The Surname Uchiha

"Mm."

When Uchiha Yue strained with all his strength to open his eyes, a Japanese-style tatami floor came into view. The familiar scene left him momentarily stunned. Then he quickly turned his head and, sure enough, saw a man and a woman sitting by his side, watching over him with concern.

"Father, Mother."

Looking at those familiar figures, Uchiha Yue managed a faint smile and spoke weakly.

"Yue, you're finally awake!"

Hearing his voice, his mother, Minako, turned around first. She immediately pulled his frail body into her arms and said joyfully, "You're finally awake!"

But the moment Minako hugged him, her expression darkened. She looked at Uchiha Yue's father and complained, "It's all your fault for teaching Yue how to train his chakra! If we hadn't arrived in time today, he might have fallen to his death! From now on, you're not allowed to train Yue without my permission!"

At Minako's complaint, Uchiha Nara awkwardly rubbed his nose and wrung his hands, casting a pleading look at Uchiha Yue.

Seeing his father's gaze, Uchiha Yue gently wriggled free of his mother's embrace and hurried to reassure her. "Mother, I was the one who kept pestering Father to train me. Please don't blame him. I didn't realize mastering chakra would be so difficult. Otherwise, I wouldn't have fallen out of the tree today. Please don't be angry with Father."

"Hmph. Since Yue pleaded for you, I'll let you off this time!"

At that, the look in Minako's eyes softened. She hugged Uchiha Yue tightly again.

Seeing this, Uchiha Nara stepped forward and put an arm around his wife's shoulders, smiling sheepishly. "Minako, if the Ninja Academy weren't about to open, I wouldn't have taught him how to train his chakra so early. But our Yue really does have the makings of a ninja. He managed to develop chakra in just three days. He'll surely become an outstanding ninja someday, perhaps even surpassing me!"

"Mmm. As long as Yue stays safe, that's all that matters!"

All mothers loved hearing their children praised. Even when it came from her own husband, Minako couldn't help feeling pleased.

Yet when Uchiha Yue heard the words "Ninja Academy," a meaningful glint flashed in his eyes.

"It's already Konoha Year 8. Time flies. The Ninja Academy is about to open again!"

"I'll finally get to meet you, the rising prodigy of Konoha Village. Hatake Kakashi!"

As he thought this to himself, Hatake Kakashi's image appeared in Uchiha Yue's mind.

At the same time, Uchiha Yue's thoughts drifted far away...

In Uchiha Yue's heart, there had always been a secret, one he couldn't tell even his loving parents: he didn't originally belong to this world.

In his previous life, Uchiha Yue had lived on a blue planet called Earth, a world with highly advanced technology. Being an orphan had caused him little difficulty. In the well-developed society of the twenty-first century, he had enjoyed every right except the love of family.

Having grown up in an orphanage, Uchiha Yue had become somewhat withdrawn and shy around strangers.

But for that very reason, even as a child, Uchiha Yue had been observant and far more mature than his peers. He never imagined that a sudden car accident would send his soul soaring into the afterlife. When he opened his eyes again, he found himself inside a baby's body, transported to a world both familiar and strange—the world of Naruto.

In his previous life, whenever he was bored, Uchiha Yue loved to read novels and manga. Naruto was one of his favorite manga series. Though it told stories of ninjas, the bonds between its characters were exactly the kind of connection that lonely Uchiha Yue had longed for as he grew up.

So when he had first been reborn as a baby, Uchiha Yue had been bewildered and afraid. His infant body had also brought all kinds of difficulties; once, he had nearly died from thinking too much. But after he learned the language of this world and realized he had been transported into the world of Naruto, he gradually began to accept it—and the parents he had in this life.

Four years had passed since Uchiha Yue's arrival in the world of Naruto, and he had grown accustomed to his identity in this life.

His mother, Minako, was an ordinary Chunin in Konoha Village.

But his father, Uchiha Nara, was a famous elite Jonin in Konoha Village, with a formidable reputation throughout the Shinobi World.

Konoha Year 4 had been the Second Shinobi World War, and the year Uchiha Yue had first arrived in this world.

An elite Jonin like Uchiha Nara had made countless contributions during the war. By all rights, he should have been highly valued in Konoha Village.

But things were quite different from what Uchiha Yue had expected. Despite his father's formidable strength, he had never been welcome in Konoha Village. Even when Uchiha Yue was a baby and his father carried him out for a stroll, he had seen the cold stares of the villagers—and even of the entire Uchiha Clan. The reason for it all was Uchiha Yue's ancestor, Uchiha Madara!

Uchiha Madara was one of the most renowned ninjas in the world of Naruto.

When Uchiha Yue first learned that his ancestor was none other than the famous Uchiha Madara, he had been so excited that he couldn't find words to describe how he felt. After all, besides uniting the Uchiha Clan, Uchiha Madara had founded the Shinobi World's first ninja village, Konoha, alongside the First, Senju Hashirama of the Senju Clan!

Unfortunately, Uchiha Madara had defected from Konoha long ago. During his defection, he had fought the First, Senju Hashirama, and the two had fallen together in the Valley of the End. Only then did Uchiha Yue finally understand why his father was shunned in Konoha Village, and why even his own Uchiha Clan treated him like an outsider.

As a descendant of Uchiha Madara, Uchiha Nara had found life in Konoha Village incredibly difficult.

Within the Uchiha Clan, the clan members viewed Uchiha Madara as a traitor. As a traitor's descendant, Uchiha Nara was naturally treated with coldness.

And throughout Konoha Village, the ninjas and villagers all revered the First as a god, so they hated Uchiha Madara even more.

It was no exaggeration to say Uchiha Nara was hated and ostracized even more than a Jinchuriki.

So it was easy to imagine what life had been like for Uchiha Nara in Konoha Village. The fact that he had survived this long was a miracle in itself.

When Uchiha Yue was an infant, he had occasionally seen a smile on his father's face. The rest of the time, Uchiha Nara had spent cooped up at home, drinking away his sorrows. His father's treatment in Konoha Village had even affected the lives of the whole family. Several times, while his mother, Minako, was soothing him to sleep, Uchiha Yue had seen her secretly crying.

Having been an orphan in his previous life, Uchiha Yue knew how to cherish the loving parents he had now.

Seeing how unhappy his parents were in Konoha Village, Uchiha Yue secretly resolved to make them happy in his own way.

Then he began to show off his talent, and before long the clan members had given him the title of prodigy.

After that, Uchiha Nara and Minako smiled much more often, and even their once bitter life grew more harmonious.

To Uchiha Nara, nothing mattered more than his child's talent. He put all his other troubles aside.

And seeing her husband no longer so despondent, and her child hailed as a prodigy, Minako's spirits improved as well.

It was his parents' smiles that made Uchiha Yue determined to live up to his title as a prodigy—and gave him the drive to become stronger.

But...

Perhaps Uchiha Yue was the only one who knew just how undeserved his reputation as a prodigy really was.