Pain.
Cold air struck my lungs as I gasped for the first time.
Sound followed—shouting, movement, the frantic energy of life beginning.
So this… is birth.
My body felt small. Weak. Limiting.
I couldn't even move properly.
But my mind?
Sharp. Clear. Perfect.
Everything from before remained.
Every power.
Every memory.
Every calculation.
I didn't panic.
I observed.
Three heartbeats.
Three presences.
Right beside me.
Triplets.
Interesting.
Slowly—very slowly—I shifted my awareness toward them.
Two infants.
One radiated something… different.
Even without chakra fully awakened, I could feel it.
Raw strength.
Unrefined, but monstrous.
"…Heracles," I concluded instantly.
The name surfaced from memory.
The greatest hero of Greek mythology.
Son of Zeus.
A being of overwhelming physical power.
And the other—
"Iphicles."
Human.
Mortal.
But still important.
Which meant—
My thoughts sharpened.
"I've been reborn into that time period."
Ancient Greece.
Before the legends were even written.
Before the myths became myths.
Before Heracles became… Hercules.
A slow realization settled in.
"…I'm the eldest."
That changed everything.
Not just some side character.
Not just a background existence.
No.
I was positioned at the center of something important.
My gaze—though unfocused in this infant body—shifted inward.
Instinctively.
Naturally.
And then—
Darkness.
A familiar space.
Not the void from before.
But something deeper.
My mindscape.
And within it—
Ripples.
Concentric rings.
Purple.
The Rinnegan.
"…So that's what I have access to."
Not surprising.
It was the most fundamental part of me now.
But—
I tried to reach further.
Chakra.
Power.
Anything.
Nothing responded.
My body simply wasn't ready.
No pathways.
No flow.
No energy.
"…As expected."
Even with Hashirama-level reserves, even with Ōtsutsuki physiology—
This body was still a newborn.
A vessel that hadn't been developed yet.
I couldn't use my abilities.
Not properly.
But—
That didn't matter.
Because I still had time.
And more importantly—
I had knowledge.
A faint smile formed on my tiny face.
Unnoticed.
Unimportant.
But real.
"I just need to grow."
Voices echoed around me.
Panicked at first.
Then relieved.
Then emotional.
A woman's voice lingered the longest.
Warm.
Exhausted.
Alive.
My mother.
Alcmene.
That confirmed it.
Everything.
So that meant…
Zeus.
My thoughts accelerated.
"…This is actually perfect."
Heracles was the son of Zeus.
That much was absolute.
Which meant—
By simply existing here…
By being born alongside him…
I had a built-in explanation.
Or rather—
A cover.
"I can claim Zeus as my father."
It wouldn't even be questioned much.
Not in this era.
Not in this world.
Gods were unpredictable.
Infamous for it.
If anything—
It would make more sense than the truth.
Because the truth?
That I was a reincarnated being with the power of a godlike entity from another universe?
No.
That would bring attention.
Dangerous attention.
From beings I hadn't even met yet.
Gods.
Titans.
Primordials.
"…I'll stay hidden for now."
My eyes—physically closed—shifted slightly.
But within—
The Rinnegan pulsed again.
Even without chakra—
Its perception lingered.
Faint.
Dormant.
But present.
Enough to remind me of what I was.
Of what I would become.
A sudden movement.
I was lifted.
Cradled.
The warmth returned.
My mother's heartbeat.
Steady.
Protective.
"…This isn't unpleasant."
A strange thought.
One I didn't expect.
But I didn't reject it either.
Because emotions—
Even now—
Were still mine.
Time passed.
Minutes? Hours?
Hard to tell in this state.
But my mind never stopped.
Analyzing.
Planning.
Calculating.
"I'll need to awaken chakra as early as possible."
This world didn't naturally use it.
Which meant—
I'd have to build it from scratch.
From nothing.
But I knew how.
Perfect control.
Perfect understanding.
There would be no mistakes.
"I'll also need to assess the gods."
Zeus.
Hera.
Poseidon.
All of them.
Unpredictable.
Dangerous.
Powerful in a completely different way from chakra users.
"…And I'm currently defenseless."
That was the only real issue.
Right now—
I couldn't fight.
Couldn't defend.
Couldn't even move properly.
If something happened—
I'd be relying on luck.
And that was unacceptable.
A faint shift beside me.
One of my brothers moved.
The presence again.
Strong.
Wild.
Uncontained.
Heracles.
Even as a newborn—
He radiated potential.
Ridiculous potential.
I studied him silently.
"…You're going to become a legend."
The greatest hero.
The slayer of monsters.
The man who would complete the Twelve Labors.
And me?
A quiet thought echoed.
"I'll become something far beyond that."
Another presence stirred.
Different.
Calmer.
Weaker.
Iphicles.
Human.
Normal.
But not irrelevant.
Not to me.
"…You're still my brother."
That alone gave him value.
A quiet determination settled deep within me.
Not emotional.
Not impulsive.
Just absolute.
"I'll grow stronger."
"I'll master everything I've been given."
"I'll surpass gods."
And for now—
I closed my eyes.
Letting the weakness of this body take over.
Not as surrender.
But as patience.
Because soon—
Very soon—
Everything would begin.
And when it did—
This world would never be the same.