Running for Your Life

Lend me your brain, and the author will give you two back when you finish reading!

In his sleep, Shu Yan kept feeling as though he were flying.

Groggily opening his eyes, Shu Yan saw the moon and heard the wind whooshing past his ears.

"Why does this dream feel so real? Why isn't it an erotic-"

"Wait!"

Before he could finish, Shu Yan's eyes flew wide open. He realized he could feel the biting cold and hear the cries around him.

"Help! Is anyone there? Aaaaaah..."

Whoosh...

A figure suddenly appeared and caught Shu Yan, then landed steadily on the ground.

"Kid, stay here and don't move. I need to help elsewhere."

Before Shu Yan could get a good look at his savior, the person vanished, leaving only those words behind.

"Huff, huff..."

Having narrowly escaped death, Shu Yan leaned against a wall and gasped for breath.

"Roar!"

A deafening roar tore through the night sky. Shu Yan looked up and saw something he would never forget.

A blood-red nine-tailed fox stood amid the houses. Its mountainlike body made the surrounding three-story buildings look like toys. With a slight lift and drop of its foot, more than a dozen houses collapsed.

Gulp!

Shu Yan swallowed, his pupils contracting sharply, disbelief written all over his face.

"Are monsters invading Earth, or is spiritual energy returning?

"No, why does this look so much like Kurama? But since when was Kurama this big? This thing is way taller than the pyramids.

"It definitely isn't Kurama. That one's a little chick; this is a nine-tailed fox immortal.

"But, but what the fuck..."

At this point, Shu Yan was on the verge of tears. "What the hell are those Sharingan tomoe in its eyes? Which bastard dumped me in the Shinobi World?"

Rumble...

An explosion erupted nearby, sending a rock hurtling toward Shu Yan. Yet he did not react at all, still lost in his own world.

Bam!

At the critical moment, a small figure rushed over and kicked Shu Yan into the wall beside him.

"Hiss..."

"Ow, ow, ow..."

Holding his head with his right hand, Shu Yan slowly stood up. His vision alternated between darkness and flashes of White Light.

"Senior Yan, are you all right?"

"What do you think?"

Shu Yan opened his eyes to find a child of about six or seven standing before him with a baby in his arms.

"Oh, Itachi! What are you doing here?"

The words that slipped out instinctively made Shu Yan frown. Having just arrived in the Shinobi World, he should not have been able to say that at all.

Could these be the original owner's memories?

Shu Yan glanced down at his body and discovered that he had shrunk, looking only twelve or thirteen.

My soul transmigrated to the Shinobi World? The Uchiha Clan? Yan? Uchiha Yan?...

"Senior Yan, let's hurry back to the clan grounds. It's too dangerous here!"

While Uchiha Yan was pondering, Uchiha Itachi spoke again.

At the reminder, Uchiha Yan stopped thinking about it. Whether he had transmigrated or not, staying alive came first.

With that thought, Uchiha Yan surveyed their surroundings, only to find the three of them surrounded by ruins, with rocks occasionally flying overhead.

Moreover, they were not far from the Nine-Tails. One sweep of its tail might kill them.

Beep!

New scenario detected. Tianyan System activating automatically. Scanning current scenario.

Recording the Shinobi World, Konoha...

Beep... User detected in danger. One free simulation granted. Would you like to use it?

Use it!

Uchiha Yan no longer cared whether this was a hallucination. His survival instinct made him seize any opportunity.

Beep! The user wishes to escape the current environment...

Ten seconds later, a blue screen appeared before Uchiha Yan, displaying a route map.

Rumble...

Another explosion erupted to their right. With no time to think, Uchiha Yan grabbed Uchiha Itachi's hand and ran toward the ruins ahead.

"Senior Yan, there's no way through there!"

Bang!

Bang, bang, bang...

As they ran, great quantities of rock and wood fell from the sky. The three of them took a full ten minutes to cover a mere hundred meters.

