Pain. That was the first thing I registered. A searing, blinding pain that felt like a thousand needles driving into my brain. It wasn't just a headache; it was as if my very skull was trying to crack apart. I was lying on something soft, yet my body felt heavy and broken. As I fought to open my eyes, the pain flared, and for a second, my vision was a swirling vortex of red and black.
Warning: Premature activation of the Sharingan has resulted in a critical power drain. Immediate rest is required.
The System's voice was a cool, clinical balm against the fiery agony in my mind. It was a strange contrast, this detached, mechanical voice against the backdrop of my own human suffering. I forced my eyes open, blinking a few times as the world swam into focus. I was in a hospital bed. Not the high-tech ones from my old world, but a simple wooden frame with a clean, white futon. The room was small and sterile, smelling faintly of disinfectant and fresh linens.
A woman was sitting beside me, her head bowed. Her hair was a dark cascade, and I couldn't see her face. My voice was a dry, raspy whisper. "Where... am I?"
She looked up, and I saw a face that was both unfamiliar and strangely familiar. She was a nurse from the Uchiha district clinic, a minor character I'd barely registered in the show. Her eyes were tired and red, as if she'd been crying, but a look of profound relief washed over her face.
"Oh, thank goodness," she breathed, her hand reaching out to touch my forehead. "You're at the Konoha hospital. We found you on the street near the Uchiha district. You were unconscious. They... they said you were the only one..."
Her voice trailed off, thick with emotion. The only one. The words were a stark, cold blade. Itachi and Tobi hadn't just spared me; they had left me for someone else to find, someone who would think I was a survivor of the massacre. I was a ghost. A forgotten Uchiha.
The System's voice returned, this time with a new, a different tone—a tone of opportunity.
Evolution Sequence complete. New bloodline parameters established. User: Uchiha Namekaze (Unknown Uchiha Branch) Bloodline Potential: 35% (Increased due to Awakening and System integration) Current Status: Genin-level Chakra, One-Tomoe Sharingan (unstable) System Functionality: Evolution, Status, Shop, Mission
My mind reeled. Uchiha Namekaze? That wasn't a name I knew, but it felt right, somehow. The name of the boy whose body I now inhabited. And the System... it wasn't just a survival guide anymore. It had become a full-fledged interface. I closed my eyes, and a translucent, blue-hued screen appeared in my mind's eye. It showed a basic character sheet: my stats, my skills, and four glowing icons at the bottom.
I tentatively selected the Evolution icon.
Evolution Module: The cornerstone of the System. By completing Missions and acquiring Evolution Points (EP), the user can evolve their bloodline, unlocking new abilities and strengthening existing ones. Prematurely activating the Sharingan has granted an initial bonus of 10 EP.
Current EP: 10
I felt a surge of adrenaline, a strange mix of dread and hope. This wasn't a game. This was real. And this "System" was the key to not just surviving, but thriving in a world of ninjas and monsters. My eyes, no longer burning with agony, still felt… different. I could feel a low thrum of power behind them, a latent force waiting to be unleashed. I could still see the world in its regular colors, but I knew, with an unshakable certainty, that I could call upon that crimson sight again.
I spent the next few days in the hospital, recovering. My memories of the massacre were a blur of screams, shadows, and crimson eyes. I spoke to no one about what I had seen. The nurses, the doctors, the few kind villagers who came to see the "sole survivor"—they all thought I had been a child hiding in a closet, a lucky boy who had escaped Itachi's notice.
I played the part. I cried when I was alone. I made sure my face was pale and my eyes haunted when someone was around. I was a child who had lost everything. The act was disturbingly easy. But beneath the facade, my mind was racing. I was in a new body, in a new world, with a new destiny. The fear of Itachi and Tobi, of the entire brutal reality of the Naruto universe, had been replaced by a cold, hard determination.
The System's final whisper echoed in my mind from that night: [Evolution Sequence… Begin.]
It was my new mantra. This was my new life. Sasuke was out there somewhere, alone, nursing a festering hatred. I had to find him. I had to get stronger. I had to make sure he didn't walk the path of revenge.
But first, I needed to learn how to use these new eyes, and this new System, without drawing unwanted attention. The world had spared me once, but I knew that luck wouldn't last forever. I had survived the night of blood and shadows, but the real test had only just begun. I was an anomaly. A ghost. And the dead tend to attract attention.
End of chapter 2