Transmigrated into Sasuke, a Soul Prison Within

October 10th, the 48th year of Konoha.

Inside the Uchiha clan compound, within the main residence of the clan head.

An infant wrapped in white swaddling clothes felt his eyelashes flutter, and he slowly opened his eyes. Within his pupils emerged a depth and vitality entirely inconsistent with his age.

Where is this?

Am I not dead yet?

Could this be hell?

Feeling himself tightly swaddled and held in the arms of a boy around four or five years old who was gazing up at the starry sky, a trace of confusion flickered in his eyes.

Who is this person before me?

The Grim Reaper?

Heh, does the afterlife use child labor now?

It seems hell isn't so terrifying after all.

As his thoughts wandered aimlessly, he opened his mouth to try and speak, only to find that his throat could only produce "goo-goo, ga-ga" sounds.

Hearing his voice, the boy before him patted his back gently, lowered his head, and smiled tenderly: "Sasuke, are you awake?"

???

Sasuke?

As a veteran anime fan with a slight grasp of Japanese, he was stunned upon hearing this name. Then, looking at the familiar face before him, a flash of realization struck!

Itachi Uchiha?

He reached out his tiny, delicate hand in disbelief and rubbed his eyes hard, then looked again...

It really was Itachi Uchiha!

And a young, prepubescent Itachi at that!

Did he just call me Sasuke?

Could it be that I've transmigrated?

And I've become the "Second Pillar"?

The soul occupying the infant's body had originally lived in a world where entertainment media flourished.

As a veteran anime fan and avid reader, he was naturally no stranger to the cliché trope of transmigration.

At the same time, as an aspiring youth determined to serve his country, he had died in a car accident on his way to a prison guard exam. Waking up to find himself not in the underworld, but facing this scenario, he immediately realized he had transmigrated!

He had transmigrated into the world of Naruto, a world he knew very well, becoming the series' second male lead: the ill-fated and deeply tormented Sasuke Uchiha!

Ah~ why couldn't it have been Naruto?

Even a background character would have been fine!

Why did it have to be Sasuke?

Having accepted the reality of his transmigration, he couldn't help but feel a headache coming on.

After all, knowing the plot as he did, he knew that his parents and clansmen in this life would be slaughtered in the near future, and the perpetrator would be none other than his brother in this life. Anyone would find that a headache.

If he tried to save them... he knew he lacked the ability.

This was a conflict between the clan and the village that had reached an irreconcilable point.

Even by the night of the massacre, he would be at most seven or eight years old. Forget changing anything; he wouldn't even have the qualifications to participate.

But if he didn't save them... humans were, after all, emotional creatures.

Perhaps he had no feelings for his parents or clansmen right after transmigrating, but he would have to live with them for years to come. Even a dog would develop an attachment after living together for a long time, let alone people.

Watching the countdown to the lives of those around him while having to pretend he didn't know anything, living under the same roof as the murderer—just thinking about it made his head ache.

Should I find an opportunity to assassinate Itachi Uchiha?

But killing him doesn't seem to solve anything.

The root cause of the massacre doesn't lie with Itachi Uchiha.

In his previous life, he hadn't particularly liked the character of Itachi Uchiha.

As an ordinary citizen, he didn't understand the "righteousness of killing one's kin." He only knew the ancient principles that family should protect one another and that filial piety was the greatest of all virtues.

Although Itachi was handsome, the mere act of killing his parents made him impossible to accept.

Even so, he understood that the root of the problem wasn't Itachi Uchiha, but the long-standing grievances and irreconcilable contradictions between the clan and the village.

Even if Itachi didn't act, the Uchiha, harboring long-term resentment toward the village, would eventually be forced to stage a coup, with Danzo lurking in the shadows to fan the flames.

No matter what, the Uchiha clan must be saved!

Even if it means convincing them to defect, that would still be better than total annihilation!

Heaven had given him a second life, bringing him to the world of Naruto and making him Sasuke Uchiha. He refused to let his life follow the predetermined script!

