Naruto: Suraimu The Devourer Of The Shinobi World

This is my first book/fanfic — expect many mistakes, and please tell me how to improve!.

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"Finally!" I gasped, collapsing backward onto the hospital bed.

"I can finally rest... No-hit-running the entire Souls series in one sitting was not a good idea."

A smile of fulfillment touched my lips… until a jolt of sharp pain lanced through my chest.

"H-huh?"

My breath turned ragged. I slid off the bed and hit the cold floor with a heavy thud.

"W-w-what… what is happening?" I wheezed through clenched teeth.

"This hurts so fucking bad. I knew doing that putting so much pressure on my body would kill me…"A wet cough escaped my throat, and I caught the coppery taste of blood.

'I should probabl—'

My heart monitor exploded into frantic beeps. My chest felt like it was caving in on itself.

'FUCK! This hurts!'

That's when I heard it—A mechanical, echoing voice struck through my head:

"Understood. Attempting to find a body that feels no pain. ."

'H-huh...? Isn't that—SHIT!'

I curled up on the floor, body trembling.'I've heard that voice before… but why can't I remember where?'

My vision blurred. Thoughts slowed, fading like a dying flame.'Is this how I die? All alone in a hospital?'

"Understood. Attempting to acquire [Unique Skill: Company]… Skill acquisition ."

There it was again. That cold, voice just casually messing with my existence.

'Mocking me…''I still had so many anime left to watch…'

A brief pause.

'Wait—Tensura! That show was supposed to get a new season!'

My eyes widened—figuratively.'That's it! That voice… it's the Voice of the World!'

A pause.'...No snarky response? Not very immersive, Voice.'

I forced another thought through the pain.'If this is like Tensura, then... what was it Satoru Mikami said again? Something about wanting to be a Predator? Yeah, no. I'm not saying that...'

"Notice: Individual 'Jacob Adams' is acknowledging that he wishes to acquire [Unique Skill: Devour]. Correct?"

(: I didn't want to call it Predator... for obvious reasons, so I went with a different interpretation of the kanji.)

'H-huh… it actually responded… YES!' I screamed inwardly.

"Attention: Doing so will forfeit all other skills that would have accompanied you in death. Do you still wish to proceed?"

'Well… that sucks. But [Devour] is kind of broken. YES—I accept!'

"Understood. Using additional soul power. Sacrificing [Unique Skill: Company] and [Resistance: Pain Nullification] to acquire [Unique Skill: Devour]."

My thoughts started fading.

'O-oh wow… that t-took out more than I thought it w-would…'

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw doctors rush in. It was too late.'A little too l-late, don't you think…?'

My heart monitor let out a long, continuous beep.

Just like that—Jacob Adams died.

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A small dark-haired boy opened his black eyes.

"…Where am I?" he murmured aloud.

He blinked and looked down at his tiny hands.

"Oh. I guess I really did die, huh."

Ignoring my body for now… this place isn't that bad.

The room was dimly lit, a window on one wall letting moonlight pour across the floor. He stepped toward it, but the sill was too high to reach.

"If I had to guess… I'd say I'm around three and a half? Maybe four years old?"

Dragging a small stool over from a nearby desk, he climbed up for a better look.

His jaw dropped.

"WAIT A SECOND—THIS ISN'T TENSURA!?"

His eyes locked on a massive stone mountain in the distance, with three familiar faces carved into the side.

Before he could process it any further, a voice screamed in the distance:

"I SWEAR TO KAMI, ISHADO, IF THAT'S YOU AGAIN, I'M MAKING YOU DO EVERYONE'S CHORES TOMORROW!"

He slapped a hand over his mouth and dove back into bed.

That… that's the Hokage Rock. Which means... this is the Naruto world. But if that's true—

What happened to my skill?

Suraimu sat up and pointed a hand toward a pencil on the nightstand.

[Devour]!

A strange black mist erupted from his palm, engulfing the pencil before vanishing into nothing.

'Wow…'

A look of stunned awe turned into wild glee.

'That… was… SO. COOL.'

Striking a dramatic pose, he raised his arm skyward and declared:

"I am Suraimu, devourer of the shinobi world!"

A moment of silence passed.

He coughed awkwardly. "Excuse me."

He sat back down and stretched with a yawn.

"My skill works, and I'm in Naruto... but why?"

He looked out the window again.

"Sage?"

No answer.

"…Nothing, huh? That's a shame. I was kinda hoping all my questions would be answered the moment I woke up."

A moment passed.

"Oh well."

He rolled over, grabbed his pillow, and curled up under the blanket.

"I guess I should get some sleep. Staying up all night won't do me any good."

With that, Suraimu — formerly Jacob Adams — drifted off to sleep.

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This was a rather short chapter, but I don't want to rush right into the action. I'd rather set up the MC's personality with some world-building first.

838 Words