Everyone who transmigrated together

The Uchiha Clan Compound.

Holding his slightly groggy head, Sasuke scribbled a note and left it on the table, asking Shisui to pass the three-colored dango he had brought back for Itachi on to him when Shisui returned. Then he flopped into bed.

Perhaps because he spent every day thinking about how to handle the Night of the Uchiha Massacre, Sasuke dreamed of a lump of black placenta above his head, howling about splitting the moon to save his mother. Below it, a black cooking pot wrapped in bandages, with a hole punched through it, was saying something like, "XX, you'll regret this." Behind him, a man wearing half a swirled mask snarled about creating a world with Rin in it.

Directly in front of Sasuke, a weasel with a Three-Tomoe Sharingan advanced step by step, its long blade dripping blood.

"My foolish little brother, what do you think I look like?"

Why was there a weasel asking him to grant it a human form, too? He'd only forgotten to bring back dango yesterday! Was this really necessary?

"You? Do I even have to say it? You don't just look like one. You're a traitor, a spy, a goddamn warlord, an anti-village conspirator with ambitions-"

Splurt-

The torrent of insults spilled from his mouth, but before Sasuke could finish, he saw his body collapse as his head flew higher and higher. Presumably, he had been sent off to meet Louis XVI.

Even a joke needed a head on its shoulders.jpg

His viewpoint soared higher, and his consciousness gradually blurred. An unknown amount of time passed before Sasuke regained awareness and found himself in a space formed from gray fog.

Gray fog churned around him. Sasuke stepped out of it, and the most striking thing before him was a temple-like structure made of that same fog.

Three statues stood silently at the temple's center.

"Hey, Sasuke, you're back! Did your fishing trip work out? You said last time you were going to stir things up, right?"

"Didn't our inmate Tang say he was going to work on upgrading soul rings and developing Ring Detonation, too? How did that go?"

As the voices rang out, two figures emerged from the gray fog nearby, one after the other: a handsome boy with blue-and-gold hair, and a lean boy brimming with youthful confidence.

"Oh, right. What about you, old Xiao? Have you topped up Yao Lao yet?"

Sasuke answered, then grinned at the two familiar yet unfamiliar figures. With practiced understanding, all three placed their hands together.

The next instant, two streams of memories flooded in.

At the beginning, they were identical to Sasuke's memories of his previous life. The differences began after a Dayun truck sent them on their way.

[We're all Gu Wen. Where we transmigrated doesn't matter, and our names from our previous life don't matter anymore, either. What matters is that we're on the same side. We can share what we have and help each other.]

For some reason, Xiao Yan's words from their first visit resurfaced in Sasuke's mind. With a faint smile, he began browsing their memories.

Tang San, a little over seven years old, a Soul Grandmaster.

His memories had awakened the earliest, but his starting situation had been an absolute disaster.

Someone had tried to possess him the moment he reincarnated. That shock had also broken through the veil obscuring his memories while he was still in the womb.

Perhaps because possession differed from legitimate transmigration, he had killed the would-be possessor without much trouble. Douluo's Gu Wen, now Tang San, had tearfully looted the corpse, obtaining a large number of memory fragments and a beginner's gift pack: the Tang Sect Secret Arts.

Then, stuffed beyond his limit, his consciousness had fallen dormant.

By the time he woke again, several years had passed. At first, Tang San had been utterly bewildered because... he discovered he could fly, and seemed innately capable of communicating with and controlling Blue Silver Grass, along with other plants.

After Tang Hao explained, he learned that his earlier butterfly effect had caused Ah Yin to make a last-minute breakthrough. When she sacrificed herself, her essence had not become a soul bone, but had instead fused directly with him.

Tang San had fallen silent. After thinking for a long time, he decided to pay his respects to Ah Yin and burn some paper offerings for her. Instead, Tang Hao carried his bewildered son off to water Ah Yin. Only then did he learn that, while she was dead, she was not completely dead. The grass on her grave was thriving, and they could occasionally exchange a few words through their thoughts, so Tang Hao was not exactly sunk in despair.

They had originally planned to wait for Ah Yin's condition to improve a little more before going to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. But on the day Tang San awakened his twin martial souls and entered the Gray Fog Space, Tang Hao scooped up Ah Yin and ran off, leaving Tang San, whose cheat had just awakened, staring blankly into empty air.

He had been so furious that his Purple Demon Eye advanced on the spot. As though sensing his emotions, the surrounding Blue Silver Grass had willingly resonated with him.

Then, without really understanding what was happening, Tang San had gathered his first soul ring directly from the patch of Blue Silver Grass resonating with him. Perhaps because of his mixed heritage, his constitution and vitality far exceeded those of ordinary people, and his first soul ring had been a thousand-year one.

A certain rabbit had witnessed this scene and mistaken him for a soul beast that had taken human form...

