James Khan awoke to the sound of an odd, meical voi his mind, clear and crisp against the disorienting fog of sleep:

  > "[gratutions! James Khan's brain data was successfully uploaded to Kurotora Shigeno's body.]"

  His first instinct was to dismiss it as a strange dream, but his body felt... different. The ground was cold and hard beh him, not the usual softness of his bed. Slowly, he forced his eyes open and was greeted by an unfamiliar room: wooden walls, a low table, an oil mp casting flickering shadows. There was a rustic feel to everything around him, like he’d somehow ended up in the home of a mountai.

  Before he could process where he was, a gruff voice cut through the silence, snapping with irritation.

  "Oi! Kuro?! How many hours do you io sleep?"

  James jerked upright, his body protesting with aches and stiffness. He blirying to orient himself, and squi the figure standing nearby. An old man, hair white and eyes sharp, was watg him with a mix of impatiend irritation. For a split sed, James had a strange sense nition, but it vanished as quickly as it came.

  “Who...who are you?” he mumbled, voice rough from sleep.

  The response was swift and harsh. The old man’s hand shot out and smacked him on the back of the head, hard enough to make his ears ring.

  > "You drunk again, you idiot? Get it together! You’re heading to Konoha for the in Exams. Or did you hit your head so hard that you’ve fotten who you are?”

  James rubbed his head, bewildered. “Konoha? in Exam? Wait, you mean...Konohagakure?” The words sourange on his tongue, like a half-remembered se from a dream.

  The old man’s eyebrow rose, his mouth curving into a sneer. “Of course. How many Konoha vilges do you think there are in the Fire Nation?”

  James stared at him, unprehending, until something clicked. Fire Nation? Konohagakure? This was straight out of an anime! But he could feel the sting from the old man’s sp, the chill of the air, the weight of his own body. None of this felt like a dream.

  Before he could grasp the reality of his situation, the old man grumbled, “Holy, Kuro, stop wasting time asking stupid questions. You’ve got a long road ahead, and I won’t be dragging your useless self all the way to Konoha.”

  James’ mind whirled. He wasn’t James Khan anymore—he was Kurotora Shigeno? What kind of shit going on, man? He blinked, gng down at himself and then back up at the old man, feeling a strahrill of panic. To cover it, he chuckled, muttering, “Wake up to reality, geezer. Get a life and live happily.”

  He fell bato a peaceful sleep, only to wake up again oh.

  The old man’s face went red with rage. “Ungrateful brat! I took you in for fifteen years, gave you food, shelter, and training, and this is how you repay me?” He punctuated his words with a swift, surprisingly strong kies’ butt.

  Paihrough his ribs, leaving him momentarily breathless. He pressed a hand to his side, gring at the old man. “Alright, alright! You bloody geezer! o kick me while I’m down.”

  Inwardly, he thought, *For Fck sake, I just want to shove a Chidht into your back!*

  “The up!” The old man’s gaze bore into him with somethiween annoyand a strange kind of pride. “You guys will leave at dawn.”

  With a resigned sigh, James—or Kuro now, he supposed—climbed to his feet. Every part of his body felt stiff, his muscles heavy as if they’d been through endless drills and training. He gnced around the room again, trying to take it all in, and caught a glimpse of his refle in a nearby bronze mirror.

  He froze. The face staring back wasn’t his own.

  Instead of his usual features, he saw a young man with sharp, dark eyes and a narrow jaw, framed by shaggy bck hair. Kuro. He was Kurotora Shigeno, a strao himself.

  *If this is real,* he thought, *then I really am...Kuro now.*

  His heart pounded, and he felt an unfamiliar pulse of something deeper—a weight in his chest, like a reservoir of energy, raotent. Before he could focus on it, the old man interrupted.

  “Don’t just stand there gawking, brat. I thought you wao prove yourself. That’s why you signed up for the in Exams, isn’t it? Or are you too afraid now?”

  James wasn’t sure if it was Kuro’s pride or his own irritation, but he bristled at the challenge. “Of course not. I handle whatever’s ahead.”

