Chapter 2:

Chapter 2:

…..

It wasn't until the cold morning breeze brushed against the face of the nine-year-old boy that he woke from his deep sleep.

Blood.

The intense, penetrating smell hit him immediately, awakening memories he would rather leave buried. It was an aroma he was all too familiar with: iron, rotting flesh, sweat… a combination unbearable to most, causing nausea and dizziness. But for him, it was as familiar as the blade of a kunai in his hand.

He opened his eyes fully, and the first thing he saw was a landscape stained red.

Blood. Everywhere.

The red coated the lifeless bodies scattered around him and stained the earth and nearby farmlands. It oozed from his wounded arm, dripping slowly and soaking the ground beneath him.

'Am I dreaming?'

His pair of black eyes flickered with surprise and a trace of confusion. As he analyzed his surroundings, his trained mind instinctively sought possible explanations.

'Or is this some kind of illusion?'

The thought crossed his mind like a shuriken. But his intuition, the keen sense he had honed over years as a shinobi, told him this wasn't a genjutsu.

'No… I died. And I doubt the afterlife would be nothing more than an eternal genjutsu for the soul...'

His instincts urged him to act: to get up, explore the area, assess threats, bandage his wound… do whatever was necessary to ensure his survival. That response was almost automatic, ingrained in him through years of training. But this time, something held him back.

For the first time, he ignored those urges and remained on the ground, his mind revolving around a single question.

'Why?'

He was supposed to be dead.

Slowly, he lifted his gaze to the sky. Its clear, serene blue seemed to mock the massacre surrounding him. It was a calming sight, yet also deeply ironic. The contrast between the tranquil sky and the bloodstained chaos around him felt almost cruel.

'I'm here… but I shouldn't be.'

"..."

After waking up, he remembered everything.

In his mind, he could vividly recall his final moments as Itachi Uchiha: the sensation of the wind against his face as he fell from the cliff, his body battered but his mind at peace. He had accepted his fate, embraced death as the freedom he had longed for. He had done his part. He had fulfilled his mission. And yet, here he was.

He had no idea what was happening.

'How is this even possible…?'

The thought tormented him. None of this made sense. He had expected eternal rest, but instead, he was waking up in a foreign body, in an unfamiliar place.

"But here I am..." he murmured, his words barely audible, as if speaking to himself. His gaze remained fixed on the sky, his calculating eyes searching for answers that didn't exist.

Finally, the silence was broken by the sounds of the forest.

Itachi became aware of the noises reaching his ears. The whisper of the wind slipping through the trees, the creaking of branches, the distant echo of animals moving through the underbrush… Everything felt so real, so tangible. And yet, Itachi knew better than anyone that the sounds of the forest could be as comforting as they were unsettling. Since holding his first kunai, he had been trained to move seamlessly through forests and their surroundings. He had spent most of his life leaping from tree to tree.

For an instant, the forest triggered other memories, taking him back to another time. A fleeting recollection: the sound of Sasuke running after him, the rustling branches as they both leaped from tree to tree.

["Brother, wait!"]

His breathing hitched for a moment. The memory was brief, but the pain it brought was intense.

"Sasuke…" he murmured softly, clenching his fists tightly. The invisible scars he bore seemed to burn with every word. "I hope that one day… you'll use my eyes wisely."

His sacrifice had been for him, to give him a chance to live free of the chains of a clan doomed by its own ambitions.

Shaking his head, Itachi buried the pain that threatened to distract him. He took a deep breath, reigning in his mind as he always had.

Now there were too many questions and too few answers. In truth, he had none at all… only questions that tormented him. But Itachi knew that succumbing to confusion or melancholy wasn't an option. He breathed deeply once more, controlling every thought and burying any trace of despair.

…

With his composure restored, Itachi wasted no time and used a variety of methods he knew to test whether this was an illusion. If nothing else, it would clear up one of his many questions.

Naturally, not having chakra was a significant problem, but not one that would stop him. With his expertise in genjutsu, it was difficult to deceive his senses, and he had never solely relied on chakra.

Even so, all his attempts were in vain.

Every test, every attempt, led to the same result.

This was not an illusion. It was real.

He could feel his surroundings perfectly, and everything so far told him this was real.

The forest, the bodies, the new world around him… it was all tangible. But the mere fact of opening his eyes again remained an impossibility to him.

The situation made no sense. And for an experienced ninja, it was natural to conclude that all this was likely the result of an extremely complex illusion.

Yes, just the effects of a very complex, powerful illusion without flaws. One that prevented him from using chakra and had created an entirely new world to justify this and give him a new life from scratch.

The idea crossed his mind, but even that began to seem unlikely with each passing second.

'Even if this is an illusion, there's nothing I haven't tried already…'

'Unless I take drastic measures…'

But with each passing second, Itachi began to believe that this was not an illusion at all but something very real. The idea of taking drastic measures was not ideal yet.

"But this simply can't be real..." he thought again but ruthlessly crushed that line of thinking and focused on the present.

