Bloody Cradle

The pungent scent of medical alcohol lingered, while the flashing blue and white lights atop the ambulance and the piercing wail of sirens formed the final memories of Lin An.

In late autumn of 2025, Lin An, a graduate student in both physics and biology at Ximi University, encountered a bizarre electric shock while visiting a museum to view Warring States period bronze ware.

When he opened his eyes again, he was enveloped in the heavy fragrance of medicinal herbs, which had replaced the scent of disinfectant from his memories.

He discovered he was wrapped in soft cotton cloth, lying in a dim yet warm tatami room.

His underdeveloped retinas could only vaguely distinguish the warm yellow light filtering through the paper doors and the mottled shadows cast by flickering candlelight against the earthen walls.

"What a quiet child," a gentle female voice remarked, carrying a weary yet blissful smile, "not at all like Mina, who was so fussy when she was born."

Lin An felt a smooth, gentle hand stroking his cheek.

He tried to shift his gaze, but could only catch a glimpse of black hair strands falling beside his pillow.

"After all, he was born in such a tranquil place," another deep male voice replied, his tone filled with unconcealable joy, "This mansion deep in the mountains is a treasure the clan spent a long time finding."

Just then, a small figure darted in from outside the paper door, and a childish voice rang out: "Mother, Mother, why are little brother's eyes black? They aren't as bright as mine?"

"Because your brother is still small, Mina," the woman replied with a soft chuckle, "You can coax your father to show you the true eyes of our clan..."

Before she could finish, a sharp bird cry suddenly echoed from afar—not the common songbird of the mountains, but a warning signal born of deliberate training.

The man's voice tightened instantly: "Aoba, take the children to the secret room."

Lin An felt himself being quickly scooped up, and at the same time, the three or four-year-old girl was pushed into the room.

In his blurred vision, he could only see a pair of black eyes similar to his own, widening in terror.

"Gen, what happened?" The woman's voice grew urgent.

"The raven sent a signal that the warning barrier has been triggered," the man's voice had already moved outside the door, "Take the children inside, and no matter what happens, do not come out."

The subsequent memories were a chaotic darkness for Lin An.

Wrapped tightly in swaddling clothes, he felt his mother's rapid heartbeat and his sister's stifled sobs.

Outside the secret room, the sounds of explosions and the clashing of weapons echoed faintly, and every tremor made the arms holding him tighten.

He did not know how much time had passed before he felt himself being transferred into another pair of more powerful arms.

A faint scent of blood and rust washed over him.

"Take the children and go through the secret passage!" the man's voice was raspier than before, "I never expected that after ten years of seclusion, we would still be sniffed out by the hyenas of the Senju."

"But your wounds..." the mother's voice was laced with anxiety.

"It is nothing. The guards have already sent a raven back to the clan grounds to request reinforcements, but until then, we must rely on ourselves."

This is...

As Lin An was passed back into his mother's arms, he saw—through blurred vision—the eerie red glow radiating from his father's eyes, the three rotating tomoe, and the word "Senju" he had just heard. His heart was struck with sudden terror.

Sharingan??!!

Ninjas???

An infant's body?!

Transmigration??!!

The Naruto world!!!!

At this moment, Lin An finally understood his situation.

I've transmigrated into the Naruto world... and it seems to be the era of war, filled with constant raids?

However, based on what he knew from his past life, the eras when the Sharingan appeared on the battlefield were limited to a few: the era of the Sage of Six Paths, the era of chaos, the Warring States period, and the four World Wars after the founding of the villages.

Among them, the era of the Sage of Six Paths and the era of chaos were the most insane and cruel, followed by the Warring States period.

The former was an era dominated by powerhouses at the level of the Sage of Six Paths and the unrestrained awakening of the Mangekyo, while the latter was a time of sparse population where there was almost no day without war.

If he had been reborn in these three eras without a golden finger...

Before Lin An could clear his thoughts, a wave of intense drowsiness suddenly washed over him.

Unable to resist the body of an infant not yet a month old, Lin An quickly sank into sleep.

The conversation between his parents became his first dangerous memory in this world.

When he regained consciousness, he was already in swaddling clothes that were being jostled violently. A cold wind whipped across his cheeks, and his underdeveloped retinas could only reflect the blurred glow of fire in the distance.

"Father, Mother, little brother is awake!" a childish voice sounded beside him, and Lin An felt a small hand gently patting his swaddling clothes.

"Mina, hold your brother tight; we need to speed up."

His mother's voice came from behind, carrying obvious exhaustion.

Lin An felt himself being transferred into a pair of slender yet firm arms.

