Chapter 1

"Where is this?! Wasn't I dead? Why am I here...?" He felt weak, as though the space itself was rejecting him. Before long, a dazzling light shone down, making it impossible for him to see anything. He couldn't even open his eyes; a thin membrane covered them.

"Lord Patriarch, Madam has given birth to a young master. She's resting now, so you can go see her!" The maid opened the door and, seeing the three people outside—one adult and two children—bowed respectfully and informed them.

"Good! I'll go right now! Madara, Izuna, come on. Let's go see your little brother!" The middle-aged man addressed as the patriarch was overjoyed. A new son meant another fighter for the clan and another boost to its strength. He turned to the two children beside him and gave the order.

"Okay!"

"Yes, Father!"

Madara was especially excited. The moment his father spoke, he was the first to dash into the room. The other boy bowed respectfully to their father, then followed him inside.

"So this is my little brother? He looks just like Izuna and me! Hehe!" Madara knelt beside the bed, his expression gentle.

Wasn't I dead? Where am I...? Where...? My body...! Cradled in the hands of a giant woman, the swaddled baby flailed helplessly. His mind had gone completely blank. He'd transmigrated—his soul had actually crossed into another world.

Is this what people in China call transmigration? I never thought a scumbag like me would get a chance like this. Is Heaven giving me another life so I can atone for my sins? But this place looks ancient. Was I born in the past? Why does this wooden house look Japanese? He muttered to himself, turning his head to take in his surroundings. Song Zhengtong analyzed the unfamiliar world around him, but his body was so weak that he soon fell asleep again.

"We haven't named him yet. Madara, what do you think we should call your little brother?"

"Hmm... Let me think. Since he was born on the night of a lunar eclipse, let's call him Mingye."

"Mingye... Uchiha Mingye... That's a lovely name."

"Uchiha... Looks like I've transmigrated into a world that's something else." Held up in Madara's arms, the baby named Mingye finally accepted that he'd crossed into another world.

Mingye never would have imagined that after jumping from a building because he couldn't bear the public backlash over a medical malpractice incident, he would transmigrate into the world of Naruto!

Time flew by, and several years passed in the blink of an eye. On a stuffy afternoon, cicadas shrilled among the trees as if protesting the heat.

Tap... tap... tap... tap...

A flurry of hurried footsteps came from the woods to the right of a boy roasting chicken wings by the river. He glanced toward the trees, then went back to fanning the flames beneath his food.

A figure burst from the woods and charged at the boy. The child calmly shifted aside, avoiding the attack. The attacker landed where the boy had been crouching, but before he could steady himself, the ground gave way beneath his feet.

"A trap!"

As he fell into the pit, the figure planted a hand against the wall and stopped himself as if he were held there by a magnet. Then, with one arm, he launched himself into the air, flipped out of the pit, and immediately doubled back across the ground. In an instant, he was beside the child.

"You think a trap like that could fool me, brat? Hand over those chicken wings!" A kunai pressed against the child's neck. The figure finally showed his face: a boy who looked a little over ten, grinning as he threatened the child.

"Dear big brother, do you really think you've won?" The child wasn't afraid. He glanced at the boy's lower body and challenged him.

"If we were on the battlefield, you'd already be dead!" The boy snapped back angrily, the chicken wing on the roasting fork pointing right at his groin.

"You'd be leaving without any descendants, too!" The child retorted. He moved his hand slightly, and the fork's blade scraped against the other boy's pants.

"Are you two ever going to stop? Where's Xiao Si?" Just as the two of them were arguing, a boy about ten years old emerged from the woods, carrying a long sword as tall as he was.

"Second brother, big brother, you're here!" A cute little boy came running out of the woods opposite them, drooling and clutching a bundle of dry branches. He ran up to the three of them.

The boy who had threatened the child put away his kunai and glared at the one holding the roasting fork. "He's only three years old, and you let him go into the woods to gather firewood!"

"What else was I supposed to do? You think I should've brought Xiao Si here to roast chicken wings?" The child wasn't intimidated. Holding the roasting fork in one hand and a fan in the other, he spread his arms and challenged the boy again.

"You little—!"

He snatched the roasting fork, shoved the chicken wing into his mouth, then sat by the fire and quickly devoured the cooked food stuck in the ground.

"Third brother, Father might have you start training next month," the more composed boy said, sitting down beside him. He picked up a grilled fish and ate as he spoke.

"Already? My childhood!" The child they called Third Brother drooped with dismay.

"Third brother will be super strong!" The adorable little boy set the dry branches aside, dusted himself off, and obediently sat beside Third Brother. Seeing his brother so dejected, he hurried to praise and encourage him.

"I'll take your word for it. Here, Xiao Si, have some too. You've only just stopped drinking milk, so you shouldn't eat too much meat, but a little won't hurt." Looking at the little one's adorable face, still smudged with a bit of dirt, he forgot all about the gloom his older brother's words had brought on. He couldn't resist ruffling Xiao Si's hair.

