A significant amount of time had passed since my enrollment in the Academy.
Four hundred and one days, seventeen hours, and two minutes, to be exact.
Which meant there were exactly forty minutes left until the Uchiha Clan massacre.
And right now, I was sprinting down the street, fully aware that I wasn’t going to make it.
I had no plan.
Nothing.
I had seen Itachi once before… and even if he was entirely alone out there, I was no match for him.
No, he wouldn’t squash me instantly—unless he hit me with something massive—but I couldn’t do much to him either.
The absolute best I could hope for was to act as an annoyance, dragging out my inevitable defeat to a few hits instead of a single poke.
I should mention that a lot had happened over the past year.
For one, out of the seventy kids originally in our lecture hall, only fifty-something remained.
Okay, closer to sixty.
But it made me wonder—why did so few teams actually graduate in canon?
I understood the concept of weeding out the weak, but I refused to believe that only twenty or thirty people crawled their way to graduation!
I ranked third overall in our written tests, yielding only to Shikamaru and Sakura.
The former was a genuine genius—his 116 INT at his age was a massive hint!
The latter had the Crammer skill maxed out at an absurd level thirty-five.
But I hadn’t been wasting my time either.
I’d had a breakthrough in mastering my martial arts style, and managed to level up…
my chakra control.
According to the System: [You have achieved harmony with the world, increased your ability to concentrate, and become calmer.
As a result, your Chakra Control has increased.] I was shocked, but there was a certain logic to it.
Someone diligent, able to focus entirely on the task at hand, would naturally accomplish more than a hyperactive kid with a propeller up his ass and wind between his ears.
More importantly, I now had a fighting chance against Itachi.
I had mastered a move I’d seen in my dreams about five times.
Or rather, I had unlocked it, because it was the second technique of my inherited style: No Second Strike.
A terrifying technique.
Over the course of the year, Shikamaru and I had also somehow formed a solid friendship.
I’d built good relationships with Shino, Choji, and, surprisingly enough, Sasuke.
The youngest Uchiha had actually apologized (!) to Kiba for that memorable beatdown behind the bushes—the very day I had first seen the two of them.
It turned out the kid had just been having a really, really bad day.
His beloved older brother had refused to train with him, an emotional Sasuke had snapped at his mother…
for which his father had whipped him.
To top it all off, when he ran away to clear his head, Kiba had crashed right into him.
Kiba hadn’t even had time to apologize before Sasuke snapped and swung first.
So, things were looking up.
Life outside the Academy was going well, too.
I’d visited the Yamanaka compound a couple of times and was invited to drop by more often.
I’d also visited the Uchiha compound twice, though neither of my babysitters had been happy about it.
I had also finally mastered calligraphy.
Yugao was forced to admit she had nothing left to teach me in that department.
Memory CG unlocked: A kiss on the forehead from Uzuki.
Because of that—see what high affection ratings get you?—Uzuki had helped me adapt a few of my martial arts forms to the ninjato.
I was terrible at it, but I could at least fake my way through a basic form now.
Plus, abandoning kunai throwing had freed up a lot of time.
Everyone had universally agreed it was a dead end.
I was no sniper!
I could throw vaguely toward a target from any position, but actually hitting what I was aiming at?
Not a chance.
Shuriken, on the other hand, rested naturally in my hands.
I wasn’t doing anything spectacular with them, but they simply felt more comfortable.
Otherwise, my training continued, greatly aided by the fact that I was busting my ass for every new scrap of knowledge and every single stat point.
Which brought me to my current Status: [Status] Name: Naruto Uzumaki Title: — Class: Acolyte of Light Level: 15 (EXP: 660 / 1500) HP: 2140 / 2140 MP (Chakra): 691 / 691 Chakra Control: -209 STR: 111 VIT: 99 INT: 39 WIS: — AGI: 63 LUK: — [Unallocated Points: 120] [Traits: Demon, Jinchuriki, Uzumaki, Orphan, Novice Rescuer, Novice Li Shuwen, I Am Wood, Strongman I, Gamer+] [Passive Skills: Stealth (Lv.
99), Butler (Lv.
23), Masochist (Lv.
74), Cold Gaze (Lv.
21), Iron Fists (Lv.
72), Observe (Lv.
18)] [Active Skills: Singing (Lv.
99), Talk no Jutsu (Lv.
