Within the Simulation

All Naruto could see were bright lights to show a rather mind-bending sight before they died down.

As far as the eye can see, cubes glowing in green neon lights could be seen in droves.

The cubes could be seen drifting around in space to the horizons and the heaven.

The sight was rather majestic as Naruto almost didn't notice the screen appearing before him.

[History Quest]

Battle of the Clans: The Warring States Period was a time of war and chaos where the now noble clans were mere mercenaries.

The two mercenary families, Senju and Uchiha, are engaged in battle.

This battle is unique because of the participation of - and -.

The goal as of now is survival.

Objective:

Survive 3 minutes

Side Objectives:

The information on the screen included a few more details as the following screen appeared.

[Lineage]

Please choose an identity.

[Uchiha]

[Senju]

[Solo Mercenary]

Having no clue how this would work, Naruto clicked on each identity to see what undertaking each identity would entail.

Even though Naruto now knew about these clans from his readings, the vague textbooks just didn't have the specifics he would need for this quest.

Tapping the [Uchiha] identity first, a screen appeared to show him what he needed to know.

Name: Kawari Uchiha

Level: 3

Title: Runt of the Uchiha

Class: Mule

Clan: Uchiha

Bio: As an Uchiha with no talent, Kawari is ostracized as the runt of the clan. He was initially used as a mule to carry certain supplies and assist soldiers as a worker. Unfortunately, tragedy struck as his only brother of age was killed in battle. As the last remaining son of age, Kawari was sent off to war to fill his late brother's place.

Abilities:

Sharingan: Locked

Fire Affinity: Low Tier

The disbelief and despair that overtook Naruto's face would make someone believe he had just lost his entire fortune gambling.

"There's no way the Senju identity is as bad."

Name: Kawari Senju

Level: 3

Title: Senju's Fool

Class: Frontline Soldier

Clan: Senju

Bio: Born slower than others, the only thing going for Kawari was his muscular body and freakish stamina. His loyalty to his clan was without question, but he was destined to only be cannon fodder on the field.

Abilities:

Talent: (None)

Strong Body

"What's with these trashy identities? Where are the generals or warlords? I've been cheated!" Naruto screamed as the despair grew within him.

Before he went too far off the deep end, Naruto could calm himself down for the last option.

"It's okay. There is no way the last one could be any worse since he has to have some strength to participate."

[Solo Mercenary] is a default identity without any connection to anyone. Default identities have no affiliation or abilities granted to the user.

Naruto fell to his knees in defeat, tears streaming from his eyes.

"Why does the system forsake me?" Acceptance is a bitter pill for one to swallow.

Dropping the dramatics, Naruto thought about which to use for his first time.

He was leaning towards the [Senju] identity since it followed his style the best, as he had no experience with fire techniques.

However, he decided to go the [Solo Mercenary] route first.

He was not experienced in any form of espionage to take over an identity.

Naruto had no idea about the battlefield situation, so he probably would not even be able to recognize friend from foe.

After all, it was a test run, and even if he died, he wasn't losing anything.

Well, everyone did say he had a big mouth.

Naruto furrowed his brow as he went over all his preparations.

"I'll be saving that hint for later since I can do this quest over and over. And I could even finish the objective by accident, wasting the hint I could've used on something else. Everything else should be in order as far as I'm concerned. I'll get stronger even faster if I can finish this quest." Naruto grinned in anticipation and nervousness as he began entering the simulation.

"I'm finally going to be in an actual battle. Since it was so long ago, I bet they are much weaker than we are now. I'll show them with my awesome ninja skills. Believe it!"

With all the confidence and courage, Naruto entered the simulation.

Naruto, once again, was blinded by lights before opening his eyes to the battle he was participating in.

Opening his eyes, Naruto's pupils constricted, and his breathing halted.

The world went into slow motion, and he couldn't tear his gaze away from what he was witnessing.

Flames, ash, and blood covered the ground as corpses dotted the battleground.

Sounds of blades clashing, skin tearing, and anguished screams overwhelmed Naruto's ears.

Sweat began pouring down his face as the blonde stood slackjawed on the battlefield while the battles between life and death danced around him.

The strength in his legs left him as Naruto fell back in terror and trembled on the ground.

"This is i-insane."

Could you blame him?

He was sheltered, no matter how much trauma he's gone through.

As Naruto lay there shivering in fear, he finally understood "Hell on Earth."

Unfortunately, as this was the battlefield, those without the will to fight never lasted long.

Sure enough, a combatant saw him and did not recognize him as a part of their forces.

Even in his state of panic, Naruto noticed the individual dash over to strike him down and tried to recover while forming a defense.

"Wait!"

But this didn't help as the person went through his shaky block with practiced ease. Blood violently splashed across the floor as a blade struck Naruto across the chest, mortally wounding him.

The pain nearly knocked him out as he fell again, this time having no hope of getting up again.

A scream of pain rang out before the blade struck again.

While it was swift, to Naruto, it felt like forever as he felt the blade slicing across his neck.

With his death confirmed, the numbness of death began to creep in and calm his panic.

Through his now darkening sight, Naruto finally noticed his attacker's features.

A skeptical thought went through his head.

'He's…younger than me?!'

With that, Naruto slacked as his bloody gasps ceased.

One bright light later, Naruto gasped as he returned to the cube-filled landscape.

Only gasping could be heard as Naruto tried to collect himself.

The fear, panic, despair, and pain from getting cut down replayed over and over in his head.

"I'm fine. I'm fine. I'm fine." He began comforting himself as tears and sobs escaped his eyes and lips.

For a time, the area was quiet aside from the hushed sobs from an emotionally overwhelmed child.

This marked the end of whatever was left of Naruto's childlike views of the world.

Welcome the Beast