Things Really Were Tough for Me

Bang!

A violent explosion rang out in the basement, sending bottles and jars tumbling across the table.

Strangely, the boy standing beside the table wasn't affected at all. The shockwave passed right through him as if he were made of air, an absurd and bizarre sight.

The boy beside the table—Lu Yan—looked at the wrecked basement and grimaced. Weary, he rubbed the corner of his eye and extinguished the blood-red eye marked with a pinwheel pattern.

"Kamui is too powerful. The Mangekyo takes too much of a toll on the mind, though."

Lu Yan leaned over the battered experiment table, took out his notebook, and began recording the results of this experiment.

Konoha Year 46, March 15, Twenty-Third Reinforcement Potion Experiment

Materials: 30 grams of Soul-Bright Flower juice, 100 grams of Star-Leaf Grass, one Ninja Hawk heart, 200 grams of Senju Tree sap

Procedure: Use spiritual fire to remove impurities from the Soul-Bright Flower juice and Star-Leaf Grass, extracting their essences. Then slowly mix the Soul-Bright Flower juice into the Star-Leaf Grass, allowing their spiritual properties to blend...

Results: Failure. The spiritual properties clashed, causing a violent explosion.

Conclusion: Soul-Bright Flower juice works better than wraith dust, but its spiritual properties are more volatile and partially clash with those of Star-Leaf Grass, making explosions more likely.

Closing the notebook, Lu Yan stretched and let out a long breath.

"Things are progressing faster than I expected. The Uchiha's Sharingan is incredibly useful for observing things in minute detail. They only use it for fighting. No wonder their clan was wiped out—they must have incurred heaven's wrath."

Lu Yan tidied up the bottles and jars on the table, carefully wiped away any traces, then leisurely left the basement.

Beyond the basement was a storeroom. Lu Yan had deliberately dug the basement beneath it and installed a Soundproofing Array. Under ordinary circumstances, it would be very hard for anyone to discover.

When he entered the living room, Japanese-style decor greeted him. Even though Lu Yan had been in this world for half a year, it still felt unfamiliar and strange to him.

Lu Yan wasn't from this world—not even from the world he'd lived in before transmigrating. He was just a stranger, struggling to survive in these dark worlds while missing the mooncakes of his homeland.

His previous world was one where wizarding civilization had flourished, but it was also an extremely dark place. Wizards and ordinary people were sharply divided. Wizards viewed ordinary people as a renewable resource, managing them like herds of cattle and sheep, waiting for the time to harvest them. Fortunately, Lu Yan had transmigrated into the body of an alchemy apprentice. More fortunately still, he'd majored in materials science at university.

That was how Lu Yan had survived. Ten years later, he'd successfully advanced to become a full-fledged wizard, only to die and transmigrate into this world, which was both hazy and familiar.

In his previous life, Lu Yan had been a casual Naruto fan, so he knew the series fairly well. But after ten years, he only remembered a few major events: the Night of the Uchiha Massacre, the fact that Obito Uchiha was the mastermind behind it, and the fact that the body he'd ended up in was Obito Uchiha's. So...

"Things really are tough for me."

Lu Yan couldn't help thinking of when he'd fought Obito Uchiha for control of the body, their souls entangled together, the horrified, despairing look on Obito's face when he saw Lu Yan's memories, and the condition Obito had set before willingly letting his soul dissipate.

"And he even made me promise to make Rin and Kakashi happy. What does he think I am, a matchmaker?"

Lu Yan sighed helplessly, but he had no choice but to swallow that bitter pill. This was a debt of karma; until he fulfilled Obito Uchiha's wish, the body would never truly belong to him.

Shaking his head, Lu Yan put those troubling thoughts aside, got up to take a shower, changed into the Uchiha Clan's trademark clothes, and prepared to go out.

As he walked along the streets of the Hidden Leaf Village, he saw a steady stream of passersby. Every so often, a ninja in a green flak jacket went by, and the shops lining the street were decked out in festive decorations, filling the place with a lively holiday atmosphere.

"Obito, over here!"

Lu Yan was strolling along, stopping to look around and enjoy the rare peace, when a clear voice called from nearby.

He turned toward the sound, and the first thing he saw was a handsome face. The face paint on either cheek added a touch of girlish liveliness.

"Rin."

A gentle smile appeared on Lu Yan's face as he walked over to Rin. Once he was close, he took a careful look at her. Instead of her usual gray, form-fitting outfit, Rin was wearing a simple patterned dress. She looked fresh and adorable in it.

"Brat, you acting like we're not even here?"

A fist suddenly swung out and smacked Lu Yan on the head. Then someone immediately grabbed his ear and yanked it outward.

"Ow, ow, ow! Sensei's wife, you look even prettier today!"

Lu Yan instantly changed his tune, giving the red-haired Kushina Uzumaki beside him an ingratiating look. She was wearing a red dress.

"Kushina, that's enough. Obito didn't mean to do it."

Standing beside Kushina Uzumaki, Namikaze Minato still had his dazzling blond hair. He smiled helplessly and spoke gently.

"Food really does taste better when it's free, and it's hard to say no when someone's been so kind."

Lu Yan rubbed his reddened ear and slipped around to Namikaze Minato's other side, unable to resist a comment.

Ever since Lu Yan had wheedled Kushina Uzumaki into teaching him Sealing Jutsu, the two of them had grown close. The downside was that Kushina liked to land one of her "loving little punches" on him every so often. After all, Lu Yan was only nine and had graduated from the Ninja Academy six months ago, while Kushina had always considered herself his sensei's wife.

"Idiot."

Kakashi, who had been so quiet he was almost invisible, spoke up. He still wore a mask and had his dead-fish eyes on display, making him look like a creep.

Lu Yan glanced at Kakashi and gave a disdainful snort.

"Come on, don't start arguing the moment you see each other. It's a holiday. Let's all go get some barbecue. My treat."

Namikaze Minato shook his head helplessly and tried to smooth things over.

"Great, let's go!"

Rin squeezed through from behind, separated the two who were still glaring at each other, took one by the hand, and led them forward.

"That's youth for you."

Namikaze Minato and Kushina Uzumaki exchanged a smile behind them, then took each other's hand and followed.