Suddenly!

A building resembling a prison emerged from within his mental world.

What is this?

A magical artifact? Or a cheat code?!

Sasuke's eyes lit up instantly.

Familiar with the tropes of various web novels, he immediately realized this was the essential cheat code for any transmigrator. Perhaps it was this prison-like artifact that had brought him here in the first place!

As expected, a cheat code might be late, but it never fails to show up!

But why a prison?

Could it be because I died on my way to take the prison guard exam?

Does Heaven intend to fulfill my wish of becoming a prison guard even after transmigration?

Whatever, let's check the functions first!

Sasuke connected his consciousness to the prison within his mental world.

Immediately, detailed information regarding the prison's functions flooded into his mind.

The Soul Prison, also known as the Soul Space, was a place to house and imprison souls.

It could capture and imprison souls that had recently passed away and had not yet entered the Pure Land.

As long as the imprisoned soul experienced intense emotional fluctuations, Sasuke, as the host, could randomly obtain one of the abilities they had mastered during their lifetime, including but not limited to ninjutsu, bloodlines, and kekkei genkai!

Of course, if the imprisoned soul was willing to grant it, he could also obtain their abilities directly.

In other words, the best way to obtain someone's ability isn't to provoke them, but to persuade them as much as possible?

A forced melon might quench thirst, but it isn't sweet.

Getting the other party to be willing was the shortcut to obtaining their abilities most efficiently.

But thinking about it, if someone's soul were imprisoned for no reason, the difficulty of getting them to be willing was self-evident.

As for the method of imprisoning souls, it was simple and brutal!

Within a certain distance, after the target died and before their soul entered the Pure Land, he only needed to silently recite "Capture" plus the target's name to easily pull their soul into the prison within the Soul Space.

After a brief understanding of his cheat code's functions, Sasuke couldn't help but let his imagination run wild.

If the Sage of Six Paths came out of the Pure Land, I wonder if I could capture his soul into the Soul Space...

Of course, this was just a thought. After all, the information that had just appeared in his mind clearly stated that this Soul Prison could only house souls that had recently died.

The Sage of Six Paths, who had been dead for thousands of years—or perhaps it was unclear if he was truly dead—obviously did not meet the criteria for capture.

Not dwelling on this issue, Sasuke shifted his consciousness, and his conscious form entered the Soul Prison within his mental world.

From cell number 1 to number 10, there were a total of 10 cells, each belonging to a different space and disconnected from one another.

One cell represented one soul slot.

After a successful capture, souls from different cells could be arranged together, but the total capacity remained the same.

In other words, this Soul Prison could house a maximum of 10 souls.

At the same time, the size, layout, environment, time, and quality of each cell could be changed according to his will; they could even become small worlds of their own, complete with sunshine, beaches, flora, and fauna.

Sasuke's mind stirred, and cell number one transformed into a luxurious estate with small bridges, flowing water, and lush, shaded trees.

His conscious form stepped into the garden, treading on the soft lawn, smelling the rich fragrance of grass and soil in the air, and listening to the birds chirping in the woods. It felt exactly like being in the real world.

This is a pretty good feature...

If they are obedient and willingly offer up their ninjutsu or bloodline limits, I don't mind giving them a nice living environment.

But if they aren't obedient?

Heh heh~

It's just that the Soul Space can only hold ten souls at most, so I need to plan carefully!

Just then.

Outside, Itachi Uchiha seemed to have discovered something. He stood up abruptly, his gaze fixed on a massive creature that had appeared out of thin air in the center of Konoha, letting out a roar toward the sky!

"That... what is that?"

In the Soul Space, Sasuke, sensing something was wrong, returned his consciousness and opened his eyes. He followed Itachi's gaze, and his eyes widened in shock.

It's actually... the Nine-Tails?!!

That means tonight is the Night of the Nine-Tails?

Recognizing the creature in the distance and confirming the date, Sasuke felt a surge of wild joy!