In the first second, nothing happened. Obito—formerly Yamato Arata—felt no discomfort. On the contrary, he experienced a strange sense of peace. After all, beyond death awaited a path of unimaginable strength.
Orochimaru watched intently, thinking: That's expected. The right half of Obito's body has already been transplanted with Hashirama's artificial tissue. This proves that the First Hokage's cells don't immediately reject Uchiha Obito's young vessel.
But the real question is… will the soul now inhabiting Obito's body—the soul of Yamato Arata—survive this test?
Orochimaru, in his obsession with knowledge, had pieced together the truth behind Obito's altered soul with limited but sharp intuition.
The golden cells flowed through Obito's bloodstream. Within moments, his blood pressure surged, vessels ruptured, and steam rose from his skin. His body turned crimson, and a guttural scream ripped from his throat.
"AAAAAAHHHH!!"
The walls of the underground base trembled with the force of his agony.
In the corridor outside, Uzuki Xiyang heard the scream and rushed to the door, only for Tobi to hold her back, silently shaking his head.
Xiyang clenched her fists, trembling.
Inside, Obito writhed in his chair. His palms clawed into the steel restraints, gouging metal. Steam gushed from every pore as the whites of his eyes overtook his pupils.
Then—
Silence. His body slumped, and his heartbeat stopped. Obito had entered suspended animation.
Orochimaru calmly checked his pocket watch. "It's begun."
Meanwhile, within the depths of Obito's mind, a vast spiritual plane unfurled. Blue, ethereal land stretched beneath a meteor-streaked sky.
Here, Obito—his true self—wandered alone.
Ripples disturbed the water underfoot. One memory surfaced:
A thunderous night. A younger Lin Yu, frightened not by the storm outside but by his parents' screaming inside. Crashing dishes. Shouting. Violence.
He had needed to use the bathroom but was too scared to open the door. Just as he reached for the handle, a glass shattered against it. He stayed in bed that night, shaking.
Scenes like that haunted his youth until junior high. His parents eventually divorced and left him—each chasing new relationships. Lin Yu was discarded like an afterthought.
High school wasn't better. He was a loner, eating alone, walking alone. In PE, he sat in the corner while classmates laughed and played.
Bullied, mocked, hit. Teachers blamed him. When he fought back once, he was punished.
Despair followed.
He tried to end it—gathering sleeping pills, locking himself in his rental, and downing them.
But he was found. Rushed to the hospital. His parents showed up to split the bill, then vanished again without a word.
That coldness—that utter lack of love—was worse than death.
Returning to school, nothing changed. People avoided him. Eyes filled with contempt followed him everywhere.
Then he discovered a pirated Naruto manga at a street stall. That was the beginning.
The second dimension became his escape, his obsession.
Adults called him broken. A dropout. But Lin Yu didn't care. The real world had no appeal.
The memory dissolved into black ice. His spiritual world dimmed. Lin Yu squatted down, hugging his knees. His consciousness faded.
"I guess… I failed after all," he murmured. "Why did I even transmigrate in the first place?"
A voice answered:
"Because for you, the real world was hell. And for Uchiha Obito, the ninja world was hell. At that single point of shared despair, your souls resonated—and switched."
Lin Yu looked up. Another version of himself stood before him.
"If I die here… what happens?" Lin Yu asked.
"You'll return to your old body. Obito still hasn't let go of all his regrets. And Lin Yu… still wants to disappear."
"So, back to that empty world with no chakra, no Sharingan, no strength?"
"Exactly. Powerless. Hopeless."
"I refuse that!"
"Then wake up," said the other him. "I'm the part of you that never gives up."
They fist-bumped. The avatar of Lin Yu's will burst into golden light. The spiritual world reignited, brighter than ever.
Outside, the fifteen-minute deadline had passed.
Orochimaru closed his watch, his eyes dim. "So this… is the end?"
He stepped forward to retrieve Obito's eyes.
But then—
Obito raised his head. His Sharingan gleamed with new intensity.
"You were saying, Orochimaru?" Obito asked, calm and composed.
Cold sweat soaked Orochimaru's back. "N-nothing, Obito-kun."
"Good. Watch carefully." Obito bowed his head again and began channeling chakra.
The dormant Hashirama cells responded. His internal organs regenerated rapidly. Steam hissed from his skin—but the heat was under control.
Orochimaru took a step back, breathless with awe. "Incredible… Obito-kun, you far exceed even my expectations."
The transformation… continued.