Naruto: Choosing from Birth

"Sakumo, Uchiha Cheng is so gifted. Do you think he might become a second Madara Uchiha?"

The Third Hokage gazed at Hokage Rock in the distance, carved with the faces of himself, the First Hokage, and the Second Hokage. His eyes were profound.

"No matter what he becomes in the end, as long as he intends to harm Konoha, the blade in my hand will sever that thought."

Hatake Sakumo did not answer directly, but his tone carried immense confidence.

"Besides, Hokage is here as well!"

"That's true." Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded. "What do you think about having Orochimaru take him as a disciple and form a squad with the academy graduates?"

"Wise decision, Hokage. It would strengthen his sense of belonging and the bonds between companions. He is still a child, after all. It would also show your goodwill toward the Uchiha Clan and slightly ease the tensions."

"Then once his confinement is over, make the arrangements."

Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled as he stroked his dark beard.

There was another reason as well. If they ever felt that he truly could not be controlled, Orochimaru could take him to the front lines. With master and disciple deployed together, others would have far fewer grounds to object.

If an accident happened afterward, the Uchiha Clan's hatred would first fall upon Orochimaru.

After going to such lengths to nurture you into a powerful ninja, it was time for you to share your master's burdens.

One year later, within the Uchiha Clan compound.

Beside a clear little lake stood a young man, motionless. The gleaming ninja blade in his hand pointed levelly at the lake's surface, its blade radiating waves of soul-stirring light.

Suddenly, an identical figure charged toward him, clutching a constantly spinning ball of energy and smashing it fiercely toward the youth.

Rasengan!

Sword Return!

An illusory wall of light appeared behind the youth, blocking the Rasengan's erosion.

Then the youth spun around.

True Crescent Moon Dance!

In an instant, three figures accompanied by three sharp sword flashes completely cut down the Shadow Clone before them.

A year had passed. Confined within the Uchiha Clan compound, Uchiha Cheng had done little besides eating and drinking to his heart's content and shooting up in height once again.

He had also continued creating new skills from those he had already mastered, such as Lightning Release: Thousand Birds Needles!

As well as sword techniques he had learned from Uchiha Dai Boku.

Of course, none of it could compare to the rapid increase in strength brought by system rewards.

He still had not learned Dai Boku's ultimate technique, Mirage Moon Wheel, because it required far too high a level of attainment in both swordsmanship and genjutsu.

Whenever Uchiha Cheng recalled that perilous battle, he could always gain some insight from the vivid scenes in his memories.

It seemed that Uchiha Dai Boku had not intended to take their lives. On the contrary, he had displayed every technique clearly, almost as if he were feeding them moves and teaching them indirectly.

Perhaps he really had not betrayed the Uchiha Clan? Regardless, the Uchiha Clan had given him a grand funeral.

After all, Uchiha Cheng had not told the clan about Dai Boku being Madara Uchiha's spy. It would only cause unnecessary unrest and might easily alert the Third Hokage.

"Cheng-nii!"

A crisp, gentle voice rang out.

Mikoto Uchiha jogged over, carrying an assortment of pastries that changed every time, along with a Konoha forehead protector?

"Hehehe, Cheng-nii. Look, I'm a ninja now too. From now on, I can fight side by side with Cheng-nii."

"You? You're still far from it! Has everyone from your class graduated?"

Without realizing it, two years had already passed since he had graduated early. His classmates had advanced from fourth year to the graduating sixth year and had graduated this year.

Well, he really missed those adorable little friends. He had not bullied them in so long; he wondered whether they had thought of him.

"Mm-hm! That's right. They all graduated together. The graduates from these past few classes have all scored far above previous years. They say Cheng-nii's high-pressure influence forced them to improve, hehehe."

"And Minato Namikaze is so strong! As a civilian, he defeated the Hyuga Clan brothers. He also graduated with perfect scores in every subject, becoming the second ninja after Lord Orochimaru to graduate with full marks."

"They say the Hokage specifically allowed him to choose one Forbidden Technique as a reward to encourage such an outstanding civilian."

"Cheng-nii, today is also Konoha's thirtieth anniversary celebration. It's so lively. Too bad you can't go out and have fun. Kushina was shouting that she'd make you pay, but halfway through the festivities, Grandma Mito sent someone to call her back..."

Minato's Forbidden Technique? Could it be the Flying Thunder God? Probably not that soon. Even if it was, there was no way he could master it in only a few years with his current level of knowledge. Otherwise, he should have already made a name for himself during the Second Shinobi World War.

Kushina had been urgently summoned back. Was the Nine-Tails about to receive a new Jinchuriki? Another elder of the Senju Clan had passed on...

The wheels of history had finally rolled forward by another great stretch.

By the lake, the young man and woman ate pastries while talking about interesting happenings in Konoha, becoming a daily sight.

Of course, Mikoto did most of the talking while Uchiha Cheng listened...*

Call for choices on the general direction of the second main storyline!

The current results for the first main storyline direction are:

A: 88

B: 46

C: 23

Unless something unexpected happens, the other options have no hope. The subsequent plot will follow option A.

