Awakening in Front of the Nine-Tails

Year 48 of Konoha, October 10.

In Konohagakure of the Land of Fire, the sun was setting and night had fallen.

The various izakayas were packed with customers, their voices rising in a clamor. It was the most profitable time of day. The aroma of grilled meat drifted from the wooden buildings, mingling with the damp autumn air and luring passersby. Two figures followed the fragrance down the bustling main street.

Kakashi had a head of white hair, his forehead protector covering his left eye as usual. He wore the silver-white armor of the ANBU, with a black mask covering his face, and looked utterly devoid of interest in life.

A green bodysuit bounded up and down beside him. The handsome bowl cut and vigorous body language belonged to Might Guy in the full bloom of youth.

"Rock-paper-scissors again? Isn't there a more passionate way to compete, Kakashi? How about running five hundred laps around the village? Don't shake your head! How can you call yourself my lifelong rival when you act like that?"

"I have a mission tomorrow morning." Kakashi tilted his head, utterly bored. "Let's forget it for today."

"Don't use missions as an excuse! What drives us is our hot, overflowing youth with nowhere to vent! Youth is fleeting!"

Young Might Guy was incredibly agitated. His arms swung like windmills, his eyes were wide with fury, and he looked like a lion whose mane had been blown up.

"How did you become so cold after joining the ANBU? I heard your new nickname is Cold-blooded Kakashi. We're only fourteen, you know. Hey! Are you listening to me?"

Kakashi genuinely wasn't listening.

He was staring at the moon. "Guy, don't you feel like something's wrong? It seems to have gotten colder."

"The thing that's gotten colder is your attitude!"

Kakashi said nothing. Tonight's moon was not only full but unusually bright, bright enough to be unsettling.

Suddenly, Might Guy felt a jolt in his heart, while Kakashi instantly went on guard.

Then, in the distance, before Hokage Rock, the earth-shattering devastation began—

A towering figure rampaged through billowing clouds of dust, its nine crimson tails lashing wildly. The explosive roar was deafening, and houses were smashed apart one after another. Countless screams and cries of alarm rolled over like a tide, while countless figures were blown into the air amid flying rubble!

"It's—it's the Nine-Tails! The demon fox is out—"

"Run, you idiot!"

"Someone, save me—"

The peaceful hidden village instantly became a hell of slaughter, and the desperate howls made Might Guy shudder!

Then furious flames ignited in his eyes. This was the home he and his father had sworn to protect with their lives. Wherever Konoha burned, its fire would never die!

"Damn Nine-Tails!"

Guy extended his bandage-wrapped arms and spread them like wings. His two trademark thick eyebrows slowly crossed into an X—

"Now is the time for a ninja to make his youth bloom! Come at me! I'll be your opponent!"

Suddenly, someone Body Flickered in front of him and shouted, "You are not going!"

Might Guy froze. That agile back belonged to the village's Elite Jonin—Yūhi Shinku.

"You young people are to assemble at the gathering point immediately! This is the Previous Hokage's order!"

Yūhi Shinku's urgent voice had barely faded before he Body Flickered away. Might Guy was just about to lower his arms when he turned his head and saw Kakashi suddenly begin a ninja run without saying a word!

"Hey, Kakashi, where are you going? The gathering point isn't that way!"

Kakashi's voice drifted back from afar. "You go first!"

Might Guy suddenly felt that something was off. Kakashi's ninja-running posture was indeed becoming more and more handsome, but that direction seemed to be toward the Konoha Military Police Force?

In fact, the Military Police Force was not far from where the Nine-Tails was rampaging. Broken wood was flying everywhere, and all that met the eye was rubble and ruins.

"Noncombatants, proceed to the shelters immediately!"

"Dad, where are you?"

"Children, don't run around! It's safe here!"

"Gather the children and send them to the shelters!"

"Retsuo! Uchiha Retsuo! Don't just stand there spacing out, man! This way! Come here! Children, hurry up!"

The child called Uchiha Retsuo did not move.

Not only did he not move, but he also looked utterly bewildered as he glanced around.

The gigantic Nine-Tails was in the distance. It was hard to miss, especially since it was standing upright on two thick, powerful hind legs, towering higher than a mountain.

Wood chips filled the sky, while buildings shattered like paper under the demon fox's sweeping blows.

The fox's wild expression was highly distinctive.

"Who am I? Where am I? What the hell is this?"

"Damn, the Nine-Tails. Did I transmigrate? Naruto?"

"They're calling me Uchiha Retsuo?"

"Ahh, why are my eyes so cold!"

In an instant, a massive amount of Yin Release Chakra spilled from his Sharingan and flowed into the depths of his soul, carrying the information engraved in the genes of the Uchiha Clan. It allowed anyone who awakened the eyes to understand everything in an instant.

Retsuo knew that he had... awakened his eyes.

