it. She blinked, then quietly asked for his name.
"My name's Lint," he said, still a little confused. "Just a regular street vendor selling handmade crafts."
Hinata gently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and murmured, "It really is the same… not just the face, even the name… and the crafts too…"
Same?
What's that supposed to mean?
Lint's confusion only grew, but along with it came a strange sense of warmth. A pull. As if the little girl in front of him wasn't a stranger, but… a part of him. Familiar in a way that made no sense.
Wait.
Hinata… is my other half?
My anime waifu?
Back on Earth, that was something he might've joked about. But here? Now? After living over a decade as a completely ordinary person?
Why the hell was he having such a ridiculous thought?
Lint shook his head hard, trying to clear it. "Three ryo," he repeated, "just enough to cover the handiwork."
"I'll pay," Hinata said softly. "But not right now."
She looked straight at him. "Lint, please look into my eyes."
"The eyes are the window to the soul. If you look into mine… maybe you'll understand the connection between us."
Lint hesitated, confused, but met her gaze.
And the moment their eyes locked, the feeling intensified.
Familiarity. Recognition. Something deeper than mere emotion.
She didn't feel like someone else anymore.
She felt like… another version of himself.
This is insane.
Lint clutched his forehead.
Hinata mirrored the gesture, lightly tapping her own.
His eyes widened.
Did I… just control her body?
That's impossible. I don't even have chakra.
Before he could process it further, a flood of memory surged through him—memories that weren't his.
They belonged to Hinata.
And in those memories, he learned the truth.
She was a reincarnator too.
She'd also been hit by a truck before arriving in this world. Her name, in that previous life… was Lint.
She had loved making handicrafts.
His mind reeled.
That truck hadn't just crushed his body—it had shattered his soul, splitting it into fragments.
One fragment became him.
Another, her.
Suddenly, everything made sense. The control. The familiarity. The strange feeling of kinship.
They were the same person.
On the other side, Hinata had just finished receiving his memories. She looked at him with soft, affectionate eyes, and reached out her hand.
"You've been through a lot these past years," she said gently. "Come with me to the Hyuga compound. I'll take care of you."
"…Huh?"
Lint was stunned.
She was seriously offering to support him?
Was this… being kept?
By a five-year-old girl?
That's kind of messed up.
But before he could voice his protests, his mind replayed the past—years of cooking alone, weaving in silence, living hand-to-mouth.
And in that moment, his thinking shifted completely.
Sure, he could survive selling grasshoppers and sandals.
But living with Hinata?
A warm home. Good food. Stability.
That sounded like heaven.
Besides, Hinata was just another version of himself. Taking care of himself wasn't exactly mooching.
Lint stood up without hesitation. "Let me pack up."
"No need," Hinata smiled. "Just come with me. The Hyuga clan doesn't need a few trinkets. Once we're home, I'll make sure you eat the best food."
Her voice was still soft and sweet.
But to Lint, it sounded like salvation.
Like music from heaven.
His heart swelled, and for the first time since arriving in this world, he smiled—bright and genuine.
Onlookers watched in shock.
Lint, the poor kid who sold straw sandals and barely made ends meet, had just been personally invited by the Hyuga heiress.
She even took him home.
Was he about to become a live-in son-in-law?
Did he just win the reincarnation lottery?
Holy crap.