The rain in Kumogakure was cold and sharp, slicing down from the clouds like punishment.
The streets were mostly empty, save for shinobi rushing between missions or merchants dragging carts through puddles.
In a corner of the outer district, behind the storage buildings and training fields, a boy sat alone beneath a rusted sheet of metal nailed over an alley wall.
Seventeen.
That was Hieta's age. Not his real name, of course. That one was left behind on Earth. Whoever he was before—some nobody office worker, or maybe a student drowning in the weight of nothing—didn't matter here.
The villagers called him "that chakra-less brat."
Or worse.
He'd been reborn into this world seventeen years ago. No memories at first. Just pain, hunger, and strange people with glowing eyes speaking in terms he didn't understand: chakra, missions, bloodlines. Then the memories of his past life began to trickle in over time, like old film slowly coming back into focus.
That was when he realized where he was.
Not just some fantasy world. This world.
Naruto.
The Hidden Cloud Village.
Kumogakure.
Unfortunately, this wasn't some overpowered transmigration setup. He didn't get reborn as a Uchiha or Namikaze. He didn't awaken a tail-beast or special dojutsu. He didn't even have basic chakra.
Just an empty coil.
It was unheard of. Everyone had chakra. Even the weak.
But for some reason, no matter how hard he tried, nothing flowed. Not even a flicker.
By the time he was six, the Academy had refused to take him. By ten, the local kids used him as a training dummy. By fourteen, even the adults barely looked at him as human. No chakra meant no potential.
He was dirt beneath their sandals.
He had grown used to being alone.
But something was changing.
He'd been feeling it for days now: a pressure deep in his chest, like something tightly coiled was waiting to snap. Like heat building under skin that never burned. The world around him felt strange lately—shinobi walking past would shiver when too close, jutsu practice in nearby yards would fail for no reason, and animals avoided him entirely.
Today, it hit.
Hieta exhaled, watching the mist from his breath curl into the gray air.
Then it struck.
The pressure snapped.
It didn't explode. It collapsed.
The world around him dimmed, like the chakra in the area had been swallowed by a black hole. A strange hum filled the air, quiet, but present. The puddle beside him no longer rippled from the rain—it went still, like time itself had slowed.
Then the blue light flashed in front of his eyes.
[ SYSTEM INITIALIZED ]
Welcome, Hieta.
Unique Trait Detected: Dead Zone Core
• Chakra Interference Field: 5 meters (Active)
• Ability: Reversal Edge (Locked)
• Ability: Void Pressure (Locked)
• Status: Vital
Hieta stared at the floating window.
He blinked. It didn't vanish.
"...Finally," he muttered.
Still, something clicked inside him.
He stood. The air felt heavy. Dense. He stepped forward, and the very air folded, like chakra-rich oxygen refused to exist in his space. He moved toward the training field just outside the alley—barely ten meters away.
Two genin were practicing there.
One threw a fire jutsu. The other dodged.
As soon as Hieta stepped within five meters, the flames flickered out.
The genin frowned, snapped a hand seal, and tried again. Nothing.
"What the hell—?"
They both turned.
Hieta stepped into view, but didn't speak.
"What are you doing here, freak?" the taller one barked.
He didn't answer.
"No chakra. No shinobi. No respect. Get lost."
Hieta remained quiet. Calm.
He turned and walked away. Silently.
Let them wonder.
The rain still poured, but it didn't seem to touch him now.
The genin behind him didn't chase. They didn't even call after him.
They were too busy trying to understand why their chakra had vanished.
Hieta walked back toward the outer district, hands in his pockets, eyes scanning the sky. Kumogakure's towers rose like jagged spears, cutting into the clouds. Once, he'd looked up at those towers and felt small.
Now he didn't feel anything.
- Chakra Interference Field: 5.3 meters
[Timeline check.]
Scanning...Current Reference Point:— Uzumaki Naruto: Recently returned from training with Jiraiya— Akatsuki Activity: Rising— Raikage A: Active— Yugito Nii: Jinchūriki of Two-Tails, active-duty ANBU operative
So it was early Shippuden.
Naruto had returned. The Akatsuki were starting to move.And Kumogakure had no idea that, while they trained their jinchūriki and flexed their lightning release, a storm had already been born inside their own walls.
Hieta smirked faintly.
The shinobi world was entering its most dangerous period.And he'd just stepped off the sidelines.
They would all learn soon enough.
Starting here.Starting in Cloud.
...
Hieta sat back under the sheet of metal. The system screen floated in front of him.
His power was real. Strong. Dangerous.But it had one big weakness.
Him.
He wasn't a fighter.
He didn't have chakra. No flashy moves. No bloodline abilities.And even with the chakra field active… if ten or twenty people jumped him at once, he'd lose. Chakra or not, numbers mattered.
They could still stab him. Break his bones. Crush him with sheer force.If he wasn't smart, he'd die fast.
He pulled his knees up and rested his arms on them, thinking.
"I can turn off their chakra.But I can't stop fists.Or weapons."
Even normal villagers, if they weren't scared, could beat him bloody.He couldn't afford to be sloppy.
So how would he survive if he got caught?
He opened the system menu again, looking for options.
[ Passive Unlock Available – Anti-Life Core (Locked) ]
Condition: Triggered by chaos and chakra fallout during combatEffect: Slowly regenerates damage based on nearby chakra discharges
Not useful yet. It only activated after damage.And he didn't even know if it worked for sure.
He sighed.
Then the screen flickered.
[DING]New Ability Unlocked — Reversal Edge
Type: Physical CounterStatus: Active
Description:Absorb the force of the last physical hit.Release it back on your next strike, amplified.
Hieta blinked.