What happens after death? What awaits us in that inky black void filled with only impossible possibilities? Heaven, Hell, The land of the dead, Hades, or Reincarnation. Well only John Adams might truly be able to tell, his story is that of ups and downs with himself crawling up the world ladder as though he had two broken arms.

John was a regular old long-distance truck driver in Australia, his job paid little and meant that he was away from home for long periods of time but he enjoyed the repetitive monotonous work of driving. He listened to various podcasts and YouTube videos whilst working. It was a pleasant life.

One day he was listening to a podcast about the limitless possibilities of chakra in Naruto whilst driving to Perth from Adelaide. He zoned in and out with only small rests given when he needed to refuel or have a mandatory break. John had absolutely no idea why he was so out of it today but he knew that if he could make it to Perth he could have a proper night’s sleep in a trucker’s motel.

So, he continued on and the road train pulled along with its deep mechanical hum. Hours passed and day began to descend over the horizon illuminating the road with the cool white of the moon. It was times like this that John loved. The peaceful night covering the unforgiving Australian desert that blurred by as John drove.

Maybe John was a tad more tired than he believed himself to be as his eyes were drawn to moon and not the road. A mistake that would only ever happen once in his life as the 100kph multi-tonne vehicle veered off into the desert. As John realized what was happening he attempting to steer the truck back onto the highway but he overcorrected and the next thing he saw was a world sideways.

John’s body was thrown against the hard glass of his cab’s window. Blood drooled down from a gash on his head. His nose was filled with the putrid smell of petrol. He could not move nor could he feel most of his body. He knew his situation was seriously dire, the sense of urgency became larger and larger with each passing moment. As he tried to get a better idea of his surroundings John faintly heard a possibly fatal issue. A wire sparking. It was faint but he could clearly hear it, he started to panic. He willed his legs to move but they refused. He attempted to use his arm to unlatch the seatbelt but to his horror his arm was bent in such a way that would make most men faint. Adrenaline had dulled the pain but he knew his life was most likely to perish on that day.

He waited, hoping for a car to see his situation. But before any care could see him he heard the sound of fire crackling, his eyes widened looking up to see the sky dyed in red undoubtedly from the blood leaking into his eyes. The moon reminded himself of something but before he could think on it an explosion occurred instantly killing poor John. His family had no body left to bury nor would they wish to see a body that had undergone such gruesome mutilation.

However, John found himself in situation he had not expected. He could feel his body, it felt good! No better than good, it felt as though he had been given the body of an athlete. He gazed down at his hands expecting his rough callouses and slightly fat fingers but they were not his own. His skin shared striking resemblance to an eastern Asian’s. He had wanted to check his entire body however he was distracted by the endless desert that encompassed him. As he studied his surroundings he could make out what looked like a small town in the distance devoid of any electric poles or hint of modern architecture, he had assumed it was a mirage. However, without better options he walked towards it one step at a time getting used to his vastly different body as he did.

The town in the distance got closer and closer which surprised him. As he neared it he found a primitive packed down road that led to what looks like gates. The town itself was vastly different than any that he knew of. John had assumed something was amiss but survival was key. He walked to the sandstone gates and the crudely armoured guards stopped him.

“Halt!” They yelled out

John froze realising a crucial detail. Although he could understand the language it was clearly different than English. His thoughts ran erratically inside his head confused and curious at what was happening to him.

The host has reached a safe zone. Trait System activated; Kokichi Muta traits applied.

“Kokichi Muta?” He croaked out surprised at the familiar name.

His surprise was quickly replaced with pain as his legs and arms began to throb as though they were decomposing as he was still alive. His skin began to burn and crack as though fire had been spread across it. The pain overwhelmed his senses and he felt his consciousness receding.

He awoke but dared not move. His body was absolutely surrounded in crude bandages that rubbed his skin like sandpaper but protected it against the small amounts of light that broke through the rudimentary wooden window panes.

“Water?” He attempted to yell out but it instead came out in a pained whisper.

“He’s alive! He’s alive!” excitedly came a voice from his side. “Boy, we thought you’d have died by now. It’s a miracle from the gods that you have yet to perish and join the pure land.” The voice’s owner was an old man dressed in rags from top to bottom. He grabbed what looked like a water skin and held it up to John’s quivering mouth.

“Thank you.” John managed to say as the water burned down his throat like acid however knowing his situation he resisted the urge to stop drinking.

The man smiled “Boy, you were out for 5 days. During which your body has deteriorated extremely. The villagers believe you to be cursed as no sickness is alike what you were afflicted with. They wished for you to be sent away but I protested and have taken care of you for the past days, you’re quite strong to still be alive.”

“My.. Body..?” John weakly asked

The man’s smile was lost and replaced by a sullen face. “I’m sorry but your arm went through severe necrosis and I had to amputate it. Your legs weren’t much better as they lost an extreme amount of muscle and are very weak right now. However, the most worrisome condition is your skin. It’s extremely sensitive to say the least. Even sunlight seems to burn it, thus the bandages. I’m sorry but the chances of you recovering are very low. You may yet to survive the next few days and past that I’m not sure I can take care of you.”

