Daily Life × Storytelling

No matter what anyone else thought, Izuna knew exactly why he acted so inconsistently.

Deep down, he didn't believe he was "Uchiha Izuna."

This body belonged to Izuna, but the soul inside was a bright-eyed college student with only a partial understanding of the ninja world, getting by entirely on his cosplay setup and a system cheat.

Although Izuna was his favorite character in Sengoku 4F, he knew nothing about Uchiha Izuna as a person because the original work barely told him anything about him.

Give a detailed introduction of "himself"? Aside from "Madara's younger brother," "can use a sword," and "a beautiful Uchiha," his mind was blank.

He didn't even know what Ninjutsu Uchiha Izuna specialized in, what distinctive fighting style he had, or what his Sharingan could do. How was he supposed to explain?

She had cosplayed Izuna precisely because there weren't many details established about him.

He was somewhat socially anxious and disliked being approached by strangers, but he still wanted to cosplay. Izuna was handsome but aloof, which made him feel safe.

Who could have guessed he'd transmigrate?!

There was nothing else for it. He'd have to make things up.

At first, he really had tried to make up a story to make himself seem more like Uchiha Izuna.

He could casually pop his eyes out and put them back in? Oh, the great Tobirama from the Parallel World had amazing technology. They were grown as prototypes, so of course they were unstable.

His fighting style was different? Well, he'd been close to Hashirama and Tobirama in that world, so he'd learned a little from other schools. Naturally, he fought differently.

But gradually, he found that even when he did nothing, the reactions of the people around him only left him increasingly confused and gave him an ever-worse headache.

Yes, he'd managed to survive. He was Izuna now, and it was perfectly fine for him to do something strange.

But not only had they accepted his identity, they'd also come up with details about him that even he didn't know.

They wondered why, if the world he'd described was so wonderful, he had no desire to go back. Had something gone wrong in his original world?

I do want to go back! But it only goes up one point every two minutes. I'll probably never make it back in this lifetime, so what am I supposed to do?!

Why did he know Konoha's clans inside and out, yet keep so quiet about himself? Had he suffered some unspeakable trauma in that world, leaving him unwilling to talk about it?

No! I just don't know anything about Uchiha Izuna! Argh, this damned lack of character details is still haunting me!

Even the "draft" he'd casually written, mixing textbook knowledge with his experience managing clubs, had been treated by Madara and Hashirama as a guide for the road ahead. They had carefully hidden it away to study in secret.

At the dinner table, Madara had told him that whatever he guessed about Izuna's past was all right, then warned him never to tell anyone about the draft. Izuna had been dumbfounded.

Izuna: ...That's not it, I didn't, stop jumping to conclusions!

But he couldn't bring himself to ask, much less clear things up.

For one thing, he couldn't tell them he wasn't Izuna if he wanted to stay alive.

For another, he had a vague feeling that these people, especially Madara, didn't seem to need the "truth." They only needed "Izuna" to exist. Even if this Izuna was full of contradictions and mysteries, he brought them plenty of benefits and emotional value.

I knew everyone likes a little ray of sunshine!

Ugh, this is asking a lot of a socially anxious person like me.

I never want to die of embarrassment like I did today again in my life! Izuna was losing his mind.

And Madara's desire to protect him had practically grown exponentially, fueled by all those imagined scenarios and "discoveries."

Before, he'd only watched him secretly or kept an eye on him at home. Now? He was practically a human accessory that never left his side!

Izuna wanted to go to the training ground?

Madara: "Mm, I'll come."

Izuna wanted to run laps around Konoha?

Madara: "Good timing. I could use some exercise too."

Izuna wanted to buy something to eat on the street?

Madara: "I'll go with you."

At first, Izuna had tried to resist. "Brother! Don't you have work to do?! What about the Hokage Building..."

Madara's expression didn't change. "Hashirama's there."

Izuna: "The clan's affairs..."

Madara: "Hikaku's there."

