Live Well for Me

Everything was dark.

When the light returned, Uchiha Kei found himself standing in a void.

No, it's not emptiness.

This is a battlefield.

Countless corpses of gods floated all around, each as large as a mountain, and each exuding an aura far surpassing that of a true immortal.

Their eyes were filled with resentment, despair, and anger...

And, a deep fear.

Uchiha Kei's gaze pierced through the layers of corpses, looking towards the center of the battlefield.

There, a person stood.

A person dressed in ordinary white clothes, looking utterly unremarkable.

Yet this very person is surrounded by three thousand dazzling worlds!

Every world is as complete as the Naruto World, and as Takamagahara as Takamagahara.

The Three Thousand Worlds revolves around one person!

Opposite him was a gigantic eye.

The red and black stripes, cold and indifferent, seem to look down on all the ants.

That eye gently turned, looking at "Jiang Hao".

Just one glance.

The Three Thousand Worlds shattered together!

Jiang Hao coughed up blood and flew backward.

"Loser." A cold voice came from his eyes, "The 379th time."

The image is shattered.

A new scene appears.

This time, Uchiha Kei saw a familiar figure.

A-Yi.

The little girl who always had a lollipop in her mouth was now floating in the void.

Behind her was endless light.

The new god of light.

And opposite her was still that terrifying eye— the Dark Old God.

"A-Yi, you're too young," the voice of the Dark Old God echoed. "You think you can stop me?"

A-Yi didn't speak, he just opened his arms.

Endless light surged from her body, transforming into a barrier that spanned the void.

"Traverse the river of time to find that variable?" The Dark Old God scoffed. "You think I don't know?"

A-Yi's expression changed.

"You... you've been watching?"

"Of course," said the Dark Old God, "Every step you take is under my watchful eye."

"I'll let you go to him, let him grow, let him become a god."

"Because I know that he... will become the perfect vessel for me!"

A-Yi's pupils suddenly contracted.

"No..."

"It's too late," said the Dark Old God. "Within him lies Ancestor Fragment."

"When he gathers his three souls and seven spirits, when he merges with the Ancestor Fragment, he will become... the new me."

"And you, A-Yi, you personally delivered the last hope to me."

The light has been shattered.

A-Yi's body slowly dissipated, leaving only a single crystal tear that drifted into the void.

The image fragments again.

Uchiha Kei saw the last memory--

The river of time that was dammed.

One day.

Only one day.

Every day on Earth repeats the same day.

Jiang Hao stood at the end of the river of time, watching the endless cycle of the day.

Behind him stood countless phantoms of gods—those fallen deities.

"This is our last hope," an aged voice rang out. "The Ancestor Fragment resides within you. The moment it is completely consumed..."

"I know," Jiang Hao interrupted him, "That day is the day He will descend."

He turned around and looked at the illusory figures.

"Three hundred and seventy-nine times, I failed three hundred and seventy-nine times."

"It's not because I'm not strong enough, but because... I am the vessel He chose."

No matter how strong I become, I will eventually become Him.

The phantoms fell silent.

"But there's one last possibility," Jiang Hao said.

He raised his hand, and a tributary of the river of time was extracted.

That's the timeline of Uchiha Kei's birth.

"He is the only being who is not under His gaze."

"He has no Ancestor Fragment, no bloodline of gods, he is just an ordinary person who transmigrated to an ordinary world."

"If I allow him to grow, to merge with my three souls and seven spirits, to absorb the Ancestor Fragment..."

"Then, it will be He who merges, not the one who is merged with Him."

A smile finally appeared on Jiang Hao's face.

"This is my last gamble."

"I'll use my existence to create a variable."

The image slowly faded away.

Uchiha Kei opened his eyes and found himself still standing in the center of the arena.

Jiang Hao remained standing opposite him, a faint smile playing on his lips.

But there was a hint of relief in that smile.

"Finished watching?" Jiang Hao asked.

Uchiha Kei remained silent for a long time before slowly nodding.

"So, A-Yi... is dead?"

"No." Jiang Hao shook his head. "She traversed the river of time, expending too much power, and fell into a deep sleep."

"That single tear of hers is the Shock System within you."

Uchiha Kei was taken aback.

Shock System, is it A-Yi's Tears?

"She gave you her last bit of strength, hoping you could grow stronger," Jiang Hao said. "And I'm here waiting for you."

"I'm waiting for you to merge with me, to absorb the Ancestor Fragment, and to pursue that final possibility."

Uchiha Kei remained silent.

After a long silence, he asked, "What if I also fail?"

Jiang Hao laughed, "Then let's all go down together."

"..."

"Just kidding." Jiang Hao's smile faded, and he looked at him seriously. "You won't fail."

"Why?"

"Because you have something they don't."

Jiang Hao pointed outside the arena.

There, Naruto was waving his fists and shouting something, Sasuke stood by with his arms crossed and a disdainful look on his face, Kaguya's eyes were slightly red, Hanabi was biting her lip to hold back her tears, Madara and Hashirama were arguing again, and Senju Tobirama was helplessly trying to mediate...

"Bonds," Jiang Hao said. "You have real bonds."

"Three hundred and seventy-nine times, I've been alone."

"One person fights, one person fails, one person despairs."

But you are different.

You have them.

Uchiha Kei looked out of the arena, at those familiar faces.

Naruto, Sasuke, Kaguya, Hanabi, Madara, Hashirama, Uchiha Izuna, Tobirama, Itachi, Shisui...

Faces, memories.

From the grove of Konoha to the plaza of the Twilight Ninja Village; from their first battle side by side to countless times sharing life and death.

"So, come on." Jiang Hao opened his arms. "Merge with me, and go to complete our unfinished mission."

Uchiha Kei took a breath and walked towards him.

The two stood facing each other, no more than an arm's length apart.

"Is there anything else you want to say?" Uchiha Kei asked.

Jiang Hao thought for a moment, then smiled and said, "Go check on A-Yi for me."

She has been waiting for you for a long time.

Uchiha Kei's head.

"Besides..."

Jiang Hao paused, then his voice suddenly became very soft.

"Live well for me."

The next moment, his body transformed into countless points of light, surging into Uchiha Kei's body.