"Really..."
"Mom and Dad are going out on a mission, so we're leaving Madara and Izuna in your care, our reliable big brother."
After Uchiha Aoi and Uchiha Tajima had packed everything they needed for the mission,
Uchiha Aoi crouched on the tatami, smiling as she looked at her eldest son, Uchiha Shin, and patiently reminded him,
"Leave it to me. I've got this!"
"May Mom and Dad have a safe and successful mission!"
Uchiha Shin first glanced at Madara and Izuna, who were still having the time of their lives playing. Then he turned to Uchiha Aoi and nodded, grinning as he gave her a thumbs-up.
For Uchiha Shin, who had two years of childcare experience, this wasn't even a D-rank mission.
Leave it to me, Dad Shin. I've got this.
After hearing her eldest son's promise, Uchiha Aoi smiled and ruffled Uchiha Shin's hair. Then she got up and left with Uchiha Tajima to carry out their mission.
"Phew...!"
After Uchiha Aoi and Uchiha Tajima had left...
Uchiha Shin shook his head and let out a deep sigh.
Pretending to be a kid was exhausting.
That's right. Inside the body of Uchiha Shin, who was only five years old, was the soul of a thirty-year-old adult.
As for how he'd ended up in this body, it was all because he'd run his mouth too much that night.
That's right. The soul inside Uchiha Shin had originally belonged to Gao Yang, a carefree thirty-year-old man whose life had been pretty comfortable.
His family had gotten a few properties from a relocation project, so they weren't short on housing or money. As a result, aside from going to work, Gao Yang's favorite things to do were play games and watch anime.
As for getting married?
Although he was already thirty, Gao Yang had never even considered it.
Just like Teacher Fan Wei said in Monk Comes Down the Mountain...
"People say it's rare to live to seventy. The first ten years are spent as a child, the last ten growing old. That leaves just fifty years in between. Divide those fifty years between day and night, and you're down to twenty-five. Add wind and rain, the three calamities and six illnesses, and how many good days are left in a person's life?"
Gao Yang deeply agreed.
So, having made up his mind never to marry, Gao Yang planned to enjoy the rest of his life.
People could call him selfish or say he lacked a sense of responsibility; Gao Yang didn't care either way.
After all, everyone had to live their own life, right?
Everything had been going just fine.
Then one night, after watching the Naruto anime, Gao Yang complained, "Lord Madara was such a screwup. First Hashirama tricked him, then Black Zetsu did. He spent his whole life getting played, and never even realized it. What a pity!"
"If I were Lord Madara, I'd first take out Senju Tobirama, then steal the First's position. After that, I'd take out Black Zetsu, seize Ōtsutsuki Kaguya's power, flatten the Three Great Sage Lands, and finally counterattack the Otsutsuki Clan!"
"Ōtsutsuki Isshiki, Ōtsutsuki Momoshiki, Ōtsutsuki Urashiki—I'd kill every last one of them. I wouldn't even give you a chance to make Boruto!"
Gao Yang had barely finished ranting
when a strange voice suddenly rang in his ear. "As you wish!"
In an instant, Gao Yang's vision went black, and he lost consciousness.
When he came to again, he had become a newborn baby.
At first, Gao Yang thought some mighty being had sent his soul straight into Lord Madara's infant body.
After all, what could be more direct and simple than reincarnating as Madara himself to save him?
He'd read plenty of stories online, and a setup like that seemed perfectly reasonable.
Gao Yang had been pretty excited. He hadn't wanted to transmigrate, of course.
But whoever had sent him across in the blink of an eye clearly had power beyond time and space. Someone like that was obviously way beyond his ability to provoke.
Based on thirty years of life experience, Gao Yang had learned that when faced with someone you clearly couldn't afford to provoke, the only thing to do was act like you knew nothing. In a word, keep your head down!
Now that he'd transmigrated, he might as well make the best of it. Since he'd become Lord Madara, with Madara's talents and abilities, he could surely become the God of the Ninja World!
As long as he kept his wits about him, Senju Hashirama would never be able to fool him.
Until the day he heard his parents say the name they'd chosen for him: Uchiha Shin.
He felt like he might fall apart.
Uchiha Shin?
Who was that?
He hadn't been mentioned anywhere in the original Naruto.
If he hadn't been sure that his father was Uchiha Tajima, the Uchiha Clan's leader, Gao Yang might have thought he'd transmigrated into the wrong world!
