On the way home, Akira deliberately avoided any pedestrians and safely returned to the Uchiha compound.
He couldn't afford to let anyone see him covered in blood; it would be too difficult to explain.
Moreover, Akira had not yet fully sorted through Uchiha Nan's memories. If he ran into someone familiar and acted out of character, it might raise suspicions.
This was wartime. To be suspected of being a spy during this period would be extremely dangerous. Any investigation could potentially expose his secrets.
Once home, Akira felt utterly exhausted and wanted nothing more than to rest.
He had arrived in the shinobi world less than half a day ago and already experienced a life-or-death struggle. This was far beyond anything Akira, who came from a peaceful modern world, had ever faced. The shock was immense.
To make matters worse, he had used the Henge no Jutsu (Transformation Technique), which had consumed a significant amount of chakra and stamina. Rest was crucial.
Dragging his tired body, Akira collapsed onto the bed and fell asleep almost immediately.
By the time he woke up, the sun had set and the moon hung high in the night sky.
Well-rested, Akira stretched, yawned, and sat up. He switched on the light and finally took a good look at his surroundings.
He had been too fatigued earlier to notice the details of his new home.
This was Uchiha Nan's original room. It was modest in size, containing only a bed, a closet, and a bedside table.
From the neatly folded clothes and bedding, it was clear the previous occupant was meticulous and orderly.
Two photo frames sat atop the bedside table.
One held a family photo from when Uchiha Nan's father was still alive. Nan was cradled in his father's arms, and the family looked genuinely happy.
The second photo had been taken before Nan's mother left for the front lines. Nan's father was absent. Kawa stood in the picture too, but his expression lacked warmth. Nan's mother offered only a faint smile. Only Nan was smiling brightly.
Akira eventually left the room and wandered through the rest of the house. Uchiha Nan's family lived in a standard two-story home in the traditional Japanese style.
Everything remained just as he remembered from Nan's memories. Now, however, he was the sole occupant, living under the identity of Uchiha Nan.
Finally alone and settled, Akira began to carefully examine the memories he had inherited. What he discovered shocked him—and gave him a much deeper understanding of who he truly was.
Akira's memories were divided into three parts. The first and most vivid were his own memories: twenty-eight years as a highly intelligent, high-functioning autistic doctor in the modern world.
The second were Uchiha Nan's memories—and these were the most surprising.
Originally, Akira had assumed that his soul had transmigrated into Uchiha Nan's body at the moment Nan had been gravely wounded by Kawa. But upon thoroughly sorting through the memories, he realized that wasn't the case at all.
Uchiha Nan was born in the 40th year of the Hidden Leaf Calendar. Not long after, the Third Great Ninja War broke out.
Nan's mother had been a brilliant medical-nin who studied directly under Tsunade, one of the Legendary Sannin.
Nan clearly inherited her talent. From a very young age, he demonstrated an exceptional gift for diagnosis, as if he were born for it.
As the war escalated, wounded shinobi were being brought back to Konoha in large numbers. Due to the critical shortage of medical-nin, Nan's mother—who had stayed home to care for her young son—had no choice but to bring Nan with her to the hospital.
Nan grew up in the hospital, beloved by all. When he turned three, the hospital admitted a critically injured shinobi with an unknown condition. His vitals were rapidly deteriorating, and no one could figure out why.
Just as the staff was at a loss, three-year-old Nan spoke up and offered his own diagnosis.
At first, the medical team dismissed it as a child's ramblings. But after hearing his reasoning, they realized he was absolutely right. His insight led to a successful treatment.
Everyone assumed Nan had simply picked up knowledge from growing up in the hospital. While they were shocked by his intelligence, they didn't think it was supernatural.
Seeing his potential, Nan's mother began formally teaching him medical ninjutsu. His progress was astonishing. Whether theory or chakra control, he learned quickly. Within two years, he had mastered several foundational techniques.
By age five, he was ready for the Ninja Academy, already possessing the skill set of a trained medical-nin.
Shortly after his enrollment, Nan's mother left for the front lines—and soon after, news came of her death.
The grief was so overwhelming that Nan fainted on the spot. It was during this traumatic event that his Sharingan awakened—though he had no awareness of it. Nan vanished for several days.
When he returned, he appeared composed, as if he had moved past the tragedy. But those close to him noticed a change.
The once-cheerful boy had become withdrawn and quiet. He often spoke of memories from another life and another world.
Most dismissed it as a sign of mental instability triggered by grief. In wartime, such stories weren't uncommon, and few paid attention.
But now, Akira understood the truth. He hadn't simply possessed Uchiha Nan's body—he was Uchiha Nan, reborn into the shinobi world after dying from illness in his previous life.
The trauma of his mother's death had triggered a partial memory recovery, leading to erratic behavior and confusion.
It wasn't until his final betrayal—at the hands of Kawa—that the shock fully reawakened all of his past memories. The dormant persona of Akira resurfaced completely.
This explained why neither Uchiha Nan nor Uchiha Kawa ever appeared in the original Naruto timeline.
Uchiha Nan had never existed in the original series. And Kawa, without a younger brother to sacrifice, likely died anonymously, never awakening the Mangekyou Sharingan.
Akira had acquired Kawa's memories through the Edo Tensei (Impure World Reincarnation). Unlike his own memories, these came from a third-person perspective—like watching a film—leaving no impact on his personality.
From Kawa's memories, Akira learned that Kawa had indeed awakened his Mangekyou after believing he had killed Nan.
Kawa had stabbed Akira directly in the chest, confident he'd pierced his heart. Under normal circumstances, it would have been a fatal blow.
But Akira's heart was slightly off-center—a rare physical anomaly. The blade had grazed it instead.