He quickly covered both eyes. It was best if no one noticed something like an awakening...

The sensation of awakening was extremely strange, somewhat like "drunken coffee." His brain was caught in a dizzying state of extreme clarity.

Within his eye sockets, cold Yin Release Chakra continued endlessly, swirling and flowing like a vortex. Looking out through the gaps between his fingers, the scene seemed to shift frame by frame, causing slight discomfort.

But he adapted quickly. Controlling Yin Release Chakra felt instinctive, as effortless as breathing.

So this is what the Sharingan feels like! Feeling the tomoe rotating within his pupils, Retsuo was a little excited.

Transmigrating into Naruto wasn't bad. If he had transmigrated into something like Attack on Titan, things would have been awkward.

This life of mine is destined to be extraordinary!

He withdrew the Chakra from his eyes, and the Sharingan closed along with it. He hurriedly lowered his hands and blended into the group by the wall, making himself look less suspicious.

This was a modern-looking district. The cherry blossoms had long since bloomed and fallen, leaving the branches bare.

He looked left and right. The surrounding children all wore plain-colored robes, and each had a pattern resembling a ping-pong paddle printed on their back. It was the fan emblem of the Uchiha Clan, Konoha's greatest clan.

There were also several people ahead wearing green tactical vests. One of them folded both hands across his chest, prominently displaying the fan emblem on his shoulder.

He held his head high and gazed up at the enormous Nine-Tails, unmoved by the chaos around him.

As for his appearance, his tear troughs were especially pronounced, making his presence quite ordinary. Still, he worked hard to put on airs, striving to create an imposing impression.

Well, this was the Shinobi World's number-one coward—Uchiha Fugaku.

Safe for now!

Seeing Fugaku, Retsuo immediately relaxed. During the Nine-Tails' Rampage, this part of the Uchiha Clan was not in danger. From beginning to end, the Nine-Tails had never come over to pay the Uchiha a friendly visit.

The situation was chaotic. Not only was no one paying particular attention to him, but almost everyone's eyes were fixed on a young man approaching while carrying a baby.

"It's him! Uchiha Itachi!"

Despite his young age, the newcomer had a face full of nasolabial folds. Retsuo sucked in a sharp breath. This was Itachi, who had redefined the meaning of "caliber," the super-genius who had drawn the attention of the entire Uchiha Clan—and a dedicated killing tool. He was meek and deferential toward the village, yet struck his fellow clansmen with his fists!

Considering that he was also an Uchiha, Retsuo felt as though he were looking at the sword of Damocles.

Just then, a line of figures came running from the distance. With a whoosh, one of them stopped in front of the crowd.

Uchiha Fugaku's stern expression shifted slightly. "Kakashi, you arrived at just the right time! Does the village have any new orders? Have they finally permitted our Uchiha Clan to attack the Nine-Tails together?"

Kakashi thought of his sensitive status as the Third Hokage's direct subordinate and the Fourth Hokage's student, and an awkward smile appeared on his face. "No, Lord Fugaku. I came here on my own to check on Obito's younger brother."

"Ah, that little brat. I saw him earlier. He wasn't injured, just scared witless." Fugaku curled his lips. "He's already nine years old and has even been to the battlefield, yet he's still such a coward... Still, it's rare for you to think of your friend's younger brother at a difficult time like this."

"Ah, well, he is Obito's only surviving relative. As long as he's safe, that's all that matters. In that case, I'll head to the gathering point immediately, Lord Fugaku."

As Kakashi spoke, he activated the Body Flicker Technique and disappeared.

This little exchange failed to make any waves amid the Nine-Tails' roars. Nearby, however, Uchiha Retsuo stood in complete disarray, utterly unable to believe it.

Kakashi and Fugaku didn't seem to be joking, but...

Where had Obito gotten a younger brother?

Oh no →_→ Obito actually has a younger brother!

If he has a younger brother, then doesn't that mean I can...

At that moment, Retsuo thought of the brutally cruel method for evolving the Mangekyō Sharingan into the Eternal Mangekyo. It required using the eyes of one's biological brother to evolve...

Originally, Obito had no biological brother, which cut off the hope of obtaining the Eternal Mangekyo at its roots. But if a younger brother suddenly appeared, things would be different!

Considering that Konohagakure was practically a place Obito could come and go through like the wind at this point, with no defenses against him whatsoever, being Obito's younger brother was indeed quite a promising position. He just didn't know which unlucky child had been given such a thrilling future. It was utterly bleak.

Immediately afterward, he gave a self-deprecating smile. "But what does that have to do with me?"

The Night of the Uchiha Clan Massacre was still eight years away. Just because he had the Uchiha name, there was no chance the Night of the Uchiha Clan Massacre would unfold according to the Original Timeline.

Obito, Itachi—go to hell, all of you!

