The rain was bitterly cold, like countless steel needles slanting down in dense sheets. It stabbed into the flagstones of the Uchiha Clan Compound, kicking up tiny flecks of mud as if trying to suck all the warmth from the land.
This was Konohagakure, a shinobi village forged in blood and fire. The Uchiha were among the oldest and most feared clans in the village.
Their inborn Sharingan could see through movements, copy jutsu, and even evolve with their emotions and strength. It was a terrifying Kekkei Genkai.
On the tatami mat inside a small wooden house, Uchiha Arashi curled into a ball, his small body trembling from the cold and some deeper despair.
His fingers clutched two old Hidden Leaf Village Forehead Protectors so tightly that his knuckles ached. Rain had soaked through the cloth, blurring the Hidden Leaf symbol that marked them as shinobi and weighing them down as if they might crush his finger bones.
"Arashi, your parents died on a border mission. Their bodies have been brought back. The clan will arrange the funeral."
Two young men in Uchiha clan uniforms stood in the doorway. Their voices were as flat as if they were reciting an outdated scroll. There was not a trace of warmth in them, as though they were speaking of some trivial matter that had nothing to do with them.
Arashi did not look up. His gaze remained fixed on the marks of varying depths etched into the Forehead Protectors—the scars left by his parents' battles.
It felt as if a wad of cotton soaked in ice water were lodged in his throat. A suffocating sense of despair swept over him.
He was a transmigrator, reborn as an insignificant Uchiha in the Naruto World—a little boy who had just lost both his parents.
The heart-wrenching despair a five-year-old should feel surged up from the depths of this body's memories like a freezing tide, threatening to drown him.
Yet another set of memories kept crashing and roaring through his mind: memories of another world, where he had spent his last ounce of energy in an endless cycle of 996 workdays, only to collapse at a cold office desk.
The two utterly different kinds of pain twisted together and tore at him until he nearly lost his mind.
When the clansmen at the door saw he did not react, they exchanged a detached glance, gave a perfunctory bow, and left. They did not even bother to shut the wooden door, which the wind and rain kept slamming against.
Cold raindrops slipped inside and struck his face, making him shudder.
"Heh..." A dry laugh scraped out of his throat, thick with tears and edged with the self-mockery of someone on the verge of breaking down.
The Hidden Leaf, the Uchiha, the Third Shinobi World War... Words that had once existed only on a screen had now become a cold, cruel reality, pressing down on his young shoulders.
He knew the rules of this world well: shinobi refined the "chakra" within their bodies to perform "ninjutsu," "Taijutsu," and "genjutsu."
He also remembered the deep-rooted suspicion the Konoha High Command held toward the Uchiha, and the bloody night that would one day sweep the whole clan away.
At the thought of the clan's massacre, a chill shot from the soles of his feet to the top of his head, leaving him freezing all over.
Just then, a tearing pain suddenly shot through his eyes!
It was as if countless red-hot needles were stabbing into his eyeballs. His vision turned bloodred in an instant.
Clutching his eyes, Arashi writhed on the tatami, a suppressed growl escaping his throat. Sweat, tears, and rainwater mingled on his cheeks.
After an unknown stretch of time, the agonizing pain finally began to fade.
His hands trembling, he let go and struggled toward the bronze mirror beside the table.
A tear-streaked little face stared back at him, its eyes frighteningly swollen.
In the pupil of his left eye, a tiny black tomoe, no bigger than a grain of rice, glowed an eerie crimson as it slowly turned, warping and swallowing the reflections of the rain outside.
The One-Tomoe Sharingan! It had awakened!
This was the Sharingan's most basic form, yet it already gave him the ability to see fast-moving objects clearly!
At the same time, more fragments of this body's memories surfaced: his parents had been carrying out a top-secret mission for the Hidden Leaf, one whose details even the clan's higher-ups had no right to know.
The clansmen's "condolences" were nothing but routine. In the shinobi world, death was commonplace; no one truly cared whether an orphan lived or died.
"Those hypocrites..." Arashi gritted his teeth, his childish face twisting with anger. His nails dug deep into his palms, drawing blood, but he barely noticed.
[System activated: Vegeta Template] [By acting as Vegeta, the host can gradually increase the template's unlock progress. This template contains only Vegeta's inheritance.] [The host's intense will to survive and extreme desire for power have been detected. These are core Saiyan traits.] [Template description: Vegeta, the Saiyan Prince of the Dragon Ball World. Saiyans: A wondrous, battle-crazed race in the Dragon Ball universe, a subspecies of humanity (they have a long tail that Earthlings lack and are mocked by their enemies as "Saiyan monkeys"; they can interbreed with Earthlings). They are born ready to fight. If they recover after being brought to the brink of death in battle, their combat power increases exponentially. Vegeta had planet-destroying power from his first appearance. Proud and competitive, he had always taken pride in being the "Saiyan Prince," and his lifelong obsession was to surpass every powerful warrior. He possessed an ability to transform and continually ascend, multiplying his combat power tenfold, a hundredfold, or even a thousandfold. Vegeta's core traits: pride carved into his bones and an extreme pursuit of power.] [Initial progress: 0%] [Initial rewards obtained: Unlocked "Saiyan Physique (Beginner)"—perfectly compatible with the shinobi system; chakra refinement efficiency +300%; physical recovery, defense, and attack power are three times those of an ordinary shinobi of the same age. Obtained "Ki Sense (Beginner)"—"ki" is an energy found within all living beings in the Dragon Ball World. Vegeta can sense and control ki to enhance his attacks and defense, and even to fly.] [Newbie quest: Show the pride of Vegeta as the "Saiyan Prince."] [Quest reward: template progress +2%]
Arashi froze, then a smile of utter arrogance, threaded with madness and excitement, slowly crept across his tear-streaked lips.
Saiyan? Vegeta Template?
Excellent! It was like fate itself had come to his aid!
He had never been one to pin his hopes on others, much less foolish enough to believe in so-called "comrades" or the "protection of the Hidden Leaf."
In this shinobi world where the strong preyed on the weak, the power in his own hands was the only reliable guarantee!
Six years remained until the Third Shinobi World War broke out! It would be a meat grinder sweeping across the Five Great Nations, where countless shinobi would die on the battlefield. Even so-called "geniuses" would not be spared.
He, Uchiha Arashi, refused to become one of them!
Arashi looked at the bronze mirror again. The One-Tomoe Sharingan turned slowly in his eye, its crimson light mingling with the Saiyan battle lust kindling within him. His gaze grew utterly resolute, cold as iron.
The hypocrisy of the Konoha High Command, the indifference within the Uchiha, the shadow of war... All of it would become stepping stones on his path to the summit!
He would survive! He would grow stronger than everyone! He would stand at the top of this world! Everyone who hurt him, restrained him, or looked down on him would tremble and grovel beneath his feet!
He sprang to his feet and went to the door. With a bang, he shut the rain-leaking wooden door, sealing out the cold wind and rain.
The rain continued to pour wildly outside, but a raging blaze had already kindled in Arashi's heart.
Before you continue