Chapter 1

In the Uchiha Clan's training ground, the boy shook out his aching wrist and looked up at the smiling man in front of him. "Forgive me, Sasuke. This is absolutely the last time."

There was a hint of coaxing a child in Itachi's tone, as if he were soothing a bristling kitten. "When I get back from this mission, I'll definitely teach you properly."

He reached out, wanting to poke his younger brother's forehead, only to see the little guy take a step back.

Sasuke raised his head, his gaze so calm he did not look like a six- or seven-year-old child at all. "Mm, I know."

"Go do what you need to do, brother. I can train by myself."

Itachi froze slightly.

He remembered that every time he said he had to leave before, Sasuke would tug on the corner of his clothes and refuse to let go, pestering him for ages before finally releasing him. Why was he so sensible today?

For some reason, his heart felt a little empty.

But Sasuke had no interest in what he was thinking.

In a few more months, this man was going to slaughter the entire clan, yet right now he could still grin and say things like "next time for sure." His mentality really was something.

A month ago, he had still been an ordinary corporate slave.

At the time, he had been grinding away at a foreign language in some late-night cram class, only to study so intently that he studied himself straight into the world of Naruto.

Honestly, Sasuke had been pretty damn confused for a while.

Of all the people he could have been chosen to transmigrate into, why did it have to be the second young master of the Uchiha family?

Wasn't this clearly asking to get beaten up?

His clan was wiped out in childhood, he killed his own brother in youth, lost an arm and married Sakura in adulthood, and in middle age he even had his Rinnegan stabbed blind by his own disciple.

After running through that whole process, he was basically the number one misery king of the Naruto world.

Just thinking about it made him want to sigh.

Worse yet, there was still that lingering brother-complex halo hanging over his head. Even if he wanted to keep his distance, he could not.

Fortunately, the Sasuke of today was no longer that easy-to-fool little idiot from before.

Sasuke took a deep breath and silently told himself: in this life, he had to play it steady.

He was not a real child. His head was filled with an adult's memories and experience. How could he waste time on meaningless things?

Time, to him, was extremely precious.

Right now, he had just turned five.

At most, he had two years left...

To keep his family from growing suspicious, he always trained in secret, deliberately picking times when no one was paying attention.

But he could not withstand that little-brother-obsessed Uchiha Itachi, who kept running over to bother him.

If he actually taught him something, that would be one thing. But this guy's words sounded nice, while his actual actions—just like those scumbags who made empty promises—were all "next time for sure."

Sasuke was extremely annoyed.

He could not beat him, and he could not avoid him.

Fortunately, he was only five now. A slight change in personality would not draw suspicion. "Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—"

Sasuke acted as if Itachi did not exist and continued practicing with shuriken.

To be honest, when doing work in the Shinobi World, these ordinary throwing blades were far more useful than Fire Release. "Caw... caw... caw..."

Just then, a few crow cries came from the other end of the forest. "Sasuke."

"I still have something to do, so I won't keep you company."

After dropping those words, Itachi vanished in a flash.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes and glanced toward the dense forest.

The only person who could call Itachi away with that kind of signal was that man—Shisui Uchiha. "The fifth time."

"And the last three times, the intervals have been getting shorter and shorter."

"Looks like Konoha's higher-ups are already getting restless..."

Sasuke muttered to himself in a low voice.

The deadliest part was that, according to the original plot, Shisui—was almost gone!

He would use his own eyes and life to exchange for two years of peace for the Uchiha Clan...

Sasuke walked to the pond beside the training ground and lowered his head, looking at the delicate little face reflected on the water's surface.

He began to think over this family's situation.

The Uchiha Clan—one of Konoha's two founding clans, famous and powerful.

But how did the villagers see them? How did the other clans see them?

Forget any good impression.

The Nine-Tails' Attack five years ago, that demon fox controlled by the Sharingan, had put a hat on the Uchiha that they simply could not take off.

Add to that the clan members' bone-deep stubbornness.

Put nicely, it was straightforward. Put badly, it was being one-track-minded and stupid as hell.

Right now, the relationship between the Uchiha and Konoha's higher-ups was practically like a match burned down to the edge.

His father, Uchiha Fugaku, was caught in the middle, unable to move and unable to stay still.

Those two smart people, Shisui and Itachi, were probably discussing a way out for the clan again.

However...