By saving Nawaki, the protagonist will gain a substantial amount of goodwill from Tsunade and the surviving members of the Senju Clan.

Although their numbers are small, the Senju Clan still possesses extraordinary popularity and prestige in Konoha. Once they truly recognize Konoha's darkness, they will use that popularity and prestige to rally other allied clans and join forces with the Uchiha Clan to overthrow Konoha entirely, turning heaven and earth upside down and placing the sun and moon overhead!

There is a 90% chance that, through reasonable arrangements, the Third Hokage will become the first Hokage in the shinobi world to be driven out rather than killed outright. Killing him directly would lose much of the fun, and Tsunade and the others would not allow the protagonist to kill the Hokage. He will be publicly declared an S-rank rogue ninja. This plot has already been planned out. Given the Third Hokage's personality, even if he died, he would not leave Konoha. But by using the Sarutobi Clan as leverage, he can be forced to abdicate and leave Konoha.

That concludes the summary. Now, onto the main topic.

Call for choices on the second major main storyline!

After Nawaki's storyline, Uchiha Cheng will have the opportunity to choose a battlefield. Each battlefield corresponds to a different plot:

A: Land of Earth battlefield! Iwagakure versus Konoha.

Kari

Plot: Two major battles.

If the protagonist chooses this route, Madara's first-stage plan will be set in motion. White Zetsu will guide the Third Tsuchikage's forces into attacking the protagonist's unit.

This will place Mikoto Uchiha's life in danger, causing the protagonist to go berserk and awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan ahead of time without relying on the system. He will save Mikoto and destroy both of the Third Tsuchikage's legs.

This deep hatred will continue into the Third Shinobi World War. Iwagakure will attack with the entire village mobilized. There will no longer be a plot where ten thousand Stone Ninja fight the Third Raikage, because they will all be coming to fight Konoha.

The protagonist's Mangekyō Sharingan abilities are provisionally set as space-time abilities. The left eye accelerates time, while the right eye reverses time. Both are small-scale abilities; for example, local time reversal can restore any injury suffered by the user to its uninjured state by consuming ocular power.

B: Land of Wind battlefield! Sunagakure versus Konoha.

Main participants: Third Kazekage, Granny Chiyo, Sasori of the Red Sands' parents, Konoha White Fang, the Ino-Shika-Cho Trio clans, the Senju Clan, the Aburame Clan, and others.

Plot: Three major battles. The protagonist will launch a surprise attack on Sunagakure and, by a twist of fate, abduct the young Pakura of the Scorch Release, as well as the future Sasori of the Red Sands, as personnel reserves. This is still open for discussion; Sasori of the Red Sands may possibly be exchanged back through negotiations.

This will also create overwhelming hatred and become the fuse for the Third Shinobi World War.

C: Land of Rain battlefield! Amegakure, Konoha, Sunagakure, and Iwagakure.

Main participants: Hanzo of the Salamander, Konoha's Three Ninja, Ebizo, One-Tail Jinchuriki Bunpuku, Madara Uchiha, and various other plot characters.

Plot: First, Amegakure will battle Konoha, followed by a massive melee between the four villages. The number of troops and personnel committed will depend on the intensity of the battles.

The protagonist will encounter the young trio of Nagato and the others. At this point, Nagato and the others have not yet trained under Jiraiya. When he tries to guide them to Konoha, Madara, who has secretly been protecting Nagato, will appear. The protagonist will fight Madara and lose. At this point, the Mangekyō can be unlocked through a system choice. In the end, he will only take Konan away, laying the groundwork for intervening in the situation in the Land of Rain later.

D: Choose all of A, B, and C. After streamlining, they will be combined together. This option will result in the Third Shinobi World War becoming a situation where Konoha completely faces four enemies alone.

Please reply with your choice in the book review section.

Note: Do not read other people's comments before making your choice, so you will not be influenced. Choose according to the main storyline you genuinely want to see most.

Do not read other people's comments before making your choice, so you will not be influenced. Choose according to the main storyline you genuinely want to see most.

Do not read other people's comments before making your choice, so you will not be influenced. Choose according to the main storyline you genuinely want to see most.

Important things must be said three times!

When the plot reaches this point, the author will choose whichever option receives the most votes and strictly follow that main storyline.

PS: Thank you to everyone who has continued supporting this story until now!

I know my updates are very slow, and many readers have dropped the book because of that.

Logically, I already have both the main outline and even detailed outlines, so I should be able to write quickly.

But every time I finish writing, I am often dissatisfied with it and delete and revise it, which takes a long time.

I want to write something that I myself enjoy reading, rather than meaningless gibberish meant to pad the word count.

From now on, I will update several more chapters each day. This is my first attempt to let readers choose the plot together and participate in deciding the overall direction. Otherwise, in the first poll, I was leaning toward option C, making the protagonist a sinister villain who would eventually get stabbed to death, but so few people chose it. Sob, sob. Those three options actually also hid choices for shaping the protagonist's personality.