Call Me Akuma

[Thank you for choosing the 2nd mission. As a reward for accepting this mission, you have been granted a Customer Help Coin. You will be reborn into the Naruto world in 10 minutes.] 

As soon as Akuma received the Customer Help Coin, he used it without hesitation. After confirming the transaction, he asked, "What will happen to my body when I enter the Naruto world?" 

The system responded: 

[Your body will travel with you, but time will flow differently between the two universes.] 

That answer only deepened Akuma's confusion. What exactly is the time difference? What happens after I complete the mission? Will I return to the same place? 

He wanted answers but chose not to waste another Customer Help Coin. I'll find out eventually anyway, he reasoned. Better to save the coin for something truly critical. 

Right now, his biggest concern was what would happen to his parents. If I disappear from this world, how will I explain it when I return? If he failed to come up with a good explanation, his first mission—acting like a normal baby for ten years—would be doomed. That wasn't an option. 

Just thinking about it gave him a headache. He gritted his teeth and internally complained, Why can't the system just freeze time in this universe? Why take my whole body instead of just my soul? This makes things way more complicated! 

But there was no point in stressing over something he couldn't change. Pushing the problem onto his future self, he sighed. Not my problem right now. I'll deal with it later. 

Lying back on his massive bed, he stared at the ceiling in silence. As the system countdown reached five seconds, he instinctively began counting down the final moments until his rebirth. 

[5] 

[4] 

[3] 

[2] 

[1] 

[0] 

=== 

It had been five years since Akuma was born into the Naruto world. His body looked exactly as it had in his previous world. 

When he first opened his eyes, he found himself in the Land of Rain—a country plagued by poverty, hunger, and endless war. The rain never stopped, as if mourning alongside the suffering people. Lacking natural resources, the Land of Rain was one of the poorest nations, caught in a cruel cycle of destruction. 

Sandwiched between three great nations—the Land of Fire, the Land of Earth, and the Land of Wind—the country was constantly dragged into their conflicts. Whenever these powerful nations clashed, the Land of Rain became their battleground, dooming its people to a life of suffering. War, poverty, hunger, and crime defined this land, leaving little hope for those who called it home. 

Akuma was born in a small rain village near the border of the Land of Fire. His parents were ordinary farmers struggling to survive in a country ravaged by war and poverty. Their village was a frequent target for bandits and criminals, making life even more difficult. 

When Akuma was two years old, his father ventured into the forest to hunt, hoping to provide for his family. But he never returned. With five children to feed and no means to support them, his mother was forced into prostitution at a nearby town's inn. She left Akuma and his siblings in the care of her sister, only returning once a week to bring them what little money she earned. 

Every time she visited, she changed a little more. The mother Akuma once knew slowly became someone unrecognizable. At times, she felt like a stranger—a woman with hollow eyes and a forced smile. Sometimes, Akuma couldn't even bear to look at her face. 

When he was four, his mother suddenly stopped coming. The money stopped as well. Akuma didn't know whether she had been killed or if she had simply abandoned them. But deep down, he hoped she was dead. It was easier to accept than the thought of her choosing to leave them behind. He didn't want to see her face again—didn't want to witness her suffering any longer. 

Yet, despite their worsening situation, his aunt and her husband never cast them out. They struggled, but they never abandoned Akuma or his siblings. 

Akuma sat on the blood-soaked floor, gripping a bloody axe. The floor was drenched with the blood of the very people who had taken him in—his aunt and her husband, the ones who had sheltered him and his siblings. Their bodies lay among fifteen others, scattered across the small home. Severed limbs, deep gashes—marks of the brutal massacre he had wrought. Blood painted the walls and ceiling, dripping in slow, steady streams. 

He stared blankly at the bloodstained wood above him, his expression unreadable. 

A bitter thought followed. Thankfully, I didn't invest too much emotion into this family. Still, his face remained cold as the word "bandits" escaped his lips in a low, venomous whisper. The word faded into the silence, swallowed by the death-filled house. 

Slowly, Akuma exhaled, rising to his feet. The axe slipped from his grip, landing with a dull thud. Without hesitation, he began gathering the bodies of his family members into one spot. First, he dragged his aunt and uncle outside, their bodies heavy and lifeless, the rain pouring down as it always did. The relentless downpour soaked their bodies as he moved them, his actions methodical, almost mechanical. They had tried their best to protect Akuma since he was the youngest child in the family, but unfortunately, they died in the process. 

Two of his sisters had been in the kitchen, preparing food when the bandits attacked. They were the first to fall, their bodies marked by deep sword cuts. Next to the kitchen, he found his eldest brother's lifeless form. Akuma moved them outside, his heart numb as he continued his grim task. 

Finally, he made his way to the room where his second-oldest brother had been. The room was eerily quiet, save for the faint sound of labored breathing. His brother, barely alive, clutched a knife in his hand. Next to him, the body of a dead bandit lay still. 

"Thank God you're alive, little brother," his brother whispered, blood pooling in his mouth. A soft smile spread across his face. As soon as the words left his lips, his body slumped, and the light in his eyes flickered out. 

Akuma stood frozen for a moment, staring at his brother's lifeless form. Without hesitation, he pulled the axe from his brother's chest and dragged him outside as well. 

Six bodies now lay outside, drenched by the rain. Akuma's bloodstained face was slowly washed away by the downpour. He retrieved a shovel, his movements mechanical, and began digging. One by one, he buried them behind the house. The weight of the moment pressed down on him, but his face remained cold, devoid of emotion, as he performed the final rites for the only family he had left. 

Akuma stood silently before the freshly dug graves of his family. He looked down at the mounds of earth, the cold rain washing away the last remnants of blood from his face. With a somber expression, he bowed his head slightly, his voice a quiet murmur as he whispered, "Thank you." The words felt hollow, lost in the relentless downpour, but they were all he had to offer. 

After a moment of stillness, Akuma turned away from the graves. The weight of what had happened hung heavily in the air. His resolve was unshaken, with his gaze set firmly forward, he began his journey toward the Land of Fire. 

--- 

If we reach 100 stones, I'll reward you all with a bonus chapter!