Three years had passed since the skirmish in the Frost Country. In the world of shinobi, three years is an eternity; in the Third Shinobi World War, it is a lifetime.
Dan Uchiha was now nine years old.
He stood at the edge of a cliff overlooking the Land of Grass. He had grown taller, his frame lean and corded with the kind of dense muscle that only millions of repetitions could produce. His face had lost its childhood roundness, replaced by the sharp, cold angles of a veteran.
[System Status Check]
Host: Dan Uchiha (Age 9)
Total Training Hours Equivalent: 142 Years
Mastery: * Sharingan: 3-Tomoe (Fully Matured)
Nature Transformation: Fire (Master), Lightning (Master), Earth (Adept)
Special Skill: Void-Step (Evolution of Raiton-Shunshin)
Clone Status: Currently practicing Sage Mode Theory (0.04% Progress).
Behind him, the grass rustled. Dan didn't turn. He knew the chakra signature well. It was sharp, focused, and carried a hint of ozone.
"The orders just came in from the Hokage," Kakashi said, stepping up beside him.
Kakashi was now a Jonin, the youngest in the history of the Leaf. He wore the flak jacket with a cold pride, though the loss of his father, Sakumo, still hung over him like a heavy mist.
"Kannabi Bridge?" Dan asked.
"You already knew," Kakashi noted, not surprised. Dan always seemed to know things before they were whispered. "The Stone is using that bridge to funnel thousands of troops into the Land of Fire. If it doesn't fall, Konoha falls."
"And Team Minato is the hammer," Dan added.
"Minato-sensei is being deployed to the front lines to draw away the main force," Kakashi explained, his hand tightening on the hilt of his father's blade. "I'm leading the sabotage team. Me, Obito, and Rin."
Dan finally turned. His three-tomoe Sharingan caught the light of the setting sun. "And me?"
"You're the 'Ghost Variable,'" Kakashi said. "Minato-sensei doesn't want you attached to a squad. You are to operate as a solo interceptor. Your job is to ensure no reinforcements reach the bridge while we set the tags."
"A suicide mission," Dan remarked flatly.
"For anyone else, yes," Kakashi replied. For a brief moment, the mask of the cold Jonin slipped, and Dan saw the boy who had once shared a training ground with him. "Don't die, Dan. If you're not there to push me, I might actually get bored."
"Focus on your own team, Kakashi," Dan said, turning back to the horizon. "Obito is still distracted, and Rin is too kind for this mission. Watch their backs."
The night of the mission was suffocating. The air was thick with the smell of damp earth and the distant boom of explosive tags.
Dan moved through the canopy like a literal shadow. His Presence Masking was now so advanced that unless he was looking directly at someone, he was practically invisible to sensory ninjas.
In his mind, the System was screaming with data.
[Warning: High-Density Chakra Signatures detected 2km North.]
[Identifying: Iwagakure 'Hidden Earth' Battalion. Estimated count: 50.]
Fifty against one, Dan thought. The clone has been practicing the 'Multi-Shadow Clone' theory for six months. Let's see if the real body can handle the strain.
Dan bit his thumb and slammed his hands onto a tree branch. He didn't use the standard hand signs. He used the efficiency his system had refined over a century of simulated time.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu."
Poof. Poof. Poof.
Three clones appeared. Unlike normal clones, these were reinforced by the System's synchronization. They possessed 25% of his actual stamina—which, given Dan's training, was more than most Chunin.
"You know the drill," Dan told them. "No survivors. No witnesses."
The clones vanished into the dark.
Dan himself headed for the main path. He reached a narrow gorge—the only way for the Iwa reinforcements to reach Kannabi Bridge in time. He stood in the center of the path, his chokutō drawn.
The sound of rhythmic thumping grew louder. The Iwa battalion appeared, a sea of brown vests and stone-hard faces. At the front was a massive man with a scarred face.
"A kid?" the leader barked, skidding to a halt. "Konoha is truly desperate. Move, brat, or we'll grind you into the dirt."
Dan didn't speak. He simply activated his Sharingan. The three red commas spun violently, merging into a blur.
"First Gate: The Gate of Opening... Open."
A green aura exploded around Dan. He had spent two years having his clone practice the Eight Inner Gates. While he couldn't go beyond the Fourth Gate without risking permanent damage to his nine-year-old vessels, the First Gate was enough to turn him into a god of physics.
"He's a monster! Kill him!"
The Iwa ninja lunged.
Dan moved. To the Iwa ninjas, it looked like the boy had simply turned into a bolt of black lightning.
Void-Step.
He appeared in the center of their formation. His blade moved in a perfect circle—the Uchiha Style: Halo Dance. In a single motion, five men were decapitated. Blood sprayed into the air, but not a single drop touched Dan's cloak.
