Naruto: The Awakened Soul

A story about a reincarnator in the Naruto universe. As you'd expect, he's got an ace up his sleeve that'll reveal itself over time. Here's the quick rundown: 1. Most of the story is written in a positive tone, often with dark humor. There'll be tragedy early on, but it's just a catalyst for shaping a strong protagonist. It lays the groundwork for the hero's drive to grow. This is a story about reaching the top and showing that the grind is worth it, not a story about endless whining. 2. There'll be quite a bit of reflection and philosophy at first. The pace picks up after a few chapters. 3. A good chunk of time will be spent exploring chakra mechanics well beyond what canon covers. 4. Characters will be closer to their manga counterparts, so no dark Hiruzen, no whole-village bullying of the MC, no ultra-powerful clans, no ancient uber Uzumaki bloodline, none of that stuff. 5. No system, no gods sending the MC to a new life, no brainlessly following the canon rails without changing a thing. 6. The author of this fic, meaning me, is not Chinese. I do enjoy throwing in the occasional cultivator joke, and that's totally fine, but yeah, I'm not Chinese. I'm including this point because people have actually messaged me saying they almost dropped the fic over a cultivator joke. Enjoy the read! ヾ(•ω•`)o