"Forget it, I should finish the newbie mission first..."

After muttering that, Sasuke dragged his aching body and started throwing shuriken again.

[Ding, completed kunai throws xxx times, shuriken throws xxx times]

[Talent +10, chakra refining speed +50%, obtained mysterious scroll gift pack]

[All newbie missions completed, newbie gift pack has been issued]

The electronic voice exploded in his mind, and Sasuke's legs went weak. He sat straight down on the ground.

This newbie mission really was not something humans should do.

As a transmigrator, of course he also had a cheat—a system.

Its name sounded pretty intimidating. It was called the Divine Talent System.

There was still no sign of any divine talent, but he had fully experienced the system's neurotic side.

He had transmigrated over for a month, and only today had he finally finished the newbie mission.

A five-year-old brat had to throw shuriken twenty thousand times?

Did this crappy system have holes in its brain?

"System, open the newbie gift pack. Open the scroll too."

Sasuke did not hesitate at all and directly clicked open the rewards.

In this world, fists were the hard truth.

He did not want to gamble his life on that unreliable older brother.

[Newbie gift pack opened: All-Encompassing Body, Top-Level Chakra Extraction Technique]

[Scroll reward issued: Lightning Release Nature Transformation]

[All-Encompassing Body description: affinity with all chakra attributes, massive increase in physique, immunity to all chakra corrosion]

As soon as the reward panel popped up, a stream of heat rushed upward from Sasuke's dantian.

His meridians seemed to be forced open, widening little by little.

The filth inside his body also began to be expelled. "So strong!"

"This month of suffering was worth it!"

A smile hung on Sasuke's face, and his heart felt delighted.

With this monstrous physique supporting him, plus the improvements his golden finger could give him later,

In this life, maybe he could do something before those rotten things happened...

After the All-Encompassing Body had fully fused, Sasuke slowly stood up.

He clenched his fist, feeling the strength inside his body.

Confidence surged straight to his head.

Shinobi World!

I, Uchiha Sasuke, had arrived!

After the All-Encompassing Body had completely stabilized, Sasuke opened the second reward.

[Lightning Release Chakra Nature Transformation]

A violent energy suddenly charged into Sasuke's meridians.

It was like cold water dripping into a pot of boiling oil.

It exploded on the spot.

Intense pain surged up at once.

Even after living two lives, Sasuke was still hit so hard by the impact that his face twisted. "So this is the Lightning Release chakra nature transformation?"

"No wonder they all say this thing is the fiercest of the chakra attributes. They really weren't talking nonsense!"

Sasuke gritted his teeth and desperately suppressed the Lightning Release chakra rampaging through his meridians, beginning to guide it.

His heart was even more shocked.

This All-Encompassing Body was way too fierce.

If he had not fused with it first, then with five-year-old Sasuke's small body, the moment Lightning Release Chakra Nature Transformation entered his meridians, it would have torn him apart.

But now, Sasuke's meridians forcibly locked that violent energy inside.

[Ding—detected that the host is using Lightning Release Chakra Nature Transformation to temper the body. Mission issued: complete 1000 full-body temperings with Lightning Release Chakra Nature Transformation]

Sasuke was gritting his teeth and wrestling with that savage Lightning Release chakra inside his body when the system's asking-for-a-beating voice rang out in his mind.

If his will had not been fairly strong, Sasuke's mentality might have collapsed on the spot.

A thousand lightning baptisms?

He was not Ash, that cheating bastard who could tank lightning strikes and not die...

But then again, he had originally intended to tame this Lightning Release anyway, so he simply threw the system mission aside and continued focusing on pressing down that unruly power. "Bzzzt, bzzzt, bzzzt..."

As Sasuke suppressed the Lightning Release bit by bit, arcs of electricity shot out from his body.

At this moment, Sasuke looked exactly like a thunder god wrapped in lightning.

But only Sasuke himself knew just how harsh the price was for this showy appearance.

Aside from the arcs of electricity exposed on the surface, his body had long since been filled with electric current.

If not for the All-Encompassing Body holding up, Sasuke would probably have already been shocked until he was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.

If an ordinary person tried this kind of training method, it would be pure suicide.

But for Sasuke, who had the All-Encompassing Body, he just had to endure it!

This was where the top-level physique given by the Divine Talent System was so damn awesome!