Although three-year-old Uchiha Mina was being jostled severely herself, she still carefully protected her little brother's head and neck.

Three months later.

A petite figure lay in the grass beside the makeshift camp, using a twig to scratch markings into the mud.

The physique of the ninja world combined with the soul of a transmigrator had caused Lin An's new body to develop prematurely.

Over these three months, he had gradually learned his identity in this life: Uchiha Kosuke.

He also became aware that his family was currently fleeing from the pursuit of the Senju Clan.

Having lived in seclusion deep in the mountains, they had somehow had their tracks exposed, inviting a lethal disaster upon themselves.

Despite the arduous journey, he had managed to survive under the protection of his mother, Uchiha Aoba, and his father, Uchiha Gen.

His three-year-old sister, Mina, had also grown rapidly during their flight; she was now able to help look after her younger brother and even practiced throwing Shuriken under their parents' guidance occasionally.

Lin An... no, strictly speaking, the current Uchiha Kosuke, had once repeatedly called out for a system or golden finger in his mind, but never received a response.

It wasn't until more than two months later, when he could crawl and move on his own, that he abandoned the illusory fantasies of a golden finger and began to silently observe his parents' training, battles, and flight.

At this moment, he was using the calculus knowledge he had learned in his previous life to attempt to deduce the formulas for Chakra extraction, circulation, and storage, so that he could be one step ahead when he began training in the future.

Although he did not know if he could correctly deduce anything based on his observations, he still insisted on lying by the edge of the camp every day, scratching away at his drawings.

"Little brother is drawing again!" Uchiha Mina hopped over and crouched down beside Uchiha Kosuke. "What are you drawing this time?"

Uchiha Kosuke looked up at his sister.

Five months of time had significantly improved his vision, and he could now clearly see the pair of black Eyes, similar to his own, on Uchiha Mina's youthful face.

According to what his mother said when occasionally questioned by Uchiha Mina, Uchiha children would only awaken their Kekkei Genkai around the age of three if they possessed extraordinary talent, and in his eyes, the talented Mina was not far from that day.

"It's math," Uchiha Kosuke replied indistinctly; his infant vocal system could not yet perfectly support complex speech.

Uchiha Mina, however, seemed to understand and clapped her hands happily. "Counting! Mina can count too! Father taught me one to ten!"

Looking at his innocent sister, a complex emotion welled up in his heart.

Although this three-year-old girl knew what kind of danger they were currently experiencing, she still treated this flight as an adventure game.

Suddenly, the sound of metal clashing came from afar—this was the third night raid they had encountered this month.

Uchiha Kosuke stopped his movements and sat quietly in place, looking toward the direction of the sound.

His gaze was deep, as if he wanted to pierce through the dense forest to see the figures of the attackers.

Uchiha Mina immediately became nervous, subconsciously blocking her brother, her small hand already reaching toward the little cloth bag at her waist—it contained the mini Shuriken her father had specially made for her.

"Kosuke, Mina, come here."

Mother Uchiha Aoba's voice came from the tent entrance.

She held a ceramic bowl in one hand, her other hand resting naturally on the edge of her pouch, and knelt down beside the children.

Three black tomoe rotated slowly in her scarlet eye sockets, vigilantly scanning the pitch-black forest surrounding them.

The milky-white liquid still emitted a warm steam as she carefully and lovingly brought it to Kosuke's lips.

"Kosuke, drink quickly. It's not safe here; we need to leave as soon as possible."

Before his mother's gentle voice had faded, the sounds of the clash in the distance grew closer.

Uchiha Kosuke obediently opened his mouth and swallowed the sweet milk from the ceramic bowl in large gulps.

Because he drank in a hurry, the snow-white milk mixed with the dust from his writing and flowed onto his small swaddling clothes.

"Mother, is it Father?" Uchiha Mina clutched Aoba's sleeve nervously, her eyes darting toward the depths of the forest from time to time.

"Yes. The guard uncle is asleep, so only Father can go drive the bad guys away," Uchiha Aoba forced a smile and reached out to pull her daughter into her arms. "Mina must be brave and protect your little brother, okay?"

The little girl nodded solemnly, then turned to face Uchiha Kosuke, saying in a youthful yet firm tone, "Mina will protect little brother!"

"Are you full?"

Uchiha Aoba asked softly. Even though she thought her son couldn't understand yet, she was still moved by his well-behaved cooperation.

She set down the ceramic bowl and reached out to wipe the leftover milk from the corner of Kosuke's mouth, failing to notice the flash of complex emotion in the infant's eyes.

Asleep? Perhaps only his sister would believe that...

A sharp eagle cry suddenly rang out in the surroundings; this was the signal for the Senju Clan to launch an all-out assault.

