Uchiha Naro 2

Every Mangekyou Sharingan of the Uchiha clan possesses a unique pattern upon awakening; it is a symbol belonging exclusively to the Uchiha bloodline.

The pattern in the left eye resembles countless concentric circles layered together, with a hollow black dot at the very center, as if it were a portal leading to another world.

The pattern in the right eye resembles countless threads tangled together—some broken, some connected, some knotted, and others extending toward an endless distance.

Heavenly Amenominakanushi, a term regarded in some places as the supreme ruler and foundation of the universe, represents the "core" of the cosmos. It is a void, and Naro can create an independent space within this nothingness.

This is the manifestation of Zhang Hongchen's most primal nostalgia for his own world.

Heavenly Eternal Presence, a term used in some places to represent the eternity and constancy of heaven and earth, symbolizes the stability and longevity of cosmic order. The function of this dojutsu is to gradually strip one's own causality from the "fixed causal chain" of external interference, placing oneself in a state that cannot be anchored by any causality.

This is the manifestation of Zhang Hongchen's most primal expectation for the experiences of his past life.

The memories of the past in Uchiha Naro's mind are numerous and chaotic...

The memories of three people are intertwined, and even he himself does not know whose name these memories should be defined by.

But he does not care, because regardless of whose they are, they are all a part of him.

January 15th, Konoha Year 40. It was snowing heavily in Konoha that day. His mother, without a medical ninja or a midwife, and with no one but herself, gritted her teeth and gave birth to him.

His father had been sent out on a mission and was not home.

His parents were both genin of the Uchiha clan with very average strength; they had only awakened a single tomoe in their Sharingan.

In the Uchiha clan, where status is determined by one's eyes, they were only slightly higher in status than those clansmen who could not awaken their eyes at all. They had no talent, no background, and no resources. Their only "wealth" was each other, and now, there was one more—the infant Naro.

Uchiha Naro began to practice the Supreme Scripture of Causality and Deliverance again one week after his soul fusion.

The first step was to sense the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. In his previous cultivation world, this step was the most basic, something even the aunties selling vegetables at the market could do.

But in the Naruto world, there was simply no spiritual energy between heaven and earth—or rather, there was, but it was pitifully scarce. It took Naro an entire night to capture a trace of weak energy in the air. It was not spiritual energy, but something else: a mixture of chakra and natural energy.

Fortunately, he had already considered the possibility of this situation, and his past experiences once again provided him with endless wealth.

He gave up on absorbing the energy of the Naruto world for his cultivation and instead operated a Tiangang supernatural power he had once practiced—Nine-Breath Qi Consumption—inhaling and exhaling for nine breaths to swallow and spit out the primordial qi of the void, converting it into mana for his cultivation.

The first strand of mana was born in his dantian, flickering in the darkness like a faint spark. With this strand of mana, it marked his formal return to the path of cultivation, leaving behind his mortal shell.

In the days that followed, the infant Naro lay in his swaddling clothes, unable to do anything but practice every day.

When his parents passed away, he was only one month old. Although they had only treated him as an infant and entrusted him to a neighbor, Uchiha Naro still learned of their destination from their conversations: it was a border patrol mission for the village.

It was not a dangerous mission, just a routine patrol that would take five days at most.

After that, there was no "after." They did not return, and they could not return.

The village sent over an investigation report, which stated: no bodies were found, only a scribbled, unfinished mission report—the last sentence of which read: "Encountered an Iwagakure squad, we are outnumbered..."

According to the jonin who went to investigate, it was speculated that they might have encountered the enemy on the edge of a cliff and fallen off during the struggle, only to be washed away by the river.

Naro's parents had no other relatives, so no one came to adopt him. The clan had the elderly take turns looking after him, and he stumbled his way to the age of four.

At the age of four, the clan returned the small courtyard his parents had lived in before their deaths to him. This had always been the rule of the Uchiha clan: a child could inherit everything from their parents. Even for a four-year-old, the pride of the Uchiha clan and their attitude toward their own bloodline made them disdainful of encroaching on the interests of others.

The small courtyard was in a relatively remote corner of the Uchiha clan, near the woods behind the mountain, which suited Uchiha Naro's wishes perfectly. The house was not large—two rooms and a small yard. The yard was overgrown with weeds, and the house was covered in dust.

Naro spent a week cleaning the house himself.

From that day on, he lived alone—a four-year-old child living by himself in a remote corner.