As for Uchiha Obito, even if he had gained a younger brother, and even if a series of schemes allowed him to obtain the Eternal Mangekyo Kamui Sharingan, the only one who would suffer would be that younger brother.

Half of Obito's body was White Zetsu, and he also possessed the Shinobi World's most powerful life technology—the transplantation technique using Hashirama Cells. He had never been lacking in Dojutsu Power from beginning to end.

In other words, as Uchiha Madara's successor, Obito could be said to know the past and present. No one understood the Uchiha Clan better than he did. He would certainly believe that the "Eternal Mangekyo" was extremely important, the key path leading to the Rinnegan.

But in reality, as far as Obito himself was concerned, whether it was eternal or not made no earth-shattering difference—he couldn't awaken the Rinnegan anyway.

After all, Obito's "intelligence" was only two. Thinking about it that way, he didn't seem all that impressive, did he?

"Hiss... But this, this..." Without realizing it, Retsuo muttered under his breath, "Uchiha Obito's younger brother..."

At that moment, a girl beside him spoke in a soft voice. "Um, Retsuo..."

Retsuo tilted his head. It was the little girl who had escaped alongside Itachi earlier. Her name seemed to be Uchiha Izumi, and she was looking at him with an adorable expression.

"Retsuo, isn't Obito's younger brother you?"

"What?"

Uchiha Retsuo suddenly felt terrible!

Obito's younger brother is me?

Then, a massive amount of memories suddenly surfaced in his mind.

Author's note: Let me explain a couple of things. When writing, we also have to consider readers who haven't watched Naruto, or who haven't encountered it at all. That's why the story will include some necessary, brief explanations. For example, the conditions for evolving the Eternal Mangekyo, and where Hashirama Cells come from and where they go.

In fact, when I first encountered Naruto, I was just as confused by these conditions. It wasn't fair, was it? How were Uchiha without brothers supposed to manage it? The Shinobi World didn't even have a two-child policy! So I feel these things are worth writing a couple of extra lines about for completely new readers. Naruto veterans, please bear with me.

Now, let's chat for a bit. Consider this a reading warning, too.

The creative philosophy behind this novel is written in the afterword for going premium. It's all from the author's heart. Esteemed Readers who are interested can go read it directly; it's the chapter right before the VIP volume. It includes how I designed the Golden Finger, how I created derivative skills, and how I chose between the contradictory and chaotic settings of the Naruto original and the Boruto settings.

Many elements in this novel actually have sources in Naruto and Boruto. For example, the system the protagonist builds by hand wasn't something I made up out of thin air...

However, although the design was ingenious—in my opinion—after Esteemed Readers criticized the weak opening many times, I realized there was a serious problem: Why was the timeline in Conan so chaotic?

It had to be chaotic. If I followed a strictly reasonable timeline, I couldn't tell the story properly.

Unfortunately, when I designed this novel, I made the timeline far too detailed. What happened in which year, month, and day couldn't be changed recklessly.

This led to an important flaw in the early stages of the novel: the days passed one by one, but cultivation couldn't be completed in a single day, and the people who needed killing couldn't be killed immediately. He had to wait until he was strong enough. As a result, some Esteemed Readers were even more anxious than I was. "There are only eight years until the Night of the Uchiha Clan Massacre. Why isn't your protagonist hurrying to cultivate? Learn the Eight Inner Gates Formation and go chop Itachi down!"

My protagonist is anxious, but he has to cultivate one day at a time. His aptitude is also too poor, and eight years aren't enough to master the Eight Inner Gates Formation, so he can only practice something else.

The result was that I wrote about cultivation without being able to show its results yet. None of the individual plotlines completed the necessary cycle of using the fruits of cultivation to kill someone.

I handled this aspect well when writing fantasy novels. I thought that in fan fiction, because timelines and various power systems existed, readers would be more tolerant. But I was wrong.

I apologize, I apologize. Things get much better later, because when I was designing the story, I couldn't plan the later parts in such detail. Haha...

There are also some Esteemed Readers I truly can't accommodate, namely those who have a deep understanding of Naruto but whose understanding differs from mine. A thousand people will have a thousand Hamlets.

For example, some readers believe that Konoha is Sarutobi Hiruzen's personal fiefdom, that Shimura Danzō can kill anyone he wants, so the protagonist is courting death by borrowing strength to counter others or confronting Danzō. They believe that as long as one's combat power is high enough, every problem can be solved by fighting.

If you hold that impression, then you don't need to criticize me. We simply understand things differently; it doesn't mean I'm an idiot.

The Konoha I understand is a place with order on the surface. Even if Danzō gets angry, he has to assassinate people. He can't kill them openly.

You can say that my understanding is wrong, but please don't launch personal attacks.

As for the disputes over Naruto's settings, no Naruto fan fiction can avoid them. I won't explain every single one. Let's agree to disagree...