Before long, Sasuke's chakra was burned completely dry.

His body had been tormented by Lightning Release, and hunger followed close behind.

He had not expected that controlling the Lightning Release Chakra Nature Transformation could also train his physique along the way...

Sasuke subconsciously pulled up the panel and swept a glance over the progress bar.

[0.5/1000]

Staring at that glaring number, he cursed the crappy system in his heart, casually closed the interface, and planned to go find something to eat and fill his stomach first.

He was, after all, the son of the Uchiha clan head. His family could not possibly deny him a meal.

Not long after leaving the training ground, he ran into Uchiha Itachi head-on.

The other party had his head lowered, his whole person listless. Only after seeing Sasuke did he force the corner of his mouth to twitch.

Itachi led Sasuke back with him. Sasuke could tell his older brother had something weighing on his face, but he did not ask further.

Only after arriving home did he discover that the house was packed with a huge group of Uchiha experts.

Every single one of them had a face as dark as the bottom of a pot, pretty much the same as Itachi.

Before long, Sasuke understood the reason these people had blown up—moving!

Inside the Uchiha Clan's meeting hall, the arguing had turned the place upside down. "We've lived here since the day Konoha was founded. Why should we move just because they say so?!"

"It must be that shameless old monkey Hiruzen Sarutobi causing trouble behind the scenes!"

"If we give in this time, will they kick us Uchiha straight out of Konoha next time?"

"Everyone calm down. If we go head-to-head with the village, we may not necessarily win."

"Fuck the higher-ups, fuck the village. Why don't we just rebel..."

"Shut up! Listen to what the clan head says."

"Clan head..."

As soon as those words fell, the entire hall quieted down. Everyone looked in unison toward Uchiha Fugaku, who sat in the main seat.

As the clan head, Fugaku's face was full of worry at this moment.

He was the one who had brought this news back.

What could he do?

Ever since the year the Nine-Tails caused trouble, he had been shuffling back and forth between the family and the village.

On one side, he had to withstand the village's suppression. On the other, he had to hold off the clan members pressuring him to step down.

This time, he had lost against the higher-ups again, and the entire clan grounds had to move along with it.

Just thinking about it made his head hurt.

Even more annoying was that the radicals in the clan had already started openly forcing him to rebel.

Fugaku's heart was exhausted.

After finally pacifying the clan members, he returned to the living room. "Dad."

"Dad."

Itachi and Sasuke both stood up and greeted him.

"Eat."

Fugaku did not waste words. He sat down and dropped a single line.

Seeing his father's backside had just touched the stool, Sasuke immediately flung his arms open and swept through the dishes on the table.

He had to admit, his mother Mikoto Uchiha's cooking skills were truly amazing.

Sasuke buried his head and wolfed down his food, not noticing the flicker of disappointment in Fugaku's eyes at all.

Even if he had seen it, he would not have bothered to care.

Nothing mattered more than eating. What training could he do on an empty stomach?

Seeing his complete lack of manners, Fugaku's face darkened halfway.

Compared with his older brother Itachi, this second son was a step behind in talent, a step behind in strength, and even far behind in table manners.

After dinner, Mikoto cleared the table and carried everything to the kitchen.

Fugaku asked Itachi, "What do you think about the clan compound relocation this time?"

This was a test for Itachi, and also a way to give him practice.

Itachi had begun attending the clan meetings now.

He had become a chunin at ten. Compared with Sasuke, who only knew how to shovel down rice, Itachi was clearly more to Fugaku's liking. "There are pros and cons to this."

"If we move, it can temporarily suppress the conflict with the village."

"But the clan's ninjas will definitely resent the village even more."

"The reverse is the same."

"I lean toward not letting things get too ugly with the village for now..."

This was not the first time Itachi had encountered this kind of test.

On top of that, he knew the whole sequence of events clearly, so he simply told the truth and poured out all his thoughts.

Ever since he was little, young Itachi had seen what battlefields looked like, and those terrible scenes made him lean more toward the path of reconciliation.

To put it bluntly, it meant not making things difficult for the village.

Of course, that reasoning was so humiliating it sank into the bones. Even Uchiha Itachi himself could not bring himself to say it. "Pfft—"

Sasuke originally had no intention of getting involved in the father and son's conversation at all, but after hearing Itachi's answer, he really could not hold it in.

"Sasuke!"