16), Rhetoric (Lv.
23), Sphere Boundary, No Second Strike – Two Strikes Are Not Needed, Secret Martian Style Technique: Series of Endless Slaps] Not bad, right?
Cool, sure, but nothing truly outstanding.
My VIT was only slightly ahead of Choji’s, my STR was half of Sasuke’s, my AGI was less than half of the Uchiha’s, and my INT absolutely vanished next to Shikamaru’s.
I was doing alright, but I wasn’t exactly leading the pack.
Hell, when it came to speed, Kiba was the standout—the guy actually had a dedicated Speed parameter!
I had gotten the Strongman I trait for hitting one hundred STR, and I genuinely felt like I didn’t deserve it.
My VIT used to outpace my STR, but I just couldn’t squeeze out that final point to push it to a hundred!
Progress on the last ten levels before hitting a hundred in any stat slowed to an agonizing crawl.
Pushing from ninety-nine to one hundred was a massive hurdle; I knew that much from using Observe on experienced shinobi.
I had only brute-forced my STR up because of my Iron Fists skill, which fed me a passive point of STR for every level it gained.
I had basically carried the stat on the back of a skill.
If I subtracted the points I’d gained passively over the last year, I doubt I’d raised the actual stat by even ten points on my own sweat!
Hence why I felt like a fraud of a Strongman.
I was saving my unallocated points for now.
I figured I would distribute them after graduating the Academy, slowly grinding my base stats up until then.
Or, alternatively, I could dump them all at once during a crisis to catch an enemy off guard…
…and it looked like I might have to do exactly that tonight!
No Second Strike was the second technique of Li Shuwen.
As for Secret Martian Style Technique: Series of Endless Slaps…
well, that was my own botched creation based on the style.
Since a lot of the strikes in the form were done with open palms, the association had come naturally.
If I injected a drop of my toxic, thermonuclear Bijuu chakra into my opponent’s body with every strike, a single hit was excellent for shattering a Genjutsu.
It also felt incredibly unpleasant.
It felt like getting slapped hard—even if I was just parrying an attacking limb, the effect still manifested at the point of contact.
Furthermore, the effect stacked aggressively on the target’s chakra circulatory system, providing an unforgettable sensation for any chakra user and actively disrupting their jutsu casting (unless the enemy had absurdly high chakra control, in which case they could hold it together).
Now imagine an entire series of those attacks, pushing the total number of hits into the thousands!
A Genin would outright die from getting slapped like that, even if they managed to block the initial barrage (and it would only be the initial barrage, because their arms would go numb shortly after).
If the Hyuga ever found out about this technique, I was pretty sure they’d sue me for copyright infringement.
But back to the present.
Realizing I was out of time, I decided to deploy my absolute worst habit, my ultimate plot armor, a weapon of quiet terror I hadn’t touched in over a year: I ran into the familiar park, straight toward those infamous bushes.
“Naruto-kun?” Maya raised an eyebrow at the sight of me.
“Did something happen, Naruto?” asked her twins, Saya and Aya.
Plot-armor bushes indeed.
Finding my primary rescue targets walking through the park late at night?
Perfect.
How did I even manage to get out of the house without my Anbu babysitters?
Simple.
They had actual business to attend to tonight.
And I had managed to sweet-talk the ones ordered to stay behind into letting me slip out.
[Skill Leveled Up: Rhetoric +2] “Could you all come with me?” I asked.
All three of them gave me weird looks.
Come on, just agree!
If I could just get them out of the Uchiha district, I could at least save them!
Maya stepped forward and pressed a hand to my forehead.
“You don’t feel warm.
Naruto-kun, what’s wrong with you?
What happened, and where do we need to go?” she asked calmly, though there was a heavy, unreadable layer of worry in her voice.
She was tracking my every reaction.
That was when the bushes proved, once again, that they only ever attracted trouble and violence.
Sprinting toward the Uchiha compound, Itachi materialized right behind the woman.
His dull, dead eyes began to shift toward Maya.
Fucking zombie!
Crap, this was bad!
I slipped into Sphere Boundary and closed the distance, triggering No Second Strike.
But Itachi was far more agile.
He casually blocked the attack, slammed me into a tree, and shaved off two hundred HP.
I had bought Maya time, though.
How had I even reacted faster than an experienced kunoichi?
