Chapter 24 : A Second Chance

Waking up without a scratch and in pristine attire, hundreds of questions flooded Kaede's mind.

"I must say you've really impressed me, Kaede Uzumaki."

Hearing an unfamiliar voice beside her, young Uzumaki startled and assumed a defensive posture. In front of her, she caught a glimpse of a young man dressed in what, at first glance, appeared to be noble attire. The fabrics were opulent, pure white in color.

Emblazoned on the back of his attire were the "Thousand Lotuses." His long, black hair swayed in the wind, and a sword hung at his belt.

Kaede quickly assessed the situation. She was no longer on the battlefield amidst flames and fierce combat. Instead, she stood on a cliff overlooking a beautiful landscape. The sun had just risen, and the tranquility here contrasted strangely with the chaos she had left behind.

"Who are you?" Kaede asked, her voice trembling slightly as she maintained her defensive stance.

Akeno turned to face her, and for the first time, Kaede saw his face. He wore a confident and friendly smile, and his eyes were filled with kindness, as though he were not looking at a stranger but a family member.

"Sorry if I startled you," he said. "My name is Akeno. I'm not your enemy. In fact, I've just saved your life."

Kaede, still on edge but curious, examined her body more carefully. She felt no pain, and even the tears in her clothes had vanished. "You saved my life? What do you mean? What happened on the battlefield?"

Akeno gestured towards the peaceful scene around them. "This is a different place. We're no longer on the battlefield. I won't beat around the bush, Kaede. Today, you died."

Kaede's eyes widened in disbelief. "What do you mean—?" Suddenly, the last images of the battle appeared in her mind.

She touched her neck, and drops of sweat began to trickle down her face. There was no doubt; she had been beheaded. But then, how was she here?

"Who are you?" she asked, her voice filled with suspicion.

Advancing calmly towards Kaede, Akeno showed no signs of threat. "I've already told you, my name is Akeno. And today, I'm going to give you an opportunity that no one else will ever give you."

Pausing a few steps away from Kaede, Akeno extended his hand and looked deep into her eyes. "Follow me, and you'll get what you've been searching for all your life—freedom and adventure. You'll be able to write your own legend."

Lowering her guard somewhat, Kaede looked at the hand before her, then into Akeno's eyes. She had the ability to sense others' chakra, but in his case, it was as if something else flowed within him.

His aura displayed no darkness, no malice, no deception.

In the face of this stranger offering everything she had ever wanted, the temptation to accept was strong.

"I died, I was beheaded, I remember it perfectly, so... how...?"

Seeing doubt looming in Kaede, Akeno remained calm. "It's one of my abilities. By meeting all the necessary conditions, I was able to save your life. In the eyes of the world, you're dead, and now you only need to choose which path you want to take."

Ultimately, it wasn't a lie; Akeno's system was an ability in itself, and to use it, he needed to be in another world, with the saved person first being killed.

"And if I refuse?" Kaede asked.

Taken aback by the question, Akeno quickly regained his composure, guessing the reason. Chikara and Izaya, the two of them had been betrayed by their clans, and almost nothing tied them to this world anymore. But for Kaede, the situation was different.

She hadn't been betrayed. Her clan, despite forcing her into a political marriage, wanted nothing but her well-being and had always shown her maximum love as a young Uzumaki princess.

She had left her best friend Koji on that battlefield, his whereabouts unknown.

"Kaede, your destiny here was to die, and knowingly, I understand that destiny in this world is unbreakable. Know that the destiny of this world has already been written, and only a force and a will beyond ordinary mortals can break it."

With a serious tone, Akeno continued, "What I'm offering you is the opportunity to transcend your mortal state, to gain a power beyond your imagination, to face enemies you can't even fathom. This world is not the only one that exists, and if destiny doesn't change, your clan is destined for extermination."

Listening to all this information in one breath, Kaede felt a little more lost but understood the essentials. It was as if the man before her wasn't lying; she was destined to die.

