"Huuu..."
Following a long, heavy breath, the blond youth lying on the bed silently accepted the cruel reality before him.
"I've... transmigrated?!"
As memories surged through his mind, Yamanaka Aoki's lips twitched involuntarily. His pupils trembled with a flicker of shock and horror.
The data was loading at lightning speed.
This was the Hidden Leaf Village in the world of Naruto.
The year: Konoha 36.
The host's name: Yamanaka Aoki, a member of the village's prestigious Yamanaka clan.
Born in Year 23, he was currently 14 years old.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Before he could sift through the remaining fragments of his past, a heavy pounding on the door shattered his train of thought.
Creeeak—
The wooden door slid open. An Anbu operative wearing a cold, porcelain mask stepped inside.
"Aoki. Captain Eaton is calling for you."
The ninja's voice was hoarse and hollow, devoid of any human emotion—like a machine programmed for duty.
"Oh... alright..."
Aoki nodded hastily. He scrambled off the iron bed and followed the operative out, stepping into the unknown.
I guess this is my life now, he thought. I need to adapt. Fast.
As he walked, Aoki frantically extracted more memories to understand his predicament.
His predecessor's body was a complete disaster. Since childhood, he had been frail and sickly—a single gust of wind brought a cold; a splash of rain brought a fever.
He was a ninja, yet he possessed no speed, no strength, and zero endurance.
In an old-guard family like the Yamanaka clan, there was no room for idlers. After a consultation with the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, it was decided: Aoki would be sent to the Anbu Torture and Interrogation Force.
It was the perfect "solution" for a weakling. He wouldn't need to run missions or fight on the front lines. He only had to stay in the dark corners of the Anbu, using his clan's secret techniques to read the minds of prisoners and gather intelligence.
Normally, prisoners were bound and broken, their spirits shattered by physical torture. Extracting their memories shouldn't have been lethal—as long as one controlled their mental energy.
But reality was far more brutal.
Three days ago, while reading the mind of a Sand Village spy, the previous Aoki had overextended his mental capacity. His weak body couldn't handle the strain. His heart gave out, and he died of a sudden cardiac arrest right then and there.
And that was how the new soul had taken over.
I get it now, Aoki mused grimly. Reading memories isn't a desk job. It's a death trap if you aren't careful.
He knew this world. He had watched Naruto. He knew how unforgiving the ninja world could be. In his current state, he was no better than a glass doll; one stray punch in a war and he'd be finished.
Thankfully, the Torture Force was relatively safe... or so he hoped.
As he pondered his survival, Aoki followed the Anbu operative deep into the underground prison of Konoha.
The headquarters was a labyrinth of darkness, illuminated only by the flickering glow of candles reflecting off blood-stained torture implements. The stench of iron and blood hit him—thick and nauseating. It was a sensory assault that his modern soul struggled to stomach.
"Aoki. You're here."
A deep, commanding voice rang out, instantly snapping Aoki into a state of high alert.
The man speaking was draped in a black trench coat, his powerful frame seemingly merging with the shadows. He wore the Konoha forehead protector over a face etched with iron resolve.
Morino Eaton. The Captain of the Anbu Torture Force.
"Captain Eaton," Aoki greeted, standing at attention.
Beneath his calm exterior, Aoki's mind raced. He knew the truth about this place from his inherited memories. The people who ended up here weren't "soft" targets. They were the die-hards, the fanatics who would rather die than betray their village.
"Aoki, I wanted to give you more time to recover, but this situation is urgent," Eaton said, his expression grave.
"The Anbu discovered a Cloud Village spy embedded in the village. We tracked him for six months. Finally, yesterday, we caught him red-handed passing intel."
Eaton paused, his eyes narrowing.
"But during the arrest, he took poison. The Medical Corps tried to save him for an entire day, but they failed. The spy is dead."
Aoki's heart sank.
"Your mission... is to read the memories of this dead Cloud spy."
"However, there's a complication. The Medical Corps determined that the poison he used was a neurotoxin. His memories are likely a chaotic mess."
"You need to find the intel the village needs within that madness."
Are you kidding me? Aoki screamed internally.
A rookie mission? You want a sickly kid to dive into the scrambled mind of a dead suicide agent? I just got here! Do you want me to die again?
His mouth twitched, but he knew his place. In the Anbu, you didn't choose your missions. You executed them.
"Yes, sir!" Aoki replied, his voice heavy with the weight of the task.
"He's inside," Eaton said. He bit his thumb, smeared blood across his palm, and wove a series of hand seals.
"Summoning: Torture Chamber!"
With a violent rumble, a black, iron-barred cage manifested from the ground. Inside lay a cold, stiff corpse.
"Begin."
Aoki stepped into the cell. His throat felt dry, and he swallowed hard. It was his first time seeing a dead body up close.
He fought the urge to tremble, forcing himself to look professional. He began to circulate his chakra, focusing his mental energy into his fingertips.
Slowly, he reached out toward the spy's head.
Ding!
A crisp, electronic chime echoed in his mind, freezing him in place.
[Mind-Reading System Loading...]
A system?!
Aoki's eyes widened in shock. He quickly suppressed his excitement—he was still under Eaton's watchful eye. He had to survive this first.
He pressed his palm onto the spy's cold forehead.
Vroom—
Aoki felt a slight jolt. Before he could even trigger the Yamanaka secret technique, fragments of memory began to flash before his eyes like a movie on fast-forward.
It's... this easy?
He pulled his hand back, stunned. He hadn't even exerted any effort.
[Ding! First Memory Read Successful! Reward Obtained: Sage Body!]