Chapter 1: Awakening and the Forging System
Naraku's consciousness slowly surfaced from the depths of unconsciousness. His eyes fluttered open; his vision was blurred, and his head throbbed with explosive pain.
As he stirred, Uchiha Mikoto's face lit up with joy and relief. She hurried closer, voice filled with concern. "Naraku! How are you feeling now?"
Naraku glanced at the black-haired little girl beside him and muttered instinctively, "I'm fine."
Mikoto smiled brightly at his response, then quickly left to fetch his dinner.
Lying in bed, Naraku began sifting through the flood of memories in his mind.
His name was Naraku—a real surname back in his original world. Now he was Uchiha Naraku. The unfamiliar house, his small frail body, and the legendary Uchiha name all screamed one thing: he had transmigrated.
Into the Naruto world—the era of the Five Great Ninja Villages and endless clan warfare.
He recalled his previous life: no parents, no wife, no children. Orphaned young in a rundown "Tomato Orphanage." An ultimate die-hard Naruto fan. And the classic isekai trigger—run over by a dump truck on his commute. (Why was there a dump truck in the city? Don't ask.)
At least his cheap red phone had fallen into the river before he died. Small mercies—maybe his browser history stayed buried.
Before he could dwell further, Mikoto returned and gently fed him a few bites of dinner.
Afterward, Naraku claimed he needed rest. Mikoto left obediently.
Now came the most critical step for any transmigrator: locating the golden finger.
As a Naruto fanatic, he knew most of the plot—but the ninja world was overflowing with broken cheats. Naruto and Sasuke alone were walking plot armor. Even Orochimaru, who would dominate as a villain in any other setting, ended up as a glorified sidekick here.
Jade Emperor, Tathagata, God, Three Pure Ones—anyone listening? With my unparalleled talent, iron will, and sheer effort… Deep Blue? System? Chat group? Old grandpa artifact?
He called out in every direction. Silence.
Just as he was about to try something more drastic, a cold mechanical voice echoed in his mind.
A pale blue semi-transparent screen appeared before his eyes.
[Multiverse Forging Master System binding in progress… Congratulations, you have become an Apprentice Forger.] [Task 1: As a forger, you must possess your own forging workshop. Please immediately locate a personal forging site!]
Naraku exhaled in relief. It wasn't the instant "Invincible Ninja God" or "Ultimate Villain" system he'd fantasized about, but a system was a system. Even an auxiliary profession like forging should hold its own in this cheat-riddled world.
No further details appeared yet—likely because the binding was still in trial mode. He needed to complete the first task to unlock more.
No time to waste. If the system vanished due to delay, he'd lose everything.
Naraku tried to sit up—only for his head to spin violently. Darkness swallowed him again.
"I f—king—" was all he managed before blacking out.
When he woke once more, it was early the next morning. This time, fragments of the original body's memories had integrated.
He realized he hadn't just transmigrated recently. He'd actually been here for years—only now had he "broken through the prenatal mystery" and fully awakened his past-life memories.
The original Uchiha Naraku had been eerily similar to him: a mischievous, cheeky little troublemaker. An absolute "petty chaos immortal."
His parents—a Jonin father and Chunin mother—had died during the fragile semi-peace after the First Shinobi World War. His father had been a hardcore hawk-faction loyalist, right-hand man to one of the Uchiha Grand Elders. Mikoto was that Grand Elder's granddaughter, making her and Naraku childhood friends—practically raised together.
Thinking of the beautiful, gentle woman Mikoto would grow into, Naraku made his decision instantly: She was his. No debate. He'd claim her himself. As for whether Itachi or Sasuke would ever exist? Not his concern. By the time any "second son" appeared, Naraku figured he'd already ascended to godhood with his talent, will, and a dash of system cheats.
He refused to play passive just to preserve canon. That was suicide.
Determined, Naraku headed out to find Mikoto. A proper forging workshop wasn't something an orphan kid could easily secure alone.
"Naraku, are you feeling better?" Mikoto asked with concern the moment she saw him. Then she added sternly, "And no more randomly provoking people, okay? Especially not that sarcastic mocking stuff."
Naraku knew exactly what she meant. The original body had been taunting some Uchiha kid named Kei, only to get jumped by a whole gang of the brats he'd annoyed. That beating was what finally triggered his memory awakening.
He silently vowed to "repay" those little punks generously later.
"It's fine, Mikoto-nee. They were spouting nonsense like 'only Fugaku is worthy of you.' That's why I mocked them." Naraku looked up at her with wide, innocent childlike eyes. "Mikoto-nee, the only one who can marry you… is me."
Mikoto, completely unused to such bold words from a little boy, blushed furiously. "W-what are you saying?! You're still smaller than them! Anyway—no more one-versus-many fights! If you have to fight, call me first!"
Naraku then explained his request: he wanted a personal forging room.
Mikoto was surprised—why would a child suddenly want something like that?—but she agreed without hesitation. She'd help him find one.