"So you've basically conned Xiao Wu and Yu Xiaogang into becoming your test subjects?"

Sasuke's mouth twitched as he reviewed Tang San's memories.

He understood fooling Xiao Wu, but why bother fooling a useless loser like Yu Xiaogang?

"I figured he still had some value. Later, I can use him to help research methods of condensing soul rings, along with the Ring Detonation and Ring Replacement Technique. And if I can build him up, I might bring the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon clan into the fold, too. It's just a spare move, anyway. Hardly any effort.

"At worst, he can still serve as a pawn. This Buddha plans to play a game spanning ten thousand years."

Tang San's eyes shone as he spoke with complete seriousness. He was currently researching how to develop the Blue Silver Emperor's extreme vitality, along with Ring Detonation and the integration of power systems from different worlds. His ideas included unlocking resurrection through the Blue Silver Emperor and farming Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts for soul rings and soul bones, combining the Eight Gates Technique with Ring Detonation, having Xiao Yan detonate flames and pills, and having Sasuke detonate eyes and tailed beasts...

Developing techniques like these took a heavy toll on the body, but his skill set happened to be perfectly suited to it. His first soul skill promoted plant growth within his domain, allowing him to receive nourishment in return and achieve shared prosperity. It also continuously absorbed vitality and soul power for him to use freely, and could remain active as long as his mental strength held out. His second soul skill resembled Sage Mode. Together, they gave Tang San a passive ability to expend soul power and vitality to create genuinely living plants from nothing.

Without Ring Detonation, every battle would turn into a bladder-busting endurance match.

"Old Xiao's perfect ending involves winning girls over, but you... just keep researching Ring Detonation and Wood Release." His eye twitching, Sasuke rubbed his forehead and turned to Xiao Yan's memories.

Patriarch Tang was simply too Tang for him to comprehend. Better to look at Xiao Yan instead.

Xiao Yan, thirteen years old, a Dou Zhe-a five-star Dou Zhe.

The biggest difference from the original story was that his Dou Qi had not begun disappearing at twelve.

Xiao Yan's explanation was that he had traded Yao Lao in on a secondhand marketplace.

Ahem. In reality, he had simply put the ring on display instead of wearing it. As a result, his cultivation had risen rather than fallen during this period. The genius had never fallen from grace, and his opening situation had not been a disaster at all.

Once he started charging Yao Lao up with Dou Qi in a little while, his cheat would begin to shine.

Still, although he was living comfortably, a romantic battlefield had left him rather frazzled lately.

For a while, Tang San and Sasuke had taken turns roasting him to his face over it.

On that subject, Xiao Yan solemnly insisted that none of this had been his intention. After awakening his memories, he had discovered that Xun'er and Nalan Yanran were already attached to him, so he had simply gone along with it.

All he had done was refrain from initiating anything or rejecting anyone.

Seeing Xiao Yan sandwiched between Xiao Xun'er and Nalan Yanran in his memories, Sasuke could not help giving him an envious... ahem, contemptuous look.

Pah, scumbag! A wretch unworthy of his company!

But when he thought about his own future happiness, Sasuke silently urged Sakura and Ino to try a little harder. He was very easy to win over.

What? Double standards? How was that the same thing?

He wasn't a scumbag. He just wanted to give every girl who liked him a home.

"I'm planning to start topping Yao Lao up soon. Honestly, my original plan was to win Nalan Yanran over before letting my Dou Qi get drained. But now that we have trial cards, I don't need to let Yao Lao wring me dry. Being sucked dry by a crusty old man... tsk, tsk."

Xiao Yan's voice pulled Sasuke out of the memories. He had one hand pressed against his own statue, sharing his power with a thought.

Their memories, talents, and certain basic attributes could be shared and stacked, but their other unique powers remained separate. To use those, they had to activate the statue of their other-world self in their own world, allowing a brief, one-time use of that power in a form compatible with the world's laws.

Although they could not directly share and stack everything like other simultaneous-transmigration stories from their previous life, the trial cards had independent mana and health bars. In other words, they were a second life.

After using one, they would also retain traces of highly compatible powers that strengthened them. Rather than creating something from nothing, it was more like drawing out their potential.

For example, there was the large amount of vitality and energy left in Sasuke's body, along with his steadily improving physical constitution.

Or Tang San, whose Purple Demon Eye had advanced further after using Sasuke's trial card this time.

There was one catch, though: the trial cards were shared in real time, and there were only three in total. If Sasuke used Tang San's trial card, Xiao Yan could not use it until their next gathering.

It was practically the dark forest law: if he did not use it, someone else would.

Still, considering how his original counterpart had blinded his Mangekyo in a matter of days, Sasuke was not remotely worried. Of everyone here, he was the pure brute. No one understood recklessness better than he did.

"Speaking of which, I'm planning something big soon. Time to teach that old bastard Danzo a lesson."

