For Shinji Uchiha, life at the Konoha Ninja Academy gradually became a boring silent film playing on repeat. With an adult's mind, he found the theory taught in class as simple as child's play. Taijutsu and ninjutsu training steadily improved his strength, but the same routine day after day inevitably grew tiresome. His classmates still got excited over learning a C-rank jutsu and smug over landing every shuriken throw. Their "childish" joy left this "old man," whose soul was already thirty-five, feeling lonely and out of place.
Ah, life. Besides training, getting stronger, and preventing the tragedy of the Uchiha Clan Massacre, couldn't there be some pure entertainment that didn't involve chakra? One afternoon, Shinji lay slumped over his desk, watching leaves drift past the window, and sighed inwardly for the hundred and first time. The failure of his last attempt to promote soccer had left him without any enthusiasm for innovation for quite a while.
Memories of his previous life surged in like a tide. In that world filled with code, KPIs, and nine-to-nine, six-day workweeks, one of his few ways to relax had been to gather a few friends on the weekend-though overtime often forced him to cancel-and duck into a reasonably soundproof karaoke bar, order a few beers, and belt out some songs. Whether he sang well or not, pouring his feelings out through a microphone really did relieve stress and let him briefly forget life's daily grind.
Singing...
That thought was a spark falling into a pile of dry tinder called "boredom."
He looked around. As one of the most prosperous villages in the Shinobi World, Konoha already had izakayas, barbecue restaurants, dumpling shops, bathhouses, and even casinos-he had heard that the legendary Lady Tsunade was particularly fond of those. But a communal entertainment venue like a karaoke bar, aimed at young people and devoted purely to singing their hearts out, was completely absent!
Maybe... I could create one myself? Once that bold, almost absurd idea took root, there was no stopping it.
Money was not a problem. The Uchiha Clan was one of Konoha's elite families, and as an acknowledged prodigy within the clan, he already received generous pocket money from his parents. Thanks to a few small investments made with a "mature" mind far beyond his peers, his private savings had grown enough to support a dream like this. Funding a shop entirely on his own was somewhat risky, but hardly impossible.
His motivation? First and foremost, of course, was to enjoy himself! He missed holding a microphone and forgetting all his troubles far too much. Second, this seemed like a good chance to observe people and expand his connections. Just imagine: if he could draw some of the future's key figures here to relax, wouldn't music and drinks make it easier to get close to them, gradually understand them, and even influence them? It might offer unexpected help toward his future goal of changing the Uchiha's fate.
Back in his original world, hadn't plenty of private clubs served exactly that purpose? The only difference was that the one he wanted to create now would be "clean."
"Let's do it!" Shinji slapped his desk and shot to his feet, an ambitious, eager grin spreading across his face. Beside him, Choza, who had been sneaking potato chips, jumped in fright.
"Shinji, what's wrong?" Minato gave him a concerned look.
"I've found something even more fun than soccer!" Shinji's eyes shone. "A place where all of us can really let loose! A... 'secret base' of our own!"
Shinji was a man of action. Once he made up his mind, he began planning in secret.
First came the location. During his free time after class, he found a vacant two-story building on the edge of a commercial district in Konoha that was reasonably busy without being too noisy. Its owner was a ceramics merchant preparing to move away. With the Uchiha Clan's name, a fairly reasonable price, and a little adult bargaining skill, Shinji successfully acquired the place.
Next came the essential equipment. Without the song-selection systems and electronic screens of his previous life, he would have to cobble everything together using whatever was available. He found the village's most skilled craftsman, who was also the most willing to entertain unusual ideas, and described what he wanted:
• "Chakra Phonograph": this was the heart of Shinji's concept. He proposed the idea, and the craftsman brought it to life-a device that used a weak, steady input of chakra at a specific frequency, supplied by the user, to activate sound-wave patterns inscribed in a preset "Memory Scroll" and reproduce music. It required precise chakra-conducting circuits, a resonance chamber, and a speaker-like amplification structure. After countless adjustments and failures, the final version was bulky and complicated to operate-Shinji had to write the "song catalog" himself and match it to the different scrolls-but its sound quality met his requirements of "clear, steady, and immersive."
• "Memory Scroll": an expensive special metal card that used a variation of Sealing Jutsu to record and reliably store audio information. Shinji spent a great deal of time and money using chakra to "transcribe" songs onto these metal cards one by one: catchy pop songs with simple melodies from his previous life, with their lyrics revised, as well as folk songs and festival music from the Naruto world. It was an extremely tedious and mentally draining process, but for the sake of future enjoyment, he endured it.
• "Voice transmitter" (microphone): a carefully polished wooden handle with a sound-conducting stone set into its tip, capable of gathering and slightly amplifying sound. Chakra-conducting wires connected it to the phonograph, allowing the singer's voice to be mixed with the accompaniment and played back.
• Soundproofing and decor: he knew full well that disturbing the neighbors with noise was a cardinal sin for an entertainment venue. Sparing no expense, he purchased thick curtains and wall panels filled with special sound-absorbing material and thoroughly soundproofed the private rooms and main hall. For the interior, he abandoned the boisterous style of traditional izakayas in favor of a more comfortable, private design. Warm lighting and soft cushions helped create an environment where people could unwind and focus on the music and themselves.
