That Night

Leaf 32 —

Land of Fire, Leaf Village, Uchiha Clan grounds. Beside a wooden house, a man stood at the door. Inside, a woman's screams rang out. Uchiha Akiharu, an elite jōnin of the Leaf's foremost clan, trembled, eyes reddened, his tomoe spinning furiously.

He heard his wife's cries of agony inside but could do nothing. Even as a standout shinobi among the Uchiha, at this moment he was just a husband terrified for his wife.

"How is Kaori? Still no progress?"

Uchiha Akiharu grabbed the midwife as she came out of the room, asking anxiously.

"Ah—"

She sighed and shook her head.

"Akiharu, at this rate Kaori won't hold out much longer. If it comes to it, we'll need to call a medical-nin."

That was the safest option she could think of now.

Uchiha Akiharu's face darkened, his worry deepening. His wife Kaori's due date had been yesterday. Labor pains started in the dead of night, and she still hadn't delivered.

He never imagined childbirth could be this dangerous.

Tonight was the last night of the year. All the clan members had gone to the gathering, and finding a medical-nin skilled in obstetrics among them right now wouldn't be easy.

"Go back and take care of Kaori. I'll see the elder and find a medical-nin who knows childbirth."

The sky had darkened, moonlight hung on the branches, accompanied by a few bird calls. The old day ended, and a new year began.

Leaf Village officially entered Leaf 33.

"Wah—wah—"

A baby's cry shattered the silent night. As if timed to the second, he was born in that instant when the new year arrived.

Uchiha Akiharu, about to Shunshin away, was overjoyed and tried to rush into the delivery room, but the midwife blocked him.

"Lord Akiharu, you can't come in yet! Please wait!"

The midwife hurriedly shut the door and began cleaning the bloodstains inside.

Lying in the room was Uchiha Kaori, who had exhausted all her strength in labor. She had no energy to care about her own body; her lips moved, trying to speak.

But all that came out were "hiss" breaths. Too weary to talk, she should have passed out long ago, but she held on, determined to see her child first.

The experienced midwife knew what she wanted. She placed the cleaned baby beside Kaori's pillow. Kaori gently kissed the child, tears brimming in her eyes.

"Kaori, congratulations—it's a healthy boy. You should be happy."

The midwife wiped the tears from her eyes, comforting the new mother, knowing this was her weakest, most fragile moment.

After seeing her child, exhaustion overwhelmed her, and Uchiha Kaori fell into a deep sleep.

But the baby in her arms opened big, bright eyes, looking around restlessly. If he weren't a newborn unable to control his body, he might have tried to stand up and run.

"Where am I? Why do I feel so weak? Wasn't I struck dead? Is this a rebirth? Or a transmigration?"

All he remembered was the sudden thunderstorm and the blinding lightning. Then everything went black, his body disintegrating, his soul scattering.

He didn't know how he ended up here. All he could see now was the ceiling and the wooden beams.

"Where... is this...? Am I still alive?"

Seeing the baby had stopped crying, the midwife didn't hesitate. She hoisted the newborn up and smacked him a few times on the bottom.

"Wah—wah—" The baby's strong cries rang out again.

What she didn't know was that the crying baby was cursing her in his mind, just unable to speak yet.

All he could do was let out "wah—wah—" cries.

"I will get revenge. I swear it. I remember you, old hag." He roared furiously in his heart.

"Hoo—hoo—"

But soon, even breathing sounded. He had fallen asleep alongside his mother.

Though his soul was that of an adult, his body was still an infant, unable to handle too much stimulation or movement.

In his dreams, he seemed to return to another world.

That was—

A blazing July sun hung in the sky. The leaves on the trees lining the city streets were practically sweating oil.

In weather like this, no one went out to work unless they absolutely had to.

In a rundown little building, an empty rented room held only a bed, a computer, and a fat shut-in.

The quiet room was suddenly filled with shouts from the computer speakers. An angry man was screaming hysterically at his teammates.

"Liu Feng... you're so trash. You've played League for years, why are you still a noob? Using Volibear as support? Can you stop dragging me down?"

Listening to his former college roommate raging at him, Liu Feng calmly pulled out his phone to order takeout, completely unfazed.

He was used to it. He was never a pro player; just playing games with him was already good enough.

He knew that even though the guy on the other end was cursing him one second, no matter how badly he played, the next second he'd still invite him to duo.

Because after graduation, they'd both started their nine-to-five lives. The only one left to brave the Rift with him was Liu Feng.

A sudden gust of wind swept through the open window. Liu Feng walked over to close it.

Outside, the sky had already turned pitch black. Fine raindrops began to blow in the wind. Today's weather forecast had said there would be thunderstorms.

"Eh—"

Looking at the distant sky, he seemed to spot some enormous black shadow.

"What's that? Am I seeing things?"

As he pressed against the window for a closer look, he suddenly heard a thunderclap—"Boom!" Purple lightning flashed before his eyes, and his body lost consciousness.

"Damn."

He woke from the dream, trying to turn over and sit up, but found he couldn't do it at all. His waist was terribly weak. He felt his body had become shorter and heavier.

"Thought I'd died again!"

But what came out was soft, babbling baby talk—"Ah, ah, ah, ah."

"Ah—"

A crisp female voice, full of excitement and joy.

"He's awake! So cute! Mingye, did you see? Kaede's awake."

Uchiha Kaori, sitting nearby, scooped up the child with a look of pleasant surprise.

"Kaori, let me hold our son too."

Uchiha Mingye took his son from his wife's hands, reached out a finger, and gently tapped the child's tender cheek. His face was full of affection, his hands holding the baby with utmost gentleness. At this moment, he didn't seem at all like a ninja forged in blood and fire.

"Easy, don't hurt Kaede."

Uchiha Kaori slapped away her husband's rough hand and took the child back into her arms. This young couple, first-time parents, moved with careful caution.

Liu Feng, who had been staring with wide eyes for a while, was full of question marks.

"What the hell are they saying? I can't understand a single word?"

Watching the two people who seemed to be his newborn parents vying to hold him, he felt quite happy inside—but he couldn't understand a single word they said!

Outside.

"Whoosh!"

A black shadow appeared and knocked on the door. The newcomer knelt before the doorway, dressed in a long black robe with a red fan embroidered on the back.

"Lord Mingye, what is your child's name? The elder wishes to register him in the clan registry."

"Creak—"

Uchiha Mingye pushed the door open and looked down at the clan ninja on the steps.

"Kaede. My son's name is Uchiha Kaede."

In Uchiha Mingye's bright eyes shone a gaze full of love. His words were spoken with such firmness, as if he had made up his mind to protect his family with his life.

The newborn Kaede lived quietly in this unfamiliar yet caring family, until he was able to crawl around and was finally taken out of the room where he had always stayed.

From the night of his birth onward, he would witness the turmoil of the ninja world with his own eyes, take part in the love and hatred of shinobi, and face those crises that never belonged to him yet were impossible to escape.