Izuna: "...You still don't have to follow me everywhere! I'm not a kid anymore!"

Madara looked at him in silence, and in the end, Izuna was always the one to give in.

Later, Izuna discovered that Madara had sent a Shadow Clone to handle his affairs.

The original accompanied Izuna while he trained and went shopping, while another "Madara" handled serious business somewhere.

Izuna was completely out of options.

Fine, he could follow him. Madara was quiet most of the time anyway, so Izuna could think of him as an extra super-cool personal bodyguard and background decoration.

Life went on in this subtle atmosphere.

The training ground became one of the places Izuna visited most often.

For one thing, he needed to keep this body's fighting instincts sharp. He was trying to survive until he got home, and fighting strength was his basic guarantee.

For another... there really wasn't anything else to do for entertainment.

He wanted to take a mission and have some fun outside the village, but Hashirama cheerfully rejected his application, saying he shouldn't run around while his eyes were still in bad shape.

Those local gazetteers and novels? God, they were so ancient that Izuna was speechless. Their tropes were hundreds of years old and far too clichéd. He couldn't stand them.

In the end, he decided to pour his youth into hot-blooded training.

Squats, sword swings, running at full speed around the outskirts of Konoha, which had only just begun to take shape...

Though this physical training seemed unbearably dull to him, it was as if it had long been engraved in this body's instincts.

After running dozens of laps in one go, his breathing remained steady. He even felt limber and refreshed.

Occasionally, he practiced elemental techniques. Watching the flames dance in the air before a fireball dispersed, or seeing his feet standing on the surface of the water, felt novel.

So this is Chakra. What a convenient and incredible power.

Madara usually sat in the shade of a tree at the edge of the training ground or leaned against an equipment rack, watching quietly or joining in for a little practice.

He rarely spoke up to offer guidance, but his eyes never left Izuna.

Besides Madara, there was another group of "regulars" at the training ground.

A handful of adolescents and young ninja led by Uchiha Takuma.

Takuma was the impulsive boy whose sneak attack had failed, only for him to be knocked out with a shovel instead. He was only thirteen this year.

There were several others, ranging in age from twelve to their early twenties.

They seemed to have latched onto Izuna. No matter what he was practicing, they always came over to "ask for advice" or, rather, "challenge" him.

They competed in Taijutsu, Shuriken, speed, and Fire Style.

The outcome was never in doubt. Every time, Izuna easily defeated and knocked them down, leaving them bruised and battered.

At first, Izuna was puzzled and asked them, "Why do you keep challenging me? You'd improve faster against opponents at your own level, wouldn't you? What are you trying so hard for?"

The youths would usually press their lips together and look at him stubbornly without saying a word.

What Izuna didn't know was that these youngsters had all been juniors once looked after by "Uchiha Izuna."

The Izuna of the past had been strong, gentle, and reliable.

He had patiently guided their training, bandaged their injuries, and even secretly slipped them sweet Three-Colored Dango.

He was someone many young Uchiha looked up to and admired.

So when this "Izuna" appeared with the same face but an entirely different air about him, their first reaction was anger and outrage.

How dare he?! Showing up so casually with that face!

And he didn't recognize them! He had never once brought up the past on his own! He had never even activated the Sharingan, the symbol of the Uchiha's glory, in front of them!

He had to be an impostor! A shameless fraud!

The Clan Head's attitude left them in despair.

The Clan Head seemed convinced that this was Lord Izuna, even going so far as to use his authority to suppress doubts within the clan.

They couldn't beat him, and the Clan Head was clearly taking his side. For a time, they felt deeply aggrieved and upset.

So they chose the clumsiest and most direct approach: challenging him again and again, trying to find a flaw in battle and prove themselves right.

Izuna actually had rather mixed feelings about this group of youngsters who showed up at the training ground right on time every day, only for him to casually knock them down.

