Countdown

"An invasion!?"

Lin Zhen—or rather, Shinji Uchiha—was completely bewildered.

He was lying in bed, covered in bandages and looking utterly dejected. He couldn't even get out of bed, and suddenly a voice had told him that his plane had been invaded!

It had even given him a countdown.

After waiting for a long time without hearing anything else, Shinji cried out inwardly, Hey! What do you mean, an invasion? At least explain yourself!

There was still no response.

It was as if everything he'd just heard had been a hallucination.

He was utterly speechless, but there was nothing he could do. Even moving took effort right now.

Shinji spent the next few days in a daze.

That was mainly because he was so badly injured.

The slash Itachi Uchiha had left across his chest had cut deep enough to expose bone, and severely damaged his internal organs. Even with Medical Ninjutsu, he would need time to recover.

As for the mysterious voice, it would abruptly sound in his ear every day, announcing that the countdown had decreased.

That made him realize the voice wasn't a hallucination. It really existed!

Without a doubt.

Coming to that conclusion only made him feel more depressed!

And as the days went by, the impact of the Uchiha Clan—the most powerful clan in Konoha—being wiped out gradually became apparent.

The most immediate effect on Shinji was that everyone looked at him with sympathy.

In truth, most people in Konoha didn't have any deep-seated hatred for the Uchiha Clan.

They were mostly just put off by the clan's arrogance and wary of the fearsome Sharingan.

After the Uchiha Clan was wiped out, those everyday tensions vanished along with them.

In their place came sighs and sympathy. After all, the Uchiha had fought in several Shinobi World Wars for Konoha and made considerable sacrifices.

Shinji received treatment while doing his best to adjust to everything.

At first, he was terrified. He worried that his identity as someone from another world would be exposed, and that someone would decide to eliminate him as well, wiping out the last Uchiha survivors.

But several days passed without incident.

At least in the hospital, everyone treated him with sympathy and kindness.

Thud!

Shinji fell heavily to the ground.

The nurse hurried over to help him up, concern written all over her face. "You're pushing yourself too hard. You should rest for a few more days before trying again!"

Enduring the pain, Shinji said, "The doctor said my injuries have nearly healed and that I can try moving around."

The nurse tried to dissuade him. "But..."

"I can do it!"

Shinji refused her help.

He took a deep breath and stepped forward again.

Every step was incredibly difficult, but he gritted his teeth and kept going.

With that strange countdown hanging over him, and as one of the Uchiha survivors who had somehow made it through the Night of the Massacre, he couldn't afford to take it easy.

Thud!

He fell again.

Then got back up.

Again and again!

Even the nurse beside him couldn't bear to watch and turned her head away.

After an afternoon of practice, Shinji finally managed to walk, albeit with difficulty.

The nurse hadn't expected him to actually persevere. She couldn't help exclaiming, "It's incredible!"

Shinji said, "I want to go to the bathroom."

The nurse smiled. "I'll help you."

"No need."

Shinji declined.

He went to the bathroom alone. After making sure no one was inside, he entered a stall in the corner, closed the door, and sat down on the toilet. Then he lowered his head and pressed a hand to his forehead, covering his eyes.

"Mangekyō Sharingan, activate!"

At his command, his pupils changed instantly.

Scarlet flooded his vision, and dark patterns appeared!

In an instant,

his vision became crystal clear. He could see every line on his left hand, which was covering his eyes, in the finest detail!

"So this is the Mangekyō Sharingan..."

He was both surprised and delighted.

For the past few days, he had been lying in bed, unable to move around. To avoid exposing his Mangekyō Sharingan, he'd been holding back the urge to activate it.

Now that he'd finally found a chance to confirm it, he felt much more at ease!

On his way back to the hospital room, he saw another surviving member of his clan: Sasuke Uchiha!

However, that guy was still unconscious because he'd been caught in Tsukuyomi. It looked like he wouldn't wake up anytime soon.

Over the next few days, Shinji continued working hard to regain his strength.

At first, he could barely walk.

Through his tireless effort, he gradually became able to jog and hop around.

The mysterious voice that sounded in his ear every day added a strange sense of urgency to his already busy life in the hospital.

He still had no idea what this so-called "invasion" meant.

