The end of March, Year 58 of Konoha.
Another school year began. The new generation born in Year 51 officially started school.
"I'm going to be top of the whole school. Then Dad and Big Brother will approve of me more~"
Little Sasuke clenched his fist and silently made a vow.
Meanwhile, in the forest downstream from the Naka River, on the Uchiha Clan Compound grounds.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
Snake—Ram—Monkey—Boar—Horse—Tiger. His fingers flashed through the hand signs as chakra surged along a specific path through his body. At the peak of its power, Uchiha Xiu suddenly opened his mouth.
His chest heaved violently, and a fireball burst from his lips.
It swelled as it caught the wind. With a rolling surge, the orange-red sphere grew into a searing mass a full five meters in diameter and hurtled straight toward the lake like a cannonball.
Boom!
The fireball erupted. Fish and shrimp swimming nearby were blown apart, and great clouds of steam rose from the lake.
With power like that, it could melt even steel, let alone a human being.
Yet Uchiha Xiu, the one who had unleashed this signature Fire Style technique, showed no sign of joy.
"Today, Sasuke started school."
"Weasel... Itachi joined the Anbu."
"My death is drawing closer."
He leaped onto a tree and gazed toward a flock of crows rising from deep in the forest, his heart shrouded in gloom.
An ordinary Genin would be utterly drained after one Fireball of this scale. But Xiu still had plenty in reserve; he'd used up only about a tenth of his chakra.
That was the power of a prestigious bloodline. At the same stage, he could... take on seven ordinary ninja.
But among the Uchiha Clan, he was nothing more than a minor talent who'd just awakened his One Tomoe Sharingan.
"Honestly, my talent is limited. According to the elders, if I keep progressing normally, I might make Special Jōnin in ten years and become a squad leader in the Konoha Military Police Force."
"But I won't live that long. I have the overall ability of a Chunin, and I'll complete the promotion ceremony for squad leaders next week. So what if I run into a Kage Level powerhouse? I'll still get taken out like some nobody on the side of the road, and my eyes will become someone else's spoils of war."
As these thoughts circled in his mind, Uchiha Xiu grew more resentful and uneasy.
As a transmigrator living a second life in the Naruto World, who didn't have ambitions?
This was a world of chakra. Train to the utmost, and you could live forever, destroy stars, and even transcend the current universe.
Then he realized he was almost the same age as Itachi. He had very little time left to grow stronger!
Not long after joining the Anbu, Weasel would join forces with Uchiha Obito and the Konoha High Command to slaughter the clan. No one would be spared, young or old—not even the babies. Only his little brother, Uchiha Sasuke, would be left to inherit the Sharingan bloodline.
To break free of his predetermined fate, Xiu had trained hard in chakra extraction, tree climbing, and Water Walking, despite being too young to enter the Ninja Academy. He'd tried to reach Kage Level before the night of the massacre.
But he'd ended up like this.
"Honestly, I should face reality. Once I finish the promotion process next week, I'll take a mission outside the village and run away, assuming the worst."
"Worst comes to worst, I'll join Kumogakure!"
"The bloodline you don't value is something an enemy nation would kill to have..."
The Raikage and the Perfect Jinchuriki Killer B made a formidable pair. Surely they could keep him safe.
Lost in thought, Uchiha Xiu bounded back to the compound.
"Xiu, you're back from morning training early today. Why not come over and have something to eat?"
Uncle Shinichi, who owned the tofu shop on the corner, leaned out with a bowl in his hands.
"Come on, while it's still hot."
Uchiha Xiu stopped and politely declined with a shake of his head.
"No, thanks, Uncle Shinichi. The instant noodles I bought last time are almost expired, so I need to eat them soon. Maybe next time."
"Sure, then come over in a couple of days for sukiyaki," Uncle Shinichi said with a smile. "Don't push yourself too hard when you train. Remember to rest~"
"Got it." Uchiha Xiu continued on his way, his feelings complicated.
On a patch of grass not far away, several three- and four-year-olds were practicing Shuriken under the sun.
Suddenly, a stray Kunai whistled through the air and thunked into the ground beside his foot.
"Big Brother Xiu!" The child who'd missed the target ran over, face flushed. "S-sorry!"
"Keep your wrist steadier." Uchiha Xiu bent down and pulled the Kunai from the ground. "Don't rush the throw. Aim first, then let it fly. Like this."
He demonstrated once.
The Kunai sliced through the air and struck the red bull's-eye fifty paces away.
The children gasped in awe.
Their eyes sparkled as they stared at Uchiha Xiu, reminding him of himself years ago, looking up at the powerful seniors in his clan.
"Big Brother Xiu is amazing! I want to be just like you! I'll awaken my Sharingan within two years of graduating from the Ninja Academy!"
Uchiha Xiu sighed inwardly, handed the Kunai back, and ruffled the little brat's slightly spiky hair.
Amazing? He'd experienced despair on a mission and lost two comrades he'd shared a bond with just to awaken a One Tomoe Sharingan.
"Those cursed eyes. You find love, then lose it..."
"Shinichi, stop playing and come home for dinner~"
Just then, a mother's voice rang out in the distance, calling her child home.
These were people bound together by their clan crest and bloodline.
They were stubborn, proud, and fiercely protective of their own, saving their best side for one another.
But the warm home that had accompanied him through his new life was counting down to that blood-red night.
The weak couldn't make their voices heard by the strong. After realizing he was powerless to change anything, he'd tried to correct Setsuna's and Itachi's extreme views.
It had done no good at all.
A pitifully thick wall stood between them.
For smooth talk to work, you first had to be able to knock the other person down with a friendship punch. Otherwise, no matter how persuasive you sounded, they'd just think you were spouting nonsense.
Creak~
The courtyard gate swung open.
Uchiha Xiu returned to his little home in the northern part of the compound. He climbed through a second-floor window into his bedroom and expertly switched on the computer.
The folder on his desktop was named after the Ninja World's latest bestseller:
Young Obito
Young Obito's grades at the Ninja Academy weren't particularly good. Recently, the line had made a deep impression on powerful ninja like Jiraiya and Kakashi.
Some believed it was a groundbreaking work that surpassed Icha Icha Paradise in every way.
"Hmm, there are still 160,000 ryō left from the compensation for my parents' deaths."
"Another 1,950,000 ryō in royalties."
"That's enough to hire a rogue ninja at the Jōnin level to help me stage a scene. I can leave plenty of money at home to mislead the village leadership and make them draw the wrong conclusion..."
To be honest, Uchiha Xiu had never worried that a hired rogue ninja would raise their price at the last minute or take the money and do nothing.
Even notorious villains like Kakuzu and Zabuza followed orders and acted with professional integrity once they accepted a mission.
It was one of the world's peculiar traits.
Perhaps it was a mindset hammered into people over a thousand years. Just as the village leader, who commanded the nation's strongest military force, often remained humble before the nobility led by the daimyo and helplessly accepted having the village's funding held hostage.
"Now to forge a final manuscript."
"If the plan succeeds, I can't keep writing Young Obito. I'll need a new pen name if I want to keep making money!"
"Then I'll adapt Long Tao's story."
The moment his finger touched the mouse, a strange pang of unease made him freeze.
[Do you want to understand the meaning of life? Do you want to truly... live?]
[YES or NO]
A crude virus pop-up appeared.
Something had happened that wasn't part of the plan.
Before you continue