Just then, a young, energetic girl poked her head in curiously.
"Um... excuse me, is he all healed?"
It was her—the girl who had been the first to rush forward and support Uchiha Nagi on the street earlier. She was also the one who had brought the unconscious Nagi to Tamayo for treatment.
In his state of excessive blood loss, chakra depletion from awakening his Mangekyo Sharingan for the first time and traversing dimensions, and subsequent collapse, anyone could have easily taken Uchiha Nagi's life. If she hadn't brought him to Tamayo, Nagi would likely have died from blood loss after fainting.
Fortunately, not only had he encountered a kind girl, but also a demon who didn't consume humans.
"This is Kagome. You fainted on the street, and she brought you here—" Tamayo explained.
The girl, Kagome, appeared rather carefree, but upon seeing Uchiha Nagi, her cheeks couldn't help but flush, clearly admiring something about him...
"Um... Has Doctor Tamayo treated you? Doctor Tamayo, how much is the medical fee? I might not have brought enough..." Kagome said, scratching her head in embarrassment.
"There's no need..." Uchiha Nagi was about to say he had money when a thought struck him. The corner of his mouth twitched; his money was from the Naruto world and certainly wouldn't be usable here.
"Hehe, it's not necessary," Tamayo said. "I merely stopped this gentleman's bleeding. There's no charge. Besides, I'll be learning medical knowledge from Mr. Uchiha later on."
"By the way, Mr. Uchiha Nagi," Tamayo continued, "due to some particular reasons, it's not very convenient for me here. During the time you're recovering, perhaps you could stay at Kagome's place? Kagome happens to live alone."
Because she and Yushiro were demons, they used a Blood Demon Art to conceal their house to avoid their own kind. If the scent of an unfamiliar human lingered in the house, it could easily attract trouble.
"Oh my, really? Is that okay? That would be wonderful~" Kagome exclaimed happily.
Uchiha Nagi: "..." Seriously, is this safe? Bringing a strange man home...
And so, after leaving Tamayo's house, Uchiha Nagi followed Kagome to her home.
Night fell, and the bustling streets teemed with people coming and going. There were vendors hawking their wares, beggars pleading along the roadside, and even gaudily dressed courtesans waving handkerchiefs from second-story balconies, soliciting customers.
"Hey there, little brother, care to come up for a cup of tea~?" "My~ What a handsome young man! Sisters, quick, look~!"
Kagome's expression darkened, and she huffily pulled Uchiha Nagi away from the scene.
Uchiha Nagi looked around, a little dazed. No ninja, no war. This was a peaceful world, somewhat reminiscent of the steam age, with electric lights, automobiles, and internal combustion engines.
There were also buildings made of reinforced concrete, and police officers patrolled with batons, only carrying guns in emergencies. If only this world didn't have creatures like demons...
It felt as if Uchiha Nagi had returned to the modern era; everything was so familiar. If history followed its normal course, the internet would probably appear in the near future.
That night, in Kagome's home, Uchiha Nagi sat on a cushion, gazing at the starry sky. He held a musical instrument in one hand and was playing a melody.
Kagome watched Uchiha Nagi, her eyes misty. She had never heard such a beautiful tune. It was as if she were transported into the music itself, a scene involuntarily appearing in her mind: a man playing an instrument in a meadow in her hometown.
When the piece ended, Kagome came back to her senses, her face slightly flushed. "Nagi-kun," she said shyly, "that song is so beautiful. What's its name? Could you teach it to me sometime?"
"Alright." Uchiha Nagi nodded. "It's called 'Scenery of the Hometown.' If you like it, I can teach you."
"Really? Thank you so much, Nagi-kun!"
Hometown... such a distant word. The Naruto world wasn't his home, and this world still wasn't.
After Kagome had gone to rest, Uchiha Nagi took out the scroll he had obtained from Fugaku's home.
Susanoo, Izanami, Izanagi—these were all dojutsu born from the Uchiha clan's millennia of developing the Sharingan to its utmost limits.
Uchiha Nagi wouldn't use the latter two; their side effects were too severe, sacrificing an eye with each use. So, only Susanoo remained.
Susanoo was the technique with the lightest cost, requiring only dojutsu power. However, before the Mangekyo Sharingan evolved into an Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, excessive or frequent use would lead to blindness.
Unless—
Uchiha Nagi glanced at his missing left hand. The Mangekyo's dojutsu power wasn't irrecoverable; it just recovered extremely slowly. Otherwise, Madara wouldn't have been able to fight the First Hokage for so long. But if one transplanted the First Hokage's cells, this recovery speed would increase a hundredfold.
And the First Hokage's cells were something even more terrifying than cancer cells. Fortunately, White Zetsu was made of second-generation, diluted cells, which were relatively milder. Still, transplanting a White Zetsu arm required some experiments to be safe, and luckily, he knew Medical Ninjutsu.
Uchiha Nagi touched his right eye. Because his chakra had been drained, his body's strength had been concentrated on supplying his left eye. Although his right eye had awakened, it was still dormant. Once his body returned to its normal state in a couple of days, he would be able to find out what its ability was.
"Jack of all trades, master of none" was an accurate description of Uchiha Nagi. Due to his greed, and more so because he lacked a Kage-level mentor, he had learned a bit of everything but mastered nothing.
Like Itachi, who was most proficient in Genjutsu; the White Fang, in swordsmanship; Guy, in Taijutsu; the Fourth Hokage, in the Flying Thunder God Technique. Looking at all the main characters, they all had one thing in common: good teachers, some even more than one.
This was also why Uchiha Nagi had agreed to join the Demon Slayer Corps. In the Naruto world, he had no good teacher and couldn't learn the top-tier ninjutsu. His wide but shallow skillset was more a result of helplessness.
However, when Fugaku had lost all hope, he had allowed Nagi to pack up some of the clan's ninjutsu. That would be enough.
Uchiha Nagi picked up a sword, one that was entirely black and unsharpened. It looked more like a decorative sword for ceremonial rituals.
Under the resonance of his Mangekyo Sharingan, Uchiha Nagi sensed a peculiar energy within the blade.
But Uchiha Nagi knew that anything kept in Fugaku's study was definitely not simple. After much thought, he felt the most likely possibility was that this was the legendary sword Itachi had used to defeat Orochimaru.
The Sword of Totsuka—
A sword exclusively for Uchiha, specifically for Susanoo users, passed down through generations. Itachi had left Konoha after the night of the massacre.
The Sword of Totsuka was either given to him by Fugaku before the massacre, or on the night of the massacre itself. Clearly, Fugaku didn't know Itachi had the Mangekyo Sharingan before the massacre, so he couldn't have passed it to him then. That meant it was given to him at the moment of Fugaku's death.
And now, Uchiha Nagi had intercepted it...
[P.S. The author notes: In the anime, the Demon Slayer Corps leader has Tanjiro greet Tamayo at their first meeting, but Tamayo and the Demon Slayer Corps only start cooperating in the mid-stages of the story. The author has moved this up here.]