Uchiha clan grounds, a quiet bedroom in a side courtyard.
"I'm exhausted..... I still have to handle the logistics for Big Brother's battles these past few days...."
Uchiha Izuna rubbed his brow, unable to help feeling tired.
Then, Uchiha Izuna leaned against the couch, still holding an unfinished list of clan supplies in his hand, but his eyelids gradually grew heavy.
Last night, in order to appease several elders of the war faction, Izuna had barely slept.
The moment he closed his eyes, his consciousness quickly fell into a deep sleep.
Just as his breathing gradually steadied...
A cold consciousness with a powerful sense of presence suddenly crashed into this body.
———
A transmigrator suddenly opened his eyes.
Before him was an unfamiliar wooden ceiling. The air was dry, carrying the dust and smell of gunpowder characteristic of an old era.
"Where am I....?"
Izuna instinctively tried to sit up, but his arm suddenly went limp, and he nearly rolled off the couch.
"This... what kind of place is this?"
When Izuna heard his own voice coming from his throat, he froze.
That was not his original voice.
A young boy's voice, clear yet carrying a hint of fatigue. Even his way of pronouncing words was completely different.
Izuna looked down at his own hands in confusion.
Pale, slender, with distinct knuckles, and several faint old scars on the backs of his hands.
The sleeves were the dark-colored shinobi clothes unique to the Uchiha, and he could faintly feel the outline of armor over his chest.
"I..."
Izuna incredulously sat straight up and reached out to touch his face.
Brow bone, bridge of the nose, jawline... none of them were right.
He stumbled over to the bronze mirror in the room.
Reflected in the mirror was a face he had seen countless times only in anime and fan art, Uchiha Izuna.
Black hair, sharp brows and eyes that still carried the spirit of youth, with an extremely faint old scar at the outer corner of his left eye.
At this moment, those eyes were staring fixedly at the mirror, confusion and shock written all over his pupils.
"...Fuck, bro, no!"
Izuna's voice was full of surprise.
His memories surged in like a tide.
They were not his own memories, but the original memories of this body, the blood on the battlefield, images of his father Tajima, the blood-red eyes of his elder brother Madara when he awakened the Mangekyo, the clan elders' endless arguments...
At the same time, his own memories from his previous life clearly overlapped with them.
His name was Hikaru.
In his previous life, he had been an ordinary graduate of a second-rate university's computer science department. After graduating, he joined a small company, and his biggest hobby in his spare time was rewatching Naruto.
How familiar was he with the plot?
He could recite even the details of Black Zetsu deceiving Madara, the Eye of the Moon Plan, and the Uchiha clan's extermination by heart.
Moreover, Uchiha Izuna was the character he loved playing most in games.
Last night, he had stayed up late to finish reading a fanfic. When he turned off his phone, he had casually complained, "It would've been nice if Izuna hadn't died," and then... he knew nothing after that.
When he opened his eyes again, it was now.
"This is way too fantastical... I didn't expect...."
Hikaru, or rather, the current Uchiha Izuna, held onto the edge of the mirror and took several deep breaths, forcing himself to calm down.
At this moment, a line of translucent blue text suddenly appeared in the center of his vision.
[Reputation System has been bound]
[Host: Uchiha Izuna (Hikaru)]
[Current Clan Reputation: 327 (Above average, mainly derived from blood ties and past battle achievements)]
[Uses of Reputation: Can be exchanged for ninjutsu, taijutsu, secret techniques, and certain special abilities. The higher the reputation, the more advanced the exchangeable content.]
[System Prompt: Reputation can be obtained through clan members' recognition, battlefield performance, resolving clan affairs, improving clan members' living conditions, and other methods.]
"System?!"
Hikaru stared at those few lines of text, his eyes gradually lighting up.
A system... and a reputation system at that.
He did not get excited immediately. Instead, he quickly sorted out the current situation in his mind.
The timeline was crucial.
Tajima had just died not long ago, Madara had just awakened the Mangekyo, Hashirama had just awakened Wood Release, both sides had just completed the exchange of remains and agreed to fight again in a month. They were currently at the point when the two had just become clan heads.
In other words, the battle that would truly determine their fate had not happened yet.
And in the original story, not long after this battle, he, Izuna, would be gravely wounded by Senju Tobirama, beyond saving, and die. He would then leave his eyes to Madara and die.
After that, Madara would be led step by step by hatred and Black Zetsu onto that doomed path.
"Heh heh....."
Hikaru looked at the face belonging to Izuna in the mirror and slowly pulled out a smile.
There was not the slightest bit of panic in that smile. Instead, it carried an almost obsessive seriousness.
"Since I'm here, don't even think about making me follow the original plot.", Izuna muttered to himself.
He immediately began setting rules for himself.
First, from this moment on, he was Uchiha Izuna. Not some "transmigrator possessing a body," nor "temporarily borrowing a body."
He would use this body to live on, think, speak, and act as Izuna. Any exposure would arouse suspicion within the clan, and might even make Madara suspicious.
Madara was a brother-obsessed man. If he found out that his younger brother had been possessed, he would definitely go crazy. Even if he put his whole heart into acting, Madara would definitely kill him.
Second, he had to change the date of his death. Once he died, there would be nothing left, and he would not even get to show his face after being revived by Impure World Reincarnation.
Third, he had to pull Madara out of Black Zetsu's trap. That damn Eye of the Moon Plan, he would never let Big Brother touch it.
Fourth, and most importantly...
Absolutely no agreement to establish Konoha with the Senju.
Hikaru clearly remembered the ending of the original story.
After the Uchiha joined Konoha, they were ostracized, suspected, and driven into a dead end, ultimately leaving almost the entire clan destroyed.
No matter how idealistic Hashirama was, and no matter how much Tobirama claimed to be "doing it for the village," what was ultimately passed down was still systematic suppression of the Uchiha.
And in the end, the old dogs Danzo and Hiruzen joined forces to wipe out the Uchiha.
Yes, influenced by conspiracy theories in fanfics, Hikaru also felt that Danzo and Hiruzen Sarutobi were darkness itself!
He did not want that kind of ending.
Rather than hand his fate over to others, it would be better for the Uchiha to become strong enough on their own, strong enough that no one would dare touch them.
'System.' Izuna silently called out in his heart.
[Present.]
'How can I quickly increase my reputation?'
[Recommended methods: Establish sufficiently conspicuous battle achievements in the upcoming battle with the Senju; properly handle the conflicts between the war faction and the peace faction within the clan; propose and promote practical measures to improve the clan members' living conditions.]
Uchiha Izuna nodded.
Footsteps suddenly came from outside.
"Izuna, are you awake?", It was Madara's voice.
Hikaru's body stiffened slightly, then he quickly adjusted his expression and breathing.
He made himself return to the state Izuna should have in his memories, calm, restrained, somewhat dependent on his elder brother yet unwilling to show weakness.
Izuna walked to the door and pulled open the wooden door.
"Ni-san!"
Izuna smiled.
Madara stood in the corridor, the bandage on his left arm still not removed, but his Mangekyo was not activated.
Madara looked at his "younger brother" and slightly furrowed his brows. "You don't look too good. You didn't sleep again last night?"