"You there, watch your tone when speaking to a captain! Show some respect!"
Seeing Uchiha Duan's apparent arrogance, a member of the Konoha Police Force couldn't bear it any longer. He immediately pointed at Duan and shouted in anger.
Duan merely glanced at the man blankly.
Shua—
The officer's face turned pale, his breath caught in his throat. It felt like Duan's eyes had turned into blades, silently slashing at his neck.
"Ah!"
He staggered backward, clutching his throat in panic, cold sweat dripping down his face.
Was it genjutsu?
Uchiha Inahide frowned deeply.
No. There was no chakra fluctuation, no Sharingan activated—this wasn't an illusion.
It was pressure.
Duan hadn't used a single jutsu. Just his spiritual aura alone—an overwhelming sense of killing intent—was enough to crush the will of a trained shinobi.
Terrifying.
"We're leaving."
Inahide snorted coldly, shooting Duan a long, complicated look before ordering his men to collect the bodies and intelligence gathered from the Amegakure spies. They turned and left in haste.
"Let's go back too."
Duan spoke to Samui without emotion, then calmly began walking home.
"...Oh." Samui quickly picked up her bag and trotted after him.
Far above.
On the rooftop of a nearby building, two masked Anbu operatives silently observed the scene with expressionless eyes.
They had arrived nearly at the same time as the Konoha Police.
In Konoha, while the Uchiha-led Police Force maintained law and order inside the village, the Anbu—operatives under the Hokage's direct command—handled covert missions and high-risk targets.
The ambiguous division of authority had led to friction between the two groups.
In recent years, as Konoha's leadership increasingly marginalized the Uchiha clan, the tension had only worsened.
Originally, the two Anbu agents had intended to intervene.
But they hadn't expected Duan to dispatch five enemy spies with ruthless efficiency before anyone else could act.
"Who was that guy?"
"He's Uchiha. We need to report this to the Hokage after verifying his identity."
After a brief exchange, the two silently began tailing Duan.
---
Ten minutes later.
Duan and Samui returned to the gym.
He opened the door, glanced briefly at the now-quiet alley, then stepped inside.
Was he being watched?
High above, the two Anbu operatives exchanged glances.
They noted the gym's name: Department of Body Modification.
One stayed behind to continue surveillance, while the other used the Instant Body Technique to vanish, headed for the Hokage Tower.
---
Inside the gym.
"Curator, thank you for saving me today."
Samui bowed deeply, unintentionally offering Duan a revealing view of her cleavage.
Bottomless.
"You're covered in blood. Go clean up first."
Duan's voice was indifferent as he picked up several large bags of groceries and walked into the kitchen.
Samui bit her lip, watching him disappear, then turned and went to the bathroom. The sound of water soon filled the air.
Bang.
Duan closed the refrigerator, finished sorting the food, and walked into the retreat room.
To him, cultivation was a balance of motion and stillness.
He had built the gym himself, not only installing weight and cardio areas, but also a meditation room—a quiet space decorated with understated elegance.
At its center was a large yin-yang Taijitu inlaid in the floor.
Lighting a stick of sandalwood, Duan inhaled deeply as calming smoke curled around him.
He sat cross-legged on a cushion, eyes closed.
Behind him, his Stand—The World—manifested, mirroring his posture in silence.
---
Lately, Duan had pondered a question:
Why had his Stand taken the form of The World, and not Star Platinum, which boasted higher base stats?
After all, Star Platinum was considered the strongest Stand in the JoJo universe—the natural counter to The World.
Could it be… that Duan wasn't a protagonist by nature?
Maybe he was more like Dio—a force meant to dominate.
But that was fine.
At least he hadn't awakened Hermit Purple, the Stand of old men and missed opportunities.
Over the last two weeks, Duan had grown more familiar with The World, even attaining basic mastery of its time-stop ability.
He was beginning to understand:
The World might suit him better than Star Platinum ever could.
According to JoJo canon, a Stand is a manifestation of mental energy—but physical prowess influences its potential.
Dio, after claiming Jonathan Joestar's body, birthed The World.
Later, after absorbing Joseph's blood, Dio enhanced his body further, extending his time-stop duration from five seconds to nine.
Duan took this as divine insight from the God of Muscle:
The stronger the body, the stronger the Stand.
And he had evidence.
Jotaro Kujo, user of Star Platinum, stood 195 cm tall, weighing only 82 kg—a lean figure hidden under a reinforced uniform.
Dio, in Jonathan's muscular frame, stood at the same height but weighed 97 kg—a monster even by Joestar standards.
As for Duan—also marked by a Joestar birthmark—his body was different.
He inherited the Joestar height of 195 cm, but in the Naruto world—blessed with 130 trillion chakra-enhanced cells—and through 20 years of relentless training...
He weighed an astounding 150 kg.
Thus, his Stand, The World, was a full size larger than Dio's—over three meters tall.
The raw panel stats of a Stand didn't matter to Duan.
Because—
Whether it was The World or Star Platinum, their strength couldn't surpass his.
What truly captivated Duan was the time-stop ability.
Star Platinum capped out at 5 seconds.
The World peaked at 9.
That alone made The World superior—and arguably the strongest Stand.
---
Since awakening The World, Duan's mindset had subtly shifted.
Many transmigrators came to this world with self-important savior complexes.
They'd become Hokage by age 6, unite the shinobi world by age 8, defeat the Ōtsutsuki by 10, and give Kaguya maternity leave while they were at it.
That wasn't Duan.
He had no delusions of grandeur.
