Chapter 2: Adrift
August 7, Year 54 of Konoha.
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Under the pale moonlight, the body of a markedly wounded young man descended down the course of the Naka River.
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He floated adrift, inert, while the current dragged him silently between the shadows of the trees that lined the riverbank.
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Suddenly, the water's inertia was interrupted by an erratic movement of the body.
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The young man began to shake violently, veering from the center of the river toward the shore, as if an internal struggle forced him to react against the current that tried to take him away.
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—"Damn it... ahhh!"—
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A harrowing scream broke the silence of the night. The pain in his head seemed to be unbearable, causing him to kick with desperation.
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Between partial submersions and gulps of murky water, the young man struggled to stay afloat while clutching his own skull with strength.
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In the midst of chaos and pain, a primary survival instinct was activated.
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A faint spark of chakra traveled through his limbs, allowing him to mechanically propel himself toward the shore.
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His fingers sank forcefully into the mud to drag the rest of his body out of the water.
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Once on solid ground, the young man collapsed, coughing violently to empty his lungs.
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The extreme exhaustion finally overcame him, leaving him unconscious on the dampness of the riverbank.
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—"Haaah... haaaah!"— —"Cough, cough!"— —"Ahem!"—
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The sounds of a desperate breath and a harsh cough broke the silence.
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The young man forced air into his lungs and, with great effort, managed to articulate words:
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—"Shit... I thought I would drown,"— What a great start for a second life.
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Making use of the little strength he had, he managed to sit up in the mud, although the world seemed to spin in total darkness.
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His mind was a whirlwind of memories that did not belong to him but that he felt as his own.
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«What was all that? Itachi? Third Hokage? And that damn Danzo...»
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«Am I really in the world of Naruto and am I that idiot child who threw himself into the river thinking that another child as lacking in neurons as him could avoid the conflict between the clan and the village?»
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«No way! I take back what I said, System... it's not a garbage template, it's a suicide template! I just inherited the greatest martyr of Konoha. What follows? Reincarnating into a stone so that some Obito falls on me?»
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The panic rose again through his throat as he felt his face.
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«Not to mention that I'm without my damn eyes! And surely Danzo must have a Root squad looking for my whereabouts to finish the job. The old man must be anxious to complete the eye collection.»
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—"Calm down, shit!"— he exclaimed, giving himself a couple of sharp slaps on the cheeks to force concentration.
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He closed his eyelids and breathed rhythmically, interrupted only by the sound of the water and his own breathing.
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After several minutes, his pulse stabilized. He tried to stand up, but his legs faltered, returning to the ground.
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He grunted; his body was at the limit and forcing it more would only make him faint again.
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He decided that, for now, moving physically was impossible, so he focused his attention on this tool that seemed to have arrived with his new life.
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—"Fine... what are we going to do?"— he murmured to himself with a newly recovered calm. —"Let's open the system status to begin, it can't be worse than being a blind Uchiha in a river."
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[NOTICE]: Energy Points have been acquired.
Quantity: 5 (Cause: Survival of a causal alteration event).
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Immediately after, the screen expanded showing the detailed data:
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[ HOST STATUS ]
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* Name: Shisui Uchiha.
* Age: 16 years.
* Health: 40% (Status: Severely wounded).
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* Power Level: Tier Nominal: 8-C
* Current Operating Tier: 9-A
* Condition: Critical State / Slow Healing / Total Blindness.
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* Energy Systems: System Chakra: Mastery 5 / 10.
* System Natural Energy: Mastery 0 / 10.
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* System Functions: Available Energy Points: 5 (Recently acquired).
* Energy access.
* Dimensional jump.
* Forced Overload.
* [ Show more... ]
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* Passive Skills: Poison Resistance (High Level).
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Shisui "observed" the information mentally with a mixture of relief and confusion.
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«Tier 8-C? Operating 9-A? Well, that doesn't matter now, but it seems that my health is too low... I think I'm one step from the grave.»
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«Hmmm? Five energy points available... It doesn't seem like much, but well, it's the only thing I have right now apart from my chakra, which in my current condition is of little use to me.»
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«That poison resistance must be what keeps me alive after Danzo's "little gift"... but I'm still in an open field. I'm so exposed that even a wild Akamaru could finish me off.»
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Releasing a groan, he began to move away from the shore, crawling with a throbbing pain that ran through his entire body.
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Until his hands touched the rough bark of a nearby tree and he managed to lean his back against it, gasping from the effort.
