c1: Bank Up a Fire
"Hey, Fenghuo! Wake up, you idiot! I just kicked you, your will is way too pathetic!"
"If you don't wake up, I'm seriously leaving this time!"
"No one's going to take care of you if I'm gone, you hear me? No one, you bastard!"
"Tch damn it, I'm going to help Granny Tanaka cross the road. Don't blame me if you freeze to death!"
The nagging voice finally faded into silence. On a simple tatami mat inside a traditional Uchiha-style home, a pale 6-year-old boy stirred, slowly opening his eyes to the soft light of morning filtering through a paper screen.
"I... am Uchiha Fenghuo?"
A tide of unfamiliar memories surged through his mind, drilling into his consciousness. It was like a dam had broken in his brain, releasing pain that made his eyes ache like ants crawling behind his eyeballs.
With a groan, Fenghuo twisted on the tatami in discomfort, accidentally knocking over a nearby hand mirror.
He scrambled to grab it before it shattered. Staring into the mirror, confusion overtook his expression. In his reflection were a pair of eerie, blood-red eyes.
"Are these... the Sharingan?"
Within the scarlet irises, a single black tomoe spun lazily a newborn sign of power. It was mesmerizing, both beautiful and ominous.
"I've really become Uchiha Fenghuo... this is the Naruto world?!"
Fenghuo stared blankly. It was too absurd to believe. Naruto wasn't it just an anime? What was he doing inside it? What had happened?
It took a solid five minutes of pacing, muttering, and resisting the urge to panic before he came to terms with the truth.
"In my last life... I was just a kid from a boring family. No connections, no talent. After college, I worked night shifts in a factory. Got off at 9:30 PM every day. I never achieved anything. I even failed to take care of my parents when they got sick..."
He sighed. The emotional pressure caused his freshly awakened Sharingan to recede, reverting his eyes to their normal black hue. After all, a newly awakened Sharingan was unstable, especially in a child's undeveloped body.
Exhausted, Fenghuo drifted back into slumber.
When he awoke again the next day, his mind felt clearer.
Yesterday had been the graduation exam at the Konoha Ninja Academy. Remarkably, Kakashi Hatake just 5 years old had graduated early, becoming the youngest graduate in the history of the Academy. Praised as a genius on par with the Sannin, he had already begun making waves across the village.
As a proud member of the Uchiha clan, Fenghuo naturally inherited a deep pride and a sharp temper. He had challenged Kakashi on the spot, spouting off some arrogant words but ended up flat on his back with a single kick. His defeat became the Academy's latest joke.
"So Kakashi's already graduated... This must be around Year 43 of the Konoha Calendar. That would place me somewhere between the Second and Third Great Ninja Wars. If I remember correctly, the Third War was triggered when the Third Kazekage of Sunagakure mysteriously disappeared..."
Fenghuo's cheeks flushed with embarrassment from the Kakashi incident, but he forced himself to focus. That wasn't his mistake it was the original Fenghuo's. His concern was survival now.
"The Third and Fourth Shinobi World Wars were meat grinders. Each one worse than the last. If I don't build enough strength, I'll be cannon fodder. And I won't even see death coming!"
He shuddered as names flitted through his memory. "Uchiha Madara, Uchiha Obito, the Akatsuki... They're monsters. Not humans."
"And Kakashi's father Sakumo Hatake, the White Fang of Konoha. Even the Sannin respected his power. If I could get guidance from him..." Fenghuo paused. "But I'm from the Uchiha. The Uchiha and Hatake clans weren't exactly close. In fact... relations were pretty cold, if not openly tense."
Too many thoughts swirled in his mind at once. The headaches came back. He held his head, groaning.
Just then, the front door creaked open.
"Fenghuo, I'm coming in!"
A boy wearing goggles poked his head inside. It was the same person who had been yelling at him yesterday.
"...Wait, goggles? That voice Uchiha Obito?!"
