That Night

Year 32 of Konoha—

Beside a wooden house in the Uchiha Clan Grounds, in Konoha, Land of Fire, a woman's screams came from inside. A man stood at the door. Uchiha Mingye, a Jonin of one of Konoha's prominent clans, trembled, his eyes bloodshot as the Tomoe in them spun rapidly.

He could do nothing for his wife, who was screaming inside. Though he was considered a formidable shinobi even among the Uchiha Clan, at that moment he was simply a husband worried about his wife.

"How is Xiang? Is it still not working?"

Uchiha Mingye grabbed the midwife as she came out of the room and asked anxiously.

"Ah..."

She sighed and shook her head.

"Mingye, at this rate, Xiang may not make it. If it comes to it, we'll have to find a medical ninja."

That was the safest solution she could think of.

Uchiha Mingye's face darkened, and his worry deepened. His wife Xiang's due date had been yesterday. Her contractions began late at night, but she still hadn't given birth.

He hadn't realized childbirth could be so dangerous.

Tonight was the last day of the year, and all the clan members had gone to a gathering. It wouldn't be easy to find a ninja skilled in Medical Ninjutsu among the clan right now.

"Go back and take care of Xiang. I'll go see the elders and find a medical ninja who's good at delivering babies."

The sky was dim. The moon had risen above the treetops, and a few birds called out as the old day ended and the new year began.

Konoha officially entered Year 33.

"Waaah—waaah—"

A baby's cry broke the silence of the night. As if he'd timed it perfectly, he was born at the very instant the new year began.

Uchiha Mingye was about to use the Body Flicker Technique to leave. Overjoyed, he started to rush into the birthing room, but the midwife stopped him.

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

The midwife hurriedly shut the door and began cleaning the blood from the room.

Uchiha Kaori lay inside, exhausted from the effort of giving birth. She had no time to worry about her own condition. Her lips moved as she tried to speak.

But all she could manage was a faint, raspy breath. She was too tired to speak. Given her condition, she should have passed out long ago, but she had held on so she could see her baby for the first time.

The experienced midwife knew what she wanted. She placed the freshly cleaned baby beside her pillow. Kaori kissed him gently, tears already filling her eyes.

"Xiang, congratulations. You have a healthy little boy. You should be happy."

The midwife wiped away the tears at the corners of her eyes and comforted her. She knew that a mother was at her weakest and most vulnerable right after giving birth.

Having seen her baby, Uchiha Kaori finally let exhaustion sweep over her and fell into a deep sleep.

But the baby in her arms had his big, sparkling eyes wide open, looking all around. He was remarkably lively. If he weren't a newborn who couldn't control his body, he might even have tried to stand up and run around.

Where am I? Why do I feel so weak? Wasn't I struck to death? Was I reborn? Or did I transmigrate?

He only remembered the sudden thunderstorm and the blinding flash of lightning. Then everything went dark, and he felt his body being torn apart, his soul drifting away.

He had no idea why he had ended up here. All he could see was the ceiling and the wooden beams supporting it.

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

When the baby stopped crying, the midwife didn't think twice. She lifted the newborn and gave him a few smacks on the bottom.

"Waaah—waaah—" The baby's strong cries rang out once more.

What she didn't know was that the crying baby was cursing her out. He just couldn't speak yet.

All he could do was cry, "Waaah—waaah—"

I'll get my revenge. I swear, I'll remember you, you old hag! he howled furiously in his heart.

"Huff... huff..."

Before long, his breathing evened out. He had drifted off to sleep alongside his mother.

Though his soul belonged to an adult, his body was still that of a baby and couldn't handle too much stimulation or exertion.

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

It was—

The sun blazed in the July sky, hanging directly overhead. The leaves on the trees lining the city roads looked slick with heat.

In weather like this, nobody wanted to go outside and work unless they had no choice.

Inside a rundown building was an empty rental apartment with nothing but a bed, a computer, and one fat otaku.

The little room had been quiet, but now a string of curses blared through the speakers connected to the computer. An angry man was screaming at his teammate on the other end.

"Liu Feng... you're unbelievably useless. You've played League for years, so why are you still so bad? And you're playing Volibear support? Could you stop dragging me down?"

As his former college roommate raged at him, Liu Feng calmly took out his phone and ordered takeout. He didn't care at all about being insulted.

He was used to it. He was never much of a gamer, and the fact that he was willing to play with his friend was already generous enough.

He knew that even though the person on the other end of the computer was cursing him out one moment, no matter how badly he played, he'd still ask him to team up again the next.

It was simply because they'd graduated and started working nine-to-five jobs. Liu Feng was the only one left who could accompany him into battle on the Rift.

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

Outside, the sky had already gone black, and a fine drizzle began to blow sideways. The weather forecast had called for a thunderstorm.

"Huh?"

As he looked at the distant sky, he thought he saw a huge dark shape.

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

He leaned against the window to get a closer look when a clap of thunder suddenly rang out. "Rumble!" Purple lightning burst before his eyes, and he lost all feeling in his body.

"Holy shit!"

He jolted awake from his dream and tried to sit up, but found that he couldn't. His waist felt terribly weak. His body seemed shorter, and heavier.

I thought I'd died all over again!

What came out instead was a soft baby babble: "Ah-ah-ah-ah."

"Ah—"

A clear female voice rang out, full of excitement and joy.

"He's awake! He's so cute! Mingye, did you see? Feng is awake!"

Uchiha Kaori, sitting nearby, excitedly picked up the baby.

"Xiang, let me hold our son too."

Uchiha Mingye took his son from his wife and reached out to gently tap the baby's tender cheek. His face was full of affection, and he held the child with great care. At that moment, he didn't seem like a ninja forged in blood and fire at all.

"Easy, don't hurt Feng."

Uchiha Kaori swatted away her husband's rough hand and took the baby back into her arms. The young couple were new parents, and they handled him with the utmost care.

Liu Feng had stared at them for a long while, his mind full of questions.

What are they even saying? Why can't I understand a single word?

Watching the two people who seemed to be his new parents compete to hold him, he was pretty happy. It was just that he couldn't understand a single word they said!

Outside.

"Whoosh!"

A shadow appeared and knocked on the door. The visitor knelt before it, dressed in a long black outfit with a red Gunbai embroidered on the back.

"Lord Mingye, what is your child's name? The elders need to enter him in the clan records."

"Creak..."

Uchiha Mingye opened the door and looked at the clan ninja waiting at the foot of the steps.

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

Uchiha Mingye's bright eyes were filled with love. His voice was firm, as if he had resolved to give his life to protect his family.

In this unfamiliar but loving family, newborn Kaede lived quietly. He wasn't taken out of the room he'd lived in until he was old enough to crawl around.

From the night he came into the world, he would bear witness to the turmoil of the Shinobi World, become entangled in the love and hatred of shinobi, and face dangers that had never been meant for him but that he could not escape.