'If this is real, I have to adapt'

And if this were an illusion, he would uncover it eventually. For now, he would have to take it one step at a time in this mystery.

His entire situation was deeply confusing, but he calmed himself. He couldn't afford to fall into denial now.

'What happened?' he asked himself again but reached no logical conclusion.

Somehow, something had happened, by some unknown means and for some unknown reason…

That was all he knew, which was frustrating since it was practically nothing.

Instead of letting himself be overwhelmed, he did what he always did: focused on the now. How he had arrived here didn't matter; what mattered was what he would do next.

'I can only assume that my current soul is the same as in my previous life and that my memories as Itachi were temporarily sealed, and the awakening of the Sharingan unsealed them…'

Itachi did not find this so hard to accept since there were even stranger things in the Elemental Nations.

'Although I don't think this can truly be called the Sharingan...' he thought with a faint grimace as he activated his Martial Soul for the first time since awakening, letting a pair of enormous blood-red eyes with a small black pupil appear behind him, projecting like a shadow over his body.

That sight immediately reminded him of the Sharingan, though it lacked any tomoe for some reason.

"A mutation… incomplete," he murmured as his black eyes adopted the same crimson hue.

'Weaker too…' This "Sharingan" didn't even have all the functions that the most basic Sharingan of one tomoe has.

.

[ Martial Soul: 0 Tomoe Sharingan

Rank 2(innate spirit power 2)

Elemental Affinity: Fire and Yin

Effects:

-Improved Time Perception.

-Detailed Vision.

-Strong mental power

-Telescopic Vision in a straight line ]

.

Even as he analyzed his new Martial Soul, he felt a spark of curiosity.

'Is it possible this Sharingan could evolve…?'

In his mind, he was already forming theories.

'It's similar to the Sharingan… but it lacks tomoe. This could be an incomplete form… or perhaps a failed mutation'

But he didn't yet have enough data to draw conclusions. The only thing he knew for certain was that his soul, his essence, was still that of Itachi Uchiha.

'Or at least… I believe so'

On the other hand, he now didn't quite know what to make of the knowledge of his new life as Uchi Ha…

He considered that perhaps he could find happiness in this life… perhaps even freedom.

He had been given a new opportunity, but in this life, he had already lost everything. So Uchi Ha had no purpose here either.

"What now?" Itachi reflected aloud.

What was he going to do?

"Simply live as Uchi Ha?" he mocked the idea.

Yes, he had been given another chance, but he had already lost everything.

'Maybe find something I enjoy and do it until the day I die once again?' he began considering various ideas. He had never thought he'd open his eyes again, so there was much to contemplate in this strange situation.

Both of his lives had been far from ideal, built on sacrifice, pain, and loss. But now, with nothing left, perhaps he could live without the limitations that had shackled him his entire life.

Freedom… something he had sought in death now seemed possible in this life, in this world.

"I suppose I'll leave all other questions for a later time…" he murmured, his eyes returning to the sky, filled with clear resolution and determination.

"..."

Once he concluded this train of thought, he shook his head, deciding on a rudimentary course of action.

If he was going to live this new life, he would make the most of it and protect his freedom. But that required strength and caution—one could not be careless, or everything could be taken away.

Therefore, his first task for the day would be to gather as much information as possible about this world, and the nearest city seemed the best option to achieve this since villages and towns often lacked the necessary knowledge or resources.

At this moment, he was only nine years old, and from his memories as Uchi Ha, he had spent most of his time within the village, venturing out only a few times to nearby towns with his father. Most of what he knew about this world came from what Uchi He had told him.

With a contained sigh, Itachi slowly stood up, aware of the new body he now inhabited. It was frailer, lighter… and four years younger.

Itachi also noticed an unpleasant feeling in his body, something uncomfortable—a strange sensation, almost like an annoying stickiness when he moved. And no, it wasn't the blood; he was far too familiar with the texture and smell of blood to confuse it.

This was different…

Calmly, he observed his body. The stickiness he felt wasn't natural; a dark, viscous substance clung to his skin, something akin to rotted slime. The acrid smell it emitted would make anyone else grimace in disgust, but Itachi remained stoic, quickly processing the situation.

Noticing the nauseating state he was in, Itachi decided to find a place where he could clean himself. While the smell and discomfort weren't urgent priorities, keeping his body clean and functional was essential. Additionally, he needed to clean his wound to prevent infection. Without chakra, such things couldn't be ignored.

…

Eventually, he found a small lake nearby. The crystal-clear waters seemed like the perfect solution, and without further hesitation, Itachi stepped into the cold waters.

As soon as the liquid touched his skin, the black substance began to peel away, swirling on the surface like dispersing shadows. Patiently, he cleaned every inch of his body, finally revealing his clear skin beneath the grotesque, dark layer.

As the water washed away the impurities, his mind remained active. Itachi processed every detail of his situation with precision.

With each passing second, his mind gathered more information about his predicament.

'My body… has definitely changed…'

There was something different, something he couldn't ignore. His physical strength, though still limited by the size and youth of his body, seemed far greater than it should have been. This was new… as Uchi Ha, he had never had a physique like this.

