An autumn breeze swept through Konoha as afternoon shadows stretched across the village streets.
Indra Uzumaki, a thirteen-year-old Academy student, made his way through the bustling marketplace with purposeful strides.
His black hair caught the golden sunlight, framing a face that many who saw him - young and old - often described as quite handsome.
Tomorrow was graduation day. The thought brought a small smile to his lips.
"Finally," he muttered to himself, "no more basic chakra theory lectures."
The Yamanaka Flower Shop came into view, its colorful display of blooms standing out against the earthy tones of neighboring buildings. A bell chimed softly as Indra pushed open the door, stepping into the fragrant interior.
"Welcome to - oh, Indra-kun!" Ino Yamanaka's voice brightened upon seeing him. "Shopping for someone special?"
"Just the usual," he replied with a polite smile. "Something for my apartment."
Ino nodded knowingly.
Unlike many of his peers who lived with family, Indra maintained his own living space - a small but tidy apartment provided through the orphan stipend program.
He'd developed a habit of keeping fresh flowers there, a simple luxury that made the place feel more like home.
"We got some new lilies in yesterday," Ino suggested, moving toward a bucket of elegant white blooms. "They'd look nice on your windowsill."
"Perfect." Indra nodded, reaching for his wallet. "How's your preparation for tomorrow going?"
"Please," Ino flipped her platinum blonde ponytail with practiced confidence. "The graduation exam is going to be a breeze. I've been practicing the clone jutsu for a while."
"Smart," Indra acknowledged. "That's likely what they'll test us on."
As Ino wrapped the flowers, she glanced at him curiously. "You know, I've always wondered... are you related to Naruto? You both have the same last name."
Indra's expression remained neutral, the question was common enough in the class, and he - no offense, doesn't consider Ino as the type to research it from within the library. "Not by blood," he explained.
"Orphans without known clan affiliations are often given the surname Uzumaki. It's the village's way of honoring the Uzumaki clan that was once closely allied with Konoha."
"Really? I didn't know that." Ino said, handing him the wrapped flowers. "That'll be 300 ryō."
Indra paid and exchanged pleasantries before departing. Outside, the sky had begun to darken prematurely, heavy clouds gathering on the horizon. The air felt charged, promising a storm.
"Great timing," he muttered dryly, quickening his pace.
The Academy grounds were mostly empty as he passed by, most students having gone home to prepare for tomorrow's examination.
Through a window, he spotted Iruka-sensei at his desk, likely preparing the tests. Indra raised a hand in greeting when the teacher looked up, receiving a warm smile and nod in return.
Iruka had always been kind to him, as he was to all his students - even the troublemakers like Naruto.
Speaking of whom, Indra spotted a flash of orange disappearing around a corner, no doubt Naruto heading off to practice last-minute for tomorrow's test.
The blond boy had failed twice already; this would be his third attempt.
"Hope you make it this time," Indra whispered, though no one could hear him.
Unlike many in the village, Indra never harbored ill feelings toward Naruto. He understood too well what it meant to be alone, and was intelligent enough to not harbor ill towards someone whom he saw no evil in himself.
By the time Indra reached his apartment building, fat raindrops had begun to fall. He climbed the three flights of stairs to his unit, unlocked the door, and stepped inside.
The space was modest but meticulously organized - a small kitchen area, a table with two chairs, a futon neatly folded in the corner, and a bookshelf lined with texts on shinobi arts, history, and tactics.
Indra placed the lilies in a vase by the window, arranging them carefully. The white petals seemed to glow against the darkening sky outside. Thunder rumbled in the distance.
"Going to be a rough night," he observed, moving to close the window as the rain intensified.
After preparing a simple dinner of rice, grilled fish, and vegetables, Indra settled at his table with a scroll on basic ninjutsu theory.
Though he had no concerns about passing tomorrow's exam - his chakra control was exceptional for his age - reviewing fundamentals was always beneficial.
As the evening progressed, the storm grew stronger. Wind howled around the building corners, and lightning flashed with increasing frequency.
Indra found the weather oddly fitting for the eve of graduation - the threshold between a normal civilian life and the beginning of his shinobi career.
