Darkness.
Not metaphorical darkness—the literal, suffocating absence of light. Noir's mind drifted in that void for what felt like eternity, until...
"He's breathing! The boy's alive!"
The world exploded into color and pain. Sounds rushed into his ears—running water, birds, gasps, and shouts. Noir blinked rapidly, and the blinding sunlight filtered through leaves above him. A face appeared—wrinkled, old, and panicked.
"Boy, can you hear me?"
He sat up too fast. A sharp spike of nausea gripped his stomach, and yet, more than that, was the confusion that gnawed at his brain.
This wasn't Earth.
His surroundings were too vivid, the trees too massive, the air too pure. And in the old man's voice, there was a lilt of language that wasn't English—but one he understood perfectly.
"...Where am I?" Noir rasped, his voice hoarse, foreign even to himself.
"You're in Hi no Kuni," the man said. "Fire Country. Near Konoha."
That name—Konoha—sent a jolt down Noir's spine. His memories rushed back all at once: late-night binge-reading Naruto theories, dreaming of chakra, of eye powers, of Uchiha drama...
"I died," he whispered to himself, stunned. "I... was in a car crash."
And now... he was here.
"Boy?" the old man repeated, concerned. "Do you have family? A clan?"
Noir blinked, slowly registering his reflection in the nearby river. He froze.
Long, flowing white hair framed his face like silk. Amethyst-colored eyes glowed faintly, like embers in moonlight. His eyelashes and eyebrows were pale as snow, making his eyes even more unsettling. His skin was porcelain smooth, his jaw sharp, and his features ethereal—almost unreal.
"…I don't remember," Noir said after a pause. It was the safest answer.
The old man sighed. "You're lucky, boy. The forest around Konoha can be dangerous for lone travelers." He studied Noir carefully. "What's your name?"
"Noir," he said reflexively, then paused. "Noir Tsukihana."
The surname came to him instinctively—"Tsuki" for moon, "hana" for flower. Something beautiful, fleeting. Like time itself.
The old man helped him up. "Come. We'll get you checked at Konoha. If you're a runaway or orphan, the Hokage will know what to do."
Noir nodded slowly, eyes scanning the world around him. Chakra. Jutsu. Kage-level monsters. He'd read about them. Watched them.
Now, he'd live them.
---
The Hidden Leaf Village was exactly as he remembered—bustling streets, wooden architecture, ninjas leaping rooftops, and the monumental faces of the Hokage carved into the mountain.
"State your name and reason for entry," the gate ninja demanded.
"This boy was found collapsed near the river. Says his name is Noir Tsukihana. No memories beyond that," the old man explained.
The Chūnin guard narrowed his eyes. "Another orphan?"
Noir kept his expression neutral, eyes calm. A faint pulse tickled the back of his mind—something dormant awakening. The world slowed slightly around him.
He blinked.
The kunai on the guard's vest. The scroll near the hip. The hand seal barely forming behind the back. Paranoia? Testing me?
Then—flash—a vision. A flicker. A fractured possibility. The guard lunging forward, testing him.
Noir looked away, pretending not to notice. In that moment, the vision faded. Reality resumed.
The guard let them pass without incident.
---
Noir was quickly handed over to the orphanage near the civilian district, but before he left, the Hokage's assistant took note of his odd features.
"Those eyes…" she murmured.
He met her gaze evenly. "A birth trait, I was told. No special bloodline. Not that I remember."
But inside, Noir already knew something was wrong—or rather, right.
At night, while the other children slept, he stared into the small cracked mirror by the window. His left eye gleamed. Slowly, he focused.
Activate, he whispered inside.
The air warped.
In an instant, the room turned grayscale. A flickering outline of himself appeared to his right—a mirror image, one second ahead. A different path.
Noir stared, unblinking. "Time displacement."
He didn't just have a new body—he had a dōjutsu.
Words appeared faintly inside his mind, as if etched into his soul.
Kuraseigan: The Raven's Eye of Collapse.
Ability: Manipulate short bursts of time-space. Visualize alternate futures. Shift locations through quantum tear-points.
Duration: 3 seconds. Cooldown: Unknown.
Noir's lips curved into a faint smile.
The Naruto world was harsh.
But Noir?
He was going to break it—and rebuild it on his own terms.
---
[End of Chapter 1]