Early summer, Year 42 of Konoha.
The air was thick with dry heat and dust.
Cicadas chirped desperately in the trees, as though heralding some impending storm.
At the Konoha Ninja Academy, the practical graduation exam for the 24th graduating class was underway.
“Get down here!
Stop embarrassing yourself!”
“We’re all Uchiha, so how did such a piece of trash come from our clan?”
“Your Chakra reserves are dead-last even among this graduating class!
You’re a total disgrace to our clan!”
Harsh jeers flooded down like a rising tide from the spectator stands surrounding the training ground.
Most of the vitriol originated from the eastern section, where spectators dressed in dark, high-collared clothing bearing the uchiwa fan crest were seated: members of the Uchiha Clan.
Standing at the center of this storm was a lone youth, resting in quiet stillness in the middle of the combat ring.
His name was Ryuha Uchiha.
With messy black hair, pale skin, and strikingly delicate features, he had an unusually refined look.
A pair of non-prescription glasses rested on the bridge of his nose, lending him a scholarly air that clashed sharply with the grim, lethal atmosphere of the shinobi arena.
Ryuha gently pushed up his frames.
The glass caught a brief glint of white light, masking the fleeting indifference deep within his eyes.
*It’s already been three days since I transmigrated…* he murmured inwardly.
In his previous life, he had been a hardcore anime fan.
He never dreamed that waking up one morning would find him in the Ninja World, inhabiting the body of an orphaned branch member of the Uchiha Clan.
The original owner of this body had lost both parents and possessed mediocre talent.
His Chakra reserves were pitifully small, making him look like a crude joke inside an Uchiha Clan that worshipped raw power.
His only real advantages now were the mature mind of someone who had lived two lives and his knowledge of the canonical plot.
Yet that was only useful for long-term planning.
How was he supposed to survive the obstacle right before him?
Today was the graduation exam.
It was the watershed moment that would decide his fate.
On the eve of the Third Great Ninja War, failing to become a ninja meant losing institutional safety.
But graduating as cannon-fodder Genin meant facing the risk of dying on the battlefield at any second.
Not to mention the suffocating, brutal law of survival of the fittest within the Uchiha Clan.
At least he had not transmigrated on the night of the clan massacre; there were still five years left before that “dutiful son” was even born.
“Ryuha Uchiha!”
The Chunin proctor frowned, glancing down at the matchup clipboard with an impatient tone.
“Your opponent is…
Setsuna Uchiha!”
As soon as the name was read, laughter erupted across the stands.
“Setsuna?
He’s the top student of this class!”
“Haha, the top student against the dead-last!
This is going to be good.”
“Ryuha’s going to be burned to ashes, isn’t he?”
A figure flashed onto the field, coming to a halt directly across from Ryuha.
Setsuna Uchiha—a prodigy who had awakened his One-Tomoe Sharingan at the mere age of ten.
He held his chin high with an arrogant smirk, glaring at Ryuha as though staring at a piece of garbage.
“Ryuha, for the sake of our clan ties, get lost on your own,” Setsuna said coldly, crossing his arms over his chest.
“Save everyone some time, and spare the Uchiha any further embarrassment.”
A few quiet chuckles rippled along the edge of the arena.
Seeing Ryuha offer no response, Setsuna added with open disgust, “The noble bloodline of the Uchiha doesn’t permit you to flaunt your incompetence on an occasion like this.”
Ryuha looked at this overbearing “clansman,” the corner of his lips curling into a faint, subtle smile.
The smile appeared gentle and modest on the surface, yet carried an unbridgeable, distant aloofness.
“Setsuna-kun, the match hasn’t even begun.
What’s the rush?” Ryuha’s voice remained completely calm.
Even if one was doomed to lose, one did not lose one’s composure.
Setsuna’s brow furrowed.
That unruffled attitude ignited a surge of inexplicable irritation in his chest.
A piece of trash—what right did he have to maintain such hollow composure in front of him?
“I’ll make you realize that not just anyone has the right to bear the name Uchiha.”
“Match begin!” the proctor barked, instantly leaping backward.
Almost in the exact same instant, Setsuna moved.
His hands blurred into afterimages, weaving hand seals with astonishing speed.
Snake – Ram – Monkey – Boar – Horse – Tiger!
“Is that…
a C-rank Ninjutsu?!”
A perceptive student in the stands cried out in shock.