At the same time, the figure of Uchiha Kosuke's father, Uchiha Gen, appeared in front of the tent.

His face was fierce and filled with murderous intent, and his left arm was dripping blood continuously.

However, when his fierce gaze touched his wife and children, it instantly softened and became filled with love.

"Father!" Uchiha Mina cheered and wanted to pounce on him, but was pulled back by Uchiha Aoba.

"Gen, your wounds..." Uchiha Aoba's voice was choked with sobs.

"It is nothing," Uchiha Gen shook his head. His gaze swept over the mathematical symbols on the ground outside the tent, a flash of surprise crossing his eyes, but his attention was quickly pulled back by the pressing reality. "The Senju have dispatched three Jonin; we are surrounded."

Before he could say more, a heaven-shaking explosion erupted from behind them.

An Exploding Tag had been triggered!

"Aoba! Take the children and head east! The clan's reinforcements should be in that direction!" Uchiha Gen said with rapid speed, simultaneously pulling a Kunai from his robes and handing it to Uchiha Mina. "Mina, you are the older sister; you must help Mother protect your younger brother, understand?"

The three-year-old girl took the Kunai solemnly. Although her hands were still trembling slightly, she nodded firmly.

Following this, Uchiha Gen thrust his long sword into the earth, turned abruptly, and his gaze became as sharp as a blade once more.

He quickly formed hand seals, and a fierce shout rang out.

"Fire Style: Great Fire Annihilation!"

A torrent of scorching fire surged rapidly from Uchiha Gen's puffed-out cheeks.

The next second, this scorching stream of fire suddenly expanded into a fireball ten meters in diameter, rushing straight toward the site of the explosion.

At the same time, he waved his hand, throwing ten Kunai wrapped in Exploding Tags, which shot into the dark night like shadows.

At the very last moment, Uchiha Gen cast one deep look at the mother and children, then charged into the fire-splattered forest without a moment's hesitation.

The erupted Great Fireball illuminated the pitch-black forest, and simultaneously lit up the tear-filled eyes of the woman and the children.

Uchiha Aoba bit her lower lip, quickly binding Kosuke and Mina to her chest and back with Chakra threads.

"Mina, hold onto Mother tight. We are leaving."

As the three of them took one last look at the twelve Crimson Fire Lotus flowers blooming in succession within the night, a flash of scarlet light quietly flickered in Kosuke's youthful eyes.

Uchiha Aoba's expression turned resolute in an instant; she channeled the Chakra within her body, pushed off with her legs, and vanished from the spot.

The third day of their escape.

As Uchiha Aoba brought the two children to the edge of a forest to rest, they were ambushed by the Senju Clan.

The enemy showed no mercy, launching a fierce assault the moment she stepped into their encirclement.

The taste of rust spread across her tongue, and Uchiha Kosuke and Mina were jolted so violently they nearly vomited the last of the acid in their stomachs.

Their mother's rapid heartbeat transmitted through her thin combat vest, weaving with the whistling sounds of wind in the forest to form a death-knell rhythm.

Uchiha Mina lay prone on Aoba's back, her small face covered in sweat and terror, yet she still gripped the Kunai her father had given her tightly, turning her head from time to time to watch the figures flickering around them.

"Mother, look out!" the little girl suddenly screamed.

A Kunai shot from the shadows; Uchiha Aoba dodged it with an agile side-step, but her shoulder sleeve was still slashed open.

Fresh blood seeped from the wound, but she only gritted her teeth, her speed not slowing in the slightest.

"Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"

Uchiha Aoba formed seals with one hand and spat several fireballs from her mouth, precisely striking the enemies attempting to close in.

However, more enemies swarmed in from all directions.

Clearly, the Senju Clan was determined to completely wipe out their family this time.

Uchiha Kosuke struggled to stay conscious amidst the violent jolting, his brain working at high speed as he tried to find a glimmer of survival from the knowledge of his past life.

Mathematical formulas, laws of physics, biological knowledge... everything that might be useful in battle surged through his mind.

Just then, he felt his mother's body shudder violently, followed by Uchiha Mina's terrified cry.

"Mother! You're bleeding!"

A Kunai was deeply embedded in Uchiha Aoba's right shoulder, and blood quickly stained her clothes red.

Her speed slowed significantly, and her breathing became ragged.

"It's alright, Mina."

Uchiha Aoba forced a comfort to her daughter, but Uchiha Kosuke could feel her stamina dropping and her Chakra becoming unstable.

The pursuers drew closer, and arrows and Kunai whistled past their ears.

Aoba fled forward with all her might, but the injury severely hampered her speed.