Naruto: Uchiha Survivor Forced to Save the Shinobi World

In the blink of an eye, a week had passed.

Although he could sense that the atmosphere in the village was quite off, as if a storm was brewing, none of it had anything to do with Uchiha Shinji.

These past few days, he spent his time in the lab conducting experiments and training at the practice field.

Now, he had already faced many powerful opponents and was no longer the inexperienced novice he once was.

As a result, he had a more precise assessment of his own strength.

In ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu—the three major categories—he had already far surpassed his peers. However, compared to the true powerhouses, he still fell short.

Due to mastering 'Susanoo Tomoshibi' and 'Amaterasu,' these Mangekyō dojutsu, he had no immediate room for improvement in ninjutsu.

With the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, his talent in genjutsu wasn't particularly high, but the raw power of his eyes meant that few in the shinobi world could surpass him in genjutsu.

Therefore, the real weakness for him was taijutsu.

The reason this weakness hadn't been exposed in his battles so far was partly because of 'Susanoo Tomoshibi,' and partly because he used 'Izanagi no Mikoto' to foresee the branches of fate, like saving the game in advance, ensuring that his failures only occurred in unrealized timelines.

However, from observing the outcomes of these timelines, he realized that whenever he chose to engage in taijutsu against strong enemies, he was often defeated quickly, unable to last even a few minutes.

Boom!

After shattering a training post with a punch, Uchiha Shinji panted and paused his training.

He walked to the edge of the training field, wiped his sweat with a towel, took a drink from his water bottle, then threw the towel back onto the bench and walked back into the field.

He knew well that among ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu, taijutsu was actually far more important than the other two.

The higher one's level, the more important taijutsu became!

In the original timeline, when they fought Uchiha Madara, who had become the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki and reached Six Paths-level power, even the Five Kage couldn't restrain him. Aside from Naruto and Sasuke, who were the main forces, only Kakashi, who had space-time ninjutsu, could provide some support.

On the contrary, Might Guy, a Jonin with a heavy focus on taijutsu, became a beacon of hope for everyone in their fight against Uchiha Madara thanks to the 'Eight Gates Released Formation.'

And Guy indeed didn't let them down—when he opened all eight gates, he kicked with such force that even Uchiha Madara was shocked!

Therefore, Uchiha Shinji couldn't afford to slack off in taijutsu. Whenever he had free time, even if he didn't have a sparring partner, he would sweat it out alone in the practice field.

An hour later, Uchiha Shinji ended his training and returned to his apartment.

After reading a book on medical ninjutsu for a while, he closed it and began organizing his thoughts about his progress over the past week.

There hadn't been much progress with the cell fusion experiments this week.

He felt that under the current conditions, further experimentation was meaningless. Unless he could increase the chakra intensity in Neji's cells, there was no way to fuse Neji's cells with Kimimaro's.

On the other hand, Karin had made progress in recovering her completely damaged Mangekyō Sharingan.

After a week of effort, Karin found that her left eye could vaguely perceive light, while her right eye could even see some blurred images.

Aside from progress in the plans, there were also movements from several key figures whom Uchiha Shinji had been secretly monitoring.

Neji hadn't left the Hyuga compound this week, spending all his time diligently training. Kimimaro's movements were somewhat strange; he had been avoiding people and training alone recently.

Sasuke, after being released by the Anbu, was no longer as friendly as before. He had begun to distance himself from his peers, isolating himself.

Uchiha Shinji had tried to visit him a few times, but Sasuke had shown clear impatience.

Thinking about it, Uchiha Shinji mused, "Is Sasuke becoming withdrawn because of Itachi? I need to keep an eye on him—can't let Orochimaru take advantage of this and lure him away!"

The current Sasuke was very similar to the Sasuke in the original timeline who had his confidence shattered—both were desperate for power to defeat Itachi.

At this point, Sasuke was easily susceptible to manipulation.