"Okay!" Xiao Si nodded obediently. He was still young, but he knew what tasted good. He picked up a glistening chicken wing and began eating with gusto.

Who would've thought I'd become your little brother? Will the world be a little different from the manga because I'm here? Watching his brothers and little brother happily eating, the child they called Third Brother leaned back, rested his head on his hands, and gazed up at the clear sky as he mused.

In the main hall of a house, four children knelt at the entrance. The man seated at the head of the room looked stern. "As members of the clan, you're supposed to report back after completing a mission. And don't you know how dangerous it is out there? A six-year-old taking a four-year-old with him—you're asking to get yourselves killed! And then you lit a fire, as if you wanted everyone to know where you were!"

"I was wrong, Father!" Third Brother hurriedly bowed to the man.

"Xiao Si, go find your mother. You don't need to be here." Seeing the youngest, a four-year-old, wobbling on his knees, the man felt a little sorry for him. The four of them had clearly been kneeling for quite some time. Just then, the door to a side room slid open, and a woman carrying a child appeared in the hall.

"Goodbye, Father! Goodbye, big brother, second brother, and third brother!" Xiao Si grinned, bowed to the man, then stood up and bowed to each of his still-kneeling brothers before happily running over to the woman.

"You're the older brother. You should have warned your younger brothers, but instead you joined in their foolishness. Madara, what should I do with you?" The woman sighed helplessly, took Xiao Si by the hand, and left through the side door. Once she was gone, the man fixed his gaze on the slightly older boy and questioned him.

"I was wrong, Father!" Madara obediently bowed. He knew better than to rebel right now.

"Hmph! Go practice throwing kunai three thousand times. You're not eating dinner until you finish!" Madara had admitted his mistake, leaving the man no opening to use the incident against him. So he dismissed him with an order.

"Yes!" Madara rose and bowed to the man. Then, just before leaving, he kicked Third Brother, who was trying to stifle a laugh beside him, and hurried out of the hall.

"Izuna!" Madara's little prank, along with Third Brother's grimace as he toppled over, finally made the usually quiet boy burst out laughing. The man in the main seat had clearly seen it, but didn't scold Madara, who had already run off. Instead, he called out the boy's name coldly.

"I know. Three thousand kunai throws. I'll go right now, and I won't eat until I'm done!" The boy called Izuna hurriedly bowed and answered.

"Get out!" The man waved him away.

"Mingye...!" Once the other children had left, only Third Brother and the man remained. The man was silent for a long while before speaking.

"Father, I can't do three thousand kunai throws!" The child called Mingye interrupted before the man could finish, honestly confessing that he couldn't complete the throwing practice. The Uchiha Clan's way of practicing with kunai was the sort of thing only a lunatic would demand.

"Starting tomorrow, you'll train with Lianhuo. You have three months until your birthday. I want you to be able to use at least two Fire Release techniques by then. You know what will happen if you fail!" Mingye's timid words only made the man angrier, so he brought out his ultimate weapon: a training ultimatum.

"I understand, Father!" He'd thought he still had two or three months to play, but now, because he'd been honest, even that was gone. He was a little depressed, but there was no way he could defy the man's orders. So he tried to cheer himself up: since he couldn't fight back, he might as well smile and make the best of it. Mingye bowed and accepted the order.

"You may go."

"Yes!"

After tidying up, Mingye set off with Lianhuo for the training grounds.

"Young Master Mingye, let's rest here for today." Halfway up a mountain, the burly man pressed one hand to the ground to sense their surroundings. A moment later, he stood and spoke respectfully to the panting boy beside him.

"Finally, we're resting. Lianhuo, are you trying to sell me off? We must be eighty thousand miles from our clan's territory by now!" Mingye leaned against a rock and sat down, glaring at the burly man in complaint.

"Young Master Mingye, you jest. We've traveled only a little over twenty miles. Even a novice shinobi could run that far in half an hour without getting winded! And that's during the Warring States era, when there are no genin, chunin, or jonin ranks." Lianhuo smiled faintly. He paid no heed to Mingye's complaint and shook his head as he explained.

"Who says I'm winded? This is a special breathing technique! All right, all right, I'll put up the tent myself. You can go find me some meat, at least. Don't make me eat grass roots and rice balls again. Is there really nothing else to eat besides rice balls?" When he heard Lianhuo's words, Mingye sprang to his feet like a coil, then defended himself while struggling to keep his exhausted body upright.

"Young Master Mingye, this isn't a major mission, but we still have to be careful. Senju Clan shinobi have been very active lately. If they find us, it'll be hard for us to escape. And radish pickles and rice balls are enough to fill you up. If we make a fire, we'll give away our position. Even if it isn't a Senju Clan shinobi who spots us, other shinobi will see us alone and make us their target." Lianhuo shook his head. Mingye was famous in the clan for his appetite.

"Damn it! Then let's stop resting here and find a village. Don't worry about me. I can definitely hold on until we find one!" Mingye really didn't want to endure the cold, hunger, and hardship out in the wilderness. He grimaced and looked at Lianhuo.