  The old man scoffed, then tossed him a small, ly folded bundle. “Wear that. We ’t have you showing up looking like you just rolled out of bed.”

  Unfolding it, James found a dark, weathered tunid trousers, adorned with faint symbols he couldn’t quite decipher. He pulled them on, noting how naturally they fit, like they’d been made for him. He felt almost...fortable, as if the body he inhabited khese clothes, had worn them a thousand times.

  Once he was dressed, the old man led him out into the chill m air. The world outside was nothing like the bustling streets or quiet forests he k, arees framed a narrow dirt path that wound through mist-covered hills. He took a deep breath, the st of damp earth and fresh pine filling his lungs.

  They walked in silehe old man leading the way with a sure stride. Despite his apparent age, the man moved with surprising speed, barely sparing a gnce back to see if Kuro could keep up.

  “Oi, Kuro!” the old man called, not b to turn around. “I’m expeg you to do better than you did st time. No more stumbling around like a half-blind fool. You uand?”

  Kuro scrambled to keep up, the old man’s words throwing him. *What had Kuro done in the past?* There were gaps here—rge, looming spaces in Kuro’s memory that Kuro had no way to fill. But as he walked, he felt a strange crity, like pieces of Kuro’s life were settling into pce.

  “So,” Kuro ventured cautiously, “what’s the ply?”

  The old man snorted, gng over his shoulder with an amused, skeptical expression. “What do you mean, ‘the pn’? Yoing to prove yourself, that’s the pn. Or are you finally giving up on the idea of being a shinobi?”

  Kuro swallowed nervously. “Shinobi, huh? I'd die of embarrassment if I said out loud that I want to be Hokage!"

  The old man’s face twisted in disbelief, “What?! You’re not even from Konoha, so why the hell would you think you shout like that?" The old man’s gaze softened, if only for a moment. "Whatever, fet it. Just remember who you are and why you’re here. You’re Kurotora Shigeno—the stubborn fool who’s been training his whole life for this. Don’t start doubting yourself now.”

  They tinued in silehe old man’s words eg in Kuro’ mind, grounding him. Despite the alien world, the strange s, and his own unfamiliar body, he felt it really odd which was o him. However, he just wants to get out of this world as soon as posssible.

  As they approached the gate, Kuro saw two people waiting for them. One was a girl with bright red hair, and the other was a guy with a seriously weird eyepatch.

  The old man grunted, "Alright, Reika, Xero, here we are."

  Both of them bowed their heads and said in unison, "Hello, Lord Isamu."

  Kuro bli them, trying to make sense of the situation. Just as he was about to say something, his system buzzed in his ears.

  > **[Your two teammates for the in Exam: Reika and Xero. Your vilge is Tsukigakure. For now, you’re just participating in the in Exam. More details will e ter. Your old strength is sealed. It’ll take some time to adjust to your new DNA. Your power will also be recalibrated to fit this world’s standard. The system will go offliil your power fully merges with your body.]**

  Kuro’s mind froze. *Wait, what? What do you mean sealed? And recalibrated?! You just *dumped* me here and expect me to be fine?*

  But, of course, there was no respohe system had already gone silent, leaving him to stew in his fusion.

  *Sigh.* *Great. No backup, no instrus... just a "good luck" and see ya ter. This is how I die, isn't it?*

  Meanwhile, Isamu cpped his hands together. "Alright, you three head out. I’ll join you ter—I’ve got some busio take care of."

  Reika nodded and fshed a grin. "Got it, Lord Isamu. e on, Kuro, stop being a sleepyhead! We’ve got to go!"

  Xero cracked his knuckles, eager. "Yeah, I’m ready to take on some strong oppos! Let’s go, let’s go!"

  Before Kuro could protest, both Reika and Xero grabbed him and started dragging him toward the exit.

  Kuro just sighed ahem pull him along like a ragdoll, his feet barely scraping the ground. *I feel like a rabbit being dragged off by a hunter who's already pnning dinner,* he thought wryly, resigo his fate."