Chapter 4: It's Good to Be Alive
Uchiha Ren felt like he was being swallowed by darkness.
His consciousness gradually blurred.
He was being crushed by an invisible weight, unable to breathe.
Every breath was like dancing on the tip of a knife, agonizing and unbearable.
His vision was pitch black, and the sounds in his ears grew more and more distant, leaving only the faint sound of his own heartbeat, like a candle flame gradually extinguishing in the darkness.
He felt his life force draining away bit by bit, his body growing colder and colder, as if submerged in ice-cold river water, unable to struggle, only able to let himself sink.
He wanted to cry for help, but his throat was filled only with whimpers; he couldn't make a single sound.
He wanted to move, but his body felt like it didn't belong to him, too heavy to even lift a finger.
However, just as Uchiha Ren was about to be completely engulfed by the darkness, a fierce will to survive erupted in his heart.
I don't want to die like this! I still have too many things I haven't finished!
This will, like a bolt of lightning, tore through the darkness in his mind, bringing a sliver of light!
He felt a surge of power!
It welled up from the depths of his body, battering every one of his cells, every one of his genes.
His body trembled in agony, his consciousness blurred as he struggled.
He felt his genes rearranging, his body being remolded!
Gene Lock... First Tier... unlocked!
As the Gene Lock unlocked, Uchiha Ren felt his life force rapidly recovering, his senses quickly returning!
His sight, hearing, smell, and touch were all rapidly restored, and his consciousness was clearing just as fast.
When Uchiha Ren opened his eyes once more,
He found himself lying in a pool of blood.
Every inch of his body was screaming in agony, especially the gaping wound on his chest, where the pain was exceptionally sharp.
He felt his skin being seared by flames, and every breath was like inhaling sharp blades.
He tried his best to move, but the pain wracking his body made it nearly impossible to stir.
He could only lie there, feeling the life force flowing within him, waiting for the pain to gradually subside.
The moon quietly climbed the treetops, and Uchiha Ren was finally able to struggle to his feet.
"I... I'm not dead."
"Ah!?"
Pirate Ren Arakawa suddenly woke up with a start, shouting, "You're actually not dead?! Brother! That's great!"
Stephen Fang from the Marvel World was also woken up by the sound. Hearing their exchange, he let out a sigh of relief. "This is the best news I've heard in the last two days."
"Weird! How did you survive? Was it because of the physical buffs from the One Piece World? That shouldn't be it, right?" Pirate Ren Arakawa rubbed his chin. "Do you have an answer yourself?"
"Gene Lock."
Uchiha Ren recalled his recent experience and synced the ability to his two other selves in the One Piece World and Marvel World.
[Gene Lock (First Tier): By facing life-threatening danger and the terror of death, those with a strong enough conviction can stimulate humanity's latent potential. It comes with certain side effects.]
"This, this, this!" Pirate Ren Arakawa was astounded. "Does this mean Main God Ren Arakawa isn't dead?! He synced the ability to us?! Then why can't we contact him?"
Having unlocked the Gene Lock, Uchiha Ren seemed to have also synchronized his brainwaves with Main God Ren Arakawa. He explained while leaning on a tree trunk for support, "My guess is that our connection gets cut off or interfered with during these reincarnation dungeons."
"We'll only know the answer to that when we can contact him again."
Uchiha Ren gritted his teeth as he walked. "I don't have time to think about this right now. I need to find a medical-nin."
"I feel like even though I'm not dead, I'm not far from it."
He looked down at the shuriken embedded in his bone. He wanted to grit his back molars viciously, but it was too painful to even do that.
But even so,
He endured the pain, lay down on the ground, and let his body get covered in blood.
He dragged a bloody trail, crawling slowly into the distance.
After crawling for a while...
Uchiha Ren tore off a corner of his clothing, used a kunai to cut it into several tattered pieces, and scattered them on the ground.
"Doing this much should be enough to create the false impression that an animal dragged the corpse away, right?"
He thought seriously, his forehead beaded with cold sweat.
Konoha occupied the forest with the richest resources among the Five Great Nations, and the forest was full of wild animals.
And with the recent chaos of war, even if Hidden Leaf Village lost a ninja of Chunin rank or below, it wouldn't be a big deal.
"Strictly speaking, I haven't even qualified as a ninja, so I can only be considered a civilian."
"As long as Itachi Uchiha doesn't investigate, and I don't show my face in front of him..."
"Then he won't know I'm not dead in the short term."
He touched the black cloth on his face. "Good thing my face wasn't exposed."
"Heh... how ironic."
"The night of the clan massacre hasn't even arrived, and I've already been 'killed' by that guy once."
Mourning his own fate, he walked westward.
After walking out of a dense, primeval forest,
Uchiha Ren saw a building that was slightly old but still sturdy.
Its exterior walls were painted a warm, creamy yellow, creating a sharp contrast with the surrounding natural environment and giving one the warm feeling of home.
The roof of the building was covered with dark-colored tiles. After years of wind and sun, they appeared somewhat mottled but still steadfastly protected the people inside.
This was the Konoha Orphanage.
The tall trees seemed to form a natural barrier, isolating the orphanage from the noise of the outside world.
It was located outside the sturdy high walls of Hidden Leaf Village, not within the Village itself.
The leaves on the trees rustled in the wind, adding a sense of tranquility and peace to the orphanage.
Dragging his body, which was already at its limit, Uchiha Ren painstakingly reached the main gate of the orphanage.
"Thud..."
He only had time to knock once.
"Bang!"
He collapsed to the ground.
"Who is it?"
A gentle female voice sounded out. From a nearby window, she glanced toward the door.
"Ah!"
Seeing the child lying on the ground, she hurriedly unlocked and pushed open the door, then began to check Uchiha Ren's injuries.
"There's no time to go back to the Village. I'll do it here."
A green glow, as gentle as the new leaves of spring, lightly covered Uchiha Ren's chest.
It was a warm Chakra, slowly pouring into his body, bringing with it the vitality of life and the power of healing.
The light of medical ninjutsu circled around Uchiha Ren's wound. Each rotation took away a bit of pain, and each rotation made the wound heal faster.
He lightly lifted his eyelids.
When he saw that the person before him was a gentle, older sister type wearing a pair of glasses, he finally sighed in relief and then fainted.
(end of chapter)