Awakening

Land of Grass.

Clang, clang! Amid the sounds of weapons clashing, someone was being hunted down.

"Uchiha Senyo, die!"

Two masked figures, one in white and one in gray, began a frenzied assault on Senyo.

Already severely wounded from the ambush, Senyo was now completely drained.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his teammate blown to pieces nearby. His spinning Three-Tomoe Sharingan brimmed with ruthless fury.

He suddenly hurled the long blade in his hand. While the man in white dodged, he seized the man's sword and drove it straight into his own right chest.

Squelch! The blade pierced through Senyo's chest and plunged directly into the throat of the gray-clad man behind him.

With blood-red eyes, Senyo tore out an Explosive Tag and slapped it onto the white-clad man's face.

The white-clad man's eyes were filled with icy killing intent. One hand reached to rip off the Explosive Tag while the other pulled the blade from Senyo's body.

"Ah!" Enduring the agonizing pain, Senyo kicked the white-clad man away.

Boom! The high-grade Explosive Tag detonated at close range, blasting Senyo to the ground.

Bang! Senyo was slammed into a tree trunk.

"Pfft!" He coughed up a mouthful of blood, his vision swimming and darkening.

No... is this it?

Countless images flashed through his mind before finally settling on a girl—his younger sister, the one who had depended on him for everything.

Even Senyo's breathing gradually faded.

"Ruri..."

He murmured her name, then fell silent forever.

"The sounds of fighting came from this direction."

A young man wearing a Kusagakure forehead protector moved swiftly through the forest.

"Muku! Slow down, wait for me!" A white-haired girl chased after him.

Judging by their forehead protectors, both were ninjas from Kusagakure.

The two quickly arrived at the battlefield.

"This..." Although Muku was already a Genin, this was the first time he had seen such a brutal scene.

Other than the person slumped against the tree trunk and the two intact corpses nearby,

the path was covered in blood, and scattered chunks of flesh could vaguely be seen farther away.

Muku's face turned faintly green. When the white-haired girl caught up, he immediately covered her eyes.

"Ryūsetsu, don't look."

"What? Let me see!"

Ryūsetsu brushed Muku's hand away. The moment she saw the scene, her pupils contracted sharply.

But not wanting the boy she liked to look down on her, she forced herself to remain calm.

"You send the signal. I'll check whether anyone's still alive."

Muku could see that Ryūsetsu was putting on a brave front, but he still took out a Signal Flare and launched it.

Muku then began inspecting the battlefield, while Ryūsetsu cautiously made her way toward Senyo.

Senyo was wearing Uchiha Clan attire, clothing recognized throughout the entire Shinobi World.

"Why would an Uchiha be here?"

Ryūsetsu saw the blade wound that had pierced through Senyo's body and guessed that it was the cause of death.

She first felt his neck, then listened for his heartbeat, but found neither.

"I heard the Uchiha have Sharingan. I wonder whether this one Awakened Eye?"

This Uchiha corpse was relatively intact, so Ryūsetsu felt less afraid.

She glanced back. Muku was examining the other two corpses and was not paying attention to her.

Ryūsetsu quietly reached over and pried open Senyo's eyelids.

Only to discover that Senyo's blood-red Sharingan were continuously spinning and mutating.

"Ah!" Ryūsetsu screamed and sprang backward, releasing Senyo.

"What is it, Ryūsetsu!?"

Muku immediately leaped over and pulled Ryūsetsu behind him.

Ryūsetsu shrank back behind Muku. "That Uchiha's eyes..."

"Cough, cough..." Senyo coughed twice, spitting out some bloody foam. Then he slowly opened his eyes, the spinning, mutating pattern within them gradually fading back into Three Tomoe.

"Where... am I?"

The blood-red color in his eyes had faded, leaving them ordinary once more.

Ding, Star of Bonds template loaded successfully.

A line of words drifted through Senyo's mind, followed by countless images flashing past.

He groaned, and darkness swallowed his vision as he fainted.

Whoosh... A figure descended. "Muku, what happened?"

Senyo groggily opened his eyes.

His eyes were unfocused as he murmured, "The Naruto world..."

"Don't worry. I'll make Ruri happy..."

Senyo's whole body suddenly felt light. In an instant, the two souls fused together, and after a brief disturbance, his Sharingan calmed down.

He sorted through his memories.

It was now Konoha's fifty-eighth year. Uchiha Shisui had committed suicide two years ago.

Itachi had already been thoroughly led astray. Danzo would probably issue the extermination order soon.

Senyo had once wondered why none of the Uchiha clan members who were out on missions had escaped the disaster.

It turned out that, in preparation for an Armed Coup, the clan had recalled its members in advance.

Senyo's group had also been attacked by Root.

His squad had been ambushed as well. It had originally been a situation where everyone perished together.

But now that he was here, he had at least managed to claw his way back from death.

The wound in Senyo's chest still ached faintly, but he could not remain in bed any longer.

Someone was still waiting for him at home. That was his promise to the original owner of this body.

Senyo threw back the blanket and prepared to get out of bed.

At that moment, a white-haired girl entered. It was Ryūsetsu.

"Ah, you're awake! That's wonderful."

Seeing Senyo trying to get up, Ryūsetsu hurriedly said, "Don't get up! You're badly injured. Lie back down!"

Senyo frowned as he looked at the girl before him. His eyes held both confusion and delight.

Because above Ryūsetsu's head, he could see a crystal-like glow. When Senyo focused his attention on it,

the crystal scattered into starlight that filled the sky.

A progress bar appeared within Senyo's consciousness, with several stars behind it.

There was a name above the progress bar.

Is this my golden finger?

Before I passed out, did I load some kind of Star of Bonds template?

"You are... Ryūsetsu?"

Senyo asked tentatively.

Ryūsetsu was somewhat surprised. "Huh? How do you know my name?"

Senyo's gaze flickered. "Before I fainted, I think I heard someone calling your name."

Ryūsetsu had little experience with the world and was easily fooled.

"Oh, are you an Uchiha clan member? Did something happen? Do you need us Grass Ninja to help?"

The Third Shinobi World War had ended seven or eight years ago, and the Shinobi World was still relatively peaceful.

At the very least, Kusagakure and Konoha were not on bad terms, so there was nothing wrong with asking that.

"Cough, cough... I am indeed an Uchiha clan member. My mission was ambushed this time."

"I need your Medical Ninja to treat me. I must return to the clan."

Senyo touched the piercing wound in his right chest. After his revival, the wound had not immediately improved.

He was merely clinging to life for now. Even drawing a deep breath hurt, and a long journey was completely out of the question.

But he had to return immediately. If he was too late, the Uchiha Clan would be beyond saving.

Ryūsetsu could see how anxious Senyo was, so she immediately said, "Then wait here. I can't make that decision. I'll go find someone for you."

With that, she hurried out in a rush.

Senyo watched the progress bar marked with Ryūsetsu's name fill up all at once.

The first star lit up. Filled with curiosity, Senyo tapped it.