Fenghuo nearly leapt three feet into the air. His heart dropped, then raced. "No way. That's the Obito. Future Eye of the Moon Plan Obito. Final boss Obito. Right now, he's just the class dunce... but later, he becomes the nightmare of the entire shinobi world."
Kneeling involuntarily, Fenghuo stared at the clumsy, clueless Obito his classmate, his caretaker and future harbinger of destruction.
"Ah? Fenghuo, are you shocked to see me?" Uchiha Obito asked with exaggerated concern as he strolled in uninvited. He knelt casually beside the tatami mat and pressed a hand to Fenghuo's forehead, mumbling, "No fever. That's a relief."
"You idiot, I'm fine!" Fenghuo snapped, his cheeks flushed. I'm an adult mentally, and I just got rattled by a six-year-old. Someone dig me a hole already.
"Good to hear," Obito said brightly, then added with exaggerated nonchalance, "Anyway, you'd better not go out alone for the next few days."
"Huh?" Fenghuo blinked.
Obito went on, scratching his cheek. "Word's gotten around the Uchiha compound about you challenging Kakashi yesterday. It's kind of... infamous. Now half the clan's kids are saying they wanna 'teach you a lesson.'"
"Could you not sound so cheerful about that?" Fenghuo muttered, eyes twitching.
"I'm just happy for you!" Obito burst out laughing. "Didn't you say you wanted to make a name for yourself in Konoha? Well congrats, buddy! Mission accomplished!"
"You little!"
According to the memories surging through Fenghuo's head, he and Obito had been neighbors since infancy. They'd grown up playing together around the Uchiha district's stone-paved paths and traditional gardens. Obito had always been warm-hearted and kind to a fault, while Fenghuo had inherited the Uchiha clan's classic pride and fiery temper. Despite the contrast, their friendship remained strong.
"Oh, right! I made you breakfast this morning!" Obito suddenly clapped his forehead. "But then I ran into an old lady crossing the street, so I gave your bento to her."
Fenghuo's eye twitched. "You live next door. There's literally no street between our houses."
Obito gave a sheepish grin. "Ahaha... That's 'cause I stopped by to see Rin first."
Fenghuo was speechless.
Rin Nohara the future medical-nin, and the center of Obito's universe. The girl whose death would shatter him beyond repair. The one whose fate Uchiha Madara manipulated to transform Obito into the masked menace, Tobi.
He glanced sideways at the goofy boy beside him. Obito was only six years old. The same age as him now. Six. Six, for crying out loud.
A six-year-old with a secret crush that would one day reshape the fate of the entire ninja world...
What kind of prenatal emotional development did you go through?! Did you start simping in the womb?!
Fenghuo exhaled heavily and massaged his forehead.
"Don't let it get to you, Fenghuo," Obito said suddenly. "That guy Kakashi's only ahead because his dad's the White Fang of Konoha. Let's work hard together we'll graduate next year for sure!"
Obito's eyes shone with unshakable optimism. The thought of earning a forehead protector and presenting it proudly in front of Rin had him grinning so hard, a small stream of drool slipped down his chin. The sight was... concerning.
This is... this is what you chose to save over the world, Naruto, Fenghuo thought grimly.
Growwwl.
His stomach rumbled loudly. He hadn't eaten since yesterday.
"Oh! You're hungry? C'mon! Let's get some ramen I'm treating you!" Obito leapt to his feet with impressive agility for a six-year-old.
Fenghuo sat up, noting that the pain in his head had subsided. He gave a nod and began dressing.
"You're soooo slow, Fenghuo!" Obito griped, tapping his foot.
Fenghuo sighed in silent despair. The clothes in this world were not intuitive for someone used to zippers and elastic. Trying to figure out how to tie his sash and layer his kimono properly without raising questions had become a ten-minute challenge.
At last, slightly winded but victorious, Fenghuo finished dressing and followed Obito out the door, the morning sun washing over the streets of the Uchiha district.
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