NOVEL NEXT Chapter 1: CH-0
With the incessant sound of the bell, I knew it was over for the day. As you can imagine, yes, I have a student life that is not very stressful but quite annoying. Leaving the classroom and walking outside the school with a lazy posture, I couldn't help but think about how messed up I am for not knowing what world I've reincarnated into. At least I know I've reincarnated into the body of someone strong. In this world, my name is Hashirama Senju.
I belong to a family that owns an antique shop where six siblings and our father, Butsuma Senju, live. My siblings, some are from my father's previous marriages. For example, the siblings I get along best with are Tobirama Senju, who is from a previous marriage, Tsunade, also from another marriage, and finally Itama, who shares the same mother as Tobirama. As for my other two siblings, I don't like them because they are bastards and simply don't get along with me. Yui Senju and Roiko Senju are twins, children of my mother, whom, according to the memories of this body, I only met once when I was four years old and she was in a very bad physical state due to some kind of cancer.
My older brothers are arrogant, and since they are of legal age, they are destined to receive the inheritance from the old man, which includes not only the antique shop but also a dojo inherited by our family for hundreds of years, apparently since an era called the Heian Period. It is said that our family is or was formidable warriors; in the past, along with other ancient clans, we were in constant war. Originally, those clans that were the protagonists of that war: the Senju Clan, the Gojo Clan, the Zenin Clan, the Inumaki Clan, and the Kamo Clan, with the Gojo, Zenin, Senju, and Kamo being the most known for their continuous line of combat prodigies, but since the Nara period, which preceded the Heian period, Gojo and Senju had been in a war and conflicts that no one had won before due to the monstrous strength of both sides. But in the Heian period, that would end.
The Zenin and Senju were also bitter rivals because the Senju were beasts in every sense of the word and for their weapon handling, which was what the Zenin clan could mostly excel in. Therefore, due to the hatred and quarrels with the Zenin and Gojo, they allied, bringing the Inumaki to their side, and forced the Kamo to join too, because if they didn't, they would be massacred, leading to the end of the Senju Clan. Although the Senju Clan demonstrated an abyssal strength, it was simply too much against them, which led to a rather even massacre, as the Senju were known for three things: their physical strength and vitality, their prodigious skill in weapon mastery, and their born prodigies. For this reason, many small clans referred to the Senju as killing machines. The Nara era was dominated by the Senju, almost 4 years passed from 790 to 793 BC.
At that time, the Senju had already been massacred, or so it seemed, but the other clans also suffered great losses. In the last battle, the Zenin lost a member who was believed to have some kind of magical technique or something like that.
Walking down one of the streets, I sighed and looked at the sky: "We were very lucky at that time," I murmured to myself. Seriously, if our ancestors hadn't hidden and erased their presence, we wouldn't exist right now. All this information was told to me by the old man Butsuma, and honestly, I don't know if I believe him. In this world, there are those strange creatures called curses. At that moment, my senses sharpened, making me look in all directions. I just saw one of those deformed things on a woman's shoulder. Physically, the woman had a lost look and a rather exhausted appearance; apparently, that curse was having some effect on her. I've always been able to see them, but my father told me not to approach them because if I did, I would enter a world with no return, a world I couldn't escape from unless I was dead. Therefore, despite wanting to help her, I walked by and was surprised by what happened next.
The woman kept walking without caring about anything and, as something inevitably had to happen, a car ran her over. It was 6:03 pm; I remember it clearly. It was the first time I saw something like that and, honestly, it didn't cause me anything. I don't know if it was because of the body itself or another factor, but everything is recorded in my memory: the way the car used the horn, how it crashed her to the ground, how her body rolled lifelessly, the sepulchral silence of the people, the man getting out of his car and running towards the woman with desperation. And what caused me the most hatred: the look and mocking laughter of that thing.
It looked like a deformed primate, skinny, with six eyes and a creepy brown smile, with white hair on its back. The monkey, unnoticed by the ordinary humans around, started dancing and looking at the woman who was dying while its laughter echoed without anyone unfortunately caring. My gaze fixed on the monkey, which kept dancing until it shuddered and looked around. From the crowd, I just watched it, seeing how its cruelty and sadism changed to a wave of fear that ran through its being, attracting panic to its miserable existence. However, that was all I could do. I didn't know what that thing could do and wasn't willing to risk myself for that woman. The first thing I established upon arriving in this world three years ago is that I am not a hero nor a good Samaritan.
I walked away from the scene, trying to shake off the discomfort. Sometimes, this world showed its true face, reminding me how fragile we humans are. With that thought in mind, I continued my way home.
To get to my house, I first had to pass by my father's antique shop, which had a door leading to the family dojo. On my walk, I passed by a store that was open. It had many shelves with food, lottery machines, and generally all the essential items. The clerk was a young girl, with black hair, dark eyes, and work clothes: a red apron, black shirt, and black pants. Her name tag read "M. Aiko." She smiled warmly at me and asked:
"Hello, good evening. Welcome to Yuzu, your trusted store. What would you like to buy?"
At her warm greeting, I just smiled and responded, "I just came for some snacks and something to eat."
