A Multiverse Tale: Hope in Another World!

The night breeze was cool, swaying the wind chimes and brushing a faint chill across Takuma Kirie's mind, pulling him back to clarity from that tender haze. 

He didn't rush inside upon returning home. Standing at a distance, he eyed the lights flickering on without his permission, a cold smirk tugging at his lips. 

Looks like someone couldn't hold back anymore. 

The calculated plans he'd long rehearsed surfaced in his mind. With swift steps, he activated his two-tomoe Sharingan, pushed open the door, and stepped in with an icy edge. 

"Breaking in uninvited—is this the Uchiha clan's idea of manners?" 

His voice, laced with indignation, rang out. The group waiting inside finally laid eyes on their long-anticipated target—Takuma Kirie. 

Sharp features, piercing gaze—a strikingly aloof and handsome kid. That haughty air had the Uchiha clan elders nodding in silent approval. Especially one twelve- or thirteen-year-old girl among them, who stifled a gasp with her hand. 

Arrogant, cold, powerful, with a dismissive sneer for all. 

He was practically a carbon copy of the Uchiha clan's geniuses—like he'd been carved from their mold. Those swirling two-tomoe Sharingan eyes sent the elders into a quiet frenzy of delight. 

A kid this young with a two-tomoe? Rare even among the Uchiha. Add Wood Release to the mix, and Takuma Kirie was their shot at a genius who could rival—or even surpass—Uchiha Madara! 

Still, despite their eagerness, the two lead elders kept their faces impassive. 

"Today, it's Konoha ninja barging in uninvited," the Great Elder said coolly. "Next time, it might not be." 

"Takuma Kirie, you've seen war. You know what displaying that kind of potential means for you." 

His tone turned sharp with warning: "No matter how strong you are, you're just a corpse against a swarm of elite jonin assassins. Only the living are geniuses—the dead are just bodies!" 

Seeing Kirie's expression darken, teetering on the edge of a blowup, the Second Elder stepped in with a gentler approach. 

"Ichiro's words are harsh but true, Kirie-kun… Whatever else, Uchiha blood runs in your veins." 

The old man set a sealed scroll on the table, continuing: "We swear on the Uchiha clan's honor to nurture you fully. These Uchiha ninjutsu and secret techniques will be yours, free of charge. With the clan behind you, your safety's assured." 

"We promise—you'll become the new Shura of the Ninja World!" 

Kirie feigned a frown, hinting at hesitation, while inwardly scoffing at the old duo's good-cop-bad-cop routine. They were dead-set on locking him down. 

"Rest easy. The Uchiha have just one condition." 

The Second Elder gestured, and the girl who'd been hiding stepped forward. She was stunning—gentle, refined, exuding Yamato Nadeshiko vibes. 

"We want you to marry Mikoto. Bear children for the Uchiha clan in the future." 

The elder couldn't help but admire their cunning. Once Kirie tied the knot and had kids, he'd be bound to step in if the clan faced trouble. And if those kids inherited his dual bloodlines? The Uchiha could dominate the ninja world—crowning themselves the top clan! 

Kirie had to admit, this shook him. 

His inner voice cursed the old geezers with warm regards: Damn it, I was gonna play hardball for more perks, and they pull a beauty trap? Dirty move! 

Shamefully, he wavered. 

Just as he considered cashing in, the door blasted open. 

"He's got Senju blood too! What gives you Uchiha the right to claim him?!" 

A female ninja with a commanding presence stormed in, radiating fury. Blonde hair tied in a thick ponytail, a violet diamond mark on her forehead, clad in a teal longcoat with black trim over a sleeveless kimono-style top, a black sash at her waist, and navy capris. 

A gorgeous, mature kunoichi—and none other than Tsunade-hime, one of the Legendary Sannin. 

Word of Kirie's Wood Release had spurred her back to the village. Hearing the Uchiha were after him, she'd charged straight over. 

Like a hen guarding her chick, the blonde bombshell planted herself in front of Kirie, glaring down the Uchiha elders with unyielding fire. 

Tsunade thought she'd swooped in all cool, saving the "poor kid bullied by the Uchiha." 

She didn't notice the sly squint in Kirie's eyes behind her. 

Tsunade, huh!

You ruined my extortion gig—watch your back! 

His gaze sharpened with resolve. Next time he hit the Naruto world, this woman was getting a bloody lesson. 

His Uchiha shakedown derailed, Kirie played dead, watching Tsunade and the elders bicker. 

In the end, Tsunade's clout and reckless streak won out. The Uchiha geezers, faces like thunder, packed up their secret-laden scroll and stormed off.

But not before the Second Elder pulled an envelope from his pocket, setting it on the table. 

"Kirie, no matter what, you carry Uchiha blood. This is your betrothal to Uchiha Mikoto. From now on, alive or dead, she's your fiancée."

That parting shot? A masterstroke. 

Kirie kept his cool mask, sneaking a glance at Tsunade. Sure enough, her temper flared, her chest heaving in a spectacle worth watching. 

When the wooden floor's groans finally settled, a calmer Tsunade turned to him. 

The aloof kid ignored her, fetching ice water from the fridge. With a flicker of chakra, he spurred the trees to patch the floor in a blink—Wood Release in action. 

That familiar power and his bloodline eased Tsunade's frown, her expression softening. 

"Kirie, come with me. I'll protect and train you until you can stand alone. All I ask is you take up the Senju name again."

Looking at him, she saw echoes of her late brother Nawaki, their figures blurring in her mind. 

"I refuse!" 

His icy retort shattered her reverie, yanking her back to reality. 

The overlapping shadows faded, leaving only Takuma Kirie's face in her sight. 

He was a genius every faction coveted, with options galore—not just her, a Sannin with a title and little else. 

He wasn't Nawaki, nor bound by Senju duty. 

Cooling off, Tsunade mirrored the Uchiha's pitch: "Orochimaru and Konoha have Wood Release, but not sage-level Wood techniques. I'll teach you my medical ninjutsu too."

"Kirie, stick with me, and I'll make you as strong as Grandpa—Senju clan's second God of Shinobi." 

Her confidence swelled. What ninja could resist becoming the next God of Shinobi? 

"I refuse."

This time, his rejection was even sharper. 

"If that's all, Lady Tsunade, you can go." 

When a woman throws a fastball, a man's gotta dodge—especially when it's a pie-in-the-sky promise. 

"Why?" 

Tsunade was genuinely stumped. Why turn her down? 

Kirie wasn't about to say he didn't have the time. By the time she got to sage training, he'd be long gone. Her vague offer didn't hold a candle to the Uchiha's juicy scroll. 

But a con's a con. Plant a seed today, reap a harvest next time. 

His gaze locked onto hers, fierce and unyielding: 

"I don't want to be some new Shura of the Ninja World." 

"Or a second God of Shinobi." 

"No comparisons—I am me, peerless in this world, the pinnacle of all!"