But the name Uchiha Shin sounded like the kind of name that belonged to a background character who wouldn't last three minutes. He was bound to be utterly average in both talent and ability.
Gao Yang made the assumption with great malice.
And if he wasn't Lord Madara, then where was the real Lord Madara?
With that question in mind, Gao Yang spent his first year as a baby muddling through life.
It wasn't until his younger brother was born when he was one, and their parents named him Uchiha Madara, that Gao Yang realized he'd become Lord Madara's biological older brother.
One-year-old Uchiha Shin looked at the wrinkly baby in front of him. This kid was the future Uchiha Madara?
A sour feeling rose in Uchiha Shin's heart. It just wasn't fair.
Everyone else who transmigrated got a cheat, but after a whole year, Uchiha Shin still hadn't heard a "Ding!" or a "Hello, host. I'm such-and-such system!"
Uchiha Shin couldn't help wanting to curse someone. Who?
That mysterious mighty being who'd sent him here, of course.
"As you wish," huh...
I hadn't transmigrated into Lord Madara, and I didn't have a cheat or a system to back me up.
How was I supposed to get what I wanted? With the background-character name Uchiha Shin, a name that wouldn't even last three minutes? Or with this body's big round face?
My future looked pitch-black, damn it!
When Uchiha Shin was three, Uchiha Izuna was born.
Well, since Uchiha Tajima and Uchiha Aoi often had to leave on missions, the task of looking after the kids fell to three-year-old Uchiha Shin.
Why didn't they have someone else in the clan look after Uchiha Shin, Uchiha Madara, and Uchiha Izuna?
Because there was no one!
Uchiha Shin had assumed that, in the original Naruto, the Uchiha Clan was one of the Land of Fire's most powerful ninja clans.
Surely the Uchiha Clan had a huge population, right?
As it turned out, Uchiha Shin had been overthinking it.
Even Uchiha Tajima, the clan leader, and his wife, Uchiha Aoi, had to go out on missions. That showed just how many fighting-age ninja the Uchiha Clan actually had.
Which meant the clan population was even smaller. Based on Uchiha Shin's observations over the past few years, the Uchiha Clan had no more than a thousand members—probably only seven or eight hundred at most!
As for the Senju Clan, Uchiha Shin figured it was probably about the same. After all, the Uchiha Clan and the Senju Clan were known as the Land of Fire's two strongest ninja clans.
Their strength and populations should have been about equal.
When Uchiha Shin was four, Uchiha Tajima and Uchiha Aoi had another set of twins.
Maybe they already had too many children, or maybe Uchiha Tajima and Uchiha Aoi just couldn't be bothered.
Whatever the reason, they gave the twins the casual names Uchiha To and Uchiha Kawa.
When Uchiha Shin heard the twins' names, he knew they wouldn't grow up.
At least the name Uchiha Shin might let him live for three minutes. If he were in a TV drama, he might even get to appear on screen and say a few lines. He could at least count as a supporting character.
But Uchiha To and Uchiha Kawa sounded like the kind of characters in a TV drama who never even got to appear on screen, much less say a line. They'd probably die within seconds as extras.
So a name really could determine your whole life.
If the Nohara Clan had a female ninja named Nohara Kengo, then no matter how pretty she was, nobody would want her.
She could forget about getting a white-haired teammate who could tie with anyone, or a stubborn boy who'd start a world war for her.
"Five years! Five whole years!"
"Do you know what I've been through these past five years?"
"Not only have I had to play dad and look after the kids, I've had to train whenever I had the chance and improve my strength!"
"I'm going to live long enough to see Boruto! I'm going to outwork everyone. I'm going to work you awful people into the ground!"
Five-year-old Uchiha Shin looked at Madara and Izuna, who were still having the time of their lives playing, and suddenly felt a surge of anger.
Why could other people do everything so easily while he had to work so hard? They were all members of the Uchiha Clan—what made him any worse?
What should you do when you're angry and stressed? Teach your little brother a lesson to let off steam.
With that thought...
"Madara, come here!"
Uchiha Shin's face turned stern, and his voice grew serious.
"What is it, big brother?"
Madara dragged his feet over to Uchiha Shin and looked at his stern-faced older brother, feeling a little uneasy.
Uchiha Shin shifted into a more comfortable position and lay on his side.