Let Naruto save the world. Duan didn't belong here anyway.
His only passion was in physical training—breaking bodily limits again and again.
That's why he had remained silent and focused for 24 years.
If there was one person he cared about, it was his older sister—Uchiha Mikoto.
He knew that two years after Itachi joined Anbu, the Uchiha Massacre would unfold.
Itachi and Obito—enabled by the village elders—would wipe out their clan.
Originally, Duan had no plans to interfere.
Despite his immense physical strength and taijutsu prowess, facing Itachi, Obito, and Konoha's hidden elites was suicide.
His body wasn't perfect yet.
So his plan had been to quietly take Mikoto and flee Konoha before the massacre.
But then, The World awakened.
This newfound power changed everything. Now, Duan had the means to survive—and maybe even fight.
Even against Obito's broken Kamui, The World's Za Warudo had potential.
He knew today's fight had drawn attention.
That was fine.
He needed to stretch his muscles.
Training in isolation had slowed his progress. He had hit a bottleneck.
Perhaps combat would shatter it.
After all, tools become sharper through use.
So too does the human body.
---
With that thought, Duan ended his meditation and stood.
Dusk had fallen. Sunlight filtered through the gym's wide windows, painting the floor gold.
Creak.
The bathroom door opened. Samui stepped out.
She wore a fitted tank top and blue sports shorts, her damp blonde hair hanging loosely, beads of water still glistening on her collarbone.
"Are you okay? If you're shaken, I can give you a few days off," Duan offered, showing unexpected concern.
"No need, curator. I'm fine," she quickly replied.
"Good."
Duan nodded, glancing at the darkening sky.
"It's late. Let's close up early and get some rest."
"Curator, what do you want to eat tonight? I'll make it right away." Samui said as she rushed into the kitchen, not even bothering to dry her damp hair.
Duan stopped her gently:
"No need. Let's go out to eat tonight—how about that barbecue place we went to last time? My treat."
"Really? Thank you, curator."
Samui's face lit up, her usual cool expression melting into a rare, genuine smile. Normally reserved and stoic, she seldom showed emotion in front of others. But the offer of a meal from the expensive yet delicious Barbecue Q was enough to make her break character.
So, while Samui quickly dried her hair, Duan went to take a shower and changed clothes. Then, the two of them stepped out together into the Konoha evening.
...
As expected, Duan's swift and decisive handling of the Yuyin spies had drawn serious attention.
Hokage Building.
Sarutobi Hiruzen, now 62, sat behind his desk in the Hokage's office. He held a pipe in one hand, exhaling smoke slowly, while scanning the fresh report delivered by the Anbu.
The document was about Uchiha Duan.
As he read further, Hiruzen's brow furrowed, and the rhythm of his smoking slowed.
"That kid who beat up a Chūnin instructor years ago... he's grown up."
He looked at the attached photo of Duan—a towering, muscular man, eyes calm yet exuding dominance—and sighed.
Hiruzen hadn't forgotten Duan.
A 6-year-old Uchiha boy who had entered the Ninja Academy and, within days, sent a full-grown Chūnin teacher flying across the yard with brute strength—an incident that made its way all the way to the Hokage's desk.
It was Hiruzen himself who had authorized Duan's expulsion from the Academy, deeming his behavior too disruptive.
Since then, Duan had disappeared from public life.
For nearly two decades, nothing—until now.
Hiruzen sighed again.
If only he had taken a different approach—mentored Duan in the Will of Fire, given him a proper place in the shinobi ranks, perhaps even placed him alongside Shisui or Kakashi.
Maybe then, Duan would've become a powerful asset instead of a potential threat.
But now...
Another unpredictable Uchiha was stirring beneath the surface.
In Hiruzen's experience, the Uchiha clan never forgot a grudge—and Duan, expelled so early by the Hokage himself, was bound to harbor resentment.
That was their nature. Passion that, unchecked, curdled into hatred.
He looked up from the dossier and fixed his gaze on the young man standing before his desk.
"Shisui, how much do you know about Uchiha Duan?"
Shisui of the Body Flicker—young, loyal, carrying the legacy of Uchiha Kagami. Baby-faced and round-nosed, he still carried the aura of a trustworthy shinobi.
Shisui furrowed his brows in thought.
"Not much, Hokage-sama. I only saw him a few times as a child. Later I heard he left the clan compound, chose to live in seclusion…"
Hiruzen nodded slowly. He trusted Shisui to speak the truth.
"Just an hour ago, Duan killed five spies from Amegakure. Alone. Instantly. His movements were so fast they rival even your Body Flicker Technique."
As he spoke, Hiruzen handed over the report.
Shisui flipped through the pages, eyes narrowing slightly. Still, he remained humble:
"There's always someone stronger out there. My speed has always been exaggerated, Hokage-sama."
Hiruzen said nothing for a moment, then waved his hand dismissively.
"Alright, you may go."
Shisui bowed and left the room without a word.
Immediately after:
"Place Uchiha Duan's gym under special surveillance," Hiruzen ordered.
"Understood."
An Anbu agent emerged from the shadows, acknowledged the command, and disappeared.
...
Konoha Police Force Headquarters – Captain's Office
Uchiha Fugaku sat quietly behind his desk, listening intently as Inahura finished his report. The usually stern clan head's expression was unreadable.
But as the name "Duan" was mentioned repeatedly—along with the elimination of five spies—there was a flicker of something in Fugaku's eyes: surprise.
Another variable had entered the board. And this one carried both the Uchiha name... and the strength to make people notice.