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«Well... I'm an elite Jonin although severely wounded, but it seems that I'm no longer on the edge of death and I'm healing, even if very slowly. Maybe I have a chance to survive.»
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Shisui stayed pensive for a moment. His attention turned toward something in particular within the status.
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«Dimensional Jump... sounds like my only real way out.»
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«System, deploy information about the Dimensional Jump.» Immediately, a new window was superimposed on his vision:
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[ INFORMATION: DIMENSIONAL JUMP ]
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* Base Cost: 1 Energy Point.
* Mechanics: The jump can be performed with the minimum energy, but the precision and safety of the destination depend on the total investment made.
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* Destination Probability:
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* Initial Investment (1 Energy Point): High probability of landing in "dead" dimensions (without accessible energy sources) as well as energy sources with strong restrictions or being subject to dimensional beings.
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* Scalable Investment: Increases the probability of locating dimensions with available and compatible energy sources that the host can access.
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«A 1-point investment sends me to dead dimensions? Wow, it's the dimensional equivalent of traveling in economy class on an airline without oxygen. I guess with my 5 points I could get a ticket to "tourist class with luck".»
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Shisui let out a trembling sigh, leaning his head against the wood of the tree. Suddenly, a sharp sting of pain pierced his skull. An echo of Shisui's original will.
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—"Yes, yes, yes... I know,"— I murmur through my teeth. —"You want to protect your clan and I want my revenge. Fine, deal done! We are in the same boat. Although technically you sank the boat in the Naka River."
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His fingers buried themselves in the wet earth while he weighed his options with a growing bitterness.
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«What is better? Wait here until I can move enough to hide? And then what? Try to survive in the forest until I regain strength?»
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He shook his head slightly. «If Danzo's men find me before I can get on my feet, there will be no second chance. It's a bet, but staying here is a sure death sentence.»
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«Fine, let's review my supplies before performing a blind jump... Yes, what a bad joke,» he thought with a bitter grimace.
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He still kept his Tantō. The touch of the handle of his small sword provided a minimum but necessary sense of security.
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Despite the total darkness, his hands, trained by years of missions, recognized each object with precision; he didn't need to see to know exactly what resources he had left.
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Then, he felt his tool bag. His fingers brushed the cold metal of three kunais and five shurikens; he also located the relief of the wire rolls, calculating that he would have at least a couple of dozen meters left together with four explosive tags.
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Finally, his fingers found the case that contained the emergency provisions. He opened it carefully, feeling the compact spheres inside.
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«Six food pills. Thank goodness, they are still intact.»
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Shisui hesitated for a second, but then took out one of the pills and took it to his mouth.
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He knew it was a risk; in his state, forcing his metabolism was like throwing wood on a fire, but he needed to be as stable as possible for the trip. Upon swallowing it, the reaction was almost immediate.
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He felt a wave of scorching heat running through his chakra channels, a growing tension that tightened his muscles to the point of pain.
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His senses, now deprived of sight, sharpened violently.
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The sound of the river, which before was a murmur, became a deafening roar; he could hear the rubbing of the leaves meters away and even the erratic heartbeat of his own heart thumping in his ears like a war drum.
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It was an auditory overstimulation that made him feel every vibration of the forest with a painful clarity.
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He gasped, clenching his teeth while the system processed the energetic impulse. In his mind, a notification flashed clearly:
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[NOTIFICATION]: Stimulant consumption detected.
[HEALTH UPDATED]: 60% (Temporary effect of military pill).
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The pain in his sockets decreased slightly and the numbness of his limbs was replaced by an artificial and vibrant energy.
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It would not last long, but it was enough. After performing the count and feeling the improvement, he let out a last sigh that finally dissipated his doubts. There was no going back.
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—"System..."— he whispered with a raspy voice. —"Execute the Dimensional Jump. Use the five available energy points. «Eat that Danzo, you won't even be able to smell my gases!!»"
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[NOTICE]: 5 Energy Points have been consumed.
Searching for dimensions at random through scalable investment [processing]
3rd Rank Dimension [established]
Initiating transfer [in progress]
Time dilation [1/20] the time dilation can be canceled or doubled with one energy point in this dimension.
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For a second, it seemed that the forest stayed in absolute silence.
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With a small flash of almost imperceptible light, Shisui's body transformed into a small particle of light that seemed to vanish into the air, leaving behind the bank of the Naka River completely empty.
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Author's Note:
Hello everyone! Sorry for the wait. I hope you like this chapter, and I hope the translation is clear enough for everyone. If you find anything you're not happy with, please let me know. I'm always reading your feedback!
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