Sunset painted the sky in hues of orange and crimson. Within the Uchiha compound, nestled in the heart of Konohagakure, the Hidden Leaf Village of the Land of Fire, a young man stood before a small shop.
"Boss, one bento, please," Jin said, his black shorts and t-shirt, coupled with the Uchiha fan emblem on his back, clearly marking his clan affiliation. He eyed the assorted bentos displayed on the counter, practically drooling. Not that clothing mattered much. Villagers rarely dared to step foot within the Uchiha compound anyway.
"Uchiha Jin, you disgrace to the Uchiha clan!!" A shrill, indignant voice jolted Jin from his culinary contemplation. Emerging from the shop wasn't the kindly shopkeeper, but a small, fiery child—Uchiha Nokori, the shopkeeper's son.
"Whatever," Jin muttered, shaking his head and abandoning his bento quest. He'd just make do with whatever leftovers he had at home.
Seeing Jin's blatant disregard, Nokori's taunts escalated. "Don't think you can pretend you didn't hear me! You failed the ninja exams again, didn't you?!"
To Nokori's surprise, Jin flashed a wide grin and proudly gave him a thumbs-up. "You guessed it!"
Nokori's face flushed with anger. How could anyone be so shameless? When had an Uchiha ever failed the ninja exams, let alone twice? "You idiot! Do you have any Uchiha pride?"
"Hold on a sec," Jin interrupted, "you might want to look behind you."
Nokori scoffed. "I'm not falling for that!" He knew Jin's tricks. The moment he turned around, Jin would vanish into thin air, a tactic honed to perfection during their time at the Academy.
"What did you say to Jin, you little brat?!" A large hand clamped down on the back of Nokori's neck, lifting him off the ground as he flailed and wailed in protest. A middle-aged man with a slight limp, his face grim, glared down at his son. It was Uchiha Noboru, the shopkeeper.
"I'll deal with you later," Noboru growled, shoving Nokori back into the shop. He then turned to Jin, his expression softening. "Don't mind him, Jin. He needs a good lesson. Don't worry about the exams. Just keep trying your best." He handed Jin a meticulously prepared bento. "Here, don't go hungry."
"How much, Uncle Noboru?" Jin asked.
"Don't be silly. It's on the house. Take whatever you like."
"Thanks, Uncle," Jin replied, heading home. Once a safe distance away, he casually tossed a fifty-ryo coin towards the shop. It landed with a clink on the counter.
"That kid…" Noboru chuckled, picking up the coin and calling out, "You gave me too much!"
"For next time!" Jin's voice drifted back.
Watching Jin disappear down the street, Noboru's expression grew somber. "Such a waste." The boy's parents were both Jonin, yet he possessed no discernible talent for ninjutsu. Life wouldn't be easy for him in this meritocratic clan. Noboru sighed, unable to offer any real help.
Nokori, rubbing his sore neck, emerged from the shop. "Dad, why?!" He couldn't understand. Why treat Jin, a failure, better than his own son?
"You little…" Noboru rolled up his sleeves, grabbing a nearby broom as Nokori made a futile attempt to escape. "Whack! Whack! Whack!" The resounding blows echoed through the street, making passersby wince. "Your father's life was saved by Jin's father! And you dare disrespect him?! Don't you know he comes here to support our business?!"
Nokori, overwhelmed by the stinging pain, could barely register his father's words. "Stop it! I'm sorry!"
"I'll teach you some respect today!" The beating continued relentlessly.
Jin's journey home wasn't much quieter. A group of children, too young for the Academy, materialized from seemingly nowhere, circling him and chanting, "Uchiha's glory, Uchiha's Jin, Uchiha's failure, can't be a shinobi!"
Instead of getting upset, Jin hummed along to their tune, unfazed by the lyrics. It was the truth, after all. Words couldn't hurt him. He even started to bounce along to the rhythm, a twelve-year-old indulging in a simple, childish pleasure. The Uchiha who passed by reacted with varying degrees of scorn, disdain, and pity.
Jin's cheerful demeanor seemed to deflate the children's taunts. They weren't there to entertain him. Sticking their tongues out, they scampered away.
