The Uchiha woman calmly enters the village while still holding me. As soon as we step in, I notice the atmosphere in the village, along with everyone's clothing. Some are dressed in black from head to toe, wearing gray armor.
Konoha smelled of dry smoke and soldier sweat, and the walls looked cracked from the exhaustion of war.
Then I see three very special people. A guy with snake-like features, an old pervert with wild white hair, and a well-endowed blonde woman with low twin-tails.
[The Sannin? But those outfits... they're from the Second Shinobi War era... I'm kinda screwed, huh?]
The blonde woman looks at me with a bit of pity, as if saying: Another orphan born of this conflict.
Yeah, I'd look at me with pity too—especially knowing that if I end up in that damn orphanage, there's a VERY, and I mean VEEEERY high chance I'll become one of Danzo's test subjects.
Honestly, I'd rather die than become that bastard's experiment, so I try clinging tighter to the Uchiha woman carrying me. I look her in the eyes, but there's no reaction... Damn evil Uchiha, can't even show pity to a baby? Now I kinda get Tobirama, you know?
I won't give up. Even if this woman isn't the one, I'll try everything to get adopted, so I cry the entire way, hoping someone pities this poor baby. Come on, please, adopt me. I don't want to end up in that bastard's lab.
But everyone ignores me. Well, it was expected. Orphans aren't exactly rare in this era.
sigh — I sigh in my heart from pure frustration, but honestly, I don't even know if I'm useful enough to be valuable to Danzo at this age. Maybe I should give up?
But then, the woman enters a compound with Uchiha symbols and is greeted by some clan members.
"What happened?" one Uchiha asked. "You went on an escort mission and came back with a baby. Is that your secret child?"
The Uchiha woman carrying me just smacked him with a stick she found. "Don't say stupid things," she exclaimed. "The client died on the way, and this is her son."
The man looked guilty, bowed in apology, and left.
The woman carried me straight to a house, laid me on a blanket, and left.
Hey, it's not a good idea to leave a baby alone in a house, you know?
But putting that aside, I'm confused. Weren't they going to take me to an orphanage? Not complaining, but still... confused.
...
...
Being a baby sucks, you know? You can't move how you want, can't get around, can't see shit, can't talk. What am I supposed to do now, cry?
The Uchiha woman comes back into the room, wraps me in diapers, and gives me something that looks like a bottle. She feeds me, and my hunger fades.
The upside of having a dead mom is not having to go through the awkward process of sucking a stranger's tits. (Yeah, she's my mom, which honestly makes it more uncomfortable.)
Apparently, this expressionless woman adopted me. I guess I won't be Danzo's lab rat after all, but still, being the adopted child of an Uchiha is kinda like being adopted by Mexicans in the U.S. under Trump's rule, you know? Like that Tobirama meme wearing a "Make Konoha Great Again" hat while the Uchiha snarl behind a chain-link fence.
As my adoptive mother walked around with me, I overheard conversations—news, rumors, and info about this woman. Apparently, her name is Hinako Uchiha. She recently lost her son, which is why she adopted me. She's also a cousin of the future clan head, Fugaku, and a special jounin.
Not bad. That means I can somewhat keep tabs on the lunatic Itachi and the emo Sasuke, so I'll know when they start doing dumb shit.
The Nine-Tails attack hasn't happened yet, and Itachi hasn't been born, so I'm safe for now. But I'll need to work hard so that lunatic doesn't kill me for protecting his brother, who apparently matters more than the entire clan, even the ones who had nothing to do with that dumb coup.
Time passes, and I'm at least 3 years old. I was born roughly 14 years before Naruto. How do I know? The Gekko clan recently celebrated the birth of a boy named Hayate. Plus, while my mother was carrying me, I spotted a mini Might Guy and a mini Kakashi.
A few months after I was born, the Second Shinobi War was officially declared, and later the Sannin were named. So according to my math... I was born in September, I think. Doesn't matter much, my adoptive mom doesn't seem to care anyway. But seriously, if you're going to be that indifferent, why adopt me?
Although honestly, I don't have the right to complain. At least I'm not some lab rat. That's a win, right?
