The ghost of the Uchiha has returned!

The sun rose from the east, illuminating the large town below. However, despite the bright and lively day, a certain corner of the town was filled with noises that would evoke deep sympathy.

Bang! Bang! Punch! Punch!

The resounding thuds of punches and kicks echoed within the slums of the town. The townsfolk who witnessed this scene hurriedly brushed past, not wanting to draw the attention of the perpetrators.

The target of the punches and kicks was a skinny youth, approximately thirteen years old. He wore simple and worn-out clothes, clearly indicating that he was no different from a beggar.

Although the town was large, it was divided between the rich and the poor, with the poor residing in remote corners known as the slums. The youth had been beaten so severely that his face was unrecognizable.

The thugs, who had been pounding on the youth, finally stopped to catch their breath. One of the timid-looking thugs anxiously asked, "Do you think he's dead? I think we may have gone too far this time..."

The leader of the group responded to the question in annoyance, "Who cares? We've warned him countless times to beg elsewhere. He's taking our customers!"

The thugs silently agreed, understanding that in this dog-eat-dog world, even if someone died, the townsfolk wouldn't care. The lives of the poor meant nothing.

One of the thugs standing behind the rest felt frustrated that he hadn't gotten his share of the beating. He walked up to the youth, who was lying on the floor like a lifeless horse, and proceeded to kick him in the abdomen.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

The other thugs sighed, knowing that this particular thug had always been like this. He just couldn't help himself.

However, just as he was about to land another kick, the youth suddenly opened his eyes, surprising the thug. He stumbled backward for a second, but quickly regained his composure.

Embarrassed and infuriated by being caught off guard in front of his friends, the thug immediately became enraged.

The youth watched the incoming kick without registering it, his eyes empty and confused. However, a storm was brewing in his mind.

In that split second, he asked himself the same questions repeatedly.

"This... Where is this? My Infinite Tsukuyomi plan failed. I'm certain I have died... so why? Is this what the afterlife is like? I remember talking to Hashirama before taking my last breath... Perhaps this is my last remaining consciousness flashing before I enter the afterlife."

Coming to this conclusion, the youth closed his eyes and embraced the feeling before his soul departed to the afterlife.

BOOM!

The thug's kick landed straight on the youth's nose, causing blood to pour out like a fountain.

"uhgh…"

The youth let out a surprised grunt, questioning why he hadn't departed to the afterworld yet and why he was feeling excruciating pain. He held his nose, trying to make sense of what was happening.

The thug, satisfied with the damage he had inflicted, wore a menacing smile. But his hunger for violence was not satiated. After landing the kick, he continued to beat the youth without holding back.

"Am I... being beaten up by this fool?" the youth questioned himself, finding the idea of being beaten up preposterous. It felt so distant and alien to him that it made no sense.

"No... this is not a genjutsu, nor is it the afterlife! This is not my last remaining consciousness either!"

Indeed, the youth in question was none other than the Ghost of the Uchiha, a never-ending nightmare of the shinobi world. A man whose name alone could incite a world war.

Madara Uchiha!

Madara looked at the thug in front of him as if looking at a mere ant. His inborn arrogance, developed over numerous victories, gave him the eyes of a hunter, looking down upon everyone as though they were prey ready for slaughter.

Without hesitation, another kick flew towards Madara's face.

BOOM!

With one hand, Madara blocked the incoming kick. Before the thug could comprehend what had happened, Madara was already on top of him, pummeling his face as if it were dough.

This all happened within a matter of seconds. The other thugs were left in shock but quickly took action.

A fierce battle ensued, or rather, a one-sided slaughter.

On the floor lay the four thugs, their bones broken and begging for mercy. They had urinated themselves in fear.

"Urgh... Please, spare us! We won't disturb you again. You can beg in our territory. In fact, we will even inform our boss to provide you with ample rations every day! Just spare us, please..."

Madara looked at the begging imbeciles before him and felt as if he were listening to a bunch of cowards spewing nonsense.

"Noisy..." Madara kicked each of them in the mouth to shut them up. They instantly became quiet out of fear and waited for Madara's next move.

However, Madara didn't even spare them a glance. He was too busy analyzing his current situation.

"This body... it doesn't feel familiar. Not to mention, it seems as though it hasn't consumed food in days. It's nothing but skin and bones... the body of a teenager."

Madara looked around, finding his surroundings extremely unfamiliar. No matter how much he looked, it didn't seem like this was the shinobi world.

He tried activating his chakra and Sharingan but failed. He couldn't feel any chakra running through his body, let alone summon it.

"Strange... even a donkey has a chakra network system, but this body doesn't have it. I can't even summon chakra, no matter how hard I try."

"Interesting... is this a dimension between life and death? Or is it some sort of world other than the one I know? Could this be the shinobi world that I know of, or something similar?"

Madara furrowed his brows as he contemplated his next move. As he looked at the piles of 'crap' at his feet, he came up with a simple solution.

The thugs flinched when they saw Madara staring at them with a cold expression. They tried to get up, but their broken bones prevented them from doing so. They could only crawl away, terrified of the impending doom.

Madara slowly approached one of the thugs, lowering himself to eye level. "I will ask you some questions, and you will answer. Where is this place? What year is it? And who is the strongest shinobi here? You have five seconds."

The thug looked at him in utter bewilderment, feeling like he was facing a madman. "Has this guy lost his mind?" A newfound fear sprouted within him. This youth in front of him was crazy.

"Four..."

Madara's patience was wearing thin. He slapped the thug and began counting down.

"Three..."

The thug wanted to cry out for his mother. No matter what he said, he was dealing with a madman. If he could turn back time, he would never have picked a fight with this youth.

"Okay, okay, I'll answer!! I don't know why you're asking me these obvious questions, but this is the town of 'Lu Shou,' located in the southern continent. It's a mid-grade town, and there are hundreds and thousands of such towns on the continent! As for what lies beyond the southern continent, I don't know! I have never left this town! I don't know what a shinobi is, but the strongest person here is the chief. He's at the Qi Formation stage! Also, I have no clue what year it is. You should go to the main street and ask the townsfolk! I'm just a beggar!"

Madara took in these words but couldn't help but be slightly surprised. He now knew that he had transported into another world unfamiliar to the shinobi world. All these names listed were alien to him.

The thug watched in silence, the youth in front of him did not say a word in response. Seconds ticked by, and he felt like each passing second brought his impending death closer.

Madara finally snapped out of his daze and looked at the youth.

The thug gulped in anxiety. "You will spare me, right?... Right? Please, I'll give you all the money I ha-"

BOOM!

Madara couldn't be bothered to listen any longer. He had gotten what he needed. After landing a heavy punch, he knocked out the youth and prepared to leave.

However, unbeknownst to Madara, a youth who was no more than 15 years old had witnessed everything that transpired. He hid behind a wall 50 meters away, peeking at Madara.

"Shit, I need to let Boss Han know about this now! This guy just beat the daylights out of my senior brothers! Since when did this beggar become so strong? I need to leave now!"

The youth stealthily left and ran away as if his tail was tucked behind his back.

However, how could the Ghost of the Uchiha not see this? Even without his Sharingan, he had already spotted the youth peeking at him.

"Interesting indeed... I have a feeling if I follow him, I'll get more answers."

Just as Madara was about to chase the youth, he heard an unfamiliar robotic voice resounding in his brain.

'System is activating. Initializing... 3... 2... 1...'

Madara: ...