Chapter 16: An Extraordinary Gain
"I... I died?"
Uchiha Kei felt a splitting headache. But as soon as he sensed the return of his sense of touch, he immediately realized one thing—he wasn't dead!
Relieved, Kei exhaled. If he had truly died just now, he might've gone down in history as the most pathetic transmigrator ever.
Still, something wasn't quite right—his eyes ached, and his body felt sore all over.
"You're awake?"
A gentle voice reached Kei's ears. It carried a subtle undertone of guilt.
Lifting his heavy head slightly, Kei shuddered involuntarily the moment he saw the speaker. After all, it was this very person who had just given him a near-death experience.
Yet now, that man's expression was calm and friendly—radiating a natural warmth that made him likable without effort.
It was Minato Namikaze.
"Yeah." Kei rubbed his throbbing temples and glanced around. "Looks like we're safe now."
"Yes. I'm truly sorry about what happened earlier." Minato scratched his blond hair, a little awkwardly. "Things were chaotic at the time, and I didn't have the luxury to make distinctions..."
"Forget it. It was just bad timing," Kei shook his head. He didn't want to linger on it. Sometimes, when luck runs out, even drinking water could make you choke. And Kei had clearly drawn the short straw this time.
He turned to look at Kakashi, who was still unconscious. Rin, on the other hand, had woken up and stood nearby, quietly gazing at the stars.
A little further away, Yamanaka Masato was organizing the surviving Konoha shinobi, setting up a watch and tending to the wounded. Kei noticed that among the group he had helped save, only about ten shinobi remained—not counting his own squad.
"This was a heavy loss," Kei muttered under his breath.
"Indeed. But thankfully, all the Iwa-nin were eliminated. We haven't been exposed." Minato nodded, though his expression turned serious as he looked at Kei. "Thank you for saving them. And for saving Kakashi. If it weren't for you, their fate..."
"I only did what I had to in order to complete the mission." Kei cut him off, clearly uncomfortable with the praise. He waved his hand dismissively. "Let's not talk about that. I was just doing my job."
"I understand." Minato gave Kei a thoughtful look, then smiled. "Still, I'll make sure to report your contributions. There won't be any issues. And congratulations, Kei—you've finally awakened your Sharingan."
Hearing Minato call him by name with that level of familiarity, Kei finally relaxed a little. Whatever his true motives were, it was good enough if Minato—the future Fourth Hokage—saw what he wanted him to see. That, in itself, was a win.
As for the Sharingan...
Kei simply smiled and didn't say anything.
This whole ordeal had given him much more than he had expected. The weight on his shoulders felt noticeably lighter now. It was, without a doubt, an unexpected but massive gain.
As Kakashi began to stir, Kei quietly excused himself. The master and student likely had things to talk about, and Kei had no intention of sticking around for a conversation about Kakashi's new Sharingan. Neither he nor Minato brought it up, choosing to silently ignore the elephant in the room—for now.
Whatever would happen next, they'd leave it to the higher-ups in the village to handle. After all, neither of them held much sway.
———
"You're alive?"
When Kei finally found Ayaka and Kenta, Ayaka greeted him in her usual, unfriendly tone. "I thought for sure you were done for."
"As expected of our captain," Kenta smiled, sounding genuinely impressed. "To take down so many Iwa-nin and survive a clash with the Yellow Flash… Unreal."
"You two probably hoped I was dead," Kei replied as he casually sat down. "That way, your mission would be over... wait, no—there were still plenty of other ninja around. You wouldn't have escaped either. But sorry to disappoint—I'm very much alive."
"Hmph."
Ayaka snorted, though her expression quickly changed as she frowned. "Wait… did you awaken your Sharingan? Otherwise, there's no way you could've dodged an attack from Minato-senpai."
Kenta also looked at Kei, puzzled.
By now, Kei didn't see a reason to hide it. He slowly closed his eyes, and when they opened again, they glowed crimson—his fully awakened Sharingan spinning gently with three tomoe in each eye.
———
Looking back, Kei realized he had definitely gone overboard. To pull such a risky stunt knowing Minato might appear at any moment? That was borderline suicidal.
But in the heat of battle, Kei didn't have time to think. His luck just happened to suck—of all times, Minato had to return right then!
As the kunai rapidly closed in, Kei bit down hard. In that life-or-death moment, he immediately dropped his transformation jutsu and released his Sharingan.
There was no room for secrecy anymore. Life was on the line. At the very least, the Sharingan allowed him to see Minato's movements.
But to his dismay, he encountered the same problem Sasuke Uchiha would face years later:
He could see the attack—but his body simply couldn't react in time.
Minato was just too fast. He blinked in with Flying Thunder God, followed instantly by a Shunshin, closing the distance in a flash. His kunai was aimed with terrifying precision and grace.
It was a level of seamless execution Kei couldn't even imagine achieving.
As the kunai neared his throat, Kei was filled with dread.
Is this it? Is this where I die?
No! I refuse!
He had survived so many battles. Why die now—at the hands of an ally, no less?
Fueled by a surge of fear and defiance, Kei made a bold move. If I'm dying here, I'm taking the future Fourth Hokage with me!
With a twist of his wrist, he reversed the grip on his kunai and thrust it with all his might toward Minato's chest.
And then—
Time seemed to freeze.
Minato hung motionless in mid-air, utterly still. His expression was calm, focused.
Everything else—everyone else—had frozen too.
Except for Kei.
And in that moment, his Sharingan began to change.
The three tomoe spun rapidly, merging together into a new shape.
A shimmering, rotating Mangekyō slowly formed in his eyes.