The sudden trauma triggered the return of Akira's true memories, and he fell into a state of suspended animation. Believing he had succeeded, Kawa awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan.
Shortly after, Akira awakened and reclaimed his identity—and the events that followed unfolded.
Akira realized that the one who had told Kawa how to awaken the Mangekyou was none other than the ancient Uchiha Madara himself.
It made sense. Madara, nearing the end of his life, needed someone with a Mangekyou to help enact his plan to gather the Tailed Beasts and eventually resurrect himself.
In the original story, he hadn't found a suitable candidate until Obito Uchiha unexpectedly fell into his hands.
But this time, due to Akira's presence, the course of history shifted, and Kawa became a viable tool.
Yet by a twist of fate, the plan that was meant to empower Kawa ended up giving Akira something even greater—an Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan at the mere age of six.
Madara had unknowingly created a monster.
One thing that puzzled Akira was why Uchiha Madara hadn't sent anyone to monitor Uchiha Kawa. How could he be so confident that Kawa would go along with his plan after awakening the Mangekyou Sharingan?
After all, Kawa was driven purely by a hunger for power. He had no grand ideals about world peace or creating a new reality.
What Akira didn't know was that Madara had simply seen potential in Kawa and offered him a glimpse into the secrets of the Mangekyou Sharingan. He hadn't truly placed his hopes on him.
The cursed seal Madara left behind was merely a failsafe—should Kawa awaken the Mangekyou, Madara would have the means to control him. Now that the cursed seal had disappeared, Madara likely assumed Kawa had died a meaningless death somewhere.
Akira gave up trying to figure it out. There was no point in thinking about something he couldn't know.
He had more immediate concerns—like going to the Ninja Academy tomorrow. He had already skipped half a day of class, and he needed a believable excuse.
"Luckily, Kawa snuck back into Konoha secretly to kill me," Akira muttered to himself. "No one knows he returned."
If Kawa had been discovered in the village and Akira was found to be missing at the same time, it would've been incredibly hard to explain. Fortunately, their encounter had gone unnoticed. Even if Kawa were declared missing in the future, no one would suspect Akira. During wartime, people went missing often, and no one investigated too deeply.
Only then did Akira remember the dried blood still clinging to his body—and even staining his bedding.
He immediately showered, scrubbing away the blood, then changed into fresh clothes and replaced the bedding. The old ones were discarded.
By the time everything was done, it was already very late.
The next morning, Akira arrived at the Ninja Academy at his usual time. Just as he sat down, a voice called out to him.
"Uchiha Nan, come to my office for a moment."
It was his homeroom teacher, Ito Ei.
"He's probably going to ask why I skipped class yesterday," Akira thought as he got up and followed him.
Once inside the office, Ito got straight to the point. "Nan, where were you yesterday afternoon? I didn't see you in class."
Akira felt a flood of sarcastic thoughts surge in his mind:
Yesterday, my brother lured me into the Forest of Death to kill me and awaken the Mangekyou Sharingan. And he succeeded—I died. The one you're talking to now isn't even the old Nan. I've awakened the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan. Wild, right? Even I can't believe it.
Of course, he couldn't say that.
Instead, Akira calmly began his prepared story. "Ito-sensei, you know I used to help out at the hospital, right?"
Ito nodded. As a responsible homeroom teacher, he was familiar with the basic background of his students. Akira's talent in medical ninjutsu had caused quite a stir—mastering such difficult techniques at the age of five was no small feat.
"After I started school, I had less time to go to the hospital. Then, when my mother passed away, it hit me hard. I gave up medical ninjutsu entirely for a while."
He paused and forced his expression to reflect a sense of grief.
Ito remembered those days. Akira had become noticeably withdrawn after his mother's death.
"Back then, I thought medical ninjutsu was useless," Akira continued. "I believed that only by mastering powerful combat techniques could I protect the people I care about and save lives."
In truth, he had been battling the fog of his fragmented memories for a whole year and barely remembered his classmates' names, let alone made close friends.
"But after spending time with my classmates, I realized something important: one person's power is limited, but the collective strength of the village is limitless."
"The ninja on the front lines are bleeding for the peace of the village. I want to contribute too. Even if I can't fight yet, curing one wounded shinobi means one more can return to battle. That's just as important."
Ito was surprised by the maturity in Akira's words.
"I want to continue training in medical ninjutsu," Akira said earnestly. "But I also don't want to give up my dream of becoming a powerful shinobi."
"The problem is, I don't have enough time for both. So yesterday, I skipped class to test something."
"Test something?" Ito asked, curiosity piqued.
"Yes. I was experimenting with the Shadow Clone Technique."
Ito blinked in surprise.
"I found that when a shadow clone dispels, all its memories return to the user. So I was thinking—why not use a shadow clone to attend classes while I use the time to train or study medical ninjutsu?"
Ito was stunned. He knew the theory—shadow clones could be used for parallel training—but the chakra cost was immense. Most Chunin couldn't maintain a clone for long, much less a six-year-old child.
"You can maintain a clone for that long?" Ito asked in disbelief.
"Yes. I tested it yesterday. The clone lasted several hours while cultivating. If it's just attending classes, it should easily last the whole day. Even for practical classes, I can switch with the real body."
Ito was speechless. Just being able to perform the Shadow Clone Technique at Akira's age was rare. But using it for prolonged training? That meant Akira had chakra reserves beyond most Genin—perhaps even more than a typical Chunin.
This is unbelievable, Ito thought. He's only six... and already more capable than most adult shinobi.
He briefly recalled hearing of another prodigy who graduated from the academy in a year and became a Chunin the next. Akira was no different.
"A genius," he muttered to himself. "A real genius."