Jin, still humming, continued his bouncy journey home. "Gotta enjoy the simple joys of childhood," he mused. The atmosphere might be hostile, but he could find his own amusement.
Back home, he lit three incense sticks before the framed photograph of his deceased parents. "Not exactly the custom here," he murmured, "but it feels right." He gazed at their faces, a wave of gratitude washing over him. They had given him a second chance at life. In his previous world, he'd been a victim of a careless truck driver, his life ending abruptly at a crosswalk. He'd woken up in this war-torn world, reborn into the Uchiha clan. It felt like tempting fate.
This world was anything but peaceful. Even without a major war raging, skirmishes were constant, and the looming threat of a final showdown hung heavy in the air. Even if he survived that, there was the Third Great Ninja War, and if he somehow lived through that, the Uchiha clan massacre awaited. It was like living with a guillotine perpetually poised above his neck.
His failure at the ninja exams wasn't an act. He genuinely couldn't perform the Clone Jutsu the first time or the Substitution Jutsu this time. He was possibly the only Uchiha incapable of using ninjutsu. As for the Sharingan, the Uchiha's famed kekkei genkai, he'd given up hope. He was a disgrace to transmigrators everywhere.
Awakening the Sharingan required profound emotional trauma. The Mangekyo Sharingan demanded even more – the loss of profound love. Obito wasn't chosen by Madara for his talent, but for his capacity to love, and therefore, to hate.
For Jin, profound emotions were a distant concept. He struggled to form genuine connections in this world. Emotions were key to unlocking the Sharingan, as evidenced by Sasuke awakening his single tomoe during the massacre.
The real culprit behind his ninjutsu deficiency was…
"My damn cheat!"
His cheat, called Deduction, could theoretically deduce anything, from immortal cultivation techniques to methods for falling asleep quickly. It sounded powerful, but its limitations were crippling. To deduce something, he had to provide the underlying principles and foundational knowledge. For example, to deduce postpartum pig care, he needed to input knowledge of pig biology, birthing processes, and existing pig care techniques. Why not just buy a book on pig care then?!
The only advantage was the guaranteed success of the deduced result. It was a scientist's dream.
"You should go find Orochimaru, not me!"
Well, perhaps him after all. Deduction was still the key to his survival.
The most problematic aspect was the forced learning. Once something was deduced, he automatically and irrevocably mastered it. He'd learned that the hard way. He'd found his parents' hidden stash of jutsu scrolls, surprisingly full of sealing techniques. He didn't recall his parents ever being part of the Sealing Corps. Then he'd found his father's diary, containing a chilling entry: "If I could break the Nine-Tails' seal and become its jinchuriki, could the Uchiha finally claim the Hokage title?"
His parents were radicals, so radical they'd practically predicted the future! As a worthy heir to their radical legacy… it was terrifying! Mito was still alive back then! His parents were getting ahead of themselves!
Forget the radical agenda. He'd spent days poring over the sealing jutsu scrolls, barely understanding a thing, but memorizing them nonetheless. Then, a brilliant idea struck him. What if he used sealing techniques as a basis to create a kind of internal chakra cultivation method, like inner energy in wuxia novels? He could store chakra and release it at will by modifying the seals.
Deduction confirmed the feasibility. A basic Chakra Sealing Cultivation technique was born. It promised longevity, enhanced healing, and improved physical abilities – a twisted version of Tsunade's Strength of a Hundred Seal.
So far, so good. The problem? This basic cultivation method prevented him from expelling chakra. Any attempt to do so resulted in the technique forcibly drawing it back in. Ninjutsu was out of the question. The forced learning left no room for regrets.
And the worst part? To advance further, he needed other people to increase his upper limit.
Deduction, you're killing me!
What could he do? He was trapped.
His Chakra Sealing Cultivation had levels. He needed to gradually expand the seals throughout his body, enhancing his physical abilities and lifespan. Once it reached his entire body, he could theoretically use ninjutsu again.
This was some garbage game mechanic!
"Let this world end!" Jin's face was a mask of despair.