And judging by the two tomoe spinning in her Sharingan, she was experienced.
Simple!
Under normal circumstances, I’d lose to her flawlessly.
But I had been expecting an ambush.
She hadn’t.
And Itachi had attacked from an angle that favored me.
Not that I was much help.
Itachi was pressing Maya hard.
It wasn’t just that she was shocked by the identity of her attacker; the bastard was actively trying to clip her daughters.
By splitting her focus to protect them, she was dooming herself to lose.
But no mother would act any differently.
Grrr.
I was completely useless here!
“Tch.
Pups!” a thunderous voice echoed in my head, and a sudden, overwhelming sensation of power swallowed me whole.
Wait, what?
I wasn’t even feeling an extreme amount of negative emotion.
Why the hell was the Fox waking up?
[Quest Alert!
Beat up the peacock in the name of the Fox!] Kyuubi hates everyone, but the Uchiha hold a special place in his heart.
However, he hates Mangekyo Sharingan users most of all (after Mito Uzumaki, Hashirama Senju, and Madara Uchiha).
His hatred is so immense that he is even willing to make a deal with his vessel (the “red devil,” according to many), lending him power to punish an arrogant, red-eyed peacock.
Reward: +500 Reputation with Kyuubi no Yoko; the “Good Nature” buff will be applied during your first meeting in the mindscape.
Unlocks an event chain.
Failure/Refusal Penalty: Fierce hatred from the Fox.
Refusal of all cooperation and a permanent block on events involving him.
[Accept?
Yes / No] I didn’t even have to think about it.
Hah, his grudge against Madara was actually playing right into my hands!
Speaking of which, what was that notification that flashed alongside the damage taken when I hit Itachi?
My eyes flicked up to read it.
[You have damaged a malicious directive on Itachi Uchiha with your chakra injection.] Oh, is that how it is?
Well, that was all the justification I needed to activate the Secret Martian Style Technique: Series of Endless Slaps!
Muahaha—wait, right, I’m the good guy here!
Maya shot me a look of pure despair.
Did she think the Fox had possessed me?
Well, considering I was down on all fours, admiring my newly grown claws while wrapped in a one-tailed chakra cloak…
yeah.
Honestly, with how badly my skin was burning, even this level of Kyuubi’s power felt like too much for me.
Add in my horribly raw throat and monstrous regeneration, and I couldn’t blame her for jumping to conclusions.
Should I ham it up and put on a little show?
Affection ratings usually shot up after dramatic rescues—assuming we survived, of course.
And if we didn’t, well, I might as well have fun before the restart!
By the way, Maya’s eyes had evolved into three-tomoe Sharingan.
It made sense; realizing what was about to happen to her, and more importantly, to her daughters, combined with the life-or-death combat, was exactly the kind of stress that evolved the eyes.
Why was she walking around with only two tomoe before?
Because the Sharingan only evolved in situations exactly like this.
I wouldn’t be surprised if half the Uchiha walked around without unlocking it at all.
“Don’t you dare touch them!” I roared.
Literally roared—that explained the raw throat; my vocal cords had physically warped under the demonic chakra.
I lunged forward, but I could still feel it—I was slower than Itachi.
Damn it.
If I survived this, I was going to use every ounce of my Rhetoric skill to guilt Kiba into giving me speed lessons.
I wanted a Speed parameter, too!
I triggered the Slaps technique and parried a strike with an open palm.
Shit, he was fast.
He grazed me before I could fully deflect the blow.
[You have taken 167 damage.] [You have damaged a malicious directive on Itachi Uchiha with your chakra injection.] I parried the next thrust, but I was still too slow, catching another shallow gash.
[You have taken 73 damage.] [You have damaged a malicious directive on Itachi Uchiha with your chakra injection.] [Danzo Shimura’s directives have been destroyed.] But Itachi didn’t stop.
I had to dodge a strike from his other hand.
Thank God the chakra bursts were violently disrupting his attempts to cast jutsu.
But by dodging, I left myself wide open to a follow-up.
I barely caught his arm, violently dumping a massive dose of chakra into him, just before his kick sent me flying into another tree.
[You have taken 292 damage.] [You have damaged a malicious directive on Itachi Uchiha with your chakra injection.] [You have damaged a malicious directive on Itachi Uchiha with your chakra injection.] Maya, snapping out of her stupor, took my place.