Uchiha Shinji then furrowed his brow, muttering to himself, "Has the Lampbearer from the Demon Slayer world given up on invading? Why hasn't there been any movement for so long?"

...

On the snow-covered mountain.

Swish.

After a few leaps, a figure reached the summit.

He glanced around before arriving at the mountain's peak, muttering, "This should be the place!"

With that, he removed the bag from his back, took out five stone tablets, and arranged them in a special formation, burying them at the summit. He then stood by the stone tablets, waiting in the snow and wind.

...

On the sea.

A sailor approached a cloaked figure, respectfully saying, "Guest, the place you're looking for should be that island up ahead!"

The figure looked towards the distant island, nodded slightly, then leaped, running across the sea towards the island.

The sailor was initially stunned, then, seeing the figure move effortlessly across the stormy sea, breathed a sigh of relief, muttering, "So, a shinobi-sama!"

...

In the desert.

A storm swept across the desert, raising a cloud of sand!

The leader of a caravan passing by in the distance stopped, gazing at the storm, and said in confusion, "What kind of storm is this? I've never seen anything like it!"

The merchants traveling with him shook their heads, "Yeah, we've never seen a storm like this either!"

The storm soon moved away, leaving the caravan members amazed.

No one noticed that there was actually a person within the storm. In fact, it was this figure that had caused the strange storm.

Moments later.

The figure racing through the desert came to a stop, and the storm caused by his speed also settled down.

The person then removed a bundle from his back, took out five stone tablets, and buried them deep in the desert in a peculiar arrangement.

...

In the forest.

Swish.

A figure descended from above, landing firmly on the ground.

He had already identified the direction from atop the treetops, so after landing, he immediately began to move through the forest.

For some reason.

In this beast-filled forest, not a single animal attacked the figure. Wherever he went, all was silent.

Soon, the figure stopped in front of an unremarkable cave. After verifying it, he strode in.

In the valley.

After pulling out the blade embedded in the Iwagakure shinobi, the swordsman flicked the blood off the blade and sheathed it.

He then surveyed the surroundings before coming to a large rock and began to bury the stone tablets.

...

[Dimensional plane invaded.]

[Warning: The dimensional plane has been captured. Lampbearer must respond immediately and sever the anchor points!]

[Warning: Five anchor points detected.]

[Warning: Dimensional collapse countdown initiated.]

[Countdown: 4]

As Uchiha Shinji was training in the practice field, a series of prompts echoed continuously in his ears like explosions.

He froze for a moment before murmuring, "What's going on? Captured? Anchor points?"

Undoubtedly, the sudden prompts caught him off guard.

This time, unlike before, there was no time to prepare for an invasion. Instead, there was an immediate countdown to dimensional collapse, causing him to panic just from hearing it.

Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to calm down.

He then composed himself, replayed the warning multiple times in his mind, and asked the Lantern several questions within his authority, receiving answers in return.

Soon, he understood the situation.

Apparently.

The Lampbearer from the Demon Slayer world, who had remained inactive, had not given up on invading the shinobi world but had instead been preparing a major move in secret.

Uchiha Shinji couldn't yet determine what method the opponent had used, but somehow, they had connected the Demon Slayer world with the shinobi world.

This meant that if the ruler targeting the Demon Slayer world attacked now, the shinobi world would also be discovered and attacked.

It was evident that the opponent was already desperate. Whatever method they used, it must have come at a great cost.

This time, it was likely their final move!

"Damn it, dragging me down with you even as you die—how despicable!"

Realizing this, Uchiha Shinji swore in anger.

This behavior didn't just harm one or two people; it was dragging an entire world to accompany another world to its doom.

After cursing for a while, Uchiha Shinji suppressed his anger.

Swearing was pointless at this moment. His time was extremely precious now. If he couldn't sever the connection between the shinobi world and the Demon Slayer world before the two collided or the ruler descended, both worlds would perish together.