‘The words I heard before I passed out. My body’s current condition. My Asian features. I have become Kokichi from Jujutsu Kaisen. Certainly explains the pain.’ John thought to himself wishing he could talk without being in agonizing pain. His eyes darted around the room he was in. Clearly it was cut sandstone, with a crude wooden drawer next to the bed. The bed was effectively sandstone with some fibrous material and a sheet on top of it. Looking at the drawer there seems to be an ancient Japanese Kunai. But it looks brand new. Kokichi could not help but think of the blood red moon he saw before he died.

“Ninja… Land of wind.. Sunagakure.?” He croaked out, startling the old man who had been taking care of him.

“Yes, you’re in the land of wind however I do not know of any town Sunagakure. If you’re a ninja it certainly explains the amount of chakra you have. Perhaps being one stopped you from dying.”

‘He doesn’t know of Suna? But he’s heard of chakra. I must be in the Naruto world but maybe an alternate universe where Suna never existed. Or, wait the crude technology seemed crude even from a perspective of the Naruto world. No fridges or radios or anything of the sort. Perhaps it’s Warring States Era or Earlier? Furthermore, this man noticed my chakra he must’ve been a medical-nin or a sensor.’ Kokichi thought to himself knowing his future life has gotten extremely complicated.

“I have some matters to attend to, try and sleep if possible.” The old man said as he got up and walked out of the room leaving Kokichi alone.

For the next few hours he attempted to sleep however his body would not allow it. Every time he tried he was kept awake by the ever-present pain that has persisted since reaching the town. In an attempt to nullify or at least dull the pain he tried to focus his attention on meditating. He looked inwards attempting to find his chakra. Surprisingly it did not take long as it was already unlocked and in abundance. Perhaps Kokichi’s immense reserves of cursed energy was exchanged to chakra. His joy and excitement at finding his chakra had successfully distracted him from the pain however it did not last long.

He looked around the room attempting to use as little movement as possible to not add unnecessary pain he saw that underneath the drawer was some type of chest. A thick layer of dust had settled on it indicated its clear lack of use. Curiosity got the better of him and he wished to see inside.

‘If I have Kokichi’s traits then maybe…’

He drew his chakra forward to the tips of his fingers. 5 strands of chakra extended out of them to the amazement of Kokichi. He tested moving them around and to his surprise it felt natural as though he’s been able to do this his entire life.

 Soon enough he slowly started to stretch them towards the chest. The five strings of chakra manipulated the chest out into the open where Kokichi could see it. They then slowly opened chest. Inside layed various strewn out wooden pieces that looked like they were part of a mannequin.

Using the strings, he slowly placed all the parts from the chest onto the top of the drawer. Although they were disassembled he knew exactly what puppet it was. The puppet head had two green beads for eyes, a row of teeth and an interesting symbol decorating its forehead.

‘Mechamaru, the owner of the building must’ve been a puppeteer. Judging by the current era he most likely was one of the few people to use puppets. Perhaps I was sent here specifically as a tutorial? Why else would a puppet from Jujutsu Kaisen be sent here?’ Kokichi pondered as he stared at the wooden parts clogging up the counter.

After writing it up as something he needs to research in the future Kokichi slowly brought each piece up to his face and inspected it closely in order to figure where it goes and what it connects to. He organized it onto the floor and before long the jigsaw puzzle that was Mechamaru slowly started to come together. After connecting each piece to each other he had a completed humanoid puppet. However, unlike Mechamaru from the anime this one seemed to only contain sharp dagger-like nails that could come out and overlay on top of its fingertips.

‘So unfortunately, no blasting ninjas with cannons but still better than nothing’ Kokichi thought

After connecting the 5 chakra strings to the puppet’s frame it came to life and at Kokichi’s command it stood up. To test his command over the puppet he manipulated it to do various different actions. Dancing, cleaning and also grabbing the nearby water jug so Kokichi could drink.

He brought the puppet close and attempted to use his Innate Cursed Technique: Puppet Manipulation on it yet it was as though it was lacking a base to latch on. He reasoned it to the fact that the puppet was made the Naruto way and thus was not a cursed corpse, meaning his method wouldn’t work until he injected a soul into it.

‘What should I do? What is my goal?’ Kokichi questioned himself

‘World peace. World domination. Just fuck around. I have no idea. Perhaps becoming the ruler of the sand isn’t a bad plan. Making Roran before it even exists. For now I’ll just help out as much as I can to repay the villagers for their kindness.’ Kokichi reasoned internally

Before the train of thought could become to long he heard the door open revealing the old man who had taken care of him. He froze upon seeing the puppet. It wasn’t a fear response, rather a surprised one.

“Im.. sorry.. I.. was.. bored..” Kokichi croaked one in a strained voice.

“I-I don’t know what to say boy. Your chakra control must be amazing to control a puppet with your insanely large reserves. You remind me of my youth, obviously without the whole bodily issue.” He said in a half laughing tone

“I.. knew.. it.. ninja..”

“I wasn’t really a ninja, I was more of a scholar. I preferred to look at chakra and how it interacted with various things until I came across chakra strings. My fighting capabilities went from weak to deadly. The only reason this town respects me is because I can defend it against bandits and the occasional ninja. Though I suppose with the unforgiving desert and my lifespan nearing its end I should pass on my skills. Would you be willing to accept this old man to be your teacher?"

“Yes.. thank.. you.. for.. everything..”