Fortunately, the Uchiha clan provided a small amount of living assistance to orphans like him until they graduated from the academy. Furthermore, the elderly who had previously cared for him would occasionally come to check on him and bring him food and clothing.

Life was peaceful. Compared to the Immeasurable Calamity of Annihilation hanging over his head or the constant torture of illness, his current days made him feel happy.

Observing the stars and anchoring the celestial timing, Uchiha Naro needed a day with the right celestial timing, geographical advantages, and human harmony to send his parents to reincarnation, giving them a new life as a way to repay the kindness of this world.

The Supreme Scripture of Causality and Deliverance was all-encompassing, recording countless supernatural powers and secret techniques. After all, the foundation of the entire world had been opened to him unconditionally, and no one could avoid the sentiment that "the more, the better."

Earthly Fiend Supernatural Power: Soul Tracking.

It can track, lock onto, and take away the three souls. By relying on a person's birth date or other closely related items, one can take away their three souls.

Earthly Fiend Supernatural Power: Soul Seizing.

It can detain, control, and seize the seven spirits. By relying on a person's birth date or other closely related items, one can seize their seven spirits.

Earthly Fiend Supernatural Power: Summoning.

A technique for controlling objects, bringing something from another place to oneself.

Before the Immeasurable Calamity of Annihilation descended, Zhang Hongchen had been obsessed with creating the Supreme Scripture of Causality and Deliverance, but he had not forgotten some necessary methods during the process.

After all, as a demonic cultivator, he had quite a few enemies. Now that the world's foundation was public, he had chosen to flee, but how could he be sure that others wouldn't choose to take their enemies down with them into annihilation?

Therefore, he had also practiced many of the supernatural powers published by the Daoist sects.

After Uchiha Naro sensed the death of his parents in this world while still in his swaddling clothes, he took advantage of the nights when no one was paying attention to his infant state to cast the three supernatural powers. He summoned his parents' souls and bodies back to Konoha, then sealed and preserved them in the Heavenly Amenominakanushi space, waiting for his mana to increase.

Uchiha Naro wanted to let his parents reincarnate and give them a new life.

Analyzing the descriptions of this world from his memories of modern society—

The Pure Land was merely a place controlled by the Sage of Six Paths, who had founded the Shinobi Sect and passed down ninjutsu. The souls of all the dead in the ninja world would go there, only to be bound and remain in the Pure Land forever.

With his mana at the time, Uchiha Naro had no way to investigate whether this world had no reincarnation to begin with, or if the Sage of Six Paths had done something to cause problems with the cycle of reincarnation in this world.

According to the records in the manga, as of now, only the souls of the Sage of Six Paths' two sons were constantly reincarnating, while the souls of everyone else remained in the Pure Land.

On July 15th of the 44th year of Konoha, Uchiha Naro broke the seals on his parents' corpses, cremated them, and placed their ashes into a small urn.

He sealed their souls into the urn and set it at the center of an altar, then arranged an incense burner, three sacrificial meats, and three fruits in accordance with the rites recorded in the Supreme Scripture of Causality and Deliverance.

He burned incense and talismans, offering sacrifices to the heaven and earth of the ninja world. To ensure his presence was acknowledged by the world, he deliberately kept himself in a state of communion with the netherworld.

Seven breaths later, an inexplicable sensation emerged within Uchiha Naro's perception, and then, the urn at the center of the altar stirred and vanished before his eyes.

The heaven and earth had accepted Uchiha Naro's request and sent his parents directly into the cycle of reincarnation.

However, the world also left behind a request—

Induce calamity! Purge the world!

Since its inception, the ninja world had already secretly endured one such calamity: the God Tree catastrophe brought by Kaguya Otsutsuki. Now, the ninjas of this world blindly practiced ninjutsu and ravaged nature, never once considering how to replenish the world. This resulted in the energy within the ninja world being consumed faster than it could be restored, which was why each generation of ninjas was becoming inferior to the last.

Furthermore, the Sage of Six Paths had survived to this day, establishing the Pure Land to intercept souls and prevent them from re-entering the cycle of reincarnation. This not only deprived the ninja world of a method of replenishment but also forced the world to consume its own essence to create new souls, lest every newborn in the ninja world be a soulless idiot.

In truth, the heaven and earth of the ninja world possessed no consciousness of their own. But when Uchiha Naro—a soul containing the aura of multiple worlds—performed an ancient sacrificial rite, the world gained a flicker of awareness. After expressing its request, it lapsed back into silence, regardless of whether Uchiha Naro agreed or not.

