In a small courtyard at the edge of the Uchiha clan's territory, the sound of a pen scratching against paper echoed faintly. A five-year-old Uchiha boy, with carrot-colored hair and a serious expression, sat upright at a desk near the window. Despite his young age, his posture was that of a disciplined adult. The seriousness of his demeanor gave him an undeniable charm, but upon closer inspection, his expression carried a mischievous glint. The suppressed laughter bubbling under the surface added a sinister flair to his childish face.
"Hehehe..."
"It's time to bring a little time-stopping shock to the ninja world!"
The boy, Uchiha Kage, laughed to himself as he scribbled furiously in his notebook. In his vivid imagination, the protagonist of his story froze the schoolteacher in place with an epic feat of time manipulation. The scene ended with the protagonist finishing the last of a cream dessert before walking away dramatically. Satisfied with his creative "masterpiece," Uchiha Kage's mischievous grin grew wider.
As his mind swirled in the climax of his fantasy, a mysterious black box appeared in his hand, emanating a foreboding aura. Carefully, he poured a single drop of an inky black liquid into the cup of water on his desk. The liquid spread quickly, turning the water completely black. The darkness within seemed alive, clawing at the edges of the cup as if trying to escape.
Kage's face grew solemn. Without hesitation, he raised the cup and drank it all in one gulp.
The liquid burned as it flowed down his throat. Its sinister energy spread rapidly, invading his body and mind. It sought to corrupt his will, feeding him contempt for the weak and amplifying his hidden desires. Kage's young mind fought against the encroaching darkness, his inner world erupting into a chaotic battle between light and shadow. The mental strain made his small face contort, and a crimson hue began to emerge at the base of his dark pupils.
"Embrace the darkness, or perish in it."
Despite the ominous voice echoing in his mind, Uchiha Kage was unshaken. As a transmigrator with the ability template of Zed, the Shadow Stream Lord from League of Legends, he was no stranger to walking the edge of danger. He had achieved Silver IV in his previous life by mastering Zed's mechanics, earning him the nickname "Naruto Zed" among fellow players. Now in the ninja world, he had the Shadow Stream abilities as his "golden finger," along with a tragic backstory—his parents had died when he was very young.
The double tomoe in his Sharingan spun wildly, but they eventually stabilized.
"Check personal information," he muttered.
[Name: Uchiha Kage.]
[Abilities: Shadow Tears – Mastery 7% (taboo power, extremely dangerous, corrupting Yin attribute chakra aggregate); Double Tomoe Sharingan.]
[Chakra Attributes: Fire, Wind, Thunder, Earth, Water, Yin, Yang.]
[Ninjutsu: Shadow Secret: All Blades (chakra-infused shuriken); Shadow Secret: Doppel (fully-powered shadow clone); Shadow Secret: Demon Slash (Yin chakra-infused slash that drains opponent's chakra); Forbidden Secret: Instant Prison Shadow Killing Formation (locked); Shadow Secret: Soul Destruction (locked).]
"Hah... comfortable!" Kage exhaled, a satisfied smile spreading across his face. "I'm getting stronger again! Man, I work so hard—it's almost tragic."
The chakra in his body surged to new heights, now rivaling that of a Chunin. With the energy from the Shadow Tears acting as a chakra reserve, Kage didn't need to worry about running dry like Kakashi or Nagato. However, this forbidden power came at a cost. He still remembered his first attempt at mastering Shadow Tears. Full of youthful ambition, he had recklessly consumed a significant portion. The pain was indescribable, surpassing even Sasuke's anguish on the night of the Uchiha massacre.
The result? He fainted on the spot. When he woke, his head felt as if it had been torn apart and pierced by steel needles. The residual pain lingered for over a month, haunting even his dreams. Since then, he had approached the Shadow Tears with extreme caution, consuming only a single drop at a time.
Still, necessity forced him to endure. Strength was everything in the ninja world, and Kage wasn't about to let weakness dictate his fate. He discovered that his ability to absorb and control the forbidden power improved when his mind was active, which led him to adapt the time-stopping fantasy stories of his past life.
Today, after his latest breakthrough, Uchiha Kage leaped off his chair, energized. With a wide grin, he marched out of the house, his head full of dreams and schemes. He was determined to be the one to usher in a cultural revolution in the ninja world, one story at a time.
As he strolled through the streets of Konoha with the Uchiha clan emblem displayed proudly on his back, passersby instinctively gave him a wide berth. Civilians cast wary glances at the boy, while seasoned ninjas scrutinized him with a mixture of awe and suspicion.
"An Uchiha with his Sharingan already awakened at this age?" whispered one ninja to another.
"Another genius," muttered another, shaking his head with envy.
Kage, however, reveled in the attention. Standing in the middle of the street, he struck a dramatic pose, brushing his fingers through his hair to reveal one eye.
"A predator at the top of the food chain," he declared, his voice loud and confident, "even in its youth, inspires fear in prey!"
The civilians stared at him, utterly baffled by his antics, while a few ninjas shivered at the underlying power they sensed from the child.
Inside, Kage laughed. He may have been young, but his dreams were anything but small. The ninja world had no idea what was coming.