After some idle chatter, Sasuke shifted the discussion to his upcoming plans.

Tang San's trial card was genuinely useful, both in combat power and utility. Add in the Tang Sect Secret Arts, and it was undeniably a top-tier beginner's gift pack for their early development. That trial card was one reason he had dared to go fishing for Root operatives.

That bastard Danzo would never give up so easily. He had finally outlasted White Fang, Orochimaru, and the Fourth, only for the old Third Hokage to pull a retire-and-get-rehired maneuver. Now he had to keep waiting for the old man to die. Meanwhile, as Konoha's largest clan, the Uchiha's importance in every sense went without saying.

With Danzo's ambitions, it would have been stranger if he did not cause trouble.

Using this incident to force Danzo into further action was only the most basic effect. The real key was the chain reaction it would trigger once the Third Hokage, Uchiha Itachi, Uchiha Fugaku, and even people like Kakashi learned about it.

Wood Release, Danzo's assassination attempt, and Root's years of provoking conflict between the Uchiha and the village-those three matters could stir up a storm across all of Konoha, especially the latter two for the village and clan leadership.

As for Wood Release... barring surprises, Sasuke figured that, aside from that ANBU operative, only the old Third Hokage might know for now. But that was already more than enough.

After all, his identity left plenty of room to maneuver. With enough backing, he had nothing to fear from exposing Wood Release. It could only benefit him, not harm him.

The old Third Hokage was no longer the Shinobi Hero he had once been. Only at truly crucial moments could he muster his former ambition and resolve. As for ordinary days...

They might as well hope he would stop using his crystal ball technique to peep someday...

And as for everyone else...

Hmph. In this Sasuke's eyes, they were mere clay chickens and pottery dogs, heads marked for sale. (In Lord Guan's voice.)

"Heh heh heh. An Uchiha at odds with the village, using the First Hokage's signature Wood Release. Tsk, tsk. There's plenty of room to work with here." Reviewing Sasuke's memories, Xiao Yan could not help grinning.

"But the key now is pulling your internal forces together, right? You've finished the groundwork. Just don't let the Uchiha collapse from within, or you'll have a miserable time. Congratulations, your whole family gets executed."

Curling his lip, Xiao Yan remarked that the Uchiha Clan had far too many lunatics, and even Sasuke had become a little unhinged by association. He had better not overplay his hand. If Uchiha Itachi got provoked, slipped up, and chopped Sasuke, that would be a joke. Who knew whether the Sage of Six Paths would show up to save him?

He was still waiting for the Eight Gates Technique, those forbidden techniques, and Sasuke's Mangekyo. It really would be ridiculous if Sasuke got himself killed by fooling around.

"I have a plan. You don't need any schemes to deal with Danzo. Just crush him openly. You can borrow his life to pave your way, too."

After pondering for a moment, Tang San suddenly looked up. He seemed to have come up with a good plan.

"Oh? What brilliant strategy do you have, Brother San? I'm all ears."

"Have you ever heard of a move..."

Konoha, outside the Hokage's office.

The heated argument stopped Iruka in his tracks as he arrived to complain about Naruto and Sasuke skipping class every day. He exchanged blank looks with Guy and Kakashi, who were also standing outside the office.

"Ah, Kakashi, Guy."

Kakashi nodded politely, then silently stared at the ceiling with lifeless eyes. Beside him, Guy cheerfully raised a thumb and flashed his trademark smile.

"Ahahaha, well... Iruka."

After thinking for a moment, Guy finally remembered Iruka's name.

"Lord Hokage asked me to report on the Ninja Academy, but what's...?" Glancing at the office where the argument was raging, Iruka hesitated before asking quietly.

"Elder Danzo went in half an hour ago."

Scratching his head as he spoke, Guy looked in puzzlement at Kakashi, who was discreetly poking him in the side.

"What's wrong, Kakashi? Oh, is being in the ANBU too stifling? Are you feeling sick?"

"..."

A flicker of life appeared in those utterly dead fish eyes, making Kakashi seem a little more alive than before.

The corner of his mouth twitched almost imperceptibly. Ever since his close friend and teacher died, Kakashi's mental state had deteriorated day by day. He carried out missions without any regard for his life, even displaying self-destructive tendencies.

Only when he was with Guy did he recover some semblance of normal human emotion.

"Guy, you have no idea what a headache I deal with every day. Naruto and Sasuke are fine in every other way, but they never attend class. They take the whole class out to skip lessons every few days. They're simply the worst class I've ever taught!"

Naruto... huh?

Listening to Guy and Iruka discuss the Ninja Academy, Kakashi suddenly heard a familiar name. A crack appeared in the heart he had frozen over with guilt...

Instead of running away, perhaps he ought to do something.

"Hiruzen, you'll regret this!"

Just then, a roar from inside shattered his train of thought. The three exchanged looks.