After a moment's silence,
Uchiha Shin fixed his younger brother with a grave look. "Madara, remember this: you must never be friends with anyone named Hashirama. And don't ever swear to live and die by each other's side like brothers!"
Although Uchiha Madara thought his big brother's words were a little strange, he still sat down.
After thinking it over,
Uchiha Madara said hesitantly, "But... what if I really like this guy named Hashirama in the future?"
"Then you still can't! Otherwise, Izuna will be killed, you'll be a bachelor your whole life and never get a wife, and even the Uchiha Clan will be wiped out!"
Uchiha Shin suddenly clenched his fist. He looked at Uchiha Madara, and his gaze began to turn dangerous.
Uchiha Izuna, who had been playing nearby, was startled when he heard his big brother.
"What does that have to do with me? Why am I the one who dies? I haven't done anything..."
"Once Mom and Dad get back, I'm telling them...!"
"Waaah...!"
Three-year-old Izuna was still too sensitive. Hearing his big brother say that made him think of something sad, and before long, he couldn't hold back his tears.
"Madara, your stubbornness is what made Izuna cry."
"If I don't give you a beating today, I'll be letting Izuna and the Uchiha Clan down!"
"Izuna, watch big brother avenge your future self!"
Uchiha Shin first went over to Izuna and comforted the sensitive little boy, gently ruffling Izuna's hair.
Then he turned around and glared at the culprit, Uchiha Madara, his face full of murderous intent.
"Big brother, what are you going to do?"
When he saw the murderous look on his older brother Uchiha Shin's face, Uchiha Madara nervously swallowed.
Then his heart started pounding faster and faster against his will.
"What am I going to do?"
"Beat you up, of course!"
Uchiha Shin lunged forward and pinned Uchiha Madara to the ground. Thanks to all the secret extra training, Uchiha Shin was exceptionally strong.
Far stronger than any five-year-old should have been.
"Smack!"
"Smack!"
Uchiha Shin held down Uchiha Madara's hands with one hand and swung his other hand down hard on Madara's butt.
"Ah!"
"..."
Uchiha Madara couldn't help crying out in pain as he was beaten. Tears of grievance ran from the corners of his eyes and down his tender cheeks.
As Uchiha Madara cried out in pain, he gritted his teeth and swore to himself...
"Damn it!"
"This guy named Hashirama, I'd better never run into you..."
"Or I'll get my revenge!"
"I'll avenge the beating my big brother just gave my butt!"
Although Uchiha Madara thought that, he still couldn't help begging for mercy as his big brother Uchiha Shin continued to pound him.
"Big brother, I was wrong...!"
"I... waaah, I won't be friends with anyone named Hashirama ever again!"
"Please let me go...!"
Uchiha Madara turned his head. His face was streaked with tears, and he looked pitifully at Uchiha Shin, his eyes full of grievance.
"Since you know you were wrong, I'll let you off this time!"
Uchiha Shin let go of Uchiha Madara and stood up.
Phew, beating someone up was more tiring than he'd expected!
Uchiha Shin looked at Uchiha Madara lying on his side on the tatami, one hand covering his butt and his face full of misery. His mood suddenly improved.
"Since you know you were wrong, then tell me what you did wrong."
Uchiha Shin looked down at Uchiha Madara and asked casually.
"..."
Uchiha Madara thought it over, then ventured cautiously, "I shouldn't be friends with anyone named Hashirama?"
"What else?"
Uchiha Shin stood there with his arms crossed. He didn't seem satisfied with that answer, and his gaze began to turn dangerous again.
"I'll always listen to big brother from now on!"
"Whatever big brother tells me to do, I'll do. Whoever he tells me to beat up, I'll beat up!"
Looking as aggrieved as a wife, Uchiha Madara saw his older brother's gaze turning dangerous again and hurriedly swore his loyalty in no uncertain terms.
"That's more like it!"
"We're brothers who love each other dearly!"
"When my big brother hits you, it hurts me too!"
Uchiha Shinichi rubbed Uchiha Madara's injured backside, smiling as he comforted him.
"Big brother is absolutely right! We're a loving family!"
Uchiha Madara forced down his pain and echoed Uchiha Shin with an ingratiating smile.
Uchiha Madara—this guy seemed to know what was what!
Watching Uchiha Madara struggle to put on an ingratiating smile, Uchiha Shin couldn't help finding it amusing.
Before you continue