Chapter 1: I Want to Speak Human Words
On the rooftop of an abandoned, unfinished building.
The intermittent sounds of beer cans popping open echoed endlessly.
A man tilted his head back, pouring the beer in his hand down his throat with great gusto. The person next to him didn't cheer but casually opened another can and handed it over.
"Brother Kitahara, you're free now. What do you want to do? Let me see if there's anything I can help you with..."
"Me..." The man glanced at the desolate outskirts. A few black crows cawed as they flew into the sky. These birds... symbols of death.
"I really want to be a crow... Even if it's seen as ominous and avoided by everyone, it can still be free and happy..."
"..."
The friend beside him was speechless.
"Since I came here, Brother Kitahara, you've helped me a lot, and I haven't been able to do much..." The friend downed a mouthful of beer and started talking nonsense, "If you really think that way, it's not impossible..."
He sounded serious.
He looked up, holding out his right palm. A golden light completely captured Kitahara's gaze.
Kitahara was a bit stunned. He suddenly remembered that this friend had always been very sincere in his words and actions, which was why Kitahara had looked out for him for years.
...
After regaining consciousness, Kitahara felt like breaking down. Good friend... why do you always have a way when it comes to these ridiculous things!
Kitahara turned his head, scanning the surroundings. The forest here was dense, the air incredibly fresh.
Except, he had really turned into a crow.
Kitahara remained silent for a moment, then flapped his wings and flew to a small river, looking at his reflection in the water.
How different could a crow be? Apparently, quite different.
Pitch-black feathers, a pure ink-black, as if... some clumsy designer had just used the black fill tool on the entire body.
The model and design felt very careless.
The only bit of color seemed illogical... those eyes were red, looking like a student had added too much water when mixing dye, resulting in a red that wasn't very vibrant.
This looks like a model made and colored by a kindergartener!
...
The crow's wings flapped, taking flight. Kitahara planned to find his friend and demand a return; he didn't actually want to be a crow.
After all, being born human, who would genuinely want to be an animal?
"Screech... Screech..."
A harsh sound reached him, catching his attention.
Kitahara looked up and saw a small boy falling down a cliff... He held two sharp blades, constantly scraping them against the cliff wall, trying to slow his descent.
The flock of crows in the woods was disturbed, rising together and circling above the small boy's head, waiting for him to fall so they could have a feast.
Kitahara quickly darted to the small boy's side. Humans don't ignore the death of their own kind; that's why communities exist.
Even though he was currently a crow...
His talons gripped the small boy's arm tightly. He flapped his wings desperately, trying to halt their downward momentum.
However, the problem was, perhaps the child was too light, or perhaps this crow's strength was too great, but he actually managed to fly upwards carrying the small boy...
This defies logi— What logic is there when you've already turned into a crow!
"Are you... trying to save me?"
The small boy looked up at the black mass above him and suddenly broke into a cute smile, "Thank you!"
"Caw?"
Only a crow's call came out when he opened his beak...
Kitahara dropped the small boy onto the grass, preparing to fly off and see if the kid's parents were nearby. Although he looked precocious, a child only three or four years old surely had guardians.
However, a sentence from below nearly made Kitahara fall out of the sky...
"Thank you!" The small boy waved his little hand cheerfully from the ground, "My name is Uchiha Itachi!"
Uchiha... Itachi...
Uchiha... Itachi...
Kitahara flew back down, hovering in front of Uchiha Itachi with wings spread: "Caw?"
"Do you have a name?" The little boy squinted, stroking Kitahara's feathers with a warm smile.
As he did so, a wave of scorching power entered Kitahara's body. Almost instantly, an even stronger power erupted within Kitahara, pushing the intruding force out.
The immense aura sent Uchiha Itachi tumbling backward instantly!
The child half-sat on the ground, eyes wide with surprise: "This kind of chakra..."
Kitahara instinctively familiarized himself with the power within him. His soul was exceedingly strong, allowing his spirit to easily control his body.
Although he didn't understand everything, he knew what it meant for an animal to possess chakra!
He, Kitahara, was not just a simple crow.
He was... a Ninja Crow who wanted to become human again.
Kitahara pondered how his so-called good friend had managed to turn him into a Ninja Crow with chakra and send him to the world of Naruto.
For over ten years, that guy had seemed like the most ordinary person; Kitahara had never suspected his identity.
And his honest, simple demeanor really didn't seem like someone with status and power... Kitahara thought hard...
"When I learn the Summoning Jutsu from Dad, I'll come find you to sign a summoning contract, okay?"
Uchiha Itachi cautiously approached, speaking softly. The Summoning Jutsu he mentioned instantly revived a memory in a corner of Kitahara's mind.
Boar - Dog - Bird - Monkey - Ram!
What the heck!
Why did he know the hand seal sequence for the Summoning Jutsu!
Kitahara's own wings even rapidly folded across his chest, forming the seals... finally slamming onto the ground, where summoning formula markings even appeared...
However, nothing materialized.
Kitahara hadn't signed a summoning contract; in fact, it was impossible for him to sign any summoning contract now... he still wanted to be human.
He thought about all the jutsu he could recall: Clone Jutsu, Transformation Jutsu, Shadow Clone Jutsu...
The hand seals and chakra circulation methods for various jutsu awakened in his mind, but Kitahara clearly felt he couldn't use some of them.
He now possessed all this knowledge of chakra and jutsu but couldn't perform a single one... as if... they needed activation.
Like the Summoning Jutsu... which Uchiha Itachi had just mentioned.
This kind of power-up could be considered top-tier, right! The kind you get without effort... aside from being a crow, there seemed little to complain about...
Uchiha Itachi stared in amazement as the crow before him formed various hand seals. Of course, he quickly memorized them too... but a crow performing hand seals... even for a Ninja Crow, it was too astonishing!
Kitahara stopped. The little boy also stopped what he was doing. Four eyes met. The bird's beak opened slightly: "Caw?"
Uchiha Itachi clearly didn't understand bird language. He could only tilt his head in confusion, blinking his big eyes: "Caw?"
Learning ninjutsu is one thing... but are you becoming stupid learning crow calls?
Noticing Kitahara's gaze, young Itachi's face flushed slightly: "Sorry, I didn't mean to copy you."
Peeking at others learning ninjutsu, even though he was only four, he knew it wasn't right.
Kitahara made a gesture with his wing, indicating for him to hold out his arm. He then flew up and landed on it, pointing towards the distant village with his wing outstretched.
"Caw!"
"..."
(End of this chapter)