By law, once he received his headband tomorrow, he would be considered an adult. The thought brought a wry smile to his face.
He had always felt older than his years for some weird reason, carrying himself with a maturity that set him apart from most of his classmates.
"Adult at thirteen," he murmured with dry amusement. "Only in a shinobi village."
When the clock showed nine, Indra prepared for bed, going through his nightly routine.
He laid out his clothes for tomorrow, checked his kunai and shuriken were properly maintained, and reviewed his notes one final time.
The futon was comfortable as he settled beneath the blanket, listening to the storm's crescendo outside.
Rain pelted against the windows, and thunder boomed overhead. Despite the tumult, fatigue quickly pulled him toward sleep.
"Tomorrow," he whispered, black eyes growing heavy, "everything changes."
Sleep claimed him, deep and initially peaceful.
An hour later, the calm shattered.
Indra's body tensed beneath the blanket. His breathing quickened, becoming shallow and irregular. Behind closed eyelids, his eyes moved rapidly as dreams - no, memories - flooded his slumbering mind.
A modern apartment. A television screen glowing in a darkened room. A young man of twenty, watching animated figures move across the screen.
"Naruto," the young man whispered, engrossed in the story unfolding before him.
Indra's fingers clutched at the blanket, knuckles whitening. Outside, the wind intensified, howling like a wounded animal. Rain lashed against the windows with renewed fury.
Loving parents. Birthday celebrations. Normal classes. A normal life in a world of skyscrapers, smartphones, and peace - relative peace, without child soldiers or chakra-powered assassins.
A world where Konoha existed only as fiction.
A low moan escaped Indra's lips as he turned violently in his sleep. Lightning split the sky, momentarily illuminating his anguished expression.
The storm outside seemed to respond to his distress, thunder cracking with deafening force.
Watching a blond-haired boy grow from scorned orphan to respected hero. Seeing him fight a masked man, and befriend tailed beasts.
Beginning to remember the future of a world that wasn't supposed to be real.
"Rewatching Naruto edits is always quite fun." the young man said, closing his phone and going to sleep.
Indra's back arched off the futon, sweat beading on his forehead despite the cool air. The memories were becoming more intense, more real - two lives colliding in his unconscious mind.
A car accident. Screeching tires. Shattering glass. Pain, then darkness.
The storm reached its apex, rain hammering against the roof like a thousand tiny fists.
Wind forced its way through the smallest cracks in the window frames, creating an eerie whistling sound throughout the apartment.
Indra thrashed wildly now, tangling himself in the blanket. His lips moved, forming silent words - pleas, perhaps, or denials.
The storm responded in kind, lightning flashing in rapid succession, thunder so close it rattled the windows in their frames.
The nightmare reached its climax as Indra's mind projected forward - seeing Naruto, older now, wearing the Hokage's robes, the dream realized, the story completed.
A particularly violent thunderclap shook the building to its foundations. Indra's eyes snapped open as he bolted upright with a scream of pure agony.
The pain was excruciating, centered behind his eyes, as if something were clawing its way out from inside his skull.
Lightning flashed, bathing the room in stark white light that momentarily drowned out his scream.
In that instant, Indra's black eyes transformed - first bleeding into crimson with three tomoe swirling in each iris, then his right eye alone rippling outward into concentric circles of deep purple.
The Rinnegan - the legendary dōjutsu of the Sage of Six Paths - was once more born.
As darkness returned, Indra's hands flew to his face, fingers trembling as they traced the skin beneath his transformed eye.
The pain receded as quickly as it had come, leaving him gasping for breath in the storm-tossed night.
"Impossible," he whispered as he looked into the mirror hanged on the wall in front of him, seeing more clearly in the darkness than ever before.
But before he could even get up, his eyes receded back to black and rolled back, showing only whites, as he fell onto his back unconscious.
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(Author note: Well, well, well, the Second Coming of the Sage - Madara was dead too soon and couldn't really do anything with the Rinnegan to be considered so in my eyes, till he once more revives,
And Nagato didn't awaken it, Madara gave it to him.
So yeah, do tell me how you found the chapter, and I hope to see you all later,
Bye!)