"Invasion!?"

Lin Zhen, or rather Uchiha Shinji, looked utterly bewildered at that moment. He was now wrapped in bandages, lying on the bed with a listless expression, unable even to get out of bed. Suddenly, a voice informed him that the dimension was under invasion! It also provided a countdown...

After waiting for a long time with no further information, Shinji silently cried out in his heart, "Hey, what's this invasion about? Can you please clarify?"

Still, there was no response.

It felt as if everything that had just happened was merely an auditory hallucination. He felt extremely speechless yet helpless, as even moving was a laborious task for him right now.

For the next few days, Shinji spent his time in a daze. This was mainly due to his severe injuries. The deep knife wound left by Uchiha Itachi on his chest was so severe it could be seen to the bone, heavily damaging his lungs. Even with medical ninjutsu, it would take time to recover slowly.

And that mysterious voice would suddenly ring in his ears every day, reminding him of the dwindling countdown. This made him realize that the mysterious voice was not a hallucination; it was genuinely real!

Without a doubt.

Having concluded this, he felt even more depressed.

As the days went by, the impact of the Uchiha clan's annihilation, the first noble clan of Konoha, gradually became apparent. The most direct feeling for Shinji was that everyone who saw him looked at him with sympathy.

In reality, most people in Konoha had no deep-seated hatred against the Uchiha clan. They primarily resented the Uchiha's arrogance and feared their intimidating Sharingan. After the Uchiha clan was exterminated, these daily conflicts dissipated along with them.

What replaced them were sighs and sympathy, as the Uchiha had fought several ninja world wars for Konoha and had made considerable sacrifices.

While accepting treatment, Shinji was also trying hard to adapt to all of this. Initially, he was very anxious, worried that his identity as a traveler would be exposed and that someone would eliminate him, this remnant of the Uchiha clan.

However, after a few days, things calmed down for the time being. At least in the hospital, everyone showed him sympathy and kindness.

......

Smack!

Shinji fell heavily to the ground. The nurse hurried over to help him up, looking concerned. "You're too anxious; you should rest for a few more days before trying again!"

Enduring the pain, Shinji said, "The doctor said my injuries are recovering well enough that I can try to move my body."

The nurse wanted to persuade him again, "But..."

"I can do it!"

Shinji refused the nurse's assistance.

He took a deep breath and took another step.

Although each step was incredibly strenuous, he gritted his teeth and persisted.

Whether it was that strange countdown or being a remnant of the Uchiha clan who survived the night of annihilation, he had no right to enjoy a leisurely existence.

Smack!

He fell again...

He got up again...

Time and time again!

Even the nurse beside him couldn't help but turn her head away.

After an afternoon of training, Shinji finally managed to walk with difficulty.

The nurse didn't expect him to really hold on and couldn't help but exclaim, "It's simply incredible!"

Shinji said, "I want to go to the bathroom."

The nurse smiled, "I'll help you."

"No need."

Shinji declined.

He went to the bathroom alone, confirmed there was no one inside, walked into a single cubicle in the corner, closed the door, sat on the toilet, and then lowered his head, covering his eyes with his hand.

"Kaleidoscope Sharingan, activate!"

As he focused his thoughts, the double pupils in his eye sockets instantly changed.

Crimson washed over him, and ink circles appeared!

In an instant, his vision became incredibly clear, and the patterns on his left hand that covered his eyes were rendered in exquisite detail!

"So this is the Kaleidoscope Sharingan..."

At that moment, he was both shocked and delighted.

For the past few days, to avoid exposing his Kaleidoscope Sharingan, he had suppressed the urge to activate it while lying on the hospital bed, unable to move.

Now that he finally found the opportunity to confirm it, he felt relieved!

On the way back to the hospital room, he saw another survivor from his clan, Uchiha Sasuke!

However, that guy had been in a deep sleep due to being caught in Tsukuyomi and seemed unlikely to wake up anytime soon.

In the following days, Shinji continued to work hard to recover physically.

At first, he could barely walk.

With his relentless efforts, he slowly started to jog and jump.

And that mysterious voice that rang in his ears every day added an inexplicable sense of urgency to his already busy hospital life.

Although he still didn't understand what the so-called 'invasion' referred to, it wouldn't hurt to prepare as much as possible.

One week after being admitted.