On one hand, he thought these kids were a whole gathering of little edgelords. Every one of them had a defiant look and held his chin high enough to poke a hole in the sky. Every other word out of their mouths was "the glory of the Uchiha," "true strength," or "I'll show you"... It made him want to roll his eyes.

But on the other hand... well, he had to admit these little brats really were easy on the eyes.

The Uchiha bloodline's advantages were no joke. Every one of them was a good-looking young man or woman with a fine figure. Getting to exercise and admire beautiful faces every day was wonderful.

Especially Takuma. He had the worst temper, but his baby fat and the fierce expression he tried so hard to put on made him rather cute.

How could I not mess with him?

So Izuna found a new form of "entertainment."

Every day after knocking them down, Izuna would see Takuma's face flushed with frustration and resentment. Unable to keep his hands to himself, he'd lean over with a mischievous grin and vigorously ruffle Takuma's spiky black hair a couple of times.

"Nice and soft, little Takuma~"

"Aaaah—! Let go! Don't touch my head!" Takuma instantly bristled like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. His whole face turned red from his forehead to the base of his neck as he frantically swatted Izuna's hand away. "I'm an Uchiha warrior! Not a kid! Uchiha Izuna, show some respect!"

Izuna grinned as he dodged his swats, then ran lightly around the training ground. "A warrior? You're barely out of diapers! That's hilarious~"

"Stop right there! I'll show you what I can do!" Takuma chased furiously after him while the other youths either stifled their laughter or shook their heads helplessly.

One ran and the other chased, making for quite a comical sight.

The next day, Izuna would do it again, and Takuma would chase him around the field again. He never tired of it.

Uchiha Takuma was thirteen. Though young, his hands had already been stained with enemy blood, and he had been through life-or-death trials. He was a warrior who had survived a brutal battlefield.

The first time he saw this "Izuna," he felt something was wrong.

It wasn't just because of the doubts in the clan, nor because this Izuna didn't seem to recognize him. In fact, Takuma was only one of the many juniors the real Lord Izuna had casually guided. Given how busy Lord Izuna was with countless affairs, it was perfectly normal for him not to remember Takuma's name.

What made him suspicious was the aura around this "Izuna."

It was too clean.

No matter how gentle and patient the real Uchiha Izuna was with others, he was still a strong fighter who had carved his way through mountains of corpses and seas of blood. There had always been a ninja's sharpness deep in his eyes.

Hashirama Senju was much the same. He usually seemed carefree and foolish, but anyone with a little strength and perception could sense the unfathomable power within him, as vast as the ocean, and the pressure a strong fighter unconsciously gave off.

But this Izuna before him... his eyes were too clear. His bearing lacked the coldness and scent of blood that belonged to a ninja, to a "blade."

That was why Takuma had impulsively attacked, trying to expose this "impostor."

Naturally, he had been taught a harsh lesson for it.

And perhaps because he'd launched a sneak attack, this Izuna seemed to give him special attention, beating him particularly evenly all over every time they sparred.

These past few days, Takuma had been watching in secret, trying to find a flaw in this Izuna.

But there was none.

No matter what angle he attacked from, what tactics he used, or even what traps he laid, this Izuna always dealt with them effortlessly, as if he'd anticipated everything.

Strong enough to drive people to despair, yet with a bearing as clean as a baby's... Could someone like that really exist?

"Aah! Stop touching my head! I'm an Uchiha warrior! Not a kid!" Takuma, whose hair had been ruffled yet again, roared like an angry little lion.

Izuna grinned and dodged him. "You're only thirteen, little brat. Who are you trying to look cool for? Just behave and let me, Lord Uchiha Izuna, rub you bald!"

"I absolutely don't want to be rubbed bald!" Takuma instinctively covered his hair, then realized the gesture was even more childish, and his face grew redder.

Nearby, an Uchiha boy who looked a little younger, with curved brows and eyes and an ever-present smile, doubled over laughing. "Takuma, I think Lord Izuna is just joking. You don't have to resist so much. He's only patting your head."

