A Chance Encounter with Naruto

In the field, the chest armor of Shisui's emerald-green Susanoo suddenly opened, revealing a spinning tomoe pattern inside!

The next moment, countless emerald-green light arrows condensed from Chakra shot toward Shien's gray Susanoo like a raging storm!

Shien's gaze sharpened, and the gray Susanoo immediately raised its massive arm. A Chakra-forged tachi appeared in its hand in an instant!

"Clang clang clang clang—!"

The tachi danced like the wind in Susanoo's hand, forming an impenetrable curtain of blades that blocked and shattered every incoming light arrow!

Shockwaves and fragments of Chakra scattered everywhere from the collisions, creating a breathtaking scene.

The clan members watched with surging emotions. Seeing their clan head's Susanoo, which was no weaker than the other, and its indestructible defense, hope rekindled in their hearts.

Perhaps, under Clan Head Shien's leadership, the Uchiha Clan really could survive this disaster!

Susanoo consumed an enormous amount of Chakra and ocular power.

Shisui was an Impure World Reincarnation body, so it did not matter much for him. But Shien could not afford that.

In front of so many people, Shien naturally had to win beautifully.

"Hah!"

Seemingly catching an opening, Shien controlled Susanoo to leap into the air and slash sideways.

Shisui and his emerald-green Susanoo were cut cleanly in two.

Those standing at the edge soon saw Shisui, who had been smashed to pieces, rapidly regenerating at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"Lord Shisui doesn't seem to be alive..."

"I heard Shisui didn't want to see the Uchiha Clan destroyed, so he returned from the Pure Land to protect the clan."

"Clan Head Shien is amazing. He awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan at such a young age..."

"The previous battle was too brief. We couldn't even tell that Clan Head Shien was this strong."

Huff...

Shien let out a long breath.

He had more or less determined how much Susanoo consumed and where his own combat strength stood.

As well as what he currently lacked.

Ocular power.

His eyes had only just awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, so naturally, he could still withstand the drain.

But what about later?

He was all alone. He did not have another pair of Mangekyō Sharingan from a blood relative to swap in.

How was he supposed to solve that problem?

When Madara revived in the future, or the Otsutsuki Clan descended from the void, an ordinary Mangekyo Sharingan would simply not be enough.

As Shien thought, he also caught every word of the surrounding discussion.

The vaguer Shisui's information was, the better. In any case, no one currently possessed Impure World Reincarnation precise enough for this.

Orochimaru should still be with the Akatsuki at this point. He wondered whether he had begun researching Impure World Reincarnation yet.

Right!

How had he forgotten Orochimaru, the smartest man in the ninja world?

Still, cooperating with that snake meant worrying about whether he would stab him in the back.

Of course, a stab would be best.

What he feared most was that what came at him would not be a knife!

But...

A syringe!

Shien did not want to open his eyes and find himself lying on an operating table.

His gaze shifted to Shisui. It seemed...

The problem was easy enough to solve.

But where to find Orochimaru was another problem.

Having found a way out, Shien relaxed somewhat. After giving Shisui a meaningful look, his figure flashed away from the training grounds.

Konoha's streets.

Although the Uchiha Clan had nearly been wiped out, it had not greatly affected Konoha's ordinary citizens.

After all, the Uchiha Clan was somewhat distant from their lives.

During the two years after Shisui's suicide, the Konoha Military Police Force had gradually shrunk, and these merchants had rarely seen any sign of the Uchiha Clan.

Shien wandered aimlessly through the streets while examining his system.

Though it was called a system, it did not actually possess intelligence.

It was merely an ordinary panel manual.

The Fate Savior offered rewards at several stages for changing the lives of plot characters, corresponding respectively to minor, major, and earth-shattering changes to their lives.

The rewards were as follows:

1: Experience and insights in one of the individual's strengths, or an ordinary ninjutsu.

2: A signature secret technique, or a trial version.

3: A one-to-one replication of the target's ocular power or Chakra.

Beyond those was one final stage of rewards.

It corresponded to "Divine Redemption" — saving a life and completing its redemption.

Shien looked at the requirement: You have completely rewritten the target's life, achieved the ultimate redemption of their soul, and allowed them to attain true happiness and rebirth.

The reward was three question marks.

Well then, even dangling a carrot had to at least show the carrot. He had not expected this reward to be unknown...

Bang!

A figure suddenly crashed into Shien. His body merely swayed, but the person on the other side was sent flying backward.

When Shien came back to his senses, he saw a blond brat sprawled on the ground, carrying a bucket of paint and a brush.

Seeing the filthy shirt and the three whisker marks on the boy's face, Shien recognized him immediately.

One of this world's protagonists.

Konoha's nuclear missile, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki—Naruto Uzumaki.

Shien looked at Naruto with a touch of nostalgia. This guy had accompanied him for many years.

It was just that, at this stage, Naruto was still a little rascal who only knew how to cause trouble everywhere.

By the timeline, he should have only recently entered the Ninja Academy.

Naruto stood up clutching the back of his head and blurted out something astonishing. "Why were you blocking my way?!"

Usually, when he walked through the streets, everyone else avoided him. Naturally, he never watched where he was going.

He had not expected to run into someone who refused to make way for him.

Shien glanced at the paint bucket and brush Naruto held and immediately guessed what kind of mischief he had been up to.

"Catch him!"

"Bastard! You dared scribble all over my shop door!"

Sure enough, several shop owners came rushing over from the distance, carrying brooms, feather dusters, and similar tools.

They clearly intended to give Naruto a proper lesson.

Seeing this, Naruto no longer had time to argue with Shien. He grabbed the paint bucket and prepared to run.

But Shien reached out and caught Naruto by the shoulder.

"Don't you know to apologize after running into someone?"

"Let go of me! Let go of me!" As the pursuers drew closer, Naruto found that the other man's hand was like an iron clamp. He could not break free at all.

He could only pull a miserable face and apologize quickly. "Sorry, sorry, now let me go."

Shien brushed a hand over his eyes, concealing the Mangekyō Sharingan that had opened for an instant. Only after its special power entered Naruto's body through the hand gripping him did he let go.

But because of Shien's delay...

Naruto had barely run a meter after being released before the merchants caught up with him.

The tools in their hands came crashing down on Naruto from all directions!

"Hey, don't hit me! Don't hit me! It hurts! It hurts!"

Naruto rolled all over the ground. He did not look pitiful in the slightest; if anything, he looked like he deserved it.

"Take him to see the Third Hokage!"

Shien did not stay long. After watching for a moment, he simply walked away.

To some extent, he felt sorry for Naruto.

Naruto was clearly using this method to draw people's attention.

After all, even being hated was better than being excluded and ignored.

Naruto was actually someone who desperately craved attention and lacked love.

But Shien had already sensed that ANBU agents were watching Naruto nearby.

When he grabbed Naruto, the ANBU's attention had all locked onto him.

It was obvious that Naruto had become this way because Hiruzen Sarutobi had deliberately allowed it.

He let Naruto cause trouble himself, then stepped in to solve it.

That let him earn goodwill from the villagers while making Naruto feel grateful to him.

By binding Naruto with so-called love and bonds, Naruto would grow up to become Konoha's most loyal dog.

Judging by Naruto's personality later on, it had clearly worked.

It was just that the Third Hokage probably had not expected that Orochimaru would be the one to bring about his downfall.