While examining Shinji's body, the doctor clicked his tongue in surprise. "Your recovery speed is much faster than we expected."

Shinji replied, "Thank you."

The doctor shook his head. "Our medical ninjutsu can only treat wounds; the recovery of your physical condition is the result of your efforts over the past few days."

Shinji clenched his fist, feeling his strength.

It seemed that his hard work during this time had not been in vain; combined with the treatment from medical ninjutsu, his body was now basically recovered.

After giving a few reminders, the doctor left the hospital room.

As soon as the doctor left, another figure walked in and smiled at Shinji. "How are you feeling today?"

Shinji nodded stiffly. "Much better."

The one asking was a young man with light blue hair and a friendly smile.

He was Shinji's ninja school teacher, Mizuki.

However, Shinji knew he had another identity as an informant placed in Konoha by Orochimaru.

Mizuki looked Shinji up and down and then said, "Your injuries are almost healed; you can be discharged today."

Shinji nodded.

After completing the discharge procedures, Mizuki led Shinji to an apartment building.

He opened a third-floor apartment and handed the key to Shinji. "From now on, this will be your new home."

Shinji silently accepted the key after looking around the place.

Mizuki also handed him a passbook, reminding him of a few things regarding daily life before smiling and leaving.

Carefully closing the door, Shinji's expression finally became somewhat richer.

The passbook Mizuki gave him was the compensation issued by the village, amounting to over seven million, which was no small sum.

After putting away the passbook, Shinji looked out the window.

Although this apartment was not large, it was located in the center of the village, just a few streets away from the ninja school, and the surroundings were very bustling.

It was evident.

The large area of Uchiha territory was not something that he and the unconscious Sasuke could defend.

So being placed here by the village did not surprise him at all.

As for the hefty compensation of seven million, it likely also contained compensation for the clan's land being confiscated by the village.

Just thinking back to the scene he saw in the morgue, the nearly thousand years of accumulation of the Uchiha clan, along with the Sharingan of the deceased Uchiha clan members, had probably all fallen into the hands of the village.

When considering all this, the seven million in compensation seemed insignificant.

......

Nighttime.

The streets of the village were lit up with rows of lanterns and neon lights.

The warm light seemed to drive away the cold of the night.

In the apartment.

Shinji quietly gazed at the night scene of Konoha village outside the window, but his thoughts were on the neighboring apartment.

The sounds coming from next door made him feel suspicious, worrying that someone was watching his every move.

But soon he dismissed the doubts.

If someone was really watching him from next door, they wouldn't be making these noises that he could hear.

"I wonder who lives next door..."

After darkly pondering this, he lay down on the bed, thinking about the future.

Even now, he had not figured out why he had traveled here.

The 'return mission' and 'invasion' mentioned by that mysterious voice left him even more confused.

He had tried many ways to call out to that mysterious voice, attempting to communicate, but had yielded no results, as if it only existed in his imagination.

He collected his thoughts: "No matter what, I need to focus on surviving!"

Now he possessed a pair of Kaleidoscope Sharingan, which could be considered a trump card at least until the Fourth Shinobi World War.

And with the destruction of the Uchiha clan, there were actually not many enemies left who harbored malicious intent towards him.

Apart from Danzo, who orchestrated the genocide, Orochimaru, who coveted the Sharingan, Itachi, who had killed him once, Obito, who participated in the massacre, and other villages and organizations interested in the Uchiha's bloodline limit, there wasn't much else...

Okay, there are still quite a few threats!

"So staying in Konoha village is actually much safer than running around!"

This reasoning was easy to understand.

He was now a survivor of the Uchiha clan massacre; as long as the Third Hokage still cared about his face, and Konoha still upheld the Will of Fire, no one would openly persecute him.

But he also knew that unlike Sasuke, he did not have Itachi’s protection.

If he did something excessive, even if the Third Hokage couldn't act, Danzo would definitely not let go of the opportunity to crush this remnant of the Uchiha clan.

Just like these past few days, he could occasionally feel hidden gazes watching him.

"Just hold on!"

He secretly made up his mind.

[The dimension is under invasion...]

[Countdown: 2]

Suddenly, that mysterious voice rang in his ears again.

His expression darkened.

The countdown number had changed from '9' a week ago to '2' now, which undoubtedly indicated that one unit represented one day.

Countdown '2' meant there were only two days left...