The Unfamiliar Ceiling

[This book adopts the Book of Formation and Shippuden ending chronology, spanning a total historical setting of 68 years.]

Pain.

This was the first sensation Chen Cheng felt after regaining consciousness. His entire body felt as though it had been taken apart and haphazardly reassembled, and every single inch of muscle was screaming in protest. He forced his eyes open, his blurred vision gradually focusing.

An unfamiliar ceiling.

A wooden structure, simple lighting, and the smell of disinfectant lingering in the air. He tried to turn his neck, and a sharp jolt of pain made him draw in a sharp breath.

"You're awake?" A gentle female voice drifted over.

A woman in a white medical uniform approached, a metal protector tied around her forehead engraved with a pattern he found both incomparably familiar and yet hard to believe—a spiral symbol.

Is this... Konoha's protector? Am I dreaming? Chen Cheng's brain buzzed, and an absurd thought popped up uncontrollably. But he immediately dismissed it, No, impossible, I must have bumped my head and gotten confused.

"Where am I?" he blurted out, only to be surprised to find that he was speaking an unfamiliar language, yet the meaning was clearly reflected in his mind.

"Konoha Hospital. You had an accident at the entrance ceremony, do you remember?" The female medical ninja handed over a cup of water. "Don't worry, you've been unconscious for three days."

Konoha... Hospital? These two words acted like a key, violently unlocking the lock of his chaotic memories. The image of five-year-old Kyohaku Uchiha holding his parents' hands and walking toward the Ninja Academy; a huge flying creature suddenly appearing in the sky; the exact moment his parents pushed him away; the sound of explosions, screams, and the excruciating pain of rubble smashing into his legs...

Uchiha... Kyohaku? Am I not Chen Cheng? What on earth is this... The memories of twenty-eight-year-old forensic pathologist Chen Cheng and the memories of five-year-old Kyohaku Uchiha collided wildly in his mind like two turbulent currents, merging together. He tightly knitted his brows, trying to sort out this incredible situation.

"Dad... Where's Mom?" he heard his own childish voice ask, though deep down he already vaguely knew the answer. This question was both Chen Cheng's calm deduction based on the scene's information and Kyohaku's residual emotions making an instinctive inquiry.

The female medical ninja's gaze flickered for a moment. "I'm sorry, Kyohaku-kun. Your parents tragically lost their lives to protect you."

Even with a prior premonition, his heart still shrank violently upon hearing this—this wasn't entirely his own emotion, but rather a fierce reaction stemming from this body's original owner. He lowered his head, seeing palms that were noticeably a size smaller and arms that appeared somewhat slender.

The body of a five-year-old child.

Transmigration... and possession? And it's actually the world of Naruto? The massive amount of information almost crushed his sanity. He forced himself to calm down, dealing with the situation using the professional habits of a former forensic pathologist: Observe, gather information, confirm the environment.

"My leg..." He noticed that his right leg was tightly wrapped in bandages, sending dull throbs of pain.

"It's fractured, along with multiple muscle injuries. But don't worry, the medical ninjas have already taken care of it, it will get better." She tried to comfort him, but the hesitation in her tone didn't escape his ears. It seems the injury is not optimistic and might leave a permanent impairment.

After the female medical ninja left, he leaned back against the pillow with difficulty and began to frantically sort out his thoughts.

Chen Cheng, a twenty-eight-year-old forensic pathologist, and Kyohaku, a five-year-old Uchiha orphan. Two souls, two sets of memories merging at high speed. He was both Chen Cheng and Kyohaku.

Through Kyohaku's memory fragments, he learned the language, writing, and basic common sense. Through Chen Cheng's memories, he realized the earth-shattering implications of words like "Konoha" and "Uchiha."

No system, no golden finger, orphaned and disabled right at the start... and in this high-risk world, to boot. Chen Cheng smiled bitterly and muttered to himself in Chinese, luckily no one in this world understood Chinese. The worst possible starting scenario couldn't be anything more than this.

In the afternoon, a raven-haired, black-eyed man with a stern expression came to visit. The round fan family crest on his clothes once again pierced Chen Cheng's nerves—this was undoubtedly someone from the Uchiha Clan.

"Kyohaku, it's a regret that something like this happened." The visitor spoke in a calm tone. "Your parents were the pride of the Uchiha, and they sacrificed themselves to protect you and the other children."

Chen Cheng (Kyohaku) nodded silently, neither daring to speak much nor knowing what to say. As a forensic pathologist, he excelled at observation and analysis, but from the other's tone and demeanor, what he felt was more of a perfunctory courtesy rather than genuine warmth.

Must be cautious. Can't let anyone discover that a different soul has replaced the occupant of this body. He warned himself inwardly.

When night fell, he finally had the opportunity to think alone. Outside the window, the lights of the village gradually turned on, and the distant outline of Hokage Rock loomed faintly in the darkness.

Konoha Year 40, the Second Shinobi World War has just ended... The merged memories gave him a concept of the timeline, and Chen Cheng's portion of memories began to sound frantic alarms, as the dangerous future of this world flashed by like a revolving lantern.

Since you're here, make the best of it. Finally, he whispered to himself, his gaze gradually turning firm. First I have to survive, then I can think about other things. Step one, absolutely must not be exposed!

The pain remained, but his mind was exceptionally clear. Beneath the unfamiliar ceiling, a soul both familiar and unfamiliar finally completed its initial fusion and began to calmly plot a path of survival in this dangerous world.