"Anchor points!"

Undoubtedly, the five anchor points mentioned by the Lantern were the key to saving the shinobi world.

The countdown showed '4,' indicating that in a maximum of four days, the shinobi world would completely merge and collide with the Demon Slayer world. By then, both worlds would collapse and be destroyed.

He had to destroy the five anchor points within four days and sever the connection between the two worlds before they collided to save the shinobi world.

Uchiha Shinji asked, "Where are the five anchor points?"

[Precise detection requires consuming embers. Do you wish to consume embers?]

Uchiha Shinji did not hesitate, "Yes!"

Instantly, a light projection appeared before him, quickly unfolding into a map. On the projected map, five prominent beams of light rose high into the sky!

"This!?"

With just a glance, Uchiha Shinji's expression darkened.

The reason was simple: the locations of the five anchor points were spread throughout the shinobi world. One was in the sea outside Kirigakure, another on a snow-covered peak in the Land of Lightning, one in the vast desert of the Land of Wind, and another in the rolling mountains of the Land of Earth.

Even the nearest one to him was in a remote forest within the Land of Fire.

With such a distribution, forget severing all five anchor points—even reaching these five locations within four days would be impossible!

"It's over!"

Uchiha Shinji slumped to the ground.

It wasn't that he didn't want to save the shinobi world. Even if facing a powerful enemy or a descending ruler, he was willing to risk his life in battle. But in the current situation, he simply had no way out.

There was no doubt that the opponent, in their final move, had arranged for the strongest forces to guard each anchor point.

The mysterious Lampbearer from the Demon Slayer world had likely infiltrated the shinobi world and was personally guarding the anchor points to ensure the connection between the two worlds.

To sever all five anchor points in just four days was an impossible task for Uchiha Shinji.

"Shadow clones!? No, what if I let Haku and Karin go separately? That won't work either."

One thought after another flashed through his mind, only to be quickly dismissed.

Shadow clones lacked the strength needed for such a mission. If he divided his chakra into five clones, it was likely none of them could sever a single anchor point.

Having Haku and Karin participate also seemed unlikely to succeed.

For starters, there were only two of them, meaning they could only take on two anchor points at most.

Besides, neither Haku nor Karin had experience in solo combat, let alone a long-distance assault facing unknown enemies. Assigning them to an anchor point each would be akin to sending them to their deaths.

"What if I add Deidara and Neji?"

A thought struck Uchiha Shinji, but he quickly shook his head.

There was no need to mention Neji; he was still an academy student. Asking him to take care of an anchor point was practically sending him to his doom.

As for Deidara, he had decent power and mobility, but Uchiha Shinji had just used 'Jikibi' to sense for him, and Deidara was currently out of range. It was impossible to contact him in time.

"I can take care of one anchor point! Yugito's injuries have mostly healed; she could probably handle one as well. If Karin uses her restored Mangekyō Sharingan and has Haku assist her, they should be able to manage another!"

Counting his options, Uchiha Shinji found that no matter how he calculated, they could only cover three anchor points.

Moreover, Yugito was in a state of genjutsu control, lacking autonomous awareness, making it hard to determine how effective she could be in battle.

Whether Karin and Haku could take care of an anchor point was also uncertain.

Even Uchiha Shinji himself wasn't fully confident he could handle one anchor point.

"Should I notify the Five Kage?"

Uchiha Shinji found himself in a dilemma.

It would be hard to explain the situation to the Five Kage, as no rational leader would mobilize elite forces to head to unknown locations based solely on the words of an eight-year-old.

If he wanted to convince them by revealing all his secrets, his identity as a Lampbearer would be exposed, allowing the Demon Slayer world to quickly contaminate the shinobi world's leadership through information dissemination, leading to widespread infection.

In that case, the contamination from the Demon Slayer world would spread rapidly, and the connection between the two worlds would swiftly grow stronger!