"Uchiha Hara, I like this name."
His consciousness broke free from the chaos, like a diver suddenly breaching the surface, but the first breath of air he inhaled carried the unfamiliar scent of dust and wood.
Uchiha Hara abruptly opened his eyes, not with a panicked cry, but with a sudden contraction of his pupils and a momentary tensing of all his muscles.
What greeted his eyes was the unfamiliar, slightly dim roof of a Japanese-style room; wooden beams were exposed, showing signs of age, and there was even a damaged section in the roof, through which specks of starlight shone, telling Uchiha Hara the current time.
"It's not my ceiling, it's not my room."
"I really did transmigrate!"
Actually, this wasn't his first awakening, but after he woke up, another wave of memories surged, causing him to faint again.
Fortunately, those memories weren't extensive, and he soon woke up again.
After all, it was just a five-year-old child; how many memories could he have?
Without wasting time on sentimentality or disbelief, his survival instincts quickly led him to assess his environment.
He tried to sit up, and a strong sense of exhaustion and dizziness washed over him; this body felt as if all its energy had been drained, limp and unresponsive.
He looked down at the hands supporting him on the tatami mat—they were small, pale, and clearly jointed.
"Extremely weak, malnourished, possibly with hidden injuries."
The fragmented memories that had just merged began to surface, flashing back.
A black-haired child on a training ground, desperately throwing shuriken until his web of thumb and index finger split; repeatedly forming hand seals, practicing Great Fireball Technique until his Chakra was depleted and blood seeped from his nose and mouth... the overt and covert mockery and isolation from his peers in the Clan... "A good-for-nothing with no parents."
"Overestimating himself."
And, the persistent hunger in his memories, the meager pension barely enough to eat, let alone purchase cultivation resources... That was Uchiha Hara's obsession, an orphan whose parents had died, shunned within the Clan, who tried to prove himself through Madness cultivation, to escape the derogatory term "dead last," but the result was counterproductive.
Not only did he deplete his foundation, but he also came in last in the Clan test held during the day.
Now, not only his body but also his mental state had collapsed.
Ultimately, he silently exhausted everything in this cold room.
"Uchiha Clan, Konoha Village. The time... is uncertain, but it should be early in the plot."
His knowledge of Hokage from his previous life was instantly mobilized, like a vast database being activated.
"Situation: an orphan, Uchiha identity is sensitive, low strength, and body is on the verge of collapse."
Things aren't looking good!
Uchiha Hara wasn't panicked or confused; in his previous life, he was an extremely calm and big-hearted person.
Therefore, after transmigrating, he immediately understood that in this situation, any irrelevant emotions were a waste of time.
Do you think transmigrating into a five-year-old child, not having enough to eat or wear, and being sickly is already tough?
I'm telling you, the difficulties have just begun!
Later, there will be Ninja wars, conflicts between the Village and the Uchiha, and the Night of the Clan Annihilation!
As a seasoned Hokage fan in his previous life, he was all too aware of the cruel nature of this world.
Beneath the facade of passion and peace lay endless conspiracies, betrayals, and slaughter.
Danzo's Root, Hiruzen's crystal ball, the Uchiha's isolation, the shadow of the Akatsuki Organization... Compared to these, a sickly body was the most insignificant thing.
Anyway, a child's recovery ability is strong; with proper care, he can recover in a month or two.
Moreover, the main reason Uchiha Hara was riddled with injuries and illnesses was excessive training.
As long as he stopped training and only used his pension for food, it would be enough.
Physical problems could be dealt with slowly; next, it was about how to survive in this world.
Konoha is not an ordinary Village; it is a Village that gathers tens of thousands of Ninja.
What kind of existence are Ninja?
An existence that integrates intelligence gathering, code-breaking, protection, assassination, and combat.
In his previous life, it would be a combination of a secret agent, a mercenary, and an assassin.
In a place full of secret agents and mercenaries, if your behavior, language, or demeanor is slightly out of the ordinary, you will be discovered.
That's why Uchiha Hara in his previous life didn't really like those overly flamboyant protagonists; they treated living in Konoha as child's play.
If it were during the Boruto era, this might be acceptable, but during the Second and Third Hokage's era, aren't you just seeking death?
In a place full of secret agents, you have to treat yourself as an undercover agent who has infiltrated a secret agent organization; being cautious and meticulous is the norm, and speaking and acting carefully must be ingrained in your bones!
Of course, it can't be too exaggerated; not acting is definitely not an option, but too much acting is also not good.
The balance in this can only be grasped by oneself!
Besides his style of conduct, Uchiha Hara also had to consider his survival strategy.
Looking at various Hokage novels, the early stages can generally be divided into two factions: Konoha-loyal and Anti-Konoha.
The former is loyal to Konoha, the latter is not.
But in the middle and later stages, with the end of Hokage and the emergence of various analysts and conspiracy theories, one character was singled out from Konoha Village.
This person was Hiruzen Sarutobi.
As Hiruzen Sarutobi's reputation gradually worsened, people realized that Hokage was not equal to Konoha, so another faction emerged: Anti-Hiruzen, not Anti-Konoha.
