Chapter 2: Adrift
August 7th, Year 54 of Konoha.
Beneath the pale moonlight, the heavily battered body of a young man drifted down the course of the Naka River. He floated inertly as the current silently dragged him through the shadows of the trees bordering the riverbank.
Suddenly, the water's inertia was interrupted by a violent twitch of his body. The young man began to shake erratically, veering away from the center of the river toward the bank, as if an internal struggle were forcing him to react against the current trying to sweep him away.
"Damn it... ahhh!" A gut-wrenching scream shattered the silence of the night. The pain in his head felt unbearable, causing him to thrash about in desperation. Between partial submersions and gulps of murky water, the young man fought to stay afloat while fiercely clutching his own skull.
amidst the chaos and pain, a primal survival instinct kicked in. A faint spark of chakra raced through his limbs, allowing him to propel himself mechanically toward the shore. His fingers dug deeply into the mud to drag the rest of his body out of the water.
Once on solid ground, the young man collapsed, coughing violently to clear his lungs. Extreme exhaustion finally overpowered him, leaving him unconscious upon the damp riverbank.
—Haaah... haaaah!— —Cough, cough!— —Ahem!—
The sounds of desperate breathing and harsh coughing broke the silence. The young man forced air into his lungs and, with great effort, managed to articulate: "Shit... I thought I'd drown." What a great way to start a second life.
Gathering the meager strength he had left, he managed to sit up in the mud, though the world seemed to spin in total darkness. His mind was a whirlwind of memories that didn't belong to him, yet felt entirely his own.
What were all those memories?
«Am I actually in the Naruto world, and am I that idiotic teenager who threw himself into a river thinking an even more brainless brat could do a better job? Sure, "a better job" like nearly wiping out the clan name he was supposed to protect... It's clear that intelligence isn't the Uchiha's strong suit.»
«You've gotta be shitting me! Do I really have to inherit the body of Konoha's most stupid martyr? What's next? Reincarnate as a rock so some guy named Obito crosses my path and I end up covered in his fluids?»
—Panic surged back up his throat as he felt his face—
«Not to mention that I'm completely eyeless! That old bastard Danzo must be itching to complete his collection, unaware that this idiot left absolutely nothing behind... neither for him nor for me! Damn it, if he had at least kept one for himself, I'd have vision right now and a golden advantage to survive!»
«Come to think of it, the old man can't deploy a large Root squad right now. Besides, once the clan finds the suicide note, they'll become even more paranoid and reclusive. But the worst part is... I don't even know where I am! In the original story, his body was never found, so my location is completely unknown in this scenario. Trying to find my way back and make a comeback in my current state would be a second suicide.»
—¡Haaah... fffffuuu... haaah... fffffuuu!—
He closed his eyelids and ran through the classic breathing exercises, while in the background he heard the steady flow of water and the rustle of tree canopies swayed by air currents that brushed against his damp, freezing skin.
After a brief spell, his pulse stabilized. He tried to stand up, but his legs buckled and he collapsed back against the ground, wincing in pain. His body was at its absolute limit, and forcing it further was definitely not a good idea.
Since moving wasn't a viable option, he decided to check what options that damn thing offered; after all, that piece of junk was supposed to be responsible for getting him into this mess in the first place... though he wasn't entirely sure about that last part.
[NOTICE]: Energy Points acquired.
Quantity: 5 (Cause: Survival of a causal alteration event).
Immediately afterward, the screen expanded to display detailed data:
[ HOST STATUS ]
Name: Shisui Uchiha.
Age: 16 years old.
Health: 40% (Status: Gravely injured).
Power Level: Nominal Tier: 8-C
Current Operational Tier: 9-A
Condition: Critical State / Slow Healing / Total Blindness.
Energy Systems: Chakra System: Mastery 5 / 10.
Natural Energy System: Mastery 0 / 10.
System Functions: Available Energy Points: 5 (Newly acquired).
Energy Access.
Dimensional Jump.
Forced Overload.
[ Show more... ]
Passive Skills: Poison Resistance (High Level).
Shisui "observed" the mental information with a mix of relief and confusion.
«Tier 8-C? Operational 9-A? Well, that doesn't matter right now [Yeah~ and never will either], but it looks like my health is way too low... I think I'm one step away from the grave.»
«Hmm? Five energy points available... Doesn't seem like much, but hey, it's all I've got right now besides my chakra, which in my current condition is hardly of any use.»
«That poison resistance must be what's keeping me alive after Danzo's "little gift"... but I'm still out in the open. I'm so exposed that even a wild Akamaru could finish me off.»
Letting out a groan, he began to drag himself away from the shore with a stabbing pain shooting through his entire body, until his hands touched the rough bark of a nearby tree and he managed to prop his back against it, panting from the effort.