“For a Genin, pulling that off requires not only vast Chakra, but also immense talent in Ninjutsu!”
Setsuna’s chest swelled outward as he forcefully compressed Chakra in his throat.
The single tomoe in his eyes spun wildly, locking down all of Ryuha’s escape routes.
“Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!”
*Boom—!*
A massive sphere of fire over three meters in diameter blasted forward with a roar.
The surging heat wave warped the air in an instant, scorching the dirt beneath it to a charred black.
Reflected in Ryuha’s pupils, the roaring blaze grew larger and larger—brilliant and lethal.
Ryuha stood rooted to the spot, making no attempt to weave defensive seals or evade.
To the onlookers, he looked entirely paralyzed with fear.
The Chunin proctor’s expression changed, and he tensed to rush in to terminate the match.
“It’s over.” In the stands, Fugaku Uchiha—the current head of the Uchiha Clan—closed his eyes without a trace of emotion.
Yet, just a split second before the fireball swallowed Ryuha whole:
[Ding!]
[Host detected in mortal danger.
Soul compatibility has reached 100%!]
[Soul Reaper Gacha System officially activated!]
Ryuha’s previously still heart gave a violent jolt.
*It’s finally here?*
*The essential cheat of a transmigrator!*
[Beginner’s Gift Pack distributed: Limited Banner 10-Pull (SSR chance included).]
[Beginner Quest Issued: Overwhelmingly crush Setsuna Uchiha in the graduation exam and shock the entire audience!]
[Quest Reward: Unlock/Enhance Spiritual Pressure; automatic Chakra conversion.
If a Zanpakuto is owned, compatibility increases.]
[Draw cards now?]
Time seemed to stretch out into infinity.
In Ryuha’s perception, the roaring fireball hurtling toward him slowed to a crawl, moving as sluggishly as a snail.
*Draw,* Ryuha commanded in his mind without the slightest hesitation.
Within his consciousness, ten beams of light soared skyward.
White, white, green, green, white, blue…
*Come on, man.*
*My gacha luck was terrible in my past life, and it’s still this cursed after transmigrating?*
Just as Ryuha’s heart sank, the final beam of light violently erupted into a blinding golden radiance!
It was a sword.
A slender blade radiating an eerie, enchanting aura.
Appearing alongside it was the phantom silhouette of a man draped in a white haori, with wavy brown hair and eyes as deep as an abyss.
Sosuke Aizen.
Standing before you was the Emperor of Hueco Mundo, the one fused with the Hogyoku, the man who stood atop the heavens.
[Congratulations, Host!
Obtained R-Grade Item: Shihakusho (Gigai Disguise Version) (White)]
[Congratulations, Host!
Obtained SR-Grade Skill: Shakaho (White)]
[Congratulations, Host!
Obtained SR-Grade Footwork: Shunpo (Novice) Quality: Blue]
…
[Congratulations, Host!
Obtained SSR-Grade Zanpakuto: Kyoka Suigetsu (Shikai)!]
[Description: The strongest illusion-type Zanpakuto.
Ability: “Complete Hypnosis.”]
[Quality: Gold]
[Note: The moment you grasp it, illusion has already become reality.]
[System Notice: Chakra detected within the Host.
Energy conversion in progress…]
[Conversion complete!
Current energy system: Spiritual Pressure.]
[Kyoka Suigetsu has materialized and been stored in Host’s ninja pouch.]
In the real world, the flow of time snapped back to normal.
The scorching heat of the flames had already begun to singe Ryuha’s bangs.
“This is the true art of Fire Style!” Setsuna’s vicious laughter echoed through the wall of fire.
Ryuha’s hand had already found its way to the weapon pouch at the small of his back.
He did not dodge.
He simply drew a seemingly ordinary katana from the pouch.
The instant the fire was about to consume his body, he held the blade upright, pointing the tip downward, and parted his lips.
He softly whispered the release command that would one day make the entire Ninja World tremble:
“Shatter, Kyoka Suigetsu.”
*Buzz—*
An invisible ripple expanded outward with Ryuha at its center, instantly washing over the entire training ground.
It was the ritual of Complete Hypnosis.
The absolute authority to govern all five senses.
In the next heartbeat, the Great Fireball Jutsu detonated with a deafening crash.
Dust and smoke billowed across the field, completely swallowing Ryuha’s silhouette.