The Jutsu that Saved the World

Konoha was, truly, a wonderful place. I have been here for more than two weeks now, but every few minutes, I had to stop everything that I was doing and just stare in wonder at this great new world that I found myself in. I closed my eyes and let my senses be filled. The smells of a thousand delicacies and the gleeful bustle of the village outside, interrupted by the occasional whoosh of a ninja jumping overhead. It was, indeed, everything he could have hoped from the Shinobi world, and more.

"Hey! Did you just fall asleep?" a teasing feminine voice inquired.

I opened my eyes and smiled. "No Ayame. It's just that this ramen was so good that I had to close my eyes and think about how tasty it was."

The brown haired, doe eyed girl put a hand to her mouth and giggled. Ayame worked at her father's restaurant at Ichiraku Ramen, and was determined to one day be an even greater cook than he is.

She put a hand on my plump cheek and squeezed it. "Aww, Choji, that's so sweet of you."

Hearing my new name being said out I winced for a second, though she didn't seem to notice it. "I'm just telling the truth, Ayame."

"These past couple of weeks you've really developed a taste for ramen haven't you, Choji? If you keep this up, you'll be beating old Naruto as my father's favourite customer." Ayame said playfully as she took away the now empty bowl in front of me.

That was true enough, though I don't know the reason why. Maybe it's because I enjoy trying out new food in this new world, or older Choji's habits affecting me, or simply the Akimichi clan's need to eat a lot to keep up their chakra levels. Or maybe I enjoy looking at Ayame. Probably a bit of all four.

Whatever it was, I had to go now, and after paying my bill and bidding goodbye to Ayame and her dad, I stepped out into the streets of Konoha.

"Choji, Choji, Choji," I kept repeating the word over and over again as I strolled through the colourful street. I have been referred to by that name for two weeks now, but the name (and the whole situation surrounding it) still sounds strange on my tongue. Strange, and bitter. I love being a part of this world, of course. And I've always liked Choji as a character well enough. But in a world where strength is everything, couldn't I have been inserted into a stronger character?

Or at least a more handsome character? I couldn't help but think as a trio of busty ninja ladies wearing see through mesh tops that made their... assets... jiggle, walked right past me. I huffed in frustration.

"Hey! Hey Choji, wait up!" A familiar voice shouted behind me.

"Hey dad!" I said with a grin as the head of the Akimichi clan stepped in front of me. Calling him dad came naturally. The previous Choji had a lot of fond memories of his father that now affected me as well, and he seemed like quite the chill guy from the short time I got to know him.

"Where are you going, Choji?" Choza Akimichi asked.

"I was about to head off to the training yard," I said. And gawp at Ino while she's busy, was the rest of that sentence, but I didn't say that part loud, of course.

"Well, I came to tell you that I have to leave the village with my team for a couple of weeks. A sudden mission came up, you see."

That did surprise me. A fully trained Ina - Shika - Cho was one of the greatest assets of the Leaf Village, and they are only sent out on serious missions. But maybe that shouldn't surprise me. While the Village was at peace, chaos was brewing outside, and you only need to pay a little attention to news and rumours to know that a secret group called the Akatsuki is growing in power.

"So, what is the mission about, then?" I asked as nonchalantly as possible.

"Can't tell you about that Choji. It's top secret."

"Fine then."

Choza's genial smile only grew. "And your mother and grandmother already left for their holiday at the Land of Hot Water. So, I can trust you with running the house for a week or two, right?"

"Of course, dad," I said, rolling my eyes, before cringing at that action. Just because I'm in the body of an eighteen-year-old doesn't mean that I have to act like a teenager.

Choza, ever cheerful, only smiled heartily. "Of course you can. Oh, and one another thing before I go. Your grandmother left a message for you. She wants the basement clean by the time she gets back."

"What? And she wants me to do it?"

Choza shrugged guiltily. "It looked pretty tidy to me. But you know how your grandmother is. Better get it over with."

Oh, I knew about it all right. While Choza is the head of the clan, his mother - in - law ran the domestic affairs with an iron grip, and she always wants everything to be perfect. If not...

"Fine, I'll do it."

I put down another box on the basement floor, wiped the sweat off my forehead, and sighed.

Here I was, in a wonderful, magical (albeit sometimes very dark) world, but stuck in the body of a not so impressive teenager and **** to do chores. It was ironical enough for him to laugh at himself.

And I wouldn't be honest with myself if I didn't say that my earlier thoughts and the way that Ayame treated me put me in a very bad mood. Konoha is filled with beautiful women, no doubt. The only problem is... well, they didn't give a shit about a guy like me. The only women who cared for me here is Ayame and his teammate Ino, but that is very firmly in a little brother type of way, and I knew better than to push that particular boundary. And from my knowledge of Naruto, those prospects aren't gonna get any better. Who does Choji end up getting with at the end? Was her name Karui? The ok looking chick who is borderline abusive? Yeah... the future doesn't look bright for me, even in this world.

"God dammit, it's so unfair!" I shouted while kicking at the box with all my strength.

On hindsight, perhaps that wasn't the smartest thing to do, considering how much stronger I am now. The floor collapsed under me, and I fell down.

It took me several minutes to get my bearings. Slowly, I climbed back on my feet, coughing and wiping the dust on my clothes. Looking back up, I seemed to have fallen the distance of a couple of floors. Climbing back up would be no problem with my power. The problem is how to explain the massive hole on the basement floor to my parents, and even worse, grandmother.

Trying to put my nerves aside, I looked around. It seemed as if I was in some sort of modified cavern. Every surface is covered with inches of dust and cobwebs, and it seemed like no one had been here for generations. The cavern seemed to be filled with things, but with nearly no light, I could barely see anything.

Except one object. At the center of the room, eliminated by a single shaft of light, was a stone slab. The Akimichi clan symbol was engraved on it, along with lines and lines of runes. From Choji's memories I can speak and read the languages here pretty well, but the runes seemed to be from an older dialect, one that was archaic, and difficult to read even if I had proper lighting down here.

But the main message was writ large on top of the tablet, and legible enough; THE SECRET JUTSU OF THE AKIMICHI CLAN. Below that was a hand sign, along with some familiar words.

I know I shouldn't have practiced some jutsu carved on a weird old stone. But I was angry. I was frustrated. And I was still in a lot of pain and probably wasn't thinking correctly.

And so, I replicated the hand sign on the tablet with my own hands and said the words that are so familiar to me now. "Partial Expansion Jutsu!"

I lost my consciousness, and, unbeknownst to me, the world of the Shinobi changed forever.