Izuna immediately turned to him, his smile growing even brighter. "Exactly! Oh, our Hinata is the sensible one. What a little angel~"

The boy called "Hinata" kept smiling and nodded obediently.

Takuma: "..."

Little angel?!

Did Lord Izuna know that this guy he called a "little angel" once held the Uchiha Clan's record for the most assassination targets killed by someone under ten?! Even some adult ninja couldn't match how ruthless and vicious his methods were!

After Izuna finished training and left, Takuma walked over to Hinata, who was still snickering. He lowered his voice, his expression serious. "Hinata, how can you... how can you accept it so naturally? He's not really Lord Izuna at all! His aura is too clean. There's no scent of blood on him!"

Hinata's smile faded. He glanced at Takuma, and a calmness beyond his years flickered through his seemingly innocent eyes. "So what? We can't beat him anyway."

Takuma was momentarily at a loss. "But..."

"Don't overthink it, Takuma." Hinata interrupted him, his tone flat. "Do you think Lord Madara never suspected him? He sees things more clearly than we do. Since he's accepted him, then he can be 'Uchiha Izuna.'"

Takuma fell silent. He recalled how unconditionally the Clan Head defended Izuna, and the complicated, indescribable yet exceptionally resolute look in his eyes when he looked at him.

Hinata is right. The Clan Head has already made his choice.

Then I, Uchiha Takuma, don't need to overthink it either. I'll just treat it as a mission and carry it out.

In the days that followed, training, sparring, having his head patted, and chasing Izuna around... became the fixed routine between Takuma and Izuna.

Takuma also occasionally took missions with other clan members to patrol outside the village or wipe out small bands of marauders.

Whenever he returned from a mission, he would always see Izuna at the training ground in the early morning, either swinging his sword, practicing Fire Style, or bullying other young Uchiha who had come over.

Once, Takuma couldn't help asking, "Lord Izuna, don't you... take missions?"

With the strength Izuna had shown, he could definitely complete S-rank missions with ease, bringing great contributions and prestige to the clan and the village. Yet he seemed to stay in the clan grounds all the time, hardly ever going out.

Izuna wiped the sweat from his forehead and shrugged, sounding a little helpless. "I'd like to, but Big Brother won't let me."

Takuma was startled. "With your strength, Lord Madara... couldn't stop you, could he?"

Though it was somewhat disrespectful, Takuma sincerely believed that if Izuna went all out to leave, Madara Uchiha couldn't stop him.

Izuna smiled, a hint of helplessness in his expression. "It's not about strength. I've got a little problem with my body. Big Brother said that until it's resolved, I have to stay home and recuperate."

A little problem? Something stirred in Takuma's mind.

A little problem? Takuma felt puzzled. What kind of little problem could be serious enough to make the Clan Head so anxious that he even restricted Izuna's movements?

Lord Izuna looked full of life, not at all like someone who was sick.

Come to think of it, if Lord Izuna really had returned from "recuperating" for the past six months, as the Clan Head had publicly claimed, what exactly had he experienced during that time?

Where had he recuperated? What had happened to him? Why had he become the way he was now after returning?

During a break in training, another curious youth finally asked the question.

"Lord Izuna, where... have you been these past six months? Did you come across anything interesting?" a younger child asked, blinking.

Izuna was drinking from a water flask, and his hand paused.

Here it comes, the classic question.

Excuses flashed through his mind. A secret mission? Secluded training?

But he soon stopped himself.

If I don't say anything, they'll start imagining all sorts of things again, won't they? Madara might get even more worried too... Why not... make something up?

What should I make up? It can't be too exaggerated, or I won't be able to keep the story straight. But it can't be too ordinary either, since I'm a ninja.

Izuna thought for a moment, and his eyes lit up.

I've got it! How about Spirited Away? It's fantastical, adventurous, has growth and warmth, and it's a little scary, but it has a happy ending. If I change it up a bit, that should be enough to get by, right?