'This must be tied to my Martial Soul… the incomplete Sharingan.'

As he cleaned his arm and tended to his wound, his thoughts continued to flow with the same calculated serenity that always defined him.

'This incomplete Sharingan… seems to be at least one rank higher than the rank-1 Spirit Eyes I previously possessed…'

The idea intrigued him. There wasn't enough information yet to fully understand the implications of this evolution, but Itachi couldn't ignore the sense that this power had immense potential.

'It's incomplete, yes, but I feel that as my spiritual power advances, my Sharingan will eventually… evolve again'

He glanced at the sky for a moment, reflecting in silence.

'Could it one day become a true Sharingan…? Or perhaps something else entirely...'

It seemed that his Martial Soul was now rank 2, but something in his intuition told him it didn't resemble anything the inhabitants of this world had seen before. Even with the limited clues he had, he knew its potential was extraordinary, almost unreal.

'It likely has the potential to become a rank-10 Martial Soul or even higher…'

If he mentioned this to anyone, they would likely dismiss it as impossible, at least based on the knowledge he currently had. But every fiber of his being told him it was indeed possible in this case.

'And it seems my body has been altered by the latent potential of my Martial Soul...'

At least that's what Itachi had concluded. Also, he could feel that his spirit power was now level 2 due to the evolution of his Martial Soul…

Previously, it would have taken him at least six months to increase his spirit power by even a single level, but now it had risen instantly thanks to the sudden evolution of his rank-1 Spirit Eyes into the rank-2 incomplete Sharingan.

…

Itachi continued cleansing his body as his mind worked tirelessly. The sensation of this spirit power within him felt both familiar and foreign.

Closing his eyes, he focused on the flow of spirit power inside him. Its nature was different from the chakra he had known in the Elemental Nations, but its essence felt similar.

'Spirit power… Energy that can only be utilized through the Martial Soul…'

It was a fundamental difference. In the Elemental Nations, chakra flowed freely and could be constantly molded by the user's will. Here, spirit power was bound to the capabilities and attributes of one's Martial Soul.

'A peculiar restriction…' Since this energy could only be used through the Martial Soul, it was a concept completely alien to his previous life.

'The Martial Soul not only determines how much power you can absorb but also how you can use it.'

That's why the level and rank of one's Martial Soul were so crucial in this world—it dictated how far someone could advance and at what speed.

'The flow is… similar to chakra. I can feel how it moves within my body, though with less freedom. It seems the Martial Soul acts as a key, limiting the energy until it's activated'

Hence, in this world, the Martial Soul was fundamental in all aspects.

Itachi couldn't help but notice that this spirit power also bore some similarities to natural energy, something only a select few could use in the Elemental Nations. While Itachi had only ever witnessed a ninja use natural energy once, it was a subject that had always fascinated him, leading him to gather as much information on it as he could during his time in the ANBU.

'This Spirit Power is fundamentally similar to chakra combined with natural energy,' Itachi concluded. And though its restrictions were greater, it also seemed to offer immense potential, especially with his Sharingan as a Martial Soul with the dual attributes: Fire and Yin, and a strong spiritual power/mental power.

Yes, he also noticed that in this world, the Sharingan appeared to be a Martial Soul with dual attributes: Fire and Yin.

Yin was to be expected, but fire... well, that was a bit unexpected.

…

Determined to better understand the capabilities of this new body and energy, Itachi decided to test whether some basic chakra control and manipulation techniques he knew would work.

First, he tried simple things, like walking on water—a chakra control exercise.

He channeled the spirit power to his feet, attempting to replicate the technique that was already instinctive to him…

The result wasn't immediate. The energy flowed, but with difficulty. It was less pliable than chakra, more rebellious. But with patience and precision, he adjusted the flow, redirecting the spirit power until he finally achieved his goal.

His feet rested on the surface of the water.

'It works…'

Although he couldn't release this energy outside his body, he could still perform something like this as long as the spirit power remained within him.

But he barely maintained balance for a few seconds before the flow destabilized. He simply allowed himself to submerge back into the water, aware of the dangers of forcing his body.

Itachi immediately realized that if he hadn't exercised extreme caution and had not known precisely how to circulate this energy through his body, attempting something like this could have been fatal.

Anyone else would likely have been left crippled by even the slightest mistake.

'The difficulty cannot be ignored…' Unlike chakra, this energy seemed resistant to being used in such a manner.

Even so, Itachi found himself surprised by all of this.

'This doesn't seem like something anyone in this world could do,' he thought as he reflected on what he had accomplished.

It was a small achievement, but significant.

From what he currently knew, using spirit power in this way didn't seem to be normal in this world—at least, his father, Uchi He, had never mentioned anything about it being possible.

…

….

Hi!

Well…

Yep... a good amount of information heh.

Sadly I had to do this since Itachi is literally alone, he has no one to talk to so it's practically him alone analyzing his situation and processing everything step by step...

Kind of a boring chapter, but necessary. Please don't hate me.