Heh, I’d managed to hit him with a double dose that time.
Not bad.
I ignored the actual damage numbers I was dealing to him; they were pitiful.
I couldn’t kill him like this, but fixing his brain was a much more realistic goal.
I flanked around the woman, trying to coordinate with her.
No luck.
She was attacking Itachi fiercely, desperately, in true Uchiha style.
Fine then, I basically threw myself onto him.
An exchange of blows and…
[You have taken 621 damage.] [You have damaged a malicious directive on Itachi Uchiha with your chakra injection.] [Hiruzen Sarutobi’s directives have been destroyed.] [You have damaged a malicious directive on Itachi Uchiha with your chakra injection.] [You have damaged a malicious directive on Itachi Uchiha with your chakra injection.] [You have damaged a malicious directive on Itachi Uchiha with your chakra injection.] [Shisui Uchiha’s directives have been destroyed.] Itachi, who hadn’t violated your brain?!
And it looked like there were still more layers to go.
You absolute mental prostitute!
I peeled myself off a completely different tree.
Damn, Maya was in bad shape.
Multiple cuts, a couple of burns…
apparently, in the brief windows where I wasn’t disrupting him, Itachi had managed to cast something.
Her left arm was hanging limply by her side.
Time to end this.
I dashed forward, sharply changing direction at the last second.
I essentially tackled his legs, wrapping around him like a snake, and began aggressively pumping my chakra directly into his circulatory system.
Heh, didn’t expect that, did you?
Sorry, shinobi don’t fight like this, but I wasn’t fighting you.
I was giving you CPR for your brain.
[Directives for loyalty to Konohagakure have been removed.] [Tobi’s (Obito’s) directives have been destroyed.] [Directives for loyalty to the Uchiha Clan have been removed.] [Koharu Utatane’s directives have been destroyed.] Phew.
Done.
Itachi froze like a statue.
We did it.
Seriously, who didn’t have their fingers in this guy’s head?
“So, you back with us yet?” I asked sluggishly.
Honestly, the only thing keeping me conscious was the Fox’s chakra.
The fight had drained me completely.
“What have I done?” Itachi whispered.
“Well, nothing yet, right?
Unless I’m mistaken?” I asked, ignoring Maya’s completely bewildered stare.
“Right.
I didn’t have time…
wait, we have to hurry!” Itachi scrambled up, wincing from the sensation of hostile chakra lingering in his legs.
Sorry, went a little overboard.
“What’s wrong?” Maya and I asked in unison.
“Seven Root Anbu were supposed to secure the perimeter and…
wipe out the Military Police.
The station is attached to the compound, but it’s separate enough that one person can’t cover both points at once,” Itachi explained, already breaking into a run.
“Maya-san, stay here.
You can’t do anything right now anyway.
Just think of your daughters,” I pleaded gently, trying to suppress the demonic growl in my voice.
“You are right, Naruto-kun.
But later, you are going to answer all of my questions,” she said, giving me a look that chilled me to the bone.
If the Fox’s chakra hadn’t been flooding my system, I would have been terrified.
I was about to bolt after Itachi, who hadn’t gotten far, when I froze.
I felt HIM!
“Itachi, we have a problem!” My shout made him stumble and look back.
“I don’t know who it is, but there is a dense ball of pure hatred moving toward your compound from outside the village.
And he is definitely not weak, I can feel it.” I knew exactly who it was, of course.
But I could easily pass this warning off as the Kyuubi’s sensory abilities without technically lying.
If I dropped the name Uchiha, I’d have way too many questions to answer.
Hearing my warning, Itachi quickly assessed me, nodded in acknowledgment, and accelerated even faster.
Damn it.
No matter how much speed I squeezed out of my legs, I was too late.
Obito had literally tossed the Root operatives around outside the police station and breached the compound.
He was strong…
oops!
Itachi, I am going to kill you!
Three of the seven Root operatives were still alive and getting back on their feet.
They were battered, missing half to two-thirds of their HP, but they were breathing.
This was bad.
Just these three were more than enough to handle me.
The closest one lunged, and I instantly realized I couldn’t react in time.
Well, hello restar— Wait, what?
Today was just full of surprises.
His partner—or rather, a female operative—suddenly decapitated him.
Spinning around, she plunged a lightning-coated ninjato straight through the chest of the third.