Now and then, I observe the state of other kids. I realize life isn't treating me too badly. I have an adoptive mother. I don't even want to imagine how bad it is for the ones who became Danzo's experiments. I was lucky, but I wish that ugly old man would leave them alone.
According to my calculations, in a few months Kumogakure will try to kidnap Kushina, and that'll make her fall for Minato. I don't know if it was destiny or a plot by that indecisive geezer Hiruzen, but there it is: Minato rushing to save his girl.
Some more time passes, and it happens just like I said. Kushina is kidnapped and Minato saves her. I admit it, Kushina is cute. I'd go save her too if I could. Plus, come on, she's the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. It's like Russia trying to steal nukes from the United—I mean States. Obviously, they wouldn't allow that.
All talk, no action. My life isn't exactly thrilling right now, so let's skip forward a bit.
I'm now 5. I've never seen my adoptive mother smile once. Then again, my previous life was the same, so I'm used to it.
She sends me to the ninja academy now. Since I'm technically part of the Uchiha clan, even if adopted, I get in easily after passing Hiruzen's tests... Let's hope that old man doesn't try to brainwash me with his "Will of Fire" bullshit and garbage like "everything I do is for the village" (BULLSHIT).
Something happened in the Uchiha clan. Some kids tried to bully me for not being a real Uchiha, just adopted. So I handled it the Uchiha way: I grabbed a stick and beat the crap out of them. That'll teach them not to talk shit. Besides, I knew Uchiha only learn when you hit them enough. Madara, Obito, and Sasuke taught me that. Shisui was so naive, not even beatings could fix him.
After that brawl, the Uchiha kids left me alone. Some even started admiring me.
Some would say hitting kids with a stick is immature, but hey—they're Uchiha. Everyone says reasoning with an Uchiha is like reasoning with a donkey. The only language they understand is violence. I just followed the tradition. Even the grown-ups started smiling at me when I walked by, alone or with my mom. So I guess it's fine.
When my mom takes me to the academy, I see a tiny Kakashi with his mask covering half his face. Not surprising, but I wonder if it's uncomfortable for him.
I also see little Might Guy with his usual energy. I like that guy.
So finally, something kinda interesting: I'm part of Kakashi and Guy's generation. Not sure if I should feel sad or lucky.
I'm tired of being stuck in the ninja academy for so long, so I plan to work hard to graduate early. I don't mind spending time with my classmates, but I don't have the luxury of wasting six years in school. I need to get strong as soon as possible so not even Danzo can touch me. In this world, being strong isn't optional. It's necessary if you want a peaceful life without anyone messing with you.
Maybe it's Uchiha pride or maybe she genuinely cares, but my adoptive mother started training me when I was four. She taught me shuriken throwing, hand signs, chakra theory, and how to control my chakra—tree walking and water walking included.
"Haha! I'm Jesus, worship me!" I laugh while walking on water.
"Who's that?" Hinako asked at my nonsense, but I just told her it was a name I heard somewhere.
She also gave me some slips of paper and told me to channel chakra into them. I did, and the paper crumpled, split in two, then burst into flames.
Hinako looked shocked, and for the first time, I saw a faint smile at the corners of her mouth.
She explained the paper's purpose: to reveal chakra nature. Apparently, I have affinities for wind, lightning, and fire. She said it's rare to have more than one, so she felt proud of me.
That was the moment I stopped seeing her as just a cold Uchiha. That day, I finally saw her as a mother... and that scared me more than I expected.
You know, it doesn't feel bad seeing your mom proud of you. I was used to being called a useless failure or a mistake in my past life, but seeing her happy like that... I don't know. It lit something in my chest.
Even if Hinako seems like a strict mom, sometimes I catch her staring at a photo of a boy where she's smiling... That must be her son before he died. I want to ask, but I don't think it's the right time.
"Kazuki," she whispers while trying to hold back a sob.
That hits me hard. We've been together for five years. I've grown attached. I want to make her happy and proud, so that's another motivation for the future.
But in the end, I admit I'm terrified of growing too attached. I'm scared of disappointing her. And we're still at war... with another one coming.
I'm scared of losing her.
That's why I want to become stronger: to protect her, to prevent the disappearance of this light I've somehow found in the middle of this rotten world.