Earth Mother's Gift

"Praise Earth Mother!"

Waking up and looking at the crimson pupils in the mirror, Uchiha Shu expressed heartfelt praise.

This was his sixth year crossing over into the Shinobi World.

As a time-traveler, Uchiha Shu would always wake up on the morning of his birthday to receive a gift from Earth Mother.

Moreover, these gifts were delivered very thoughtfully; every single item was something he longed for in his heart and yet was well within his ability to handle, just like a gentle mother meticulously selecting things for her child.

However, because he discovered he was the same age as Sasuke and that the Night of the Clan Massacre was imminent, Uchiha Shu's gifts over the past six years had all been survival-oriented.

For this year's gift, for example, it was a pair of Eternal Kamui Mangekyō.

"If you're going to cheat, then damn it, you've got to do it openly!"

Uchiha Shu did not feel there was anything wrong with cheating at all.

Before traveling through, he had just turned eighteen, possessing zero social experience and no special skills, and his biggest ambition in life was to be a web comedian. Would he really cross over without a cheat just to be cannon fodder?

Why bother crossing over at all then? He might as well just drop dead...

Fortunately, he had a cheat!

Undying body at age five, Mangekyō at age six—go take any problems up with his Earth Mother!

Ding-dong!

The doorbell suddenly rang, and Uchiha Shu went to open it. Standing outside was a young man with slightly wavy short hair.

Uchiha Shu raised an eyebrow: "Shisui? What are you here for?"

"You're supposed to call me Brother Shisui!" Uchiha Shisui couldn't help laughing: "You brat... I haven't seen you for a while, why are you getting more and more arrogant?"

"So what if I'm arrogant? Is being arrogant a crime?"

Uchiha Shu stuck his neck out, leaning in close to Uchiha Shisui while wriggling his body: "I just love it when people hate the sight of me yet can't do a damn thing to get rid of me~"

Shisui looked at Uchiha Shu with a complicated expression, feeling that he had truly failed Shu's deceased parents.

Uchiha Shu's father had been the Jonin squad leader when he graduated.

Shortly after Uchiha Shu was born, their squad fell into an enemy ambush during a mission, and his father died while holding the rear to cover the others' retreat.

Upon learning of her husband's death, Shu's mother also fell bedridden and eventually passed away, leaving Uchiha Shu all alone.

Although he was looked after by clansmen and had the inheritance left by his parents, Uchiha Shu's standard of living was quite decent. However, Shisui had always felt an obligation to take care of the captain's orphaned child, so he would come to check on Uchiha Shu every few days.

Only, for some reason, Shu's personality had become more and more arrogant over the past two years.

Had the rebellious phase arrived? Wasn't it a bit too early?

"You can't be impolite to your seniors. You're going to start school soon, right? If you act like this, you won't be popular, you know."

Shisui sighed, reaching out to pat Shu's little head.

Uchiha Shu tilted his head to dodge Shisui's hand and flashed him a middle finger: "Beasts always walk alone, while sheep herd together! You cowardly old fogey, you'd better worry about yourself instead!"

The corner of Shisui's twitching mouth spasmed. Honestly, he really had the urge to hit Uchiha Shu with Kotoamatsukami right now.

In the end, though, he just let out a deflated sigh, filled with the exhausted powerlessness of a middle-aged man after the fact: "What is there for me to worry about?"

"Hmm—"

Uchiha Shu pondered for two seconds.

An undying body couldn't immunize against seal control, but coupled with Double Kamui, nobody in the current Shinobi World could restrict him unless the Infinite Tsukuyomi was cast at zero frames.

If, before today, he still worried that his spoilers would trigger some uncontrollable factors, then after awakening the Kamui Mangekyō, he completely lost those misgivings.

Thinking of this, Uchiha Shu beckoned: "Come inside and talk."

Shisui walked into the room, and Uchiha Shu closed the door before continuing to ask: "You've unlocked the Mangekyō Sharingan, haven't you?"

Shisui looked at Uchiha Shu in surprise: "Eh? How do you know about the Mangekyō?"

Uchiha Shu clicked his tongue: "Cut the crap, just tell me whether you unlocked it or not."

"Hmm—I have indeed awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan."

Out of trust in Shu, Shisui didn't deny it either. His pitch-black pupils instantly turned blood-red, and the shuriken-patterned tomoe within his pupils slowly rotated, looking as though it possessed an evil, mesmerizing beauty.

"What about the ability?" Uchiha Shu asked.

"The ability is... Kotoamatsukami." Shisui paused briefly: "It can silently alter the will of others. This ability sounds less than honorable, so Shu, you must keep it a secret for me."

"Have you told anyone else about this ability?" Uchiha Shu asked hastily.

"Relax, I've only told the Third Hokage."