So, as Madara came over too, ready to hear how his younger brother would answer, Izuna cleared his throat and began his improvised "storytelling session."

"Hmm... Come to think of it, over the past six months, I did go to a... pretty strange place." Izuna sat down cross-legged, a look of recollection on his face. "That place was a palace? No, that's not quite right. Anyway, it was a really luxurious place, but it had a lot of rules and strange creatures everywhere..."

He vividly described the fantastical sights of the Aburaya: the talking frogs, the Radish Spirit, No-Face...

Of course, he replaced the protagonist with himself, deftly adapting Chihiro's adventures searching for her parents, working hard, and saving her friends into a story about "a ninja who lost his name for some reason and stumbled into another world, then relied on his own wisdom and Yūki to regain his name, help his friends, and finally return to the real world."

He told the story animatedly, focusing on the bizarre scenes and interesting "monsters." His tone was lighthearted, even carrying a hint of the pleasure of showing off his adventures.

But the faces of the children listening to the story gradually changed.

A huge, unfamiliar building with strict rules? Strangely shaped, talking creatures? Being forced to work? Losing his name? Nearly being turned into a pig? And that multiple-choice question at the end with no hints at all...

How, how is this a fun adventure story?!

This is obviously a horror story!!!

The children turned pale as they listened, instinctively hugging their knees. Their gazes were full of shock and sympathy as they looked at Izuna.

Even Madara, standing to one side, had a thoroughly dark expression, his lips pressed into a straight line.

He listened as his younger brother used a tone as cheerful as if he were saying "the weather is lovely today" to describe how he had nearly had his name taken away, how he had worked in fear among unfamiliar monsters, and how he had risked danger to save a friend he had only just met...

Madara's heart felt as though an invisible hand had clenched around it, the pain making it almost impossible to breathe.

Why, Izuna? Why can you talk about such terrifying things with such a happy expression?!

Don't you think it was frightening? Or have you gotten used to it? Gone numb to it?

Izuna finally finished his "fantasy adventure" and took a satisfied sip of water. But when he looked up, he found that the children around him were all staring at him with complicated expressions of fear, pity, and awe. Even his brother Madara's expression was frighteningly grim.

Izuna: "...?"

He blinked, looking utterly confused. "You guys... why are you making those faces? Wasn't the story pretty interesting?"

Interesting?!

The children and Madara cried out inwardly at the same time.

What part of that was interesting?!

One child gathered his courage and asked in a trembling voice, "L-Lord Izuna... when... when your name was taken away in 'that place'... did... did you lose your memories too?"

Otherwise, how could they explain why Lord Izuna's personality had changed so much after he returned, why he seemed to remember nothing about them except their names? Even the way he did things was completely different.

Izuna was even more confused.

Why are they asking that? Did I do something that made it look like I'd lost my memory?

Ah, anyway, I'll just give them a vague answer and get past this.

He scratched his head and gave a slightly troubled smile. "No? Ah, no, wait, maybe I did? I don't remember."

Perfect! I neither confirmed nor denied it. They can figure it out themselves!

The children: "..."

Madara: "..."

They looked at Izuna's bewildered expression, as if he were saying, "Oh, I think that did happen, but I can't quite remember," and their hearts grew even heavier.

Izuna/Lord Izuna!

The Hokage Building.

That afternoon, Madara received the memories relayed back by his Shadow Clone. Sitting in the chair opposite Hashirama, he was, unusually, neither reading nor handling paperwork. Instead, he rested one hand against his forehead, his whole body shrouded in a visibly gloomy aura.

Hashirama looked up from a pile of documents and raised his eyebrows in surprise at the sight of his close friend. "What's wrong, Madara? It's rare to see you like this. Are you copying me?" He tried to ease the atmosphere with a joke.

Madara was in no mood to banter with him.

He was thinking about a serious question.

How could he cross over to Izuna's original world and beat up the other version of himself?