Rainy Night
Cold rain pounded the ground.
The boy clutched his chest, where blood continued to pour from his wound, and desperately raced toward the village in the distance. His face was pale, and he was soaked in blood. His legs trembled every so often. The Leaf Village Forehead Protector on his shoulder, already scored with numerous kunai marks, swayed in the wind and rain.
Boom!!!!!
An explosion sounded behind him.
"Persistent..." the boy cursed under his breath. A sharp pain flared in his chest—the pain of a puncture wound, made worse by the rain and wind. An ordinary person would have already passed out from the agony.
"Go after him. We can't let that guy get away. Lord Danzo said that if we dig out his eyes, we'll have a chance to climb another rung up the ladder when we get back." The ninja wearing a Root mask spoke in a flat tone, as if he had no feelings of his own.
Beside him, a short Root ninja kept running without slowing. He asked, puzzled, "Isn't that guy just a kid of about ten? Why is Lord Danzo targeting him?"
"The Uchiha are busy dealing with the unrest in their clan. The demigod from Amegakure reached some kind of deal with Lord Danzo. They won't stop us from killing people from Konoha. Besides, our orders are to dig out the eyes of every Uchiha child. Don't ask so many questions. It's not good for you." The Root ninja's voice remained as flat as ever.
The short ninja beside him fell silent for a moment.
Then—
"Captain, he ran into the village."
"Search slowly. Even though he used his Single Tomoe Sharingan to avoid a fatal hit from my kunai, he's still just a child. My kunai tore open his lung. There's no way he can get out of this village..."
The two Root ninjas slowly entered the dilapidated village, the rain washing over them.
Inside an abandoned house in the village—
"Damn it..." Uchiha Chiba gasped for breath, his mouth wide open.
"Konoha... the Uchiha... I should have known..." Uchiha Chiba suddenly flung the Leaf Village Forehead Protector from his shoulder as far away as he could.
As it turned out, Uchiha Chiba had originally been a veteran Naruto gamer. One day, in the arena, he'd been utterly demolished by the Religious Ninja Leg Shadow with Pink Cherry Blossom and Red Resolve. He'd gotten so heated that he'd overloaded and exploded on the spot along with the OPA5 in his hands... When he opened his eyes again, he'd already arrived in the world of Naruto—only to become Uchiha cannon fodder during the Second Shinobi World War...
Perhaps it was a special quality he'd gained from crossing worlds.
Uchiha Chiba could feel his damaged organs slowly healing. But he was only about ten years old, and his dantian had been destroyed. He had enough chakra left to use two C-rank jutsu, and to gather chakra again, he would have to wait at least another year to recover.
The only jutsu Uchiha Chiba himself could use, aside from the basic Three Body Techniques, were the Uchiha Clan's inherited C-rank Great Fireball Technique and another C-rank jutsu, Phoenix Flower Jutsu.
"A ten-year-old Chunin... This body's talent is terrifying too..." Uchiha Chiba felt that his chest wasn't quite so leaky anymore, and speaking had gotten a little easier. At least the pain wasn't as intense.
In the original story—
The Uchiha Clan's genius, Uchiha Itachi, graduated from the Ninja Academy at seven, awakened his Sharingan at eight, and became a Chunin at ten...
Uchiha Chiba's talent could only be called even greater. When had Uchiha Itachi been a genius? After the Second Shinobi World War, after Konoha's victory, when the village had abundant resources and the Uchiha Clan was relatively stable. Uchiha Chiba, on the other hand, had been born before the Second Shinobi World War began. His parents had both died in the war, and through sheer perseverance, he'd killed people and seized supplies on the battlefield before breaking through to Chunin...
Thunk!!!!
A kunai suddenly embedded itself in the wall of the abandoned house.
"Stop hiding. What good will hiding do you? I pierced your lung, and I crushed your dantian. What's more, you're just a child. Come out on your own, and I'll try to make your death painless." The flat-voiced Root ninja pushed open the rickety wooden door and entered the house, the short Root ninja following behind him.
Uchiha Chiba opened his eyes.
His Single Tomoe Sharingan turned slowly.
"Two... jonin? Damn, even without being injured, I couldn't kill a single jonin... Is this really it for me..." Uchiha Chiba closed his blood-red eyes, and they returned to normal. He sighed. The cold air made his lung passages ache terribly.
When Uchiha Chiba didn't come out,
the Cold Root Ninja formed Hand Seals.
"Water Style: Water Gun!"
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
Boom!!!!!
Water and fire collided with a sizzling hiss. Then steam billowed up, and a wave of heat rushed toward Uchiha Chiba's face. The air he breathed made his lungs seize up, sending pain shooting through him.
"Why bother?" The Cold Root Ninja drew a short blade.
Suddenly,
a frightened cry came from a corner of the house. It was faint, but none of the ninjas there were mere cannon fodder. In an instant, everyone—including Uchiha Chiba—turned their eyes toward the corner.
A purple-haired girl came into view. She bit her lip and stared at the three of them, terror filling her eyes.
Konan?
A glint passed through Uchiha Chiba's eyes. She was the only beauty in the Akatsuki in Naruto, with a figure that was perfect from top to bottom. Before he'd crossed over, he'd always ranked first in the country with Konan in every game... Ahem, getting off track.
Uchiha Chiba's Sharingan snapped open.
"Now's my chance! Demonic Illusion: False Surroundings Technique!"
"Wh..." The Cold Root Ninja had let his guard down for just an instant, and Uchiha Chiba seized the opportunity.
"Genjutsu won't kill him... There's another jonin behind him... Damn it. I might as well do one last good deed and make my dream come true..." Uchiha Chiba leaped in front of Konan.
Konan was about ten years old too, not much younger than Uchiha Chiba.
"What's your name?" Uchiha Chiba took a kunai from his pouch and held it across his chest. He kept his eyes fixed on the short Root ninja behind the Cold Root Ninja. Strangely, the short ninja seemed lost in thought and made no move to attack.
"M-My name is Konan." The little girl's voice trembled. It was clear she was terrified, even though she was trying to act brave.
"I'm Uchiha Chiba. Sorry for getting you caught up in this. In a moment, I'll break the wall behind me. While I fight them, run as fast as you can..." Uchiha Chiba watched the Cold Root Ninja in front of him, who was gradually returning to normal. As expected of a jonin, it had taken him only a dozen breaths or so to nearly break free of the genjutsu, even with the Sharingan strengthening it.
"Th-Then what about you?" Konan looked at the boy in front of her, who was a head taller than she was.
"I'll probably die, but as long as you survive, that's enough. He's awake. Get ready to run, Konan. Goodbye." Uchiha Chiba tossed an Explosive Tag onto the wall behind him, then stared coldly at the two Root ninjas in front of him.
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