Uchiha Yu felt darkness swallowing him.
His consciousness gradually blurred.
An invisible weight crushed him until he could barely breathe!
Every breath felt like dancing on a blade, unbearably painful.
Before his eyes was utter blackness. The sounds around him grew more and more distant, leaving only his faint heartbeat, like a candle flame gradually dying in the dark.
He felt his vitality draining away bit by bit. His body grew colder and colder, as though he had been submerged in an icy river. Unable to struggle, he could only let himself sink.
He wanted to call for help, but there was only bloody foam in his throat, and he could not make a sound.
He wanted to move, but his body seemed no longer to belong to him, too heavy to lift even a finger.
However, just as Uchiha Yu was about to be completely swallowed by darkness, a powerful desire to survive erupted within him!
I don't want to die like this. I still have too many things left unfinished!
That will was like lightning, tearing through the darkness in his heart and bringing a sliver of light!
He felt a surge of power!
It rose from the depths of his body, striking every cell, every gene!
His body trembled in pain, his consciousness blurring amid the struggle!
He felt his genes being rearranged, his body being reshaped!
Gene Lock... first stage... activated!
As the Gene Lock activated, Uchiha Yu felt his vitality rapidly recovering, along with his senses!
His sight, hearing, smell, and touch all rapidly returned, as did his consciousness.
When Uchiha Yu opened his eyes again!
He found himself lying in a pool of blood!
Every inch of his body screamed in pain, especially the gash across his chest, where the pain was especially intense.
He felt as though his skin were being scorched by flames, every breath like inhaling sharp blades.
He tried his best to move, but the pain in his body left him almost completely unable to budge.
He could only lie there, feeling vitality flow through his body as he waited for the pain to gradually fade.
The moon quietly climbed above the treetops, and Uchiha Yu finally managed to rise with difficulty.
"I... I'm not dead."
"Ah!?"
Pirate World Fang Yu suddenly jolted awake and shouted, "You're actually not dead!? Brother! That's great!"
Stephen Fang of the Marvel World was also awakened by the noise. Hearing their exchange, he breathed a sigh of relief. "That's the best news I've heard in the past two days."
"Strange! How did you survive? Because of the Pirate World physique boost? That shouldn't be it, right?" Pirate World Fang Yu rubbed his chin. "Do you have an answer?"
"Gene Lock."
Uchiha Yu recalled what he had just experienced and synchronized the ability with his two counterparts in the Pirate World and Marvel World.
Gene Lock (First Stage): When facing mortal danger and the fear of death, those with powerful obsessions can awaken humanity's latent potential. It has certain side effects.
"Th-This!" Pirate World Fang Yu was utterly astonished. "Could it be that Main God Fang Yu isn't dead!? Did he synchronize the ability with us?! Then why can't we contact him?"
Uchiha Yu, who had activated the Gene Lock, seemed to have synchronized his Brainwaves with Main God Fang Yu as well. Supporting himself against a tree as he walked, he explained, "My guess is that our connection is cut off or interfered with inside Reincarnation Instances."
"We can only find out the answer once we contact him."
Uchiha Yu gritted his teeth as he walked. "I don't have time to think about that right now. I need to find a Medical Ninja."
"I may not be dead, but I don't think I'm much better off than someone who is."
He looked down at the shuriken embedded in his bone. Even if he wanted to viciously clench his molars, the pain made it impossible.
But even so—
He endured the pain, lay prone on the ground, and covered himself in blood.
Little by little, he dragged the bloodstains as he slowly crawled away.
After crawling for a while...
Uchiha Yu tore off a corner of his clothes, used a kunai to cut it into several scraps, and scattered them across the ground.
"Having gone this far, I should basically be able to make it look like an animal dragged away the body, right?"
Cold sweat beaded on his forehead as he thought carefully.
Konoha occupied the most resource-rich forest among the Five Great Nations, and the forest was filled with wild animals.
Moreover, with the recent fighting around the area, even if a ninja below Chunin rank vanished from Konoha, it would not be a major matter.
"Strictly speaking, I never even earned ninja qualifications, so I can only be considered a civilian."
"As long as Itachi Uchiha doesn't investigate, and I don't show my face in front of him."
"Then he won't know I survived anytime soon."
He touched the black cloth over his face. "Luckily, my face wasn't exposed."
"Heh. How ironic."
"Before the Night of the Massacre even arrived, I was already 'killed' by that guy once."
As he lamented his fate, he headed west.
He emerged from a dense primeval forest.
Uchiha Yu saw a somewhat old but sturdy building.
Its outer wall had been painted a warm beige, creating a sharp contrast with the surrounding natural environment and giving it the cozy feeling of a home.
The building's roof was covered in dark tiles, weathered and mottled by years of wind and sun, yet still firmly sheltering the people inside.
This was the Konoha Orphanage.
Towering trees formed a natural barrier, isolating the orphanage from the noise of the outside world.
It stood beyond Konoha's sturdy high walls, outside the village itself.
The branches and leaves swayed gently in the wind, rustling softly and adding a sense of peace and tranquility to the orphanage.
Dragging his body, which was nearly at its limit, Uchiha Yu struggled to reach the orphanage gate.
"Tap."
He only had time to knock once.
With a bang!
He collapsed to the ground.
"Who is it?"
A gentle woman's voice sounded, and the window beside her turned toward the gate.
"Ah!"
Seeing the child lying on the ground, she hurriedly unlocked and opened the door, then began checking Uchiha Yu's injuries.
"There's no time to return to the village. We'll do it here."
A green glow, gentle as fresh spring leaves, softly covered Uchiha Yu's chest.
It was warm Chakra, slowly flowing into his body and bringing vitality and healing power.
The light of Medical Ninjutsu swirled around Uchiha Yu's wounds. Each turn took away a measure of pain, and each turn made the wounds heal faster.
He slightly lifted his eyelids.
When he saw that the person before him was a gentle, older-sister-like woman wearing glasses, he finally relaxed, then passed out.
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