"Brother Ran, goodbye!"
"Goodbye."
"Hey, you jerk—can I borrow this book and take it home to read?"
"No. You damaged it last time. Come back after you've paid me back!"
"Did you really write this story? Where's the sequel?"
"I really did. Don't worry—when it's finished, you'll be the first to read it."
Uchiha Ran smiled as he patiently indulged the group of kids in front of him.
Only after everyone left happily did he begin packing up his things at an unhurried pace.
His movements were slow and gentle, as if performing a solemn ritual—or as if he were trying to cling to these last scraps of ordinary life.
And they truly were worth cherishing.
Because after tonight, the Uchiha clan would cease to exist.
"Konoha… the Uchiha… Heh. God really does love cruel jokes."
Uchiha Ran was a transmigrator who had arrived in this world more than ten years ago. For the first few years, however, he had lived in a fog, genuinely believing himself to be a native-born Uchiha.
It wasn't until seven years ago, during the Nine-Tails' attack—when his "parents" in this world both died—that the shock finally forced his memories of his previous life to awaken.
From that moment on, Ran had been working in the shadows, trying to save the clan from its doomed fate.
Not because he felt any deep attachment to the Uchiha. He didn't before, and probably never would.
Saving the clan was purely for his own sake.
Unfortunately, after years of effort, he had achieved nothing.
Konoha's injustice, the Uchiha's so-called "madness," and the secret manipulation of hidden hands behind the scenes—this historical tide was not something a "worthless" person like him, someone who couldn't even awaken the Sharingan, could possibly overturn.
"Fortunately… there's still a turning point."
Holding a candle, Uchiha Ran descended into the basement. He passed stacks of wooden crates and bookshelves until he reached a sword rack.
He steadied the candle and reached out, taking down a long sword before drawing it from its sheath.
By the flickering light, he examined it carefully.
The blade was about eighty centimeters long, its edge a pale silver-white. The guard was a simple oval, and the hilt was wrapped in blue-green cloth.
Cracks spread across the blade, as though it might shatter at any moment.
Ran gripped the sword and casually flourished it—then suddenly drove it straight into the ground.
Despite the solid stone floor, the instant the blade touched it, the surface softened like tofu.
The sword sank in effortlessly. From the ground, a strange black, sludge-like substance surged out, quickly crawling up Ran's body.
"Since saving the entire Uchiha clan is impossible… I'll settle for saving a few promising seedlings. I even have to snatch eyes from Obito and Danzo—this is way too hard for me…"
Muttering to himself, Uchiha Ran slowly sank into the ground, disappearing bit by bit.
---
The moon was bright, the stars few.
Smoke rose from kitchens all across the village as people prepared dinner, soothing their tired bodies.
Yet in this moment of everyday warmth, a massacre had already begun within the Uchiha clan compound.
"Uchiha Itachi—why are you doing this…?"
"Traitor! You betrayed the clan!"
"Fugaku! This is the son you raised?!"
"Ah—!"
Screams echoed one after another.
Uchiha Itachi—the clan's most outstanding young genius, the clan head's son, the future leader once entrusted with everyone's hopes, the wielder of the Mangekyō Sharingan—had raised his blade against his own people.
No one could stop him.
Before the Mangekyō Sharingan, even a Three-Tomoe Sharingan was utterly suppressed.
Another clansman fell, crying out in despair.
He was an ordinary Uchiha who had never awakened his eyes and had no talent as a ninja. He ran a small fabric shop in the compound and lived a simple, unremarkable life.
Itachi flicked the blood from his short sword and turned toward the adjacent room, frowning slightly.
Strange. He had clearly sensed someone alive inside earlier. If he remembered correctly, it should have been the family's daughter—but her presence had vanished.
"Scared to death?" Itachi thought.
That would be fine. At least he wouldn't have to do it himself.
He pushed open the door and swept his gaze across the room, his frown deepening.
Gone?
The room was empty. Aside from a few simple tables and chairs and a small bed, there was no sign of anyone.
There was no way someone could be hiding under the bed.
"Genjutsu?"
Itachi instinctively activated his ocular power, but found no trace of illusion.
"Or did they escape?"
That possibility was even more unlikely. How could a child who had only just entered the Ninja Academy escape silently right under his nose?
The suspicion was troubling—but now was not the time to investigate.
"I hope you really did escape…"
With that thought, Itachi vanished from the courtyard and leapt into another nearby yard. Soon, the screams rose once more.
---
In an unknown black space—
"Ran… Brother Ran? How did you…?"
Uchiha Shizuka stared at Uchiha Ran in disbelief as he suddenly appeared before her, along with several others behind him.
Some she recognized, some she didn't. Some were close friends, others barely acquaintances.
But without exception, each of them wore the Uchiha clan crest.
"I'm here to save you, of course. What—hard to believe?"
"But… I was clearly at home… Right—Brother Ran, what about Mom and Dad…?"
Shizuka suddenly snapped back to reality.
She had watched her mother die with her own eyes—then her father.
"I'm sorry. I couldn't save them."
Uchiha Ran shook his head, regret evident on his face.
If he could, he would have wanted to save every single member of the Uchiha clan. Only with enough people could the clan truly be called powerful.
But this Shadow Space was still in its early stages, and the number of people it could hold was extremely limited.
If he wanted to save anyone, he had to choose—only those with potential, those worth saving.
Shizuka's parents were ordinary Uchiha. Saving them would accomplish nothing and would only waste precious slots.
"How… how could this be…"
Shizuka's eyes went wide as tears silently streamed down her cheeks.
Ran turned his head away, then lifted his gaze—seeing upward.
The Shadow Space currently covered only a small section of the clan compound, but it was enough for him to sense parts of what was happening outside.
Most of the clan members were already dead. Only scattered resistance remained.
Sasuke should already be on his way home. The brothers' fateful meeting was about to begin.
Ran shifted his gaze beyond the clan compound.
There was still one more person he needed to save.
---
The Konoha Military Police Force headquarters was now strewn with corpses.
Obito looked at the young girl in front of him, a cold sneer on his face as he raised his weapon.
"Three-Tomoe Sharingan. You've got some talent."
The weapon swung down.
Clang—
The sound of metal colliding rang out—but the expected sharp pain never came.
"Yo, Sister Izumi. Why are you in such a sorry state? Didn't you used to love lecturing me?"
Familiar clothes.
A familiar voice.
A familiar back.
Uchiha Izumi's eyes widened, little by little.