Endless dunes stretched beneath the low-humidity air. Sand carried by the hot wind slapped against the window, going "pa-pa."
He stared at the handsome face in the mirror, and at the wine-red hair, for a long while. At last, Rasa accepted the fact that he had transmigrated.
A two-dimensional character turning into a three-dimensional person, and being hard to recognize at first—that sort of thing only happened in novels. Besides, Rasa had also received some of the original owner's memories.
If it was a familiar character, all it took was a stroll around a comic convention. A similar outfit, or even just a silhouette, and the character's name would spring right to mind.
Rasa happened to be one such character: an "important extra" from the early days of Naruto, killed by Orochimaru before he even appeared, who then took his place.
But thanks to his performance after being revived with Impure World Reincarnation, and his appearance—which looked about seventy percent like Gaara's, with an extra pair of eyebrows—he was still easy to recognize.
Rasa adapted quickly to his new identity. Since he was already here, he might as well make the best of it. Judging by his looks, he was still a young man, barely into his twenties.
He'd gone from being a nobody to becoming the Fourth Kazekage in his youth. What more could he ask for?
His future strength would at least reach Kage Level. He'd have children, a beautiful wife—though she'd die in childbirth—and a promising son, who'd die once too after having his Tailed Beast extracted.
But none of that mattered!
Keep a low profile! Stay steady! I can do this! I've got this!
Just make it past that bastard Orochimaru's assassination attempt before the Chunin Ninja Exams. Don't worry about all that other stuff, and cling to Konohagakure's coattails.
Better yet, when he attended the Chunin Ninja Exams in the future, he could pat the prince's head and praise him with a few lines like, "This boy has an extraordinary bearing. He's destined for great things." "I see in this boy the makings of a Hokage!"
Play it safe, keep a low profile, and he'd be set for life!
Rasa had already mapped out his entire future. He felt inexplicably at ease.
Suddenly, his head throbbed. A ring-shaped, starry vortex appeared in his mind. As he studied it, he felt as if he could glimpse the mysteries of the universe within it.
Infinite power, endless possibilities, boundless ambition—all lay within.
A cheat? A special power?
After the pain passed, Rasa was overjoyed. He'd said it: if he'd transmigrated, how could he not get the complementary cheat? Even the worst hack writer wouldn't dare write it that way.
Without a cheat, how were readers supposed to get their kicks?
I've been roaming the web for over a decade. What haven't I seen? What trope don't I know?
Contemplating the starry vortex in his mind, he received only a few brief lines of information.
[Electromagnetic Force Intensity: Lv.0] [Electromagnetic Force Precision: Lv.0] [Points: 0] [This cheat has an extremely high degree of freedom. The host must explore everything independently. The greater the host's influence on the world, the more points they will earn.]
Rasa couldn't help frowning. Plenty of hack writers with poor prose liked to write "he frowned" or "his brow furrowed"...
But this simple little expression meant a great deal to Rasa. In short, it was pretty advanced—because his future son wouldn't have eyebrows.
What the hell? Electromagnetic Force? What kind of lame cheat was that? A microwave oven?
He wasn't asking for a starter pack, but surely he could at least get an instruction manual.
From transmigrating to figuring out his identity, then receiving the memories, then letting his mind wander, and finally getting a cheat—there was so much to take in that Rasa hadn't fully processed it yet.
"Knock, knock."
The sound of someone knocking at the door startled Rasa out of his thoughts.
He put the matter of his cheat aside for now. The duck in the pot would be his sooner or later; it wasn't going anywhere.
He opened the door, and a wave of hot sand-laden air hit him. That was the downside of the desert: the temperature difference between day and night was enormous.
A handsome blond boy, wearing a Sand shinobi Forehead Protector and not much less attractive than Rasa himself, stood outside. A hint of urgency and worry showed between his brows.
The original owner's memories surged through his mind, and Rasa recognized the boy: his future wife Karura's younger brother, and his future brother-in-law.
Before Rasa took over, he and his future wife Karura had been dating. Rasa was handsome and powerful, and a personal disciple of the Third Kazekage who had inherited his Magnet Release.
He was a promising young man, and his relationship with Karura had naturally progressed at lightning speed. Unfortunately, the original Rasa had been a noble-minded man who believed that until Sunagakure was thriving, he had no business starting a family.
He'd only held her hand and kissed her a few times. They hadn't even married yet, and his beautiful wife had already become this transmigrator's good fortune.
As a hopeless romantic, Rasa found that inexplicably comforting. Karura was a beauty, a goddess he'd never have had a chance with in his previous life.
Your wife and children are in my care. You needn't worry!
He did his best to imitate the original owner's expression, movements, and tone. Fortunately, Rasa wasn't neurotic, and his everyday behavior didn't have any distinctive quirks.
"What is it, Yashamaru?"
"Brother-in-law, it's not me who needs you.
"Elder Chiyo and Elder Ebizo want to see you. They said to hurry to the Kazekage Office. It sounds like something important!"
Yashamaru spoke solemnly. He was quite pleased with Rasa as his future brother-in-law.
Chiyo? Ebizo? The Kazekage Office?
There was too much information to take in, and Rasa's mind hadn't caught up yet. Aside from the image of Chiyo in a swimsuit, radiating breathtaking charm, he couldn't think of anything else.
Still, he had an ominous feeling.
Sunagakure wasn't like Konohagakure in the future, where the elders were called Hokage's advisers and could even keep the Hokage in check. But being an elder was still an important position with considerable authority.
The Chiyo siblings were among Sunagakure's strongest shinobi, pillars of the village, second only to the Third Kazekage.
What's more, in the future, Chiyo would give her life to save his adopted son, Gaara. A good person—an absolutely good person. She'd given everything she had to Sunagakure.
For that alone, Rasa wouldn't pick a fight with Chiyo.
Rank and hierarchy existed everywhere. Sunagakure was a shinobi village built in the desert, much like nomads who settled near water—except Sunagakure was built beside an oasis.
The Kazekage Office stood at the very center of the village. It was unavoidably exposed to sandstorms, but at least it offered some protection when one hit.
As a disciple of the Third Kazekage, Rasa belonged to the privileged class. His residence wasn't far from the Kazekage Office, and following the memories in his mind, he soon arrived.
Yashamaru tactfully closed the door behind him and left. Someone of his rank wasn't qualified to take part in this meeting.
Rasa straightened his expression and swept his sharp gaze around, taking on the role of a guard. Even though he knew every face in the room, he couldn't afford to let down his guard.
Shinobi danced on the edge of a blade for a living. Caution never hurt. This was a shout-out to Madara Uchiha, the dancing god of the Shinobi World.
There weren't many people in the office. Drawing on the memories of his previous life and those of the original owner, Rasa quickly recognized them.
Chiyo, Ebizo, and a beauty with a green bun and orange bangs. Her unusual hair color couldn't hide how gorgeous she was.
The Scorch Release kunoichi, Pakura. Very busty, hmm.
When she saw Rasa enter, Chiyo stood and closed all the doors and windows. The office had never had much natural light to begin with, and now it grew even dimmer.
The candlelight flickered.
Only then did Chiyo place both hands on the desk and lower her voice to a hoarse whisper. "The Kazekage has been missing for three days. Tell me what you think."
Rasa's heart gave a thump!
Now he remembered. Wasn't the disappearance of the Third Kazekage the cause of the Third Shinobi World War?
Was this a hell-difficulty setting?
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