She had never felt so lost as she did at this moment. What Akeno was offering perfectly represented her dreams, but this time, it meant moving significantly away from her family. Between her family and her dreams, the choice was complicated.

She had fled the marriage, but she still expected to return home one day, to see her loved ones again.

"What about my family? Will I see them again? You talk about extermination; can you really predict destiny?"

With a consistently serious tone, Akeno slowly lowered his hand, expecting to have to wait a bit to explain everything. "I'm not yet powerful enough to read the lines of destiny. But I do know the destiny of this world well. The extermination of your clan is a certainty, just like that of the Senju and Uchiha clans. But that's if nothing changes.

"Today, you are too weak. Even I won't be able to save them, at least not without your help."

You ask me if you'll see your family again; for that, you'll have to trust me. I can't promise you'll see them, but I can try to save them as I did for you."

Without any lies, without any manipulation, Akeno presented things as they were. Raising his hand, he reiterated his proposition. "If you come with me, you'll discover a world beyond your imagination, you'll gain a power you can't even imagine. And we'll become legends."

Faced with this hand, this proposition, Kaede surprisingly believed in everything Akeno said. Perhaps it was because of his friendly and pure aura, perhaps it was because his proposition aligned perfectly with her dreams. But she wanted to believe him.

If her destiny in this world was over, why not follow him to shape one of her own?

Taking his hand, Kaede, with a determined yet hesitant look, agreed to follow Akeno into a completely unknown world.

...

*** Hope City ***

In Chikara and Izaya's room, stepping out of a spatial rift, Akeno finally landed on something other than a dusty ground made of earth and stone.

Izaya, who was outside the room keeping watch in the corridor, had seen everything that transpired in the room with his Byakugan. Seeing Kaede, he knew Akeno had succeeded, and she was the last person before the explanation of Akeno's plan was provided.

Staying outside the room, he preferred to wait for Akeno to wake up calmly to avoid a situation where he would face another unnotified Uchiha.

After a minute, Akeno woke up peacefully on a mattress that brought a little happiness and saw Kaede on another mattress next to his.

Getting up to fetch Chikara and Izaya, he brought them into the room and together they waited for the princess of the Uzumaki clan to wake up.

At the sight of the young girl's red hair, Izaya and Chikara instantly recognized her identity.

An Uchiha, a Hyuga, and an Uzumaki, the most powerful and important clans of the Ninja World were gradually gathering in this new world full of cultivators.

Letting Kaede wake up gently, Akeno gathered the Qi from the surroundings to replenish the reserves he had lost in the Ninja World.

After a few minutes of waiting, Kaede woke up with a start, observing her surroundings and searching for Akeno.

At that moment, the only person she knew was Akeno; he was the only one she could follow without feeling lost in this unfamiliar world.

Seeing Izaya and Chikara, two children of her age, she felt reassured only when she saw Akeno sitting in the lotus position meditating.

"Hello, how are you?" Chikara, both joyful and fearful, wanted to lighten the mood as he saw Kaede a bit lost. He didn't quite know how to start the conversation, and his situation was somewhat complicated. His clan, after all, had been originally hostile to hers.

Feeling reassured, Kaede was rather curious, and the presence of two kids her age encouraged her to believe she wasn't the only one who had been saved. "…I think aside from having my head cut off not long ago, I'm doing fine."

Meanwhile, Akeno, on his side, had a few drops of sweat. Before passing through the rift with Kaede, he had the feeling he had forgotten something. Now that they were all gathered in this small room, he remembered what he had forgotten.

Looking at Chikara and Kaede, he remembered he had forgotten to specify to Kaede that an Uchiha was part of the group...

Well, he could still salvage the situation if he reacted well. He had to think and not make any mistakes. Act smart...

"My name is Chikara Uchiha, and the other one there is Izaya Hyuga. He's not very smiley, but he's nice, you'll see. Pleasure to meet you," Chikara said with a pure and innocent smile.

Akeno: "Crap..."