Spring, Year 55-56 of Konoha.
Uchiha Ran's academic performance was… less than ideal.
As one of the academy's most famous dead-last students, he had spent an extra year repeating classes. Yet during that very year of retention, his progress skyrocketed—and in the end, he finally graduated from the Ninja Academy.
Not long before ninja squads were officially assigned, Ran moved into a new house located right next door to the residence of the Uchiha clan's deputy head.
According to Deputy Head Uchiha Fugaku, Ran's parents had died heroically during a harrowing ninja mission, sacrificing their lives to protect him. That single tragedy took away the last two members of his immediate family.
Fugaku was a busy man. As deputy clan head, he bore responsibility not only for protecting the village but also for commanding the Uchiha Police Force. Missions filled every hour of his schedule, and village affairs left him constantly exhausted. Because of this, he ordered his subordinates to construct a new house beside his own and had Ran move in there.
Though Fugaku himself was rarely home, the neighbor next door—Madam Mikoto… ah, no, Aunt Mikoto—was seven months pregnant at the time. She had already stepped down from her position as a jōnin, choosing to stay home and focus on caring for her unborn child.
Ran's parents had once been close friends of Uchiha Mikoto, something Fugaku remembered clearly. Because of this bond, he had arranged for them to serve as his personal guards. As the Uchiha clan's deputy head, his own strength—combined with that of his guards—made his safety a certainty. No one would dare provoke Konoha's most powerful clan.
Yet fate is fickle, and misfortune comes without warning.
No one could have imagined that Fugaku would fall into an ambush during a skirmish in the Third Shinobi World War.. Of the thirteen guards who accompanied him, nine were killed on the spot. Only Fugaku and four other Uchiha survived. Swallowing their grief, the survivors retrieved the fallen clan members' Sharingan and brought them back.
Mikoto was devastated by the deaths of Ran's parents. If not for her, perhaps they would never have died on that battlefield.
Because of this, Mikoto—wife of the deputy clan head—showered Ran with care and affection. She understood the pain of losing family and knew he needed patience, warmth, and understanding. She did everything she could to fill the emptiness in his heart.
Despite being heavily pregnant, Mikoto prepared a hearty breakfast every morning and personally delivered it to Ran next door.
The dishes she cooked were rich in aroma, vibrant in color, each one carefully prepared with skill and tenderness. Every bite carried her care.
With Mikoto accompanying him, and before Ran had even graduated, the two explored every corner of Konoha together. They strolled along paths lined with blooming cherry blossoms, sunlight filtering through leaves and scattering across the ground in dappled patterns. Whenever Mikoto saw Ran smile, her own heart felt lighter.
Perhaps, she thought, this child had finally stepped out of the shadow of his parents' deaths.
What no one knew was that Uchiha Ran's soul had long since fused with that of another—one from a different world.
Yes. An outsider's soul.
The story itself wasn't complicated. Just a freshly graduated college student, exhausted after finishing a grueling project, collapsing over his desk while watching anime. His eyelids grew heavy… and that tired body never woke again.
No one knew that a soul had crossed worlds.
When that soul awakened, it found it no longer possessed a human body—only a pale, drifting spirit. It wandered through countless years and endless stretches of the universe, witnessing bizarre and wondrous cosmic phenomena.
Time passed… too much time.
Gradually, the soul lost its fluctuations. Perhaps out of fear of eternity, it sealed away its own perceptions. Along the way, it passed through a strange realm and was attacked by someone known as the Spirit King. Something else seemed to fuse into the soul at that moment.
Then one day, on a distant planet, the wandering soul finally merged with that of a newborn child.
Yet even then, the consciousness remained dormant.
Only on the day Ran's parents died did the fusion fully complete.
Yes—this person was Uchiha Ran.
To everyone else, he was an utterly ordinary Uchiha who didn't graduate from the academy until the age of thirteen.
Because he'd been held back, everyone knew his hand seals were slow, his ninjutsu repertoire limited to the clan's Great Fireball Technique, his taijutsu merely passable. His theoretical grades hovered just below average. Aside from respectable swordsmanship and genjutsu that could be called excellent, nothing about him stood out.
Compared to geniuses like Hatake Kakashi, he wasn't even in the same league.
By regulation, Ran could have graduated earlier—but at his parents' insistence, his graduation was delayed until this year.
Today was the second day after Uchiha Ran officially graduated.
Sunlight spilled through thin clouds onto his face. Early in the morning, Ran and his friends had already arranged to meet at a barbecue restaurant to celebrate becoming ninja.
Outside the restaurant stood Kakashi, the prodigy chunin with a mask covering most of his face, calmly reading a book. Standing beside him, smiling, was Uchiha Ran.
From a distance, Nohara Rin approached, a bouquet of flowers in her hands, petals swaying gently in the breeze.
She smiled brightly at Ran, a fresh floral scent surrounding her.
When she reached him, Rin handed over the bouquet and said,
"Ran, I passed by the Yamanaka flower shop and brought you some lilies. Congratulations on graduating!"
"Thank you, Rin," Ran replied warmly. "You're really kind."
Soon after, Uchiha Obito, Might Guy, and Ebisu arrived one after another, each offering their congratulations.
Finally, Aoba arrived as well. Once everyone was seated, the restaurant owner brought out trays of fresh meat. The rich aroma filled the air, making mouths water.
the group gathered like this—it had been a long time since they'd all sat together, even though some like Kakashi had advanced further.
While eating, Rin suddenly asked,
"Ran, has your jōnin instructor been decided yet?"
"Uh… well…" Ran scratched the back of his head, clearly unsure how to answer.
Kakashi spoke up calmly,
"Ran's jōnin instructor is Yuhi Shinku—a genjutsu specialist. Kurenai's father."
Advance Chapters available on Patreon
patreon.com/MythArcStudio