I Just Want to Live

Obito's arm was split in two, and he used the scroll again to put away the section from the elbow down.

"Cough, cough..."

Yun felt a little awkward. "Activate."

[Information Exchange activated successfully]

[Rule Replication activated successfully]

[Medium triggered]

[Available targets: Hashirama Senju (Pure Land), Uchiha Obito]

Just as I thought.

Yun smiled. So this way, one piece could count as two?

Wait, how about...

He took out a kunai again...

"Smack!"

A soft sound rang out as the forearm was split into two pieces.

Yun thought for a moment, then brought the kunai down on the forearm, which had already been split in two.

"Thud, thud, thud!"

Someone knocked on the door.

"Yun, what are you doing in there?"

His mother's voice came from outside. Startled, Yun hurriedly shoved the white severed limb under the bed.

"I'm coming in."

"Wait, wait!"

Uchiha Hazuki waited very considerately for two minutes before entering. After looking around, she said, "Keep your voice down. Izumi's already asleep."

She started to leave, but paused and turned back. "Don't stay up too late, Yun. You're only six."

"Thump."

The door closed. It was already pretty late, so he'd better hurry.

Locking target: Hashirama Senju (Pure Land)

???

Nothing happened?

Looking at the tiny bit of minced flesh in front of him, Yun felt awkward.

Did it take a quarter of a forearm to work? Could he use it four times?

[Successfully locked onto the S-rank ninja: First Hokage Hashirama Senju (Pure Land)]

[Time flow in the Exchange space has been altered]

[Activate Shadow Mode?]

Yun hesitated for a moment, then chose no this time. But when he made his choice, he used the appearance of Clone Sora.

Two figures stood atop the enormous Kage Rock in the Exchange space. Below them, Konoha lay dark and silent.

"This is... Konoha?"

As he murmured, Yun looked at the spirit of the First Hokage beside him.

"Isn't it much bigger than it was in your time? This is Konoha decades later, the Konoha I live in now."

Hashirama Senju turned to look at him, tilting his head as he thought for a long while. "Red hair? Red hair? Oh! You're from the Uzumaki Clan, a relative of Mito's!"

Looking down at Konoha beneath Kage Rock, Yun replied calmly, "There is no Uzumaki Clan anymore, and the Land of Whirlpools is gone, too. That happened while your wife Mito was still alive."

Only then did Hashirama pause. "Did another war break out after I died? Mito must have... been so sad."

Yun shook his head slightly. "I don't know. I never met Lady Mito. But Lord Hashirama, aren't you curious about your situation?"

Hashirama tapped the head of his spirit, though his finger passed right through it. "You mean this Exchange space? I understand now. I can't lie, right? Oh, and there's the matter of making a trade. But I'm just a dead man. I don't want to make any trades."

As he spoke, Hashirama looked at Yun's red hair and said earnestly, "I know it probably won't help, but I still want to apologize to you. The Uzumaki and Senju have always been the firmest of allies, and the Land of Whirlpools and Konoha have always had the friendliest of relations."

"The Uzumaki spiral on the back of Konoha's flak jackets represents the friendship between Konoha and the Uzumaki. I don't know why the younger generations of Konoha didn't send help, but as the First Hokage, I have to apologize!"

"I'm sorry!"

Looking at the First Hokage Hashirama Senju bowing ninety degrees before him, Yun felt a little awkward.

He'd used his Uzumaki identity to swindle and bluff, but this man really was just as straightforward as he'd been in the anime.

"Madara... isn't dead."

At those words, Hashirama abruptly raised his head and looked at Yun.

A gust swept across the sky, stirring the leaves until they formed the character for "true."

Hashirama shook his head slightly. "I killed Madara with my own hands. I pierced his heart, and Tobirama buried his body."

Yun shook his head. "Izanagi, a unique ocular technique of the Uchiha Clan, can turn anything unfavorable to the user into a dream. If its activation is delayed, it can bring the user back to life."

Hashirama abruptly looked up at the sky. When the character for "true" appeared again, his spirit trembled slightly.

There were many things in the world that mattered to him as the God of Shinobi, but there were only two that no one could ever be allowed to destroy...

One was peace. The other was Konoha!

In truth, the two could be combined: peace for Konoha.

For Konoha's peace, he'd been able to pierce the heart of his best friend, the boy he'd once competed with to see who could pee the farthest.

Yun continued, "Madara didn't just come back to life. Think about what he said to you in front of the Stone Tablet beneath the Uchiha Compound. When two powers combine, they attain All Things..."

Silence lingered atop Kage Rock. Hashirama's gaze remained fixed on the still Konoha below.

"Phew..."

Hashirama let out a soft breath and rubbed his face, only for his hand to pass through again.

He lowered his hand, looked at it, and replied helplessly, "I'm just a dead man. What good would it do to trade with you for information?"

Yun raised a hand, and the Konoha below began to change.

"Roar!!!"

Chakra brimming with rage and hatred flooded Konoha. The Nine-Tailed Fox began to rampage, destroying everything in its path.

Sharingan appeared in its two enormous eyes.

Screams and cries for help rang through the village. Countless shinobi charged at the Nine Tails, but those who fell became corpses.

"This is what happened in the original history."

As Yun spoke, he waved his hand, and everything vanished.

Then he looked at the First Hokage and said, "The Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, created a jutsu called the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu. It can summon the dead from the Pure Land back into the living world."

"The Second probably didn't dare tell you about this jutsu, but its solution... and the power of the God of Shinobi, should be enough to make it easy."

"So... let's make a trade—for Konoha."

Hashirama continued to look down at Konoha, which had gone from rows of houses to ruins.

"Phew..."

Hashirama sat down, lowered his head, and thought for a long time before asking, "Then who are you, and what are you after? You're an information broker from the Uzumaki Clan."

Yun smiled and looked toward the darkness in the distance. "I just want to live. If I'm capable enough, I'll live well. When I'm tired, I'll rest. When I'm hungry, I can go out and get barbecue or ramen. Three-Color Dango works, too, though I'm not too fond of sweet things."

"If... and I mean if I had the ability, I'd make this world peaceful, without wars or killing. I'd sleep until I woke naturally, and eat, drink, and enjoy myself. How does that sound?"

Yun rubbed his chin. "As for who I am... Uzumaki Sora. That's my name."

The whole neighborhood is getting tested today. Looks like we'll have to line up again tomorrow.