The girl smiled back and pointed with a finger to the end of the aisle on the left. "Down that aisle are the things you're looking for, young man."
I nodded and, with a "Thanks," headed to where she had indicated. Walking down the aisle, I grabbed an apple juice, Tsunade's favorite, who hated sodas. Seeing the red of the juice, I remembered the scene of the woman being run over. 'In this world, humans are too fragile,' I thought. The memories of how the woman died and how that curse laughed in her face came back to my mind. I shook my head, trying to push those thoughts away, and moved on.
"That's 60 yen for everything, young man," said the woman with a kind smile. I calmly nodded, paid her, and left the store with a bag full of goodies. As I walked towards my house, I smelled something burning. As I continued, the smell became more intense.
Without finishing my thought, I started running, my muscles responding automatically. In seconds I had already covered a whole block. Across the street, I saw a group of people trying to put out the fire in my father's antique shop. I crossed the street and pushed through the crowd, placing myself right in front of the shop. The place where I had lived for three years was burning down to ashes. Suddenly, a rough and large hand grabbed my left shoulder and pulled me back forcefully.
"Get away from there, boy! There's nothing you can do," shouted Moiji, a neighbor and close friend of my father for as long as I can remember.
I resisted, wanting to throw myself into the fire. I needed to save them, help my siblings, Tsunade, Itama, Tobirama. To hell with the shop. If there were people I would sacrifice myself for, it was them.
Shouting with anger and helplessness, I kept struggling, but my body gave in. Moiji held me tightly, pulling me away from the fire. Finally, I fell to my knees and watched helplessly as the fire consumed everything I cherished. Moiji managed to drag me to the other side of the street. He gave me a squeeze on the shoulder, acknowledging my pain. Then he walked away to continue helping put out the flames.
Sitting on the edge of the street, I noticed a trail of purple blood that everyone seemed to ignore. The trail went down the street. My mind raced. Something told me I should follow it. I got up and started running, grabbing a folding chair from nearby. Moiji, still throwing water on the fire, tried to call out to me, but I ignored him. Running down the street, the smell of blood became acidic and rancid. At an intersection, I was forced to stop; the trail had abruptly disappeared.
However, to my relief, my senses had reactivated. My head turned sharply to the left, just where a street led to a park. "I must go that way," I thought instinctively, knowing it was the right thing to do. "I must do it right, I must save them," I repeated to myself as I launched at great speed, crossing the dark and uninhabited park.
I didn't stop at any moment, I knew I had to keep going. Right, left, then right and left again, left this time and then right. The feeling of being close to something big grew in me, and I knew it. I was now running downhill when I saw them, in a car junkyard. There they were: Tobirama, Itama, and Tsunade.
Tobirama stood in front of them, dressed in a sky blue kimono. His face was bloodied, and he held a trembling katana in his hand. He looked exhausted, tired, and breathing heavily. Tsunade wasn't in better condition, but at least she was conscious, unlike Tobirama, who always followed our father's orders and rules with strict discipline. Tsunade was the rebellious soul of our group of siblings and showed it with her attire: loose pants and a top. She always dressed like that. Although she was somewhat bruised, she seemed to be fine.
The one who surprised me the most was Itama, who had a burned hand and was unconscious.
In front of them, a dark figure rose to its full height, with a single red eye that stood out in its prominent physique. However, there was no time to reflect on that. Despite the strange sensation that creature caused him, Hashirama knew he had to act. Although he hadn't awakened any special powers, at least he would gain time.
Hashirama shot forward again and jumped the fence dividing the street from the junkyard. This action took Tobirama by surprise, whose eyes widened with astonishment and fear. The folding chair Hashirama had taken was still in his hands, and he quickly threw it with force at the creature. Following Tobirama's action, the creature turned its head towards Hashirama and barely managed to block the attack, although it was dragged towards a pile of cars by the force of the blow.
Hashirama quickly ran to Tobirama and helped him lean against him. "Are you okay?" he asked with a soft but concerned voice. Tobirama coughed a bit and nodded in response. Then, Hashirama turned to Tsunade and asked her the same question. Tsunade stood up holding Itama in her arms. "Yes, Hashi, thank you for coming," she replied calmly and relieved. "Do you think you can walk?" Hashirama asked, and then continued, "I need you to take Tobirama out of here, please." Tsunade reluctantly nodded, understanding what Hashirama wanted to do even if she didn't agree. "Alright," said Tsunade determinedly.
As she let go of Tobirama with a gentle smile, a hand grabbed Hashirama from behind and threw him flying against the cars. With a playful smile, the creature watched them with its single eye. Tobirama, who was about to face the creature, was held back by Tsunade. "We must go now, we have to take advantage of the opportunity Hashi gave us. I'm sure that's what he would have wanted," Tsunade said with maturity.
Resigning to his sister's words, Tobirama looked one last time at the place where Hashirama had been thrown, gritted his teeth, and walked away with her and his unconscious brother from the place.
Hashirama, spitting blood and sweating profusely, looked at the creature in front of him and smiled. "This is going to be difficult."