Naruto: Uchiha Survivor Forced to Save the Shinobi World

The events of the Five Kage Summit didn't concern Uchiha Shinji too much, nor did he go out of his way to gather additional information.

After all, just taking Shion out for a casual stroll was enough for her to spill everything she knew.

Upon hearing that the Five Great Shinobi Villages had mistaken the Upper Rank demons for members of the Akatsuki, Uchiha Shinji felt speechless.

Due to his butterfly effect, the Akatsuki had now become an organization far stronger and more mysterious than it was in the original timeline.

The Five Great Shinobi Villages had practically reached the point where the mere mention of "Akatsuki" struck fear in their hearts.

But after some thought, Shinji found this development quite favorable.

Whether it was Nagato, who thought he was in control of everything, Tobi, who believed he was manipulating Nagato, or Madara, who believed he controlled Tobi, they all shared one unified goal: collecting the nine Tailed Beasts to resurrect the Ten-Tails.

The earlier the Five Great Shinobi Villages took the Akatsuki seriously, the greater resistance they could pose against the organization's plan to revive the Ten-Tails.

After all, Uchiha Shinji was only eight years old. He needed time to grow.

He had no desire for the Akatsuki to complete the Ten-Tails' revival and spark the Fourth Great Ninja War anytime soon.

Once he had a rough understanding of the ninja world's current situation, Shinji turned his focus back to his own affairs.

With his recent increase in privileges, Shinji had gained the ability to summon the "Lamp" proactively and use it for interdimensional travel.

He understood the dangers of this ability; a single misstep could send him to an unknown perilous land or draw the attention of a dominator.

Logic dictated that he should wait until he obtained the Rinnegan before attempting such a feat.

But as he looked at the "Lamp" and imagined the infinite possibilities of interdimensional travel, his curiosity grew harder to resist.

So, late that night, he cautiously gave it a try.

The result was both disappointing and a relief.

Undoubtedly, the "Lamp" could not facilitate interdimensional travel at will. It required detecting a spatial rift first, enabling Shinji to travel to the world connected to that rift.

After a whole night of attempts, he discovered that spatial rifts were not a common occurrence. Finding one would require a bit of luck.

This realization made interdimensional travel less straightforward than he had imagined.

Every dimension was both a treasure trove and a fortress.

This understanding also explained why, up until now, only the "Lampbearer" from the Demon Slayer world had invaded the ninja world. No other dimensions' "Lampbearers" had done the same.

Unable to detect a spatial rift, Shinji gave up on the idea of interdimensional travel for now and turned his attention back to strengthening himself.

The following morning, he headed to his private laboratory within the Hidden Leaf's Medical Corps.

Due to the heavy casualties from both the Joint Force and the Rescue Squad during recent operations, the Medical Corps was incredibly busy.

As Shinji wasn't an official member of the corps and was a sensitive figure as one of the surviving Uchiha, he wasn't assigned to treat injured shinobi from other villages. This made him one of the least busy people in the medical unit.

In the lab, Shinji flipped through experimental records while formulating his plans.

The mission to sever the "Anchor Points" had utilized nearly all the resources and allies at his disposal.

This meant that everyone who participated in the operation was now under varying degrees of surveillance.

Naruto, nearly kidnapped during the operation, had become a high-priority protection target. Consequently, even Sasuke, who witnessed Naruto's abduction, was under scrutiny.

Karin, now integrated into the group of academy peers thanks to Shinji, was also under investigation as one of the witnesses to Naruto's ordeal.

Adding to this, her connection to Kusagakure, which hoped to infiltrate the Akatsuki through her, ensured she remained under close observation. Shinji had returned Karin's original eyes to her days ago and temporarily halted her recovery plan for the damaged Mangekyō Sharingan.

Haku was in a similar situation.

The Mist Village was closely monitoring him, as he was a potential key to their infiltration into the Akatsuki. Even when Shinji sparred with Haku in the training grounds, he could feel the presence of observers nearby.

Kimimaro, being part of the academy group and a survivor of Kirigakure's Kaguya clan, was also under surveillance due to his association with Naruto's kidnapping.

Neji fared slightly better, though he was now under constant watch by the Hyūga clan after reporting his participation in the operation to Hiashi.

With everyone either under investigation or monitoring, Shinji had no choice but to halt critical plans like restoring Karin's damaged Mangekyō or advancing the cell fusion experiments for Kimimaro and Neji.

On the lab table in front of Shinji lay three small nutrient tanks. Each contained a pair of eyes.

From left to right, the tanks held the Mangekyō Sharingan infused with "Susanoo Tomoshibi," the damaged Mangekyō Sharingan, and the high-purity Byakugan he had taken from the Ōtsutsuki branch family.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Shinji rhythmically tapped the table as he thought.

The suspension of Karin's Mangekyō recovery plan also meant pausing her involvement in his Rinnegan project. The halted cell fusion experiments for Kimimaro and Neji delayed progress on the Tenseigan as well.

And there was no telling how long these delays would last—time he couldn't afford to waste.

"I can't just wait around like this!"

To Shinji, time was synonymous with the life of the entire ninja world. He couldn't let it slip away.

Though he couldn't change the strict surveillance on Karin, Kimimaro, and Neji, he could still work on enhancing his own strength.

His thoughts returned to the Rinnegan.

He already possessed the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, and with his Yin Release chakra further refined, he felt closer than ever to meeting the conditions for awakening the Rinnegan.

"If I use Susanoo Tomoshibi to channel another pair of eyes, perhaps my Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan will fully reach the threshold needed to evolve into the Rinnegan!"

His gaze drifted toward the tank holding the high-purity Byakugan.

Previously, he had only used Susanoo Tomoshibi to harness Sharingan. Because of this, some of Susanoo Tomoshibi's characteristics had remained unexplored.

It wasn't until he used it to channel the high-purity Byakugan that he uncovered a hidden secret of Susanoo Tomoshibi.

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