I placed my palm against the mirror, but the reflection staring back wasn't mine.
A cute nose, fair skin, long silky pink hair, and a pair of big, bright green eyes.
Most people would be frightened by such a phenomenon, but I just calmly looked at my new reflection.
I was calm because I had known from the moment I woke up that this body was not my own.
I am not a morning person. Once I wake up, it takes me a long time to feel awake. It had always been this way, and I had thought it would always remain this way.
So the moment I woke up feeling completely awake in an instant, full of energy to start my day, I knew something was wrong even before opening my eyes.
I have never felt this way before in my life. People shouldn't feel this way.
Power was coursing through me; I was stronger, faster, and even my thoughts were sharper. This was what spiderman would feel, not myself.
I was obviously not myself, I didn't even need to look down at my different body or around this room to know this. I could feel it instantly.
So, I was not surprised to see someone else looking back at me, but I did raise an eyebrow at who exactly it was that looked back.
The girl who looked back at me was obviously Sakura Haruno, she was very recognizable, even as a real person, not a cartoon.
I clapst my right hand into fist. Feeling the power it contained, I could knock someone out with a single blow.
I was stronger, faster, and smarter than ever before, yet, despite this newfound power, the truth was stark. I was actually the weakest.
With my recognition, I looked directly into her eyes, my eyes, and all of her memories suddenly came to me as if they were my own.
With the jolt, I realized I just got my ninja headband yesterday after passing the test at school.
On top of this, just six days from now will be team assignment day… the next day, Kakashi's test. In as little as eight days, I would be working as a Genin. A month from then would be the Wave mission. Some time after that the Chunin exam.
My mind raced faster.
'Can I quit being a ninja?'
An obvious question, but with a surprising answer, I can quit, war hasn't been declared, but I absolutely shouldn't quit.
One would think that living by the sword, dying by the sword, killing or being killed, would tip any logical person towards not being a ninja.
This idea would be correct in a perfect world, a safe world. I never knew how good I had it.
I am no longer in a first world country. The Land of Fire despite being the strongest country, despite having radios and other technological products, was not a safe country, no country on this planet was.
This land is very dangerous not just for ninja, but even more so for ordinary people. The security in this land is terrible. People can die for no rhyme or reason. This is a land full of psychopaths.
Ninja by comparison are actually a higher social class, live better, and are safer than ordinary people because they can defend themselves and are protected by Konoha.
The missions we do are ranked for safety, and we can drop any mission that goes outside of that rank without any consequences.
C ranks turning into A ranks are the rarity not the norm. Kakashi could have dropped the wave mission as soon as the demon brothers appeared.
There is a reason why in Konoha the civilians try so hard to let their children become shinobi.
I had heard before that in times of chaos it is safer to be a part of the army, but this world has been in this time of chaos for more than a thousand years.
Obviously, wealthy and noble families do not need to do this, but for the civilians, it is a definite step up. Ninjas are a part of the middle class. If you go out into the country-side you can still see many people living in wooden huts with straw roofs. They live in squalor and they die without reason.
I was currently living in a two story house that would not have been out of place in the suburbs of America. We have a TV, a couch, a modern kitchen, and soft modern beds. The security here is very good. My parents didn't need to worry about me being in danger when going out to play as a child.
This is with only my Dad's income as being a part of the Genin Corps. My Mom doesn't make any money, she retired from being a Genin a long time ago and is now a part of the Allied Mothers Force, which does not do any fighting except to defend Konohagakure during times of war and doesn't get paid except when doing so.
My parents were still paying the mortgage on the house, but this is indeed surprising. Genin obviously make less money than all other ninja ranks. Even in 2025 America, this would be an amazing achievement, at the level of a winner in life, let alone in this land.
It may seem immoral to join a profession that kills people just for the sake of modern convenience. However, just being a ninja doesn't mean I have to kill innocent people. It's not like I am joining ANBU. To top this off I cannot ever remember the Original Sakura, from the show, killing anyone at all.
For non-innocent people, I don't see a moral problem with killing them to defend myself or others, I feel that this would be the same as being a good police officer or soldier. I have always supported the police and army.
As for the idea of not being a ninja but training as if I was a ninja to protect myself, I already knew this was just a false hope.
No amateur can stand a chance against a professional. This is true for every sport and profession. A professional not only spends way more time practicing, but they compete against other professionals regularly. These are things that an amateur just cannot do.
All the good that would do me would be to give myself the ability to defeat non-ninjas. The problem being that while most psychopaths here are still not ninjas, the ninja to psychopath ratio is very higher.
To sum it up, I had to be a ninja.