«Let's see, let's analyze the situation with a cool head... I'm an elite jōnin. Even though I'm heavily injured, I've already passed the critical threshold; my body is no longer on the brink of death and should start recovering on its own, which, all things considered, is good news.»
«The problem is that in this ninja world there aren't many easy ways to pull off a rapid power leap. Sage Mode? Ruled out. It's ridiculously complicated, I don't have any contract signed with any of the three great sacred regions, and without that help, the learning time stretches out infinitely... not to mention the lovely probability of ending up turned into a stone statue if I mess up the natural energy balance.»
Amidst those thoughts and tactical disquisitions, his mental focus finally gravitated toward one very specific option inside his head: «Dimensional Jump»... That might be his only real path to improve his strength quickly.
«System, display information regarding the Dimensional Jump.» Immediately, a new window appeared in his mind:
[ INFORMATION: DIMENSIONAL JUMP ]
Base Cost: 1 Energy Point.
Mechanics: The jump can be performed with minimum energy, but destination precision and safety depend on the total investment made.
Destination Probability:
* Initial Investment (1 Energy Point): High probability of landing in "dead" dimensions (devoid of accessible energy sources) as well as energy sources with heavy restrictions or subject to dimensional beings.
* Scalable Investment: Increases the probability of locating dimensions with available, compatible energy sources that the host can access.
«A one-point investment sends me to dead dimensions? Yeah, right, no way in hell. Completely ruled out. I suppose with my 5 remaining points I can fish for something minimally acceptable... with a bit of luck.»
Shisui let out a shaky sigh, resting his head against the wood of the tree. Suddenly, a sharp spike of pain lanced through his skull: an echo of the original Uchiha's will.
—Yeah, yeah, yeah... I know— he muttered between teeth. —You want to protect your clan and I want to finish off the person responsible for abusing my new body. Fine, deal! We're in the same boat... although, technically, you sank the boat yourself in the river.
His fingers dug into the damp soil as he weighed his options with growing bitterness. Once the decision was made, there would be no turning back.
«Well... better take a supply inventory before taking a blind jump. As if my current situation could possibly be any blinder», he thought with twisted irony.
He still had his Tantō. The feel of the small blade's hilt gave him a minimal yet necessary sense of security. Despite the absolute darkness, his hands, trained by years of missions, recognized every object with surgical precision; he didn't need to see to know exactly what resources he had left.
Then, he felt around his tool pouch. His fingers brushed the cold metal of three kunais and five shurikens; he also located the tactile relief of the wire spools, calculating that he had at least a couple of dozen meters left, along with four paper bombs.
«Six soldier pills. Thank goodness, they're still intact.»
Shisui hesitated for a second, but then pulled out one of the pills and popped it into his mouth. He knew it was a risk; in his condition, forcing his metabolism was like throwing logs onto a forest fire, but he needed to be as stable as possible for the trip. Upon swallowing it, the reaction was almost immediate.
He felt a wave of heat rush through his chakra pathways, acting like a pure adrenaline injection that dissolved the mental fog which had numbed his senses due to his abysmal physical state, allowing him to absorb environmental data at the level of an elite jōnin.
The sounds amplified: the murmur of the river turned into a torrent, the rustling of leaves was now perceived with total clarity, and even his heartbeat echoed loudly in his temples. This was the tactical sensitivity required to avoid sneak attacks, something he had never experienced in his previous life.
He gasped and clenched his teeth hard while adapting to those overwhelmingly intense sensations. He took a deep breath and, in less than a minute, finished fully adapting to that new, violent torrent of information.
[NOTIFICATION]: Stimulant consumption detected.
[HEALTH UPDATED]: 60% (Temporary effect of soldier pill).
—System...— he whispered in a raspy voice. —Execute Dimensional Jump. Use the five available energy points.
«Eat shit, Danzo! You won't even be able to smell my farts!» —he thought with a twisted smile, before muttering aloud—: «Old fox, just wait a bit and you'll see what happens when you mess with me!»
[NOTICE]: 5 Energy Points have been consumed.
Searching for random dimensions via scalable investment [processing]
3rd-tier fragmented dimension [established]
Initiating transfer [in progress]
Time dilation [1/20] time dilation can be canceled or doubled with 20 energy points in this dimension.
For a second, the forest seemed to fall into absolute silence. With a tiny, almost imperceptible flash of light, Shisui's body transformed into a minute particle that vanished into the air, leaving the banks of the Naka River completely empty.
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Author's Note:
I hope you like the changes I made to the chapter; I put a bit more effort into this one. Please leave your comments ❤️
Chapter edited ✅