At last, they reached the ruins. Uchiha Yan looked around and finally spotted an entrance on the right blocked by a wooden board.

Kicking the board away, Uchiha Yan crawled in first. The cramped space forced him to move slowly.

Before he had gone far, he realized Uchiha Itachi had not followed and could not help turning back to call out.

"Itachi! Bring your little brother and follow me. Hurry!"

"Senior Yan, this place could easily collapse. Let's find another route!"

"If it were going to collapse, it would have already. Hurry up and follow me before the Nine-Tails swings its tail over here."

"The Nine-Tails stopped moving! Its mouth is open, and there's a black ball by it..."

"Fuck!"

Uchiha Yan backed out and dragged Itachi inside. "That's a Tailed Beast Bomb. Just one can wipe out all of Konoha. Get in here!"

Uchiha Yan knew Minato Namikaze would take this Tailed Beast Bomb away, but what if he did not? What if his transmigration had caused a butterfly effect?

Following the map, the three slowly made their way through the narrow space. The sounds around them suddenly grew much quieter.

"Senior Yan, is that fox called the Nine-Tails? How did it appear?"

"That's a Tailed Beast. It came from..."

Before he could finish, an explosion rang out overhead. The passage formed by rocks and wood began to shake, and rustling filled their ears.

This is bad!

Uchiha Yan saw the system panel's warning, "Time until passage collapses: five minutes," and his heart leaped into his throat.

"Hold my hand tight. Don't let go!"

Uchiha Yan picked up speed, moving swiftly through the narrow passage. With no light, his arms occasionally scraped against splinters of wood and stone.

Drip! Drip! Drip!

The sound of dripping blood seemed eerily strange in the dark, silent passage, making Uchiha Itachi feel compelled to speak.

"Senior Yan, you're bleeding!"

"Hold your brother tight. Right now, even the slightest sound in this passage could cause a cave-in."

"Yes!"

"Waaah, waaah, waaah..."

No sooner had he spoken than Sasuke began to cry. Itachi could not help stopping to soothe him.

Beep, beep, beep...

The system's urgent alarm blasted through Uchiha Yan's mind.

Warning! Warning! Three minutes until passage collapse. At your current speed, time required to exit the passage: three minutes and twenty seconds!

"Let him cry! Keep moving!"

Rumble...

A violent crash came from the passage behind them. Both their expressions changed dramatically. Uchiha Yan immediately scooped up Sasuke, then hoisted Itachi onto his back and ran forward.

He knew that if he let Itachi walk on his own now, they would never make it!

The sound of the passage collapsing behind them drew closer like the Grim Reaper's scythe, forcing Uchiha Yan to unleash every bit of his potential and run faster and faster.

"Almost there!"

Finally, two minutes later, Uchiha Yan saw a sliver of light. Like an arrow loosed from a bow, he sprinted toward the opening.

Rumble...

One second before the passage collapsed, he hurled himself out. He was moving so fast that even Itachi was flung off his back.

Glancing at Sasuke in his arms and seeing nothing wrong with him, Uchiha Yan finally relaxed his taut nerves and slumped to the ground.

"Huff, huff... Itachi, we're safe!"

Ignoring the pain in his body, Itachi hurried over to Uchiha Yan and picked up Sasuke. He examined Sasuke carefully and also sighed with relief when he saw that nothing was wrong.

The two surveyed their surroundings. The area was deserted, without a single person in sight. Only a brightly lit building stood to their left.

In contrast to the broken walls and rubble all around, this building remained standing, completely undamaged.

Uchiha Yan struggled to his feet and staggered into the building.

"Itachi, get in here. This building is still completely intact, which means this is the safest place."

"But this is the Hokage Building. We aren't allowed to approach it without permission."

"Who cares if it's the Hokage Building? I'd lie down wherever I pleased in a provincial government building, so why can't I enter a village committee office? Get in here before a rock hits you..."

Before he could finish, an icy voice rang out.

"Who are you? What are you doing at the Hokage Building?"