Cold.
Trembling.
When Uchiha Hideki regained consciousness, he didn't even have time to assess himself—
A teasing voice sounded above him.
"Not bad. You're the smoothest one in this batch."
His pupils contracted.
He looked up—
A young man stood there.
Short black hair. Delicate features. A familiar face.
"…Mo?"
Uchiha Hideki reacted instantly.
His body flipped upright in one smooth motion.
At the same time—
His gaze swept across his surroundings.
An open wilderness.
Desolate.
A faint, nearly invisible barrier surrounded both him and Uchiha Mo.
Roughly ten meters wide.
Beyond it—
Jagged rocks.
Withered grass.
Gray mountains stretching into the distance.
The wind howled.
Faint beastly roars echoed—
Muffled by the barrier.
The three-tomoe Sharingan behind Hideki's glasses had already faded—
But his vigilance had reached its peak.
He didn't question Uchiha Mo directly.
Instead—
In his usual restrained tone, layered with confusion and subtle distance—
He spoke.
"Mo… what is this place?"
"And those words just now… was that your doing?"
"Where are we?"
Uchiha Mo looked at him.
The smile on his lips deepened.
Hideki was acting.
Calm on the surface.
But beneath—
A storm.
If he hadn't seen that three-tomoe Sharingan earlier—
He might have been fooled.
Interesting.
To think—
The Uchiha clan had produced someone like this.
A hidden piece.
And judging by that Sharingan—
His true strength wasn't low.
So why—
Had his name never appeared in the original story?
Uchiha Mo smiled faintly.
"Hideki… this isn't the ninja world."
"This is another world."
"…Another world?"
"That's right."
"Before you came here, you clicked 'Yes,' didn't you?"
"Same as me."
"The only difference is—"
"I arrived earlier."
Uchiha Hideki frowned.
Silent.
Thinking.
If this really was another world—
Why were only Uchiha brought here?
And—
How much earlier had Mo arrived?
His gaze sharpened slightly.
The man in front of him—
Relaxed.
Smiling.
Ignoring the distant beast roars entirely.
This wasn't the same person he knew from the Police Force.
This—
Was someone else.
Seeing this—
Uchiha Mo didn't drag things out.
He casually pointed at Hideki's wrist.
"Everything you want to know is there."
"As for me…"
"I've only been through two worlds before this."
"Barely counts as experience."
Wrist?
Hideki instinctively looked down.
On his left wrist—
A primitive-looking watch had appeared.
At some unknown time.
The moment his attention focused—
Information flooded his mind.
So that's how it is.
The Main God selected individuals—
Sent them to different worlds—
Assigned missions—
Granted rewards.
These people—
Were called Reincarnators.
The barrier around them—
Was initial protection.
Duration:
Five minutes.
As he processed the information—
The display shifted.
[Current World: Low-Level Unknown World]
[Main Mission: Collect natural or biological energy]
[Reward: Based on quantity]
[Side Mission: Explore world background]
[Reward: Based on completion]
[Warning: Disclosure of Main God Space information to non-reincarnators = Erasure]
[Remaining Time: 9 days 23 hours 58 minutes…]
Two missions.
Simple.
No strict requirements.
Return after ten days.
At first glance—
Not dangerous.
As for the warning—
Hideki didn't care.
He had no intention of revealing anything.
Not even to the Uchiha clan.
Too risky.
The clan was already divided.
Hardliners dominated—
But moderates still existed.
And those moderates—
Were effectively the Hokage's eyes.
Not to mention—
ANBU surveillance inside and outside the compound.
Speaking out—
Would only expose him.
Destroy the mask he had carefully built.
Not worth it.
Strength first.
Survival first.
Everything else—
Later.
But—
There was one issue.
Hideki raised his head slightly, hesitating.
"Mo…"
"You said you've been through two worlds already…"
"You must be very strong, right?"
"Can I… follow you?"
He lowered his voice.
A trace of regret.
"If I had known… I wouldn't have pressed 'Yes'…"
Acting.
Still acting.
In front of these eyes—
You can't hide, Haji Hideki.
Uchiha Mo smiled.
Confident.
Relaxed.
"Don't worry."
"We're from the same clan."
"We should look out for each other."
"I'll protect you."
His tone.
His posture.
Perfectly in line with what an Uchiha should be.
Because—
Once an Uchiha sees a path to power—
Even before walking it—
Arrogance begins to show.
"That's great, Mo… thank you."
"I'm… a little scared."
Hideki adjusted his glasses.
His voice trembled—
Just enough.
A flawless performance.
A weak man—
Thrown into an unknown world—
Clinging to familiarity.
"It's fine. Stay close to me."
Uchiha Mo nodded, satisfied.
Enjoying it.
The reliance.
—
Five minutes passed.
The barrier—
Faded.
Disappeared.
Completely.
The world outside surged in.
Dry wind.
Dust.
And—
The beastly roars—
Now close.
Too close.
This was—
Their real entry.
Into this world.
Uchiha Mo circulated his chakra.
Smooth.
Unrestricted.
No difference from the ninja world.
Good.
With how broken the Main God Space was—
It no longer had the ability to adapt world rules.
He had worried—
That chakra might be suppressed.
But—
Chakra was, at its core—
Biological energy.
Once formed—
It existed within the body.
Within the spirit.
Independent of the environment.
Unless specifically suppressed—
It would function normally.
Uchiha Mo exhaled slowly.
The casual look faded.
Replaced by focus.
"Hideki."
"Let's move."
"First—figure out where we are."
"Yes."
Hideki followed immediately.
As if relying on him.
The two moved across the barren terrain.
Alert.
Careful.
Searching for information.
For ninja—
This terrain meant nothing.
Half an hour later—
They stopped.
Below the mountain—
Farmland.
Poor.
But cultivated.
Further ahead—
Faint outlines of houses.
A village.
Remote.
Isolated.
But what caught their attention—
Was the edge of the fields.
A broken stone pavilion.
And beside it—
Several mounds of earth.
Marked with wooden plaques.
"…Graves?"
"Yeah."
"And old ones."
With Sharingan-enhanced vision—
The markings became clear.
Names.
Titles.
Tomb inscriptions.
The two exchanged a glance.
No words.
Then—
They moved.
Descending the mountain.
Because in an unfamiliar world—
Information—
Was everything.