I would recognize that Anbu’s hair anywhere.
But that just made things infinitely more complicated.
They had left me one-on-one with Tsuru, the absolute weirdest girl I had ever met in my life.
Itachi, you traitor!
Even on my side, you still manage to screw me over!
Alright, staying quiet was dangerous.
With her unique brand of female logic, she might decide to finish me off too.
“Thank you, Hitomi,” I said, bowing deeply.
In a flash, I found myself pressed tightly against the rigid armor of a Root Anbu…
and suddenly, the Fox’s power rapidly evaporated.
It didn’t feel like a suppression seal.
It felt more like the Kyuubi had conveniently decided his job here was done.
Yeah, and from the outside, it looked like I had been hugged and just “melted” into it.
Ugh, damn it!
[Reputation with Tsuru/Hitomi +46%.] Oh, hell!
Her second heart filled up completely, and a memory CG was captured: how we looked from the outside.
Ugh, what the hell is with this forced romance?
[Quest Complete (Partially)!] You (somewhat successfully) beat up an Uchiha.
Kyuubi no Yoko feels a sense of moral satisfaction.
[+500 Reputation with Kyuubi no Yoko.] [Event chain “Friend of the Bijuu” or “The Idiot is a Friend to the Fox” unlocked.] Hey, System, what the hell is that second title implying?!
I’ll kill you!
Crap!
Obito!
We needed to catch him…
actually, excuse me, you guys can do that without me.
I did my part.
Whatever happens now, happens.
“Ah, there you ar—” Itachi broke the silence, freezing as he spotted me and the Root Anbu locked in an embrace.
Wait, when did I hug her back?
“She’s not an enemy.
By the way, what happened with…” “He got away,” Itachi cut me off.
“Did many…
um…” Damn, it felt incredibly hypocritical to ask “how many of you are left?” “A lot.
Half the houses will be empty now.
He truly was strong.
And my father won’t be a shinobi for the foreseeable future.
His arm was torn off by the attacker’s bizarre jutsu,” Itachi explained, answering the confusion on my face.
“Is that so?
You understand that…” I started, but Itachi interrupted me again.
“I understand.
Your assistance, and your manipulation of the Kyuubi’s power, will remain a secret from everyone outside my clan.
And as far as anyone else is concerned, you were never here and know nothing.
Naturally, neither my father nor I will be broadcasting the Hokage’s actions.
Not now, when the clan has suffered such losses and our political influence is shattered.
But we will not forget your help.
For now, I need to escort someone back to our territory,” Itachi said, gesturing toward where Maya and the twins were waiting.
Great.
The moment you beat the crap out of them, they turn into reasonable adults.
Why do you always have to beat up an Uchiha before they act normal?
It was true for Sasuke in canon, and Itachi here.
“Alright then, I’m…
going to sleep.” I finally passed out under the weight of a massive stack of debuffs, serenaded by a flurry of System notifications confirming the end of the event.
Right there on the spot.
“So, what are we going to do with you?” Itachi asked tensely, looking at the Root Anbu who still hadn’t let go of the Jinchuriki.
“I must report the failure of the operation and the intervention of a third party,” the blue-haired woman replied calmly, showing zero intention of releasing the unconscious boy.
“Is that so?
And why would someone like you murder your own partners and plan to lie to your superiors?
What is he to you?” Itachi asked, nodding at Naruto.
“I am his mother,” the operative answered without a second of hesitation.
“You don’t say…” Itachi stared closely into the kunoichi’s eyes.
Stopping mid-sentence, he let out a strange, tired chuckle.
“I am surrounded by absolute psychos.
He’s going to have a miserable time with you.
Just go to your superiors.
I’ll take him where he needs to go,” Itachi scoffed.
But the moment he took a step forward, the kunoichi—still holding the boy securely with one arm—dropped her free hand to the hilt of her ninjato.
“I get the hint.
Do whatever you want.
But I wouldn’t advise being late to report to your leader, or you’ll arouse suspicion.
So hurry up and deliver the boy home; he’s suffered enough for one day.
I would suggest taking him to the medics, but considering the specific nature of some of his injuries, that isn’t the best idea right now,” Itachi said.
In response, she silently activated the Mystical Palm Jutsu over the boy.
“Just go,” the Uchiha sighed, waving her off and turning back toward the park to retrieve his failed victim.