In Naruto as the Shadow Monarch

Chapter 2

Kuro carefully descended to the ground, choosing not to rely on chakra to strengthen his muscles.

After brushing off the dust, he began heading back toward the Nara Clan compound.

It had been a year since Kuro was reincarnated, and in all that time, he hadn't seen his parents. All he knew was that they were on a mission patrolling the border.

Lost in his thoughts, he suddenly heard rustling and voices coming from behind a bush. His curiosity piqued, Kuro cautiously moved toward the source of the sound. But then, a wave of cold sweat ran down his forehead and spine, and he froze.

Three shinobi from the Sand Village, identifiable by their headbands, were discussing something amongst themselves. Kuro's instincts screamed at him.

Not wanting to risk his life, he carefully stepped back. 

But as fate would have it, he stepped on a dry branch that snapped loudly, drawing the attention of the Sand shinobi.

'Stupid cliché!' Kuro thought in frustration as he turned to face the three shinobi, who were now staring at him like a predator.

"Hello, how's it going? Fancy meeting you here at this hour. Were you guys also peeping at the hot spring?" Kuro awkwardly scratched the back of his neck and raised his hand, trying to sound nonchalant.

"What's this kid on about?" one of the sand shinobi muttered, exchanging a confused glance with his teammate.

"Beats me. Hey, kid! Did you say something about peeping?" The shinobi's words faltered when he suddenly felt an intense wave of killing intent from the third shinobi. The man froze, cold sweat beading on his brow. "C-Captain, I was just curious," he stammered, scratching his head nervously.

The third sand shinobi, who is the captain of the team, turns her gaze back to Kuro.

"Don't take it personally, kid. Just blame your bad luck." The captain said coolly, before shifting her attention back to her team. "We're on a mission. We can't afford to be caught. Since this kid saw us, we need to take care of him. You know what to do."

"Understood, captain!" her two teammates responded in unison, charging toward Kuro. "Tough luck, kid. See you in the afterlife!"

"Wind Style: Wind Cutter!"

The two sand shinobi quickly formed hand signs, summoning a barrage of sharp, slicing winds aimed directly at Kuro.

Reacting swiftly, Kuro attempted to dodge the deadly blades by leaping to the side, his body twisting in midair to avoid the oncoming assault.

One second, he was in the air. The next, he felt pain ripping through his flesh as he fell.

"ARGHHH!!" Kuro cried as the pain was too much for him.

Looking down, he saw his right leg missing and a deep cut on his stomach.

He even saw his intestines coming out from the cut.

'Why? Why does this have to happen to me? I just want to live. Somebody. Anybody. Save me. I don't want to die.' Kuro's mind raced in a chaotic frenzy, his thoughts spiraling as the world around him seemed to spin.

His vision blurred, the edges darkening, as he saw one of the sand shinobi advancing toward him, a gleaming kunai in hand. The man's eyes locked onto Kuro as he closed in, the weapon poised for the final strike.

"Sorry kid. Let me end your misery for you." The shinobi said as he thrusted the kunai toward Kuro head.

Time seems to have slowed down for Kuro. He saw the kunai move toward him slowly. His life flashes before his eyes.

Just as the kunai was an inch away from his forehead, he saw a screen show up in front of him.

[NOTICE] 

[YOU HAVE FULFILLED ALL THE REQUIREMENTS FOR COMPLETING THE SECRET QUEST: "AT DEATH DOOR."]

[YOU ARE NOW WORTHY OF BECOMING A PLAYER. DO YOU ACCEPT?]

Worthy? This.. This was the same screen Sung Jin-Woo saw. Am I really seeing things?

[YOU ARE RUNNING OUT OF TIME.]

[SHOULD YOU CHOOSE TO DECLINE, YOU WILL BE STAB IN THE HEAD AND KILLED IN 0.02 SECONDS. DO YOU ACCEPT?]

Kuro couldn't tell whether he was hallucinating or not, but he still figured out that even if this was his hallucination, it was still better than dying.

He saw the kunai inching ever closer to his head, ready to end him.

"Then why not." Kuro decided to accept the offer.

[CONGRATULATIONS ON BECOMING A 'PLAYER'.]

FLASH!!!

A blinding light suddenly released from Kuro's body that push away everything around him.

"What happened!!?" The sand shinobi were now on edge looking at the blinding light.

"Finish him off quickly!" The captain shouted with tension in her voice.

As the sand shinobi tried to finish Kuro off, the flash died off, only for a giant explosion to follow with Kuro as the epicenter.

The explosion swallowed all three of the sand shinobi as well as alerted the whole village.

The Anbu quickly rushed toward the explosion only to find three charred bodies.

The Anbu surrounded the remains of the bodies, and quickly secured the perimeter with practiced efficiency.

After securing the perimeter, the Anbu cautiously made their way toward the bodies.

Reaching the bodies, they saw the Sand Village headband, which alerted them.

One of them, a high-ranking Anbu, barked out orders, his voice cutting through the tension. "Send a report to the Hokage immediately. There was an attempted infiltration by the Sand Village, and there might be more that have infiltrated."

"How is this possible?" one of them muttered, inspecting the charred bodies. But as they searched for answers, none came. There was no sign of what had caused the explosion. Nothing to explain the unnatural intensity of the blast.

As the Anbu sealed the bodies of the sand shinobi into scrolls, the village began to stir.

As chaos abrupt within the Leaf Village, a young boy suddenly appears in one of the buildings inside the Nara Clan compound in his birthday suit.

Knockout and unaware of the chaos outside, the boy, Kuro, slept like a log.