Soul Summoning Mutual Defense Technique

On the roof of a high-rise office building in the city center, a gaunt figure swayed precariously...

Coordinates: Land of Fire, Konohagakure.

"Grandpa Third, may I borrow this scroll?" A boy of about eleven or twelve, with black hair and black eyes, pointed to the ninjutsu scroll in his hand.

"Oh?" A flash of killing intent suddenly crossed the eyes of the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, though it vanished in an instant. "Is it Fire Style? You must practice hard, Yashui."

"Thank you, Grandpa!" The boy named Yashui cradled the ninjutsu scroll and returned to his room.

"That child... has he already discovered it?" The Third Hokage sighed. "Next, I must attend to the village affairs. Although it is already night, one cannot simply put things off until tomorrow..."

With that, the Third Hokage donned his Hokage cloak and stepped out of his home.

Yashui had been peeking through a crack in the door, and only after the Third Hokage had left did he carefully open the scroll.

"So much for the Third Hokage, so much for the Sarutobi clan; they are nothing special," Yashui sneered. "I used a genjutsu, and just like that, I got my hands on this scroll."

Yashui had just used a minor genjutsu on the Third Hokage, creating the illusion that the scroll Yashui borrowed was merely a Fire Style scroll, when in fact, it recorded a ninjutsu capable of enhancing chakra.

Yet, young as he was, Yashui failed to realize that the Third Hokage had long since seen through his shallow illusion.

Opening the scroll, he read: "Ninpō - Soul Summoning Mutual Defense Technique." Yashui couldn't wait to read on.

"Summon the soul of a recently deceased powerhouse, erase their consciousness, and turn them into one's own chakra? There is no cost, and it is not classified as a forbidden technique." After reading the entire scroll, Yashui's heart surged with excitement.

Such a powerful technique, and it was so easy to obtain!

Without a second thought, Yashui performed the hand seals according to the scroll's instructions. Immediately afterward, he collapsed into unconsciousness.

Xu Fengxin's body slowly tilted forward, gravity pulling him from the high-rise building toward the ground; at this height, even an air cushion would be useless.

He closed his eyes, and just before hitting the ground, people noticed a smile playing on his lips.

When Xu Fengxin opened his eyes again, he was no longer in that world.

"Hell? I suppose that makes sense; a man like me was bound to fall into hell." Although Xu Fengxin opened his eyes, he could see nothing; everything before him was pitch black.

"What kind of soul are you? Do you possess any superior strengths?" a youthful voice asked.

"I belong nowhere, and I have no superior strengths," Xu Fengxin sighed. "Are you the Grim Reaper?"

"Of course not." A boy of eleven or twelve walked into view before Xu Fengxin, the first person he had seen. "I am Sarutobi Yashui... no, my true name is Uchiha Yashui! While I am disappointed that you have no abilities, I don't really care. You just need to become my chakra."

"Come now, hand over your power." The boy named Yashui wore a blue short-sleeved shirt with the Uchiha clan crest on his back; his eyes were slightly upturned, giving him a somewhat handsome appearance.

"Sorry, but since I am still alive, I have more important things to do. Where is the nearest police station?" Xu Fengxin simply took Yashui's words as the self-talk of a chuunibyou kid obsessed with Naruto.

"It seems you aren't prepared to hand over your power willingly," Yashui said, stepping back. "Then I have no choice but to defeat you and take it by force!"

Xu Fengxin had trained in various forms of combat, and the distance Yashui had created was clearly intended for mid-range fighting.

"Do you have any 'toys'? A whip or a toy bow and arrow?" Xu Fengxin wasn't trying to provoke Yashui; it was merely his habitual way of thinking, forged by years of combat.

Yashui quickly performed a few hand seals: "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"

A fireball about two meters in diameter flew toward him.

Xu Fengxin was shocked; the heat felt far too real. And this power was clearly not anything he understood. It really did resemble the manga Naruto.

"Too slow." In the blink of an eye, Xu Fengxin was at Yashui's side, grabbing the hand Yashui was using to form seals and twisting it in the opposite direction.

"Ahhh... it hurts!" Yashui was in too much pain to speak.

"Kid, answer my question. Where is this? Where is the nearest police station?" Xu Fengxin released Yashui's hand.

"This is my mental world. Hehe, everything here relies on mental strength, and in that regard, our Uchiha clan will never lose to anyone!" Yashui turned and distanced himself once more.

"Seeing that you can actually fight, I'm quite pleased. At least it means your chakra isn't weak!" Yashui began forming seals again.

Xu Fengxin unbuckled his belt and skillfully removed the buckle. Before Yashui could finish his seals, the buckle struck the back of Yashui's hand hard, interrupting his flow.

Taking advantage of the opening, Xu Fengxin grabbed Yashui by the throat. Just as he was about to apply pressure, the scene before him shifted.

"What is this? A ninjutsu scroll?" Xu Fengxin had no time to dwell on the scroll; he wanted to know where he was.

He stood up and was startled to find that his height had decreased significantly. Looking into a mirror, he discovered he had taken on the appearance of the boy he had fought.

Within his eye sockets, black tomoe slowly rotated inside scarlet irises.

"Sharingan..." Xu Fengxin looked out the window, where the stone faces of the past Hokage were illuminated by the moonlight.

"Could this really be... Naruto..." Xu Fengxin remembered the ninjutsu scroll and picked it up to examine it.

"Forbidden Technique: Soul Summoning Mutual Defense Technique. At the cost of one's own soul, summon the soul of a recently deceased powerhouse and battle them in the mental world. The victor will be reborn in the practitioner's body, while the loser's consciousness will be erased and transformed into chakra, becoming part of the victor."

"So that's it... this scroll contained a genjutsu all along. It was a trap laid specifically for me, and I walked right into it, full of confidence. Damn that old Third... is he truly determined to wipe out our Uchiha clan to the last!?" Yashui's voice echoed in his mind.

"Because I defeated you, I was reborn in your body?" Xu Fengxin asked.

"It appears so," Yashui said, disappointed. "You were too modest... saying you had no superior strengths. That really wasn't something you should have said."