Shisui smiled warmly. Uchiha Shu looked at his pure, sunny smile, remained silent for two seconds, and then smiled in relief.

"Is that so... Then wait here for a moment."

Uchiha Shu returned to his room, rummaged out two thousand ryo in banknotes, folded them up, and shoved them into Shisui's hands.

"What is this?" Shisui asked, puzzled.

"Condolence money." Uchiha Shu pressed his palms together and bowed devoutly to Shisui. "Barring any accidents, this should be our last meeting. Once you reach the Pure Land, remember to ask the Sage of Six Paths what he thinks about finding his mother a companion."

"Do you think the Third Hokage will move against me?"

Shisui hesitated slightly, not bothering to dwell on the other boy's idea about becoming the Sage of Six Paths' stepfather, simply chalking it up to him talking nonsense—after all, this kid had been weird since he was little.

As for the higher-ups, he certainly had some worries in that regard, but he didn't take them to heart.

On one hand, it stemmed from his trust in the Third Hokage, but mostly it came from confidence in his own strength.

Uchiha Shu scoffed. "Suppose you have a snake by your side. This snake is very docile and never bites, but a single bite will kill a person instantly. Would you bet your life on its kindness?"

Shisui opened his mouth, only to find he had no way to refute this, so he dryly chuckled. "That may be so, but I believe the Third Hokage... shouldn't do anything to me."

Hearing this, Uchiha Shu was so angry he laughed. "Of course he won't do anything to you. He's the Hokage; does he need to do the killing himself? What do you think Danzo is there for?"

"You mean Danzo? Don't worry, he won't." Shisui smiled gently at that. "Though they are both higher-ups, the Third Hokage and Danzo actually have differing political views. The Third Hokage won't sit by and watch Danzo make a move on the Uchiha."

"..."

Uchiha Shu stared blankly at Shisui, looking at that relaxed smile that didn't seem faked, completely stunned in place.

After a long while, he wiped his face, grabbed paper and a pen, and handed them to Shisui. "I remember there's only you left in your family, so emotionally speaking, I'm qualified to inherit your estate, right?"

"What is it? Is there something wrong with what I said?" Shisui instantly didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Do I have to die?"

"Nonsense, if you don't die, do I? You can tell other people about your Mangekyo ocular jutsu, so you might as well scrub your ass and offer up your chrysanthemum too!"

Uchiha Shu turned his head and spat. "Did playing with birds scramble your brains? Who told you the Third Hokage and Danzo have differing political views? Who in the entire Shinobi World doesn't know Danzo is a beast? What do you think he relies on to stay alive until now? How many days has Orochimaru defected? Who do you suppose gave him protection before that?"

As he spoke, amid Shisui's increasingly ugly expression, Shu pinched his fingers into an orchid gesture and mockingly mimicked Shisui's previous words: "And you believe the Third Hokage should~ not do anything to you? Just because you believe it, you arbitrarily gamble with the lives of several hundred people in the entire Uchiha Clan from top to bottom? Where do you get off thinking you have that much pull? Do you have hairs? You don't have a single hair!"

"Look in my eyes!"

Uchiha Shu raised two fingers, pointed them at Shisui's eyes, and then pointed them at his own. "I can even imagine what the Third Hokage said to you—Shisui, you've inherited Kagami's will. If the Uchiha Clan could have a few more people like you, how wonderful that would be~"

Shisui's gloomy expression instantly stalled, a flash of bewilderment crossing the depths of his eyes.

Watching Shisui's bewildered look, Shu scoffed. "What are you surprised about? What's there to be surprised about? Haven't you ever seen the Inuzuka Family train dogs?"

"Enough, Shu!" Shisui said with a serious expression. "The Third Hokage is the Hokage after all. No matter what, as a junior, you shouldn't maliciously second-guess him like this, and things might not be as you think."

"...Sure enough... fools have all the luck, but idiots have none."

Seeing Shisui's solemn expression, Uchiha Shu shook his head and laughed, patting Shisui's arm. "You're right, it was just me worrying over nothing. Alright, I still have to go to school, let's chat another time, ja ne~"

With that, Uchiha Shu pushed the door open and left. Shisui opened his mouth as if wanting to say something, but in the end, he said nothing at all, simply standing there in a daze as he watched the other boy leave.

"My birthday gift... I haven't given it yet."

PS: Let me state this in advance here: the protagonist's early-stage persona in this book is a sadistic little brat. He won't actively provoke others, but his methods for counterattacking enemies have zero bottom line.

Consequently, he will inevitably use some psychological-destruction tactics. Some readers will love to see this, but it will certainly make other readers feel uncomfortable.

Everyone understands the logic that you can't please all of the people all of the time, so I'm giving everyone a heads-up in advance. Moralizing prudes, stay away from subsequent plots! I've warned you, oh~