The preparations for that sacrifice had been complex, but the completion was swift.

Naro packed away the altar. Every year on the anniversary of their deaths, he would light a stick of incense; this was the last thing he could do as a "son."

When Uchiha Naro was six, the clan arranged for him to enter the Ninja Academy. It was a rule of the Uchiha: all clansmen must become ninjas, regardless of talent or desire.

Naro did not care; to him, the Ninja Academy was merely a place to maintain his cover.

He did not need to learn any ninjutsu, as his Supreme Scripture of Causality and Deliverance was far more powerful than any technique.

However, he needed to live "reasonably." A six-year-old child who stayed home all day without attending school would invite suspicion.

So, he went.

At school, Naro appeared perfectly ordinary. His grades were average, neither high nor low; his taijutsu was mediocre, his ninjutsu was average, and his genjutsu was slightly better—after all, he had the clan's innate talent, so he could not perform too poorly. Overall, he excelled at nothing, yet he was never at the bottom.

The teachers' evaluation of him was: "Naro is a well-behaved child, but he lacks talent."

His classmates' impression of him was: "Uchiha Naro? Oh... that orphan. He's quiet and doesn't talk much."

No one noticed him.

This was exactly what he wanted.

When he was seven, the Third Shinobi World War broke out. Konoha went to war against Kumogakure, Iwagakure, and the Mist Village simultaneously.

The flames of war quickly spread from the borders to the interior. Casualty reports reached the village every day, and the Ninja Academy was drawn into the conflict. Senior students were graduated early and sent to the front lines, while teachers were drafted to support the front, leaving fewer and fewer classes at the academy.

At the age of nine, Naro was also forcibly graduated early.

He received his genin headband and was assigned to a support unit dispatched to the Land of Rain, the front line where Konoha clashed with Iwagakure.

Upon reaching the battlefield, Naro was not sent directly to the front. Because the medical department led by Tsunade was short-handed, he was assigned there to do odd jobs: delivering medicine, moving corpses, cleaning operating tables...

He did every dirty and exhausting task.

It was there that he first saw Tsunade. That year, she was in her early thirties, at the very peak of her prime.

With golden hair, fair skin, a tall stature, and an outstanding aura, even the white coat of a medical ninja could not conceal her charm.

But what Naro noticed was not her appearance, but her eyes. There was a deep exhaustion and sorrow in them, as if she had lost something vital that could never be found again.

Naro knew that Tsunade had indeed lost something vital.

Her younger brother, Nawaki, and her lover, Dan Katō.

Both had died on the battlefield.

Both had died right before her eyes.

From that point on, Tsunade changed.

She went from being one of the spirited Legendary Sannin to a decadent woman who drank, gambled, and suffered from hemophobia—as a ninja, she had actually begun to fear the sight of blood...

One day, Naro brought a meal to Tsunade.

"Just set it down," Tsunade said without looking up, continuing to review the medical records in her hands.

Naro placed the lunchbox on the table and turned to leave.

"Wait," Tsunade called out to him.

Naro stopped.

Tsunade looked up at him. "You're from the Uchiha clan?"

"Yes."

"What is your name?"

"Uchiha Naro."

"How old are you?"

"Nine."

Tsunade was silent for a moment, then said, "Nine years old is too young to be on the battlefield."

Naro did not speak.

"Where are your parents?"

"They passed away."

"When?"

"When I was one month old."

Tsunade's hand paused for a moment, then she continued writing the medical record.

"Who takes care of you?"

"Myself."

Tsunade looked up at Naro. The nine-year-old boy stood straight, his gaze calm; he didn't sound like he was complaining, but rather stating a fact.

"Aren't you afraid?" Tsunade asked.

"Afraid of what?"

"Afraid of death."

Naro thought for a moment and said, "No. Everyone dies eventually, so why be afraid?"

Tsunade's hand stopped again. She looked at Naro, her eyes complex.

"You certainly have an open mind."

"It's not about having an open mind, it's about understanding," Naro said. "Dying sooner or later, it's all the same. The key is what you do before you die."

"You're only nine, and you understand this?"

"You understand when you've been through enough."

Tsunade put down her pen, leaned back in her chair, and stared at the ceiling.

"What kind of people were your parents?"

"I don't know, I can't remember," Naro said. "Others say they were very ordinary genin, average in strength, but very kind people."