Regarding conspiracy theories, Uchiha Hara certainly believed them.
After all, you can't not believe it; Uchiha Shisui's eyes were gouged out. Do you dare to say you are more loyal to Konoha than Uchiha Shisui?
With such an example before him, Uchiha Hara couldn't help but believe in conspiracy theories.
So the question arises: if you believe in conspiracy theories, you must oppose Hiruzen Sarutobi, so should you stand with the Uchiha?
Not necessarily.
Because from the information Uchiha Hara obtained from the original owner's memories, the Uchiha Clan indeed had significant problems.
Firstly, Uchiha Hara didn't understand why a person who worked hard to cultivate could receive so much malice.
At least from the education Uchiha Hara received in his previous life, even if a student wasn't good at studying, as long as he was diligent, basically no one would say anything bad about him.
Instead, there would be more people who felt pity.
Secondly, Uchiha Hara also didn't understand why the Uchiha Clan would so belittle the child of a hero.
In Uchiha Hara's view, the original owner's parents were definitely heroes, because they sacrificed themselves in war.
Such parents, if not heroes, were at least martyrs.
Yet, in the Uchiha Clan, the child of martyrs couldn't get enough to eat or wear, and their house was leaky!
And when he walked on the street, he would be mocked by children with parents, who would say he had no father or mother?
Such a Clan that disrespects heroes would make anyone angry!
Based on the above situation, the values of the Uchiha Clan were problematic; not only were the children problematic, but the adults who didn't stop the children were also problematic.
Looking at it this way, Uchiha Itachi's choice to annihilate the Clan might not have been his fault after all?
"The Uchiha are not trustworthy either, but they still need to be utilized. As for the problem with their values, I can only see if I can change it in the future!" Uchiha Hara sighed, feeling his strength had recovered a lot, so he struggled to stand up again and went to the mirror.
He saw that although the young man in the mirror looked haggard, he had sword-like eyebrows and star-like eyes, with a face so perfectly proportioned.
As expected of an Uchiha, it seems his appearance will also be that of a character who brings disaster to the country in the future.
Appearance in the Ninja World seems unimportant, but in reality, it is quite important.
Not to mention distant examples, just looking at the convenience Sasuke gained from his appearance while traveling the Ninja World is enough to know.
Just as his survival strategy was initially taking shape, a warm sensation suddenly surged from his glabella.
Uchiha Hara was startled, then returned to the bed, held his breath, and focused his attention on his glabella.
He distinctly felt a void space in his glabella, and within this void, an ancient, mysterious gourd-shaped object was floating.
As the gourd rotated, a gentle yet firm warm current seeped out from it, slowly flowing from his glabella to his brain, limbs, and bones; the headache caused by the influx of memories instantly subsided, and the bone-deep weakness and coldness throughout his body gradually dissipated.
"Is this my golden finger?"
A thought flashed through his mind.
During his transmigration, his soul seemed to have indeed collided with some incomprehensible existence... It seems this is it.
With a thought, Uchiha Hara used his mental power to touch the gourd, and then a piece of information, a name, surged into his mind along with the mental power: demon refining pot!
"Ancient divine artifact, demon refining pot?"
Uchiha Hara was directly shocked. According to legend, the demon refining pot was refined by Empress Nuwa from a gourd she obtained from Mount Buzhou, and its rank was that of a top-grade Innate Spirit Treasure, with the ability to refine all things and devour heaven and earth.
Could this be that object?
He concentrated, trying to communicate with the demon refining pot.
In an instant, his "vision" seemed to be sucked into a peculiar space.
This was a gray, hazy space about one cubic meter in size, surrounded by chaotic barriers, with a faint spiritual light suspended in the center.
Uchiha Hara touched that spiritual light again, and then some basic information about this space and the pot itself, like an instinct, surged into his consciousness.
This was indeed the demon refining pot, but it was in a damaged state.
The reason for its damage was unknown, but fortunately, there was still a possibility of repair.
The damaged demon refining pot currently had two functions.
Function one: Storage.
The current internal space is approximately one cubic meter. Non-living objects can be stored and retrieved with a thought.
The size and functions of the space can be upgraded as the demon refining pot is repaired.
Function two: Refinement.
It can refine all things and extract their origin. However, limited by Uchiha Hara's own cultivation and the damage to the demon refining pot, only basic refinement can currently be performed.
The refined things are divided into three types: inorganic matter, organic matter (or corpses), and living creatures.
Refining inorganic matter: Such as stones, wood, metal, etc., can be converted into minuscule amounts of material origin, which can be used to slowly repair the demon refining pot itself and slightly expand its internal space.
Refining living beings:
Living creatures: Requires the target's voluntary cooperation or complete helplessness, and consumes a huge amount of energy; currently not possible.
Corpses: Can refine their blood and flesh essence, condensing it into [blood essence].
Consuming [blood essence] can repair one's own injuries and enhance life origin (i.e., physique, strength, recovery ability, etc.).
As the information flow ended, an astonishing brilliance erupted in Uchiha Hara's eyes.
"As expected, heaven never seals off all exits! The demon refining pot!"