Chapter 1 – The Dream of a Forgotten Life
The training field behind the academy shimmered with heat. Dust drifted between the wooden dummies and the rows of targets painted with black rings. Dozens of students waited for their turn, nerves hidden behind half-smiles.
“Next pair—Uchiha Yunli and Yuhi Kurenai!”
Yunli exhaled slowly, stepping onto the field. His posture was neat, his movements measured—typical of the clan’s discipline. He pressed his palm against the shuriken pouch at his thigh. Three years of drills… don’t choke now.
Across from him, a girl with dark crimson eyes formed a seal. Kurenai’s expression held a quiet confidence. Her father stood near the instructors, arms folded—watching every chakra ripple she released.
“Begin!”
The command snapped through the air. Yunli moved first. Three shuriken flashed from his fingers, the first two straight, the last curving wide. A flick of invisible wire drew the outer one back toward Kurenai’s blind spot.
Ping! Steel met steel—Kurenai’s kunai deflected it mid-flight. A thin mist of chakra shimmered around her. Yunli narrowed his eyes. Genjutsu? Already?
He pressed his hands together. “Clone Technique!”
Two perfect copies of him scattered left and right. Kurenai’s gaze flickered; one of the clones burst into smoke under her counter-attack. The other swung behind her—but she vanished like a mirage.
Substitution Jutsu… no, that felt strange.
The world tilted. The trees around the field wavered like reflections on water. For an instant, Yunli saw two moons hanging in the sky. A low hum filled his ears.
> “Genjutsu—Release!”
He pushed chakra outward, but the air rippled instead of breaking. Kurenai had lost control—her chakra was too dense, too deep. The illusion folded over him, layer by layer, until everything went black.
---
Neon lights.
Rain on asphalt.
A flicker of blue across glass.
Yunli stood in the middle of a city he shouldn’t know. Cars roared past. Billboards glowed with words he’d once read every day. His heart raced. This… this is—my world.
Memories crashed through him like thunder: the bright screen of a game, the laughter of friends, the sudden impact, then silence. His name—his old name—echoed faintly before fading into the hiss of rain.
> You wanted another chance, a voice murmured inside the storm. This is it.
The city shattered.
---
Yunli gasped, dropping to one knee on the training ground. His vision burned crimson. He could see every grain of dust, every strand of Kurenai’s hair as she collapsed from chakra exhaustion. The proctor shouted something, but the sound came from far away.
His reflection in a fragment of metal stared back—eyes red, a single tomoe spinning lazily around the pupil.
Sharingan…?
No—something deeper stirred.
> [System initializing...]
[Emotional resonance detected.]
[Bond Level 1 — Connection: Kurenai Yuhi.]
The digital whisper faded, leaving only the rustle of leaves. Yunli touched the corner of his eye, trembling.
I remember. I died… and now I’m here. The Uchiha clan, the wars, everything that’s coming.
He looked toward the sky, where the sun was beginning to set over the Hokage Monument.
> “If this world is destined to drown in hatred,” he whispered, “then I’ll change it—even if I have to fight fate itself