But it couldn't hurt to prepare as much as possible.

One week after he was admitted.

As the doctor examined Shinji, he clicked his tongue in amazement. "You're recovering much faster than we expected."

Shinji replied, "Thank you."

The doctor shook his head. "Our Medical Ninjutsu can only treat your injuries. Your body's recovery is the result of all the effort you've put into training these past few days."

Shinji clenched his fist and tested his strength.

His efforts hadn't been in vain. Combined with the treatment he'd received, his body had nearly recovered.

After giving him a few instructions, the doctor left the room.

As soon as the doctor had gone, another figure walked in and asked Shinji with a smile, "How are you feeling today?"

Shinji nodded woodenly. "Much better."

The person asking was a young man with pale blue hair and a smile on his face.

He was Shinji's teacher at the Ninja Academy, Mizuki.

But Shinji knew that he had another identity: a spy Orochimaru had planted in Konoha.

Mizuki looked Shinji up and down, then said, "Your injuries have nearly healed. You can be discharged today."

Shinji nodded.

After completing the discharge paperwork, Mizuki led Shinji to an apartment building.

He opened an apartment on the third floor and handed Shinji the key. "This will be your new home from now on."

Shinji looked around, then silently took the key.

Mizuki handed him a passbook as well, gave him a few pointers about daily life, and then left with a smile.

Only after carefully closing the door did Shinji's expression become a little less blank.

The passbook Mizuki had given him contained the compensation paid by the village: more than seven million. It was no small sum.

After putting the passbook away, Shinji looked out the window.

The apartment wasn't very large, but it was in the center of the village, only a few streets away from the Ninja Academy. The area around it was very lively.

Obviously,

the two children, Shinji and the unconscious Sasuke, couldn't protect the Uchiha's vast clan compound.

So he wasn't surprised that the village had settled him here.

As for the compensation of more than seven million, it probably included payment for the village confiscating the clan compound.

But when he thought of what he'd seen in the morgue, he realized that the Uchiha Clan's accumulation of wealth over nearly a thousand years, along with the Sharingan of all the Uchiha who'd died, had probably ended up in the village's hands.

By comparison, the seven million in compensation was nothing.

Night fell.

Rows of lanterns and neon lights illuminated the village streets.

Their warm light seemed to drive away the cold of the night.

Inside the apartment,

Shinji gazed quietly at the night view of Konoha, but his attention was focused on the apartment next door.

The occasional noises from next door made him suspicious. He worried that someone might be watching his every move from the neighboring apartment.

But he quickly dismissed the idea.

If someone really were watching him from next door, they wouldn't make so much noise that he could hear them.

"I wonder who lives next door."

After a quiet thought, he flopped onto the bed and began thinking about the future.

Even now, he still didn't know why he had ended up in this world.

He was even more confused by the mysterious voice's references to a "return mission" and an "invasion."

He'd tried all sorts of ways to call out to the voice and communicate with it, but nothing had worked. It was as if it existed only in his imagination.

He gathered his thoughts. Whatever happens, I have to focus on staying alive first!

He already had a pair of Mangekyō Sharingan. At least until the Fourth Shinobi World War, they would be a trump card.

And with the Uchiha Clan gone, there weren't many enemies who still harbored ill will toward him.

There was Danzo, who had orchestrated the Uchiha Clan Massacre; Orochimaru, who coveted the Sharingan; Itachi, who had killed him once with his own hands; Obito, who had taken part in the massacre; and the other villages and organizations interested in the Uchiha's bloodline limit. Aside from them, there was no one else.

All right, there were still plenty of threats!

"So for now, staying in Konoha is much safer than running around!"

The logic was simple.

He was a survivor of the Uchiha Clan Massacre. As long as the Third Hokage cared about keeping up appearances and Konoha still upheld the Will of Fire, no one would persecute him openly.

But he knew that unlike Sasuke, he didn't have Itachi protecting him.

If he went too far, even if the Third Hokage couldn't act against him openly, Danzo certainly wouldn't pass up the chance to crush him, the last Uchiha survivor.

Just like these past few days, he sometimes felt hidden eyes watching him.

"Keep my head down for now!"

He silently made up his mind.

[The plane has been invaded.]

[Countdown: 2]