Money flowed out like water, and even Shinji's substantial savings began to feel the strain. His parents, Uchiha Yamakaze and Uchiha An, were puzzled by their son's sudden enthusiasm for "opening a shop." But with his partly truthful explanation that he was "researching civilian applications of chakra, developing business skills, and expanding his social network," along with his promise not to neglect training or schoolwork, they chose to support him-mainly by turning a blind eye to the spending.
After several months of intensive preparation, "Uchiha's Fantasy Hut"-the name Shinji finally settled on, a little mysterious without being too obvious-quietly opened its doors one sunny weekend.
There was no grand ceremony or festive decoration. Shinji knew that something this novel needed word of mouth to build momentum. Naturally, his first customers were the friends he knew best: Minato Namikaze, Kushina Uzumaki, Shikaku Nara, Choza Akimichi, Inoichi Yamanaka, along with Masashige Sarutobi, whom he had practically dragged there, and a few classmates from civilian families who had played well in the soccer matches.
Standing before the wooden door decorated with a simple Uchiha Gunbai design-stylized to look less solemn-they all wore expressions of curiosity and confusion.
"Shinji, this is the 'place where we can let loose' you mentioned?" Kushina studied the storefront. "It doesn't look like a training ground."
"It's ten thousand times more fun than a training ground." With a mysterious smile, Shinji pushed open the heavy wooden door lined with soundproofing padding.
The sight inside made every boy's and girl's eyes light up. Unlike the traditional Japanese-style exterior, the interior had a more modern design, at least by Shinji's standards. Warm light glowed softly without dazzling the eyes. Abstract fabric decorations hung on specially treated walls, soft mats covered the floor, and thick curtains separated several individual "private rooms." Most striking of all was the slightly raised little stage on one side of the hall, laid with dark wooden boards, and the strange "Chakra Phonograph" sitting on it, complete with a large horn and metal cards.
"Welcome to the Fantasy Hut!" Shinji spread his arms, unable to hide his pride. "The main activity here is called 'singing'! Not the group singing you hear at festivals. Here, anyone can stand on that stage and use this 'voice transmitter'"-he pointed to the microphone connected to the phonograph, a carefully polished wooden handle tipped with a sound-conducting stone that gathered sound-"to sing the melodies in their heart to their heart's content!"
"Sing... songs?" Choza scratched his head. "Like nobles at a banquet?"
"No! It's ten thousand times freer than that!" Shinji led them into the largest private room, which had comfortable cushions, a low table, a smaller crystal mirror set into the wall, and a secondary microphone connected to the main phonograph. "There are no rules or restrictions here. You can sing old ballads, hum tunes you make up on the spot, or even shout nonsense! The point is to let your feelings out and have fun!"
He took out several thick, neatly bound "songbooks," containing dozens of songs copied in tidy handwriting. Some were catchy pop songs with simple melodies from his previous life, their lyrics slightly altered to fit the Shinobi World. Most, however, were folk songs and festival music he had collected or adapted from the Naruto world itself.
"This is the song list. Pick one and tell me its number." Shinji deftly operated the complicated Chakra Phonograph, inserting a "memory metal card" that stored the corresponding song's chakra fluctuations into the slot.
When the opening melody-a bright, lively Konoha folk tune-rang clearly through the speaker and filled the room, everyone froze. They had heard music before, but never so clear and steady that it felt as though a band were playing right beside them.
"Who wants to try first?" Shinji picked up the secondary microphone and held it out to them.
Silence followed, along with attempts to pass the turn to someone else. It was their first time, after all, and the youngsters were bound to feel shy.
In the end, Kushina, the most outgoing of them, took the microphone under Shinji's encouragement and Minato's gentle gaze. She chose an adaptation of an Uzumaki Clan ritual dance tune with a strong beat. At first, she was still a little inhibited, her voice barely louder than a mosquito's buzz. But the stirring melody and the atmosphere of the enclosed room soon swept her along. She sang louder and louder, her long red hair swinging to the rhythm and her green eyes sparkling with excitement.
When the song ended, enthusiastic applause filled the room, mostly led by Shinji. Kushina's cheeks were flushed, her chest rose and fell slightly, and an unprecedented sense of release washed over her. "That... that felt amazing!" she declared loudly.
Now that someone had taken the plunge, the atmosphere immediately came alive. Choza grabbed the microphone and belted out a rousing song the Akimichi Clan sang to celebrate a bountiful harvest. He was completely off-key, but his sheer spirit had everyone roaring with laughter. Inoichi tried a passage from a secret Yamanaka Clan requiem that called for delicate emotion. His ethereal voice echoed through the room, leaving them unexpectedly moved. Even Shikaku made the rare effort to pick up the microphone, humming an unfamiliar little tune in his lazy drawl that had a charm all its own.
At everyone's urging, Minato smiled and sang a song too. His voice was clear and gentle, just like him. He chose a song about blue skies and birds in flight, its lovely melody soothing to hear.
Watching his friends gradually loosen up, laughing and joking together, Shinji felt a deep sense of accomplishment. This was exactly what he had wanted.
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