"Earth Style: Earth Pillar!"
The ground beneath Dan erupted. He leaped a hundred feet into the air, his silhouette blotting out the moon.
"Fire Release..." Dan's lungs expanded to an impossible degree. "...Great Fire Destruction!"
This wasn't a fireball. It was a sea of flames. A massive wall of fire, fifty feet wide, cascaded down the gorge. The Iwa ninjas screamed as the oxygen was sucked out of the air. The stone walls of the canyon began to melt, turning into slag.
As Dan descended through the smoke, his Sharingan caught a movement. The leader had survived, protected by a dense earth dome. He emerged, his skin turned to stone—the Earth Spear technique.
"I'll crush your skull!" the leader roared, throwing a punch that could shatter a mountain.
Dan didn't dodge. He sheathed his sword.
His right hand began to chirp. At first, it sounded like a single bird. Then a hundred. Then a thousand. But the sound was different than Kakashi's Chidori. It wasn't white; it was a deep, unstable violet.
[System Note: Technique 'Purple Electricity'—Pre-Calculated execution.]
Dan thrust his hand forward. The violet lightning didn't just pierce; it vibrated at a frequency that shattered the molecular bonds of the "stone" skin.
Crr-ack!
Dan's hand went straight through the leader's chest, out the other side, clutching a still-beating heart.
The leader gasped, his eyes wide with disbelief. "What... are you?"
"A ghost," Dan whispered.
He pulled his hand back, and the leader collapsed. Dan stood among the charred remains of the battalion, his chest heaving. The 'Sync Fatigue' was hitting him hard. His muscles felt like they were being shredded from the inside.
[Warning: Physical Body at 88% Stress Limit. Recommending immediate withdrawal.]
"Not yet," Dan wheezed. "The bridge... I have to check on the bridge."
He used his last bit of strength to flicker toward the Kannabi Bridge. But as he arrived, he saw it.
The bridge was destroyed. The mission was a success.
But there, amidst the rubble, was Kakashi, kneeling in the dirt. His left eye was covered in blood, a new scar slashing across it. Rin was crying, her hands over her mouth.
And Obito... Obito was nowhere to be seen. Or rather, half of him was visible beneath a massive boulder.
Dan felt a cold spike in his heart. Even with all his training, even with the System, he hadn't been there. He had been killing fifty nobodies while his friend was crushed by the weight of destiny.
Kakashi looked up. His new eye—a Sharingan—was spinning. "Dan... you're late."
"I know," Dan said, his voice hollow.
He walked toward the boulder. He looked at Obito, whose life was fading. The System in Dan's head buzzed.
[Biological Analysis: Subject 'Obito Uchiha' is still viable for 120 seconds.]
[Would you like the Clone to calculate 'Surgical Extraction' chances?]
No, Dan thought, his eyes narrowing as he sensed a dark, swirling presence deep underground—something ancient and white. Zetsu was already there. If Dan interfered now, Madara would likely kill them all to protect his prize.
Dan stood over Obito. "You idiot," he whispered.
"Dan..." Obito coughed, blood bubbling at his lips. "Take care... of them. And... happy birthday... I didn't get you a gift... but Kakashi got my eye..."
"I don't want a gift, Obito. I want you to get up," Dan said, though he knew it was a lie for the sake of a dying friend.
As the life faded from Obito's eyes (or so it seemed), Dan felt a shift in the Eternal Mirror Space. The spectral clone, which had been practicing Sage Mode, suddenly stopped. It turned and looked at Dan.
The Mirror Space turned from silver to a bloody, weeping red.
[Evolution Triggered: Extreme Emotional Resonance.]
[Sharingan Evolution: Mangekyō Sharingan Awakened.]
The world didn't just slow down now. It stopped. Dan looked at the falling rain, and each droplet was a crystal he could reach out and touch.
But the price... the price was written in the blood of his kin.
Dan looked at Kakashi, who had fainted from the strain of his own new eye. He looked at Rin, who was shattered.
"System," Dan said internally, his voice trembling with a new, dark power. "Forget Sage Mode. Upload the Mangekyō abilities for 24/7 training. I don't care about the strain. I don't care about the blindness. Fix it. Master it."
[Command Accepted. Beginning 'Eternal Path' Calibration.]
Dan picked up Kakashi and signaled to Rin. "We're leaving. The war isn't over. It's just beginning."
As they retreated, Dan looked back at the pile of rocks one last time. He knew Obito wasn't dead. He could feel the distortion in space.
Madara Uchiha, Dan thought, his new Mangekyō pattern—a spinning black sun—flaring with murderous intent. You think you're the architect of this world? You're just a blueprint. I'm the one who's going to tear it down.