Morning came with the crowing of roosters, dragging Uchiha Ryan out of his sleep.
"Stop sleeping, get up already…"
Rubbing his eyes, he groggily reached out and pushed at the space beside him, ready to wake that idiot Sasuke.
His hand met nothing.
More importantly, Ryan wasn't sure if it was because he hadn't slept well, but there was a faint smell of something burnt lingering in the air.
"Where did he run off to…?"
A voice suddenly came from the corner of the room.
"Morning, Ryan."
Sasuke spat out a puff of black smoke, flashing two rows of white teeth. His face was pitch-black, and his body crackled and popped with electricity as he greeted Ryan.
After finally fixing his hair last night, he had somehow turned himself back into a fried mess, hair standing straight up again.
Ryan turned his head and saw him—
For a moment, he genuinely thought he was still dreaming.
He rubbed his eyes several times.
A few seconds later, he finally accepted the horrifying reality.
"Uchiha Sasuke!
"Have you lost your mind?!
"You spent the whole night touching the damn outlet?!"
He'd already regretted last night's nonsense. Seeing this possessed idiot first thing in the morning made Ryan want to pin him into a corner and beat him up before breakfast.
"No, I didn't."
Sasuke calmly pulled the plug out of the socket with one hand and slowly stood up. The electric arcs dancing around his body were even more numerous than last night, the crackling sound like a mosquito zapper in action.
He smoothed his hair back—and somehow, the sky-piercing hairstyle instantly returned to normal.
"Ryan, the current me—"
Before he could finish, Ryan had already pulled open the curtains and looked outside.
Clear skies. Sunny. No problem there.
Sasuke's changes didn't surprise him much.
In a world powered by chakra, strange things happening were practically routine.
A Sasuke who could discharge electricity?
He'd seen a yellow rat that could spit out a hundred thousand volts in his past life.
"Look at me already!"
Sasuke couldn't maintain the electric arcs for long. Desperate to prove he was different now, he grew anxious when Ryan refused to turn around.
At that moment, the door opened.
Itachi stood there with his usual gentle expression, wearing a pink apron and holding a spatula. It was obvious—today's breakfast was his handiwork.
"Look at me!! My Lightning Release!!"
Finding a new audience, Sasuke dashed over, waving his arms excitedly.
Unfortunately, the arcs of electricity had already vanished. There was nothing left to show.
Seeing Sasuke covered in soot and reeking of burnt smell, Itachi's smile stiffened slightly.
Some very unpleasant memories surfaced.
Last night, after the power outage, professionals had managed to fix things—but for some reason, the electricity kept flickering like the place was haunted. Just when he and Shisui had returned home, they were summoned again to the Hokage's office, forced to watch the Third sigh all night while inhaling secondhand smoke.
"It was there just now… really…"
Sasuke lowered his head, staring at his empty palms, looking utterly dejected.
Ryan finished changing his clothes and shot a resentful glance at Itachi in the doorway, frowning as he spoke gloomily.
"Oi, Itachi."
"I choose both! Both survive!"
Hearing his name, Itachi answered instantly, without even giving Ryan a chance to finish the question.
"…That's not what I was asking."
Ryan rolled his eyes.
"Shouldn't you be sticking with Shisui right now?"
He'd already predicted this guy's reflexive answer. What Ryan was really worried about was that the moment Itachi left Shisui's side, Danzō would start pulling dirty tricks.
"Man, Itachi, I really envy you,"
Shisui's voice came from the doorway as he casually slung an arm over Itachi's shoulder. He was smiling—until he saw Sasuke's current appearance, at which point his expression stiffened just like Itachi's.
"Brother Shisui!"
Sasuke was startled and immediately tried to rush over.
Thankfully, Itachi flicked his forehead and stopped him before he could do anything rude.
"Go wash up first,"
"You shouldn't act so recklessly."
Shisui waved it off. "Itachi, you know I don't really mind."
Laughing and chatting, Sasuke finally went off to the bathroom.
Ryan, meanwhile, kept giving Itachi and Shisui strange looks, rolling his eyes nonstop.
Then he entered the dining room—and fell completely silent.
The table was covered, wall to wall, with fried eggs.
Ryan lifted his head and met Itachi's slightly nervous gaze, staring straight into his eyes.
Other than some heavy dark circles, he didn't see anything unusual.
…Wait.
This guy didn't open his Mangekyō, did he?
These eggs weren't fried with Amaterasu, were they?
Ryan silently muttered to himself, his gaze bouncing back and forth between Itachi and Shisui.
Feeling uncomfortable under the scrutiny, Itachi wiped the sweat from his brow and asked awkwardly,
"Is it… not to your taste?"
Ryan shook his head, then raised a hand and pointed at the two of them.
"Don't you think… you two are being a little too close?"
Shisui: ???
Ryan had told Itachi to stay close to Shisui for protection, sure.
But did they really need to sit that close?
Their elbows were literally touching.
Was this… Konoha-style friendship?
The two immediately understood what he meant and awkwardly scooted their chairs apart, putting some distance between them.
Silence fell again.
After a few minutes, Shisui broke it with a smile.
"Itachi, your little brother is really hard to deal with."
"And also—
"Ryan, if you don't hurry up, you're going to be late."
Itachi nodded and turned to urge Sasuke to hurry up in the bathroom.
"Enrollment's just a formality anyway. I could skip it—"
Ryan didn't particularly care about reporting in. After last night, he really didn't feel like going.
But before he could finish—
The system's voice echoed in his mind once more.
[Mission Triggered: Martial Soul Awakening.]
[Mission: Having arrived in the Martial Soul World, you've reached the optimal age to awaken your Martial Soul. Go to the village entrance and find a Great Soul Master to awaken it!]
Ryan immediately opened the system interface and checked it again.
And again.
After cultivation quests, Liaozhai fox gratitude, doomsday Plants vs. Zombies…
He thought he'd already built immunity to the system's abstract nonsense.
But apparently—
Every single mission still managed to blindside him.
System, do you hear what you're saying?
Martial Soul? Great Soul Master?
I see you already have a death wish.
[Reward: Hidden Weapons Manual]
The moment Ryan saw the reward at the bottom, his attitude flipped instantly.
Alright, that was my bad just now.
This reward was perfect for the Uchiha.
Great mission.
Not abstract at all.
"Ryan, what are you spacing out for?"
Sasuke's voice snapped him back to reality. Itachi and Shisui were also looking his way.
"Oh—coming."
Ryan shoveled down a few mouthfuls of breakfast, slipped on his shoes, and headed straight out the door.
He didn't know exactly how this mission was supposed to work—but he had a strong feeling it was connected to school enrollment.
Optimal age to awaken Martial Soul = Ninja Academy reporting.
...
Advance Chapters available on Patreon
patreon.com/MythArcStudio