Year 47 of the Leaf Village.
Kannabi Bridge.
Broken walls and crumbling ruins stretched as far as the eye could see. Large craters blown open by overwhelming ninjutsu scarred the earth, some still letting off thin wisps of smoke. A cold mountain wind blew, bringing an even heavier stench of blood and sweat. Clearly, a fierce battle had just ended here not long ago.
On the barren battlefield, seven or eight figures stood before a pile of shattered stone and debris. They were all ninja from the Leaf Village. Most wore uniforms marked with the Leaf Village Police Force symbol. These were members of the Police Force, more specifically elite shinobi from the Uchiha Clan.
Normally the Police Force kept village peace, but with the Third Great Ninja War raging, the Leaf Village was so short on fighters that even newly graduated Genin had been thrown straight into combat.
"Kakashi, is this the place?"
Shisui Uchiha, leading the squad, scanned the wreckage, then looked to the non‑Uchiha youth standing at the front.
That young man had his left eye shut tight, a long vertical scar cutting across the eyelid, a clear sign his left eye had been blinded by a blade. This was none other than Minato Namikaze's student, Kakashi Hatake.
Beside Kakashi stood Rin Nohara, another member of Team Minato. The third, Obito Uchiha, was not present—he lay buried beneath the rubble before them.
Kakashi nodded. "This is it. Let's hurry and dig Obito out as fast as we can."
"Alright!" Shisui waved a hand, and the Uchiha clan members dropped any idle talk. They rushed forward, lifting rubble piece by piece with all their strength.
Holy crap. Obito really died…and this was the aftermath of the Battle of Kannabi Bridge? Why the hell did I transmigrate to this exact awful moment!
What no one knew was that one of the Uchiha moving rubble was inwardly panicking. His name was Ryūjin Uchiha, twelve years old, a newly minted Genin with no remarkable talent and no awakened Sharingan. On the surface he looked like a completely average Uchiha, barely able to lift a boulder without effort.
But deep inside, only ten minutes ago, a foreign consciousness had taken over his body. Ryūjin was a genuine transmigrator.
Back in his original life he'd been a fan of anime, and Naruto was one of the most popular shonen series he'd ever watched. So even though he had just arrived in this world, Ryūjin instantly and accurately recognized the timeline he was in—
A time of war.
As an ordinary Genin, he was insignificant, facing danger at every turn.
Just as Ryūjin lifted another stone, a sudden mechanical voice buzzed in his mind:
"Ding! Sign‑in System successfully bound! The Host can sign in at special locations. The rarer the location, the better the rewards. Some spots can be signed in repeatedly, others only once. Explore to discover."
Ryūjin stood frozen for a moment before excitement spiked through him.
So i got a cheat! Thank goodness.
"Detected a sign‑in location. Does the Host wish to sign in?"
The system's question echoed in his head.
"Sign in!" Ryūjin snapped without hesitation.
"Ding! Congratulations, Host, sign‑in successful. Reward obtained: Rinnegan!"
Rin… Rinnegan!?
Clang!
The large stone in Ryūjin's hands slipped and smashed to the ground, crushing his foot. But the impact barely registered, because Ryūjin was completely stunned.
Rinnegan! The system was insane! The first sign‑in giving Rinnegan? This was the peak evolution of ocular power! A real cheat!
Everyone that watched Naruto knew how powerful the Rinnegan was. Just think of Pain and the Six Paths abilities—Chibaku Tensei alone could swallow even Tailed Beasts. Without equivalent mastery, nobody stood a chance.
Ryūjin had gone from a plain Genin to an overwhelmingly powerful existence in one terrifying instant. His mind struggled to keep up.
"Ryūjin, are you alright?"
Shisui's voice pulled him back to reality. The Uchiha leader tilted his head, looking at Ryūjin with concern.
All eyes were on him.
Of course they were tense. They'd just fought a brutal battle, and enemies could still strike at any moment.
Ryūjin took in Shisui's features. The youth looked about the same age as Kakashi. Shisui's age was often debated, but appearances in the shinobi world weren't reliable measures. What mattered here was the situation, not gossip.
"N‑nothing," Ryūjin said quickly, waving his hand awkwardly.
But the others were still watching him.
He froze. This wasn't his old world. These were real ninja! Even the weakest shinobi trained relentlessly just to hold their ground in battle. How could he casually lift a rock without seeming suspicious?
"I…I'm just afraid of seeing Bro Obito's…" Ryūjin said, his voice trembling with forced sorrow.
Suddenly the tense looks softened. They understood. Ryūjin was shaken by the sight of Obito buried under so much stone, unable to accept that his comrade might be gone.
"Ryūjin, we are all ninja," Shisui said solemnly, "Defending the village is our duty. We must protect it even at the cost of our own lives. If Obito truly died, he is still our hero."
"No… Obito isn't dead!" Kakashi growled stubbornly, jaw clenched.
Everyone inhaled softly. And yet… buried under all that rubble, Obito's body was likely crushed beyond recognition. Still, they could see why Kakashi refused to give up hope, and no one said anything more.