Konoha, Ichiraku Ramen.
"Thanks for taking care of me today, Uncle Teuchi. See you."
At the entrance of the ramen shop, Teuchi stood with his hands on his hips and smiled. "No need to be so polite, Yun. Thanks to you, we managed today's rush. Keep up the good work tomorrow!"
…
Tomorrow?
The reason Uchiha Yun came from the Uchiha district to work here was precisely because of tomorrow.
The safest place in all of Konoha – Ichiraku Ramen.
Whether it was the Nine-Tails' attack or later when Pain's Six Paths reduced the village to rubble, this little ramen shop had never so much as changed its appearance.
In Yun's memories, if that lunatic hadn't lent a helping hand, his sister Izumi likely wouldn't have survived. This proved that even the Uchiha compound wasn't safe on the night of the Nine-Tails' rampage.
Not to mention, with his five-year-old body and his past life's reaction speed, staying there would be no different from suicide.
"Hoo… Don't let me down today!"
Exhaling deeply, Uchiha Yun quickly made his way back to the Uchiha district.
The Uchiha clan leader, Fugaku, had just welcomed the birth of his second son. This confirmed Yun's timeline, October 10th of this year, the night of the Nine-Tails' Rampage!
And tomorrow was October 10th, the day this world's original protagonist would be born. Which meant that after midnight tonight, his cheat ability would finally arrive.
.....
"I'm back."
Yun pushed the door open. A girl with a small teardrop mole near her eye sat in the living room—very cute.
"Big Brother, you're home late. I guess Uncle Teuchi must've had a good day of business?"
Yun walked over and ruffled the little girl's hair. "We had a lot of customers today. Did you go practice again, Izumi?"
Izumi nodded and asked, "I still don't get why you're working at Ichiraku Ramen. It's been so long since you last practiced taijutsu with me."
Yun just smiled but didn't answer. At that moment, their mother, Uchiha Hazuki, walked out of the kitchen carrying tea.
"Yun, you don't need to work so hard. We still have some savings. It's enough to last until you and Izumi become Genin and start taking missions."
Yun nodded slightly. "I've saved up quite a bit over the past six months. I already told Uncle Teuchi I won't be coming after tomorrow."
Hearing this, Hazuki let out a quiet sigh of relief. Letting a five-year-old work to support the family made her feel as though she'd failed her late husband.
Yun took a sip of tea and stood up. "I'm a bit tired from today. I'll go wash up and rest."
He ruffled Izumi's hair again. "Starting the day after tomorrow, I'll have time to train with you again. No slacking off then, got it?"
Izumi pouted and shot back, "I've been practicing hard every day! You're only a little bit older than me—don't go losing to me when the time comes!"
With a chuckle, Yun waved and headed to the bathroom. As twins, he really was only slightly older than Izumi.
…
Night fell. The second hand of the alarm clock ticked past midnight. Uchiha Yun shot up from bed.
Reborn as an Uchiha in the same era as Itachi… only he knew what kind of hell these past five years had been.
Before his "cheat" ability arrives, he'd wake up in cold sweat almost every night. More than once, he'd considered sneaking away alone.
But over these five years, living with his family, his mother's gentle words, Izumi calling him "big brother" in her tiny voice when she was younger.
Family, something he never had in his past life, became his emotional anchor in this world.
And that madman who would, in eight years, slaughter the entire clan regardless of age…
Back in his past life, Yun had liked this character in anime. But now that he was here—
Why?
His little family of three only returned to the Uchiha district after their father's death just to survive.
They didn't even qualify to attend clan meetings, and weren't part of the hawks or doves. Their mother worked tirelessly to feed her children.
So why did they have to die for Itachi's so-called village or clan ideology? Why?!
As someone raised in modern values, Yun appreciated the peace in Konoha. But not when it came at the cost of his family's lives.
Uchiha Yun clenched his fists. What he did tonight would affect everything. If it could change fate, all the better. If not?
Then in eight years… no, before that, he would kill Uchiha Itachi himself—before Shisui's death awakened his Mangekyō.
…
[Naruto World Storyline Activated]
[Intelligence Trading System Successfully Initialized]
[Rule-Replication Feature Activated]
Uchiha Yun focused and commanded in his mind: 'Open the Trading Hub. Use the beginner's reward to select trade partner: S-Rank Ninja, Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze.'
[S-Rank Ninja Locked: Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze]
[Time Flow in Trading Hub Adjusted]
[Enable Shadow Mode?]
Without hesitation: 'Enable it.'
In the next moment, the space around Yun blurred and refocused. His wooden bed turned into a lounge chair, and a long table appeared in front of him. Sitting on the other side was none other than the Fourth Hokage of Konoha: Minato Namikaze.
"Hm?"
In just an instant, Yun noticed Minato frowning in confusion.
Looking down at himself, Yun realized: 'yep, Shadow Mode was active. Just like the silhouetted criminals in Detective Conan. If only he could melt like a puddle, he'd be indistinguishable from Black Zetsu.'
"Don't bother. Your Flying Thunder God won't work here. In this space, genjutsu, ninjutsu, even chakra, are all useless."
As Yun finished speaking, Minato's body twitched, only to be pinned down again by an invisible force.
Yun played with his disguised voice, waving lazily. "How to explain this... In here, no matter if you're Hokage or the Sage of Six Paths, you can't hurt me. This place's rules forbid it—on all levels."
Feeling the oppressive force on his body, Minato stopped resisting.
Someone who could instantly pull him into this space from his home, neutralizing even Flying Thunder God, clearly wielded overwhelming power. Better to wait and observe.
"Who are you? What do you want?" Minato asked.
Yun shook his head. "I won't say who I am. As for what I want, try thinking about it. The rules of this space should've appeared in your mind by now."
Minato frowned, then stood still as the knowledge settled in his head.
"So… you're not the creator of this space? This is just a trading hub? Neither party can attack the other… and we can't lie?"
Yun nodded. "Right. You can choose not to answer or say you'd rather not say, but you can't lie."
Minato continued, "If someone lies, the space will give a warning and void the contract? And anything—talents, bloodlines, jutsu—can be used as trade chips?"
Yun rested his head on one hand. "Yes. And the things you trade don't disappear. The space just copies them to me. Also, I don't necessarily get only what you give—"
"The scale of how much fate changes based on the value of your trade. For example, say you saved someone fated to die, and that affected many others. Then the greatest chip I'd receive from you might be… your talent in space-time ninjutsu."
Minato paused. "I don't have anything I want to trade. And I won't give my space-time talent to someone whose identity I don't know."
As Minato was about to get up, Yun spoke quickly: "Kushina's death date is today… It's already past midnight. Take that as a free piece of intel."
Minato's eyes shot toward the table's markings.
[TRUE]
The glowing symbol made him clench his fists. In this eerie space, bound by unknown rules, he didn't dare gamble on whether this was real.
Yun continued: "You only need to agree to offer the chip. You don't need to physically give anything or teach me. If all this is fake, I gain nothing. But if it's real…"
"Then isn't one non-losing talent in space-time ninjutsu worth the life of Kushina? Or… even Naruto?"