(October 25 — Taiwan Restoration Day)
Konoha, Uchiha Clan District.
Inside an old-fashioned study, an old man and a young man sat facing each other.
Uchiha Setsuna, the First Elder of the Uchiha Clan and one of the most influential figures in the shinobi world, looked at his handsome great-grandson with sword-like brows and bright eyes.
He spoke slowly.
“Ren, Sarutobi the Monkey has called another meeting of the jōnin. Looks like the Senju faction is about to reach its limit on the front lines.”
The nearly sixty-year-old man had a sinister and arrogant face.
His words showed not the slightest trace of respect toward Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Hokage of Konoha, one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages.
When he spoke, undisguised disdain and contempt flashed in his eyes.
He snorted.
“If the position of Hokage had fallen to our Uchiha clan, how could we have allowed the other villages to act so brazenly? What an incompetent fool!”
“If Uzumaki Mito hadn’t stubbornly insisted back then, we should have sent Sarutobi the Monkey and those others to the interrogation room. Who knows? The evil Senju Tobirama might have been killed by them!”
At this, Uchiha Setsuna let out a mocking laugh.
“The Second Hokage died in battle, yet the Guard Platoon that was supposed to protect the Hokage returned to the village completely intact after being pursued by Kumogakure—and one of them even became the Third Hokage!”
“The position of Hokage was privately handed over by the Senju faction. What an absolute joke! What utter bullshit!”
The position of Hokage in Konoha was first determined through a list of recommendations drawn up by the village leadership.
It would then be voted on by all active jōnin in the village before being submitted to the daimyō of the Land of Fire for final confirmation.
Unfortunately, despite their formidable strength, the Uchiha—openly suppressed by the Senju faction—couldn’t even get past the first gate.
So, in this world, it wasn’t enough to beat the world down with an “Ora Ora” barrage.
You also needed the right background.
Watching his grandfather engage in his daily routine of bashing the Hokage, Uchiha Ren had long since become accustomed to it.
He slowly lifted the teacup in front of him, his expression saying that the words went in one ear and out the other.
After taking a light sip of tea, his black-and-white eyes gazed at the blue sky and white clouds outside the window, and he fell into deep thought.
Or, more precisely, his consciousness had entered the Sharingan space that had appeared after his transmigration—a space that could be considered his cheat ability.
There were no points of reference whatsoever.
In the void where up, down, left, and right could not be distinguished, only a single bluish-white stone door stood there.
The stone door was tightly shut.
There were no unnecessary decorations on its surface, giving it an ancient and solemn appearance.
‘The great war is about to begin.
Hopefully I can draw something good today!’
Uchiha Ren placed his hand on the door as he had done countless times before, simultaneously channeling the ocular power of his Sharingan into it.
A hazy glow appeared across the door.
Winding patterns emerged, their ends connecting to one another, and faint, indistinct writing could be seen within them.
‘Ever since awakening my Sharingan, I’ve been pouring ocular power into this stone door for more than ten years.
But actually opening the bluish-white stone door is still a long way off.’
Looking at the ancient patterns covering the stone door, Uchiha Ren sighed inwardly.
Having lived two lives, he had awakened his Sharingan at the age of six.
Now, he was eighteen.
Relying on his Kage-level strength, he had become one of the leaders among the younger generation of the clan.
At the same time, he had poured Sharingan ocular power into the stone door day and night.
The patterns had already covered more than half of the door.
But at his current rate of progress, it would take at least another ten years for the patterns to spread across the entire stone door.
‘Only after evolving the Sharingan into the Mangekyō Sharingan, gaining more ocular power of a higher quality, will I be able to speed things up.’
As Uchiha Ren pondered this, a faint glow spread from the stone door before condensing into a bubble that floated before his eyes.
His gaze swept over it, revealing an interesting object floating inside.
From its appearance, it was a slim and sexy woman wearing a tight-fitting skirt.
But the woman was covered in blood.
Even her eyeballs dangled from their sockets, while a large chunk of flesh had been bitten off from her neck.
Her limbs twisted and struggled as she opened her blood-covered mouth and let out a silent howl.
‘Who would’ve thought zombies would show up too?
I really wonder what kind of surprises this stone door will bring me once it’s finally opened.’
Although Uchiha Ren had long known that the items obtained through the stone door were entirely dependent on luck and were completely unreliable, the results had gradually become more useful as the tomoe of his Sharingan increased.
At first, he could draw things like pornographic novels and weeds from the roadside.
But as the Sharingan evolved, the objects appearing inside the bubbles had gradually become more practical.
For example, there was the Nichirin Sword from the world of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, as well as magic from the world of Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End that he could learn and activate using the ocular power of his mutated Sharingan.
So far, aside from living creatures, there was practically nothing he couldn’t draw.
But the randomness was simply too great.
As a result, the things produced by the stone door over the years had not been particularly beneficial to Uchiha Ren.
He couldn’t do what his fellow transmigrators did—become a jōnin at three, reach Kage-level at five, and enter the Six Paths realm at seven.
If he wanted something good, it all came down to his own luck.
[Item: Corpse]
[Evaluation: A corpse from another world. The genetic virus within its body possesses a small amount of value.]
[Source: Highschool of the Dead]
‘Tch.
Boobs and Zombies Apocalypse.
If I had a capable research team, this could actually come in handy.’
‘If it shares a universe with Resident Evil, or even Yuanshi Wuxian, and I could extract the T-virus and unlock the genetic locks of the human body, then I’d hit the jackpot.’
As he glanced over the information produced by the bubble, Uchiha Ren’s eyes flickered.
His mind immediately went to several exceptionally talented scientists and medical experts in the Naruto world.
For the time being, he put aside the idea of drawing blood from the zombie and finding someone to inject it into as an experiment in evolution, instead placing the bubble containing the zombie off to the side.
Once his daily draw was complete, Uchiha Ren’s consciousness returned to his body.
He saw that his grandfather, having finished his usual Hokage-bashing session, took a sip of tea to moisten his throat before turning his slightly cloudy gaze toward him.
After some consideration, he spoke.
“After the jōnin assembly, Sarutobi the Monkey had a private meeting with the clan head. He hopes our clan will head to the eastern battlefield to guard against Kirigakure, which is already itching to make a move. Ren, what do you think?”
“What do I think?”
Uchiha Ren pondered for a moment before asking in return, “That depends on what our clan wants and what kind of circumstances we’ll be facing.”
“Oh? Let’s hear it.”
Uchiha Setsuna gave a low chuckle, his eyes shining as he stared at his grandson.
Strong, capable, and clever.
Compared with Uchiha Fugaku from the clan head’s family, who looked wooden and dull at first glance, Ren was superior by who knew how much.
‘That indecisive brat thinks he can stop Ren from becoming clan head?
Ridiculous!’
Uchiha Setsuna thought with disdain.
My grandson has the makings of a clan head!
But when he heard what Uchiha Ren said next, the corners of his slightly raised mouth sank.
“Grandfather, as long as people like Sarutobi Hiruzen, whose minds have been poisoned by Senju Tobirama, remain in Konoha’s leadership, our clan’s long-held desire to become Hokage is destined to remain impossible.”
Noticing the slight twitch in the First Elder’s face, Uchiha Ren remained expressionless.
After a pause, he continued.
“So, instead of pursuing the unrealistic position of Hokage, we should take everything Sarutobi Hiruzen is willing to offer us.”
“The growth and prosperity of our clan is far more important than the Hokage position—a castle in the air!”