New Residence

Inside the Hokage office in Konoha.

Uchiha Itachi bypassed the Anbu and met the Third Hokage, who was busy reading through documents.

Setting the papers aside, the Third Hokage did not seem surprised by Itachi's arrival, his gaze fixed on him:

"I will take good care of Sasuke, but what surprises me is that another boy of similar age survived. His name is Uchiha Isho. Do you know him?"

Itachi frowned slightly, pondered for a few seconds, and shook his head at the Hokage.

The Hokage did not find this unexpected; he picked up the document again, handed it to Itachi, and spoke casually:

"According to reports from the Anbu, Uchiha Isho was likely stabbed in the heart. By the time he was sent to the Medical Corps, his wound was miraculously healing."

"There are two possibilities: either his heart is positioned differently than a normal person's, or his heart itself has healed."

Hearing this, Uchiha Itachi felt a slight tremor in his heart. He had never heard of such a special Kekkei Genkai in Uchiha history. Suddenly, a thought occurred to him, and he looked at the Third Hokage:

"Has he lost his vision?"

"No, he woke up this morning and looks quite energetic."

Seeing that Itachi did not have the answer either, the Third Hokage changed the subject: "It was my naivety that failed to prevent this tragedy."

Itachi apologized first, then stated his intention to join the Akatsuki to prevent the mysterious masked man with the Sharingan from acting against Konoha, before departing in silence.

"Regardless of which possibility it is, it suggests he has awakened a special Kekkei Genkai."

"Never mind, let's observe him for now."

The Third Hokage pondered for a moment, then set fire to the document recording Uchiha Isho's details, which soon turned to ash. He then located the few Anbu members who were aware of the matter and warned them to keep it classified.

On that document, besides recording Uchiha Isho's life, the bottom line read: "Suspected of awakening a special Kekkei Genkai."

Isho never expected that a single system-assisted recovery would trigger so much suspicion.

However, even if he had known, he wouldn't have cared much. At this moment, his face was filled with anticipation.

[Ding! Newbie Gift Pack opened!]

[Congratulations to the host for rolling 131 Luck points. Obtained: Explosive Tags, Kunai, Shuriken x10, Chakra Induction Paper x1, Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu (C-Rank)]

"These rewards... not bad. I'll store them in the inventory for now," Isho muttered to himself.

He resisted the urge to take them out on the spot, guessing that Anbu operatives were surely monitoring him. He was not Sasuke, and he felt quite uneasy about the arrangements the Konoha higher-ups might have in store for him.

High up in a large tree a few hundred meters from the hospital, an Anbu ninja wearing a cat mask felt curious.

His mission was to observe—or rather, monitor—Isho, and he was puzzled by Isho's sudden bursts of excitement. He quickly came to his own conclusion:

'Clearly, the horrific encounter last night has caused him severe psychological trauma. His mind is still in a state of shock.'

At noon, the golden sun was scorching and blinding. Having just been discharged and receiving his compensation, Isho couldn't wait to taste Uncle Ichiraku's ramen.

"Delicious! Otsutsuki Ichiraku... no, wait, Uncle Ichiraku truly lives up to his reputation! This taste is as satisfying as eating barbecue in the middle of the night. It's simply addictive; it was worth waiting in line for so long."

Isho looked incredibly satisfied, praising the food between bites as if every taste bud on his tongue were cheering.

Yet, deep down, he thought with confusion: 'That old guy Sarutobi didn't even summon me.'

'I cannot be careless. My main concern is Danzo. Since I haven't awakened the Sharingan yet, his interest in me should remain within a safe range.'

Isho had been told he could be discharged just before noon. An Anbu member had come to inform him that a new residence had been found for him, and his living expenses would continue to be provided as per his original compensation.

Of course, he had to play the part; Isho accepted the news with a look of grief and asked if the culprit had been caught.

According to the memories of the original body, on the night of the massacre, the clan members had only told him not to go anywhere that night. Clearly, the Uchiha coup did not require a combat-level-five weakling like him.