"Do you miss them?"

Naro was silent for a few seconds, then said, "I do."

Tsunade's eyes flickered.

"That's why I have to live better," Naro continued. "I have to live better, carrying their share as well."

Tsunade was stunned. She looked at Naro, at this nine-year-old child, and for a moment, she didn't know what to say. These words were like a key, unlocking a door in her heart that had been bolted shut for a long time.

Nawaki, Dan...

Should she also live better, carrying their share?

"You certainly have a way with words," Tsunade smiled, though the smile was somewhat forced.

"It's not a way with words, it's the truth," Naro said. "Lady Tsunade, may I ask you a question?"

"Speak."

"Do you think the dead want the living to wash their faces with tears every day, or do they want the living to live happily?"

Tsunade did not answer, because she knew the answer, but—she couldn't do it.

"Forget it, let's not talk about this." Tsunade changed the subject. "You've been doing odd jobs here; have you ever learned medical ninjutsu?"

"No, nobody teaches it at the academy."

"Do you want to learn?"

Naro thought about it and said, "I do."

He didn't have any particular opinion on medical ninjutsu, but since Tsunade asked, he might as well.

"Then you shall learn." Tsunade stood up. "I will teach you."

From then on, in addition to his chores, Naro learned medical ninjutsu from Tsunade. Tsunade taught with great seriousness, and Naro learned very quickly. In less than a month, he had mastered the basic Mystical Palm Technique.

"Your chakra control is excellent," Tsunade evaluated. "Stronger than most medical ninjas."

Naro didn't explain. That was because he possessed mana. Chakra and mana were two different types of energy, but they shared similar properties. With a foundation in mana, learning the application of chakra was quite easy.

After three months in the medical department, Naro was transferred. Because the war was expanding and the front lines were short on personnel, he was assigned to a combat squad and sent to the front lines of the Land of Rain.

Before he left, Tsunade called him into her office.

"Naro, on the battlefield, staying alive is the most important thing."

"I know."

"Don't try to be a hero, don't show off. Hide if you can, run if you can."

"I know."

Tsunade looked at him, wanting to say something but hesitating.

"Lady Tsunade, if you have something to say, just say it."

Tsunade took a deep breath: "I have kept those words of yours in mind."

"Which part?"

"Live on better, carrying their share."

Naro looked at Tsunade and nodded: "Then you must do the same."

Tsunade laughed: "You brat, lecturing me now?"

Naro smiled, turned, and walked away. As he exited the medical department, he glanced back to see Tsunade standing at the doorway, waving at him.

Naro waved back, then followed his squad, disappearing in the direction of the front lines.

On the front lines, Naro fought for over a year. He hid his Sharingan and his mana, using only basic taijutsu and ninjutsu. His performance was decent, but by no means outstanding.

He was just an ordinary Uchiha genin who had only killed a few short-sighted enemies, most of which were finishing blows—others would cripple the targets, and he would step in to land the final strike.

His teammates had a good impression of him, finding the boy quite reliable, yet nothing special.

His captain's assessment of him was: "Naro is a lucky kid."

Lucky?

Naro smiled, offering no explanation. It wasn't luck; it was knowing how to survive: knowing when to charge and when to hide; knowing who could be provoked and who could not; knowing which limelight to seek and which to avoid.

This was the secret to his survival on the battlefield.

After the Third Shinobi World War ended, Naro returned to Konoha.

He was assigned to the Uchiha Police Force, becoming an ordinary member. His daily work consisted of patrolling, maintaining order, catching petty thieves, and occasionally handling disputes between ninjas, though these were always minor matters.

In the Police Force, he remained equally inconspicuous. He did not vie for credit, did not stand out, and did not pick sides; he simply did whatever his superiors told him to do.

His colleagues' impression of him was: "Naro? He's a decent guy, just too quiet. He has no presence at all."

That "lack of presence" was exactly what Naro wanted.

Because only in this way could he cultivate in peace and accumulate strength; only then could he quietly take away the corpse and soul of Uchiha Shisui after his suicide, merging them with the Hashirama Cells researched by Root to refine them into a Nether Bone Banner without drawing anyone's attention; only then could he manipulate things from the shadows, taking certain people away without ever being suspected...

And only in this way could he, too, become a qualified chess player in this Konoha village filled with those who held the pieces.

"Uchiha Itachi! You have gone too far!!!" A roar erupted from the Hyuga Clan, echoing across the entire sky of Konoha...