Chapter 1: The Eyes That Don't Belong
The air was thick with the scent of earth and smoke.
Tsubasa jolted awake, gasping for breath. His heart pounded, limbs trembling against the damp forest floor as his eyes darted wildly around. Towering trees, moss-covered stones, and the distant chirping of unfamiliar birds greeted him.
"What the hell…?" he muttered, voice hoarse, alien.
He reached for his head—and froze.
His hair was longer, tied into a half ponytail, strands dark with a violet-blue sheen. A thin mirror shard lay beside him, cracked but clear enough to reflect a face that wasn't his. Sharp jawline. Unblemished skin. And most strikingly—eyes that shimmered like shifting mercury, flecked with faint streaks of gold.
They weren't his. None of this was.
Memories slammed into him. A truck. A rainy night. Headphones on, eyes locked on his screen, the soft glow of a Naruto episode playing in the background. Then—nothing.
And now, here he was. In Naruto.
But not as any canon character.
"Did I… transmigrate?"
A rustle behind him.
Tsubasa spun around instinctively. Three boys and a girl—all clearly younger than him—stood on a narrow trail. Red hair. Pale skin. Snake-like eyes. Blonde ponytail. He knew these faces.
Orochimaru. Jiraiya. Tsunade. The Legendary Sannin… as kids.
"What's a weirdo like you doing all alone here?" Jiraiya asked, tilting his head.
"I… got separated from my team," Tsubasa lied.
"You're not from our class," Tsunade narrowed her eyes.
Orochimaru said nothing, simply staring at Tsubasa's eyes.
Tsubasa tried to calm his pounding heart. He had to survive. Blend in. Learn where and when he was. The swirling chakra in his core buzzed faintly, volatile and strange.
"What's your name?" Tsunade asked, crossing her arms.
"…Tsubasa," he said after a pause. "Tsubasa of the Leaf."
A smirk tugged at the edge of Orochimaru's lips. "Interesting… your chakra feels wrong."
Jiraiya grinned. "Or maybe he's just hiding something."
Tsubasa swallowed. He couldn't afford to draw attention—not yet. But as the wind rustled through the trees, a faint shimmer appeared in his vision—like a tear in space itself.
His breath caught.
Whatever body he was in… it didn't just have chakra.
It had something far more dangerous.
Space-Time Style.