By asking for directions along the way, Isho quickly found his new home.

Closing the door, Isho scanned the room and then checked it thoroughly. Finding that all daily necessities were fully stocked, he nodded in satisfaction and immediately lay down on the bed.

Calling out "System," Isho opened the Ninja Lottery.

The page switched instantly, the panel splitting into two. One side had a plain, unremarkable background where several black silhouettes in different poses were arranged neatly like a group photo;

The other side had a dazzling, mesmerizing background where several black silhouettes stood like mountains. They appeared more mysterious and powerful than those on the side, and the figures themselves were taller.

"Holy crap, this looks just like the gacha series from the Naruto mobile game in my past life," Isho exclaimed. He calmed down after a few seconds, then couldn't help but grumble:

'Looking at the difference in special effects, it's obviously not going to be anything good. It's definitely going to be a total scam.'

Glancing at his remaining Luck points, Isho decided to try one standard draw and one high-tier draw.

Before that, Isho tidied up the room briefly, then sat on a wooden chair by the window. He pressed his palms together like a devout believer and muttered:

"Heaven bless me... Infinite Lord of Heaven bless me..."

"Buddha bless me... Amitabha..."

After a minute of chanting, Isho slowly tapped on the standard draw.

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for obtaining the standard ninja: Uzumaki Naruto.]

A card the size of a playing card appeared suddenly, surrounded by a faint white light. The image depicted Naruto during his youth.

Glancing at it, Yi Xiang immediately claimed the reward and placed it into his system inventory, then clicked on the high-tier draw without a moment's hesitation.

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for being possessed by the God of Luck; you have obtained the Epic-grade ninja Senju Hashirama.]

"Holy crap, this golden light is about to blind me." Yi Xiang squeezed his eyes shut, only squinting them open after a while to look at the prize.

It was a card the same size as the previous one, but it was surrounded by a golden aura, the entire card shimmering with brilliance; it was clearly no ordinary item at a single glance.

I've witnessed the difference between a three-cent special effect and a thirty-thousand-dollar one again, Yi Xiang grumbled inwardly, though his face was filled with irrepressible ecstasy.

Bang! His chair suddenly crashed to the floor, but Yi Xiang, with the back of his head resting against the floorboards, was beaming with joy.

I have the ability to protect myself now, but I wonder how long this card can be fused for? The duration should be enough for me to deal with enemies or make an escape, right?

A moment later, Yi Xiang shifted into a thoughtful expression and casually tapped on a card, instantly causing a system notification to pop up.

[Ding! Do you wish to use Naruto? The duration of use is one day. Upon completion, you may randomly draw one item related to this ninja and obtain one-tenth of this ninja's chakra.]

"System, what is the scope of these 'items'? And how do I obtain Luck points?" Yi Xiang asked curiously.

[Ding! The scope includes the ninja's talents, ninjutsu (if you lack the corresponding chakra nature for a ninjutsu, you will be unable to use it), Kekkei Genkai, and so on.]

[Ding! The system will randomly issue daily tasks; completing these tasks will grant you Luck points.]

Seeing this, Yi Xiang roughly understood the function of this system. The corners of his mouth curled upward, and then, holding his forehead with one hand as if unable to suppress his smile, he burst into wild laughter.

The unbridled laughter continued for a long time, but considering he had neighbors at home and fearing he might be mistaken for a lunatic, Yi Xiang finally reined in his smile.

Just then, Yi Xiang suddenly felt something strange in his pupils; his eye sockets felt a bit itchy, and when he touched them with his hand, they felt slightly warm.

Yi Xiang couldn't help but blink, and when he opened his eyes to look, he was astonished to discover that he seemed to be able to see much further. Even the dust in the window cracks appeared as if it had been magnified several times over in his vision.

He turned his head to look at the falling leaves outside the window, and their descent seemed to have been slowed down to half-speed.