Yuta's room wasn't small, but it wasn't massive either. Just enough space for a bed, a desk, and the crushing weight of life-altering decisions.
He'd been sitting there for two hours, staring at the notepad in his lap, trying to decide which four abilities would keep him alive long enough to kill the Hero Killer.
So many options...
The system interface floated in front of him, translucent and glowing faintly blue. He'd pulled up Kakashi's ability list first—seemed like the safe choice. Copy Ninja. Thousand techniques. Should be a goldmine, right?
Five minutes later, his enthusiasm had died a quiet death.
"What the hell is this?" he muttered, scrolling through technique after technique. "Mud Wall Jutsu? Water Clone? Generic Fireball Number Seven?"
Most of it was filler. Techniques Kakashi had copied once and never used again because they were objectively worse than just stabbing someone with Chidori.
No wonder he only used like five moves in the entire series.
Still, buried in the list were gems. Sharingan. Shadow Clones. Rasengan. The good stuff.
Yuta leaned back, rubbing his eyes. Okay. Let's be smart about this. What do I actually need?
He grabbed his pen and started writing:
PROBLEMS I NEED TO SOLVE:
Stain is faster than me
Stain can paralyze me if he draws blood
I have zero combat experience
My Quirk is useless in a fight
I need to avoid getting caught by heroes/police
WHAT I NEED:
Speed/Perception (to not get stabbed)
Durability (in case I DO get stabbed)
Offense (to actually win)
Stamina (because I'm not All Might)
He tapped the pen against his teeth, thinking.
Sharingan solves perception. Shadow Clones give me numbers and training efficiency. Rasengan is raw damage. And if I can get something for durability...
His eyes drifted to one name on the list.
Hidan.
The immortal Akatsuki member who'd survived decapitation and spent the rest of the series as a talking head in a hole.
Perfect.
"Alright," Yuta said aloud, pulling up the selection interface. "I've decided."
The system panel shifted, text reformatting into a clean input screen.
[PLEASE INPUT YOUR FOUR ABILITIES]
"Kakashi's Kamui Mangekyo Sharingan. Itachi's Tsukuyomi Mangekyo Sharingan. Naruto's Nine-Tails Chakra. Hidan's Immortal Body."
He sat back, satisfied. Let's see Stain try to kill someone who literally can't die.
[ERROR! ERROR! SELECTION REJECTED.]
[PLEASE RESELECT ABILITIES.]
Yuta's smile evaporated.
"...What."
[ERROR! ERROR! PLEASE RESELECT—]
"I HEARD YOU THE FIRST TIME!" He shot upright, glaring at the interface. "What the hell is wrong with my choices?!"
[MULTIPLE ERRORS DETECTED IN ABILITY SELECTION.]
"What errors?! Be specific!"
[DOUBLE CHOICES FRAMED INTO ONE. TWICE.]
Yuta blinked. "...Huh?"
[SELECTED ABILITIES 'KAKASHI'S KAMUI MANGEKYO SHARINGAN' AND 'ITACHI'S TSUKUYOMI MANGEKYO SHARINGAN' ARE FOUR ABILITIES DISGUISED AS TWO CHOICES.]
Silence.
Yuta stared at the screen for a solid ten seconds before letting out a groan that could've woken the neighbors.
"How?!" He dragged a hand down his face. "Explain. In detail. Like I'm five."
[EACH MANGEKYO SHARINGAN SELECTION CONSISTS OF TWO ABILITIES:]
[1. THE MANGEKYO SHARINGAN ITSELF (BASE DOJUTSU)]
[2. THE UNIQUE PUPIL TECHNIQUE (KAMUI, TSUKUYOMI, ETC.)]
Yuta's eye twitched. "Aren't they the same thing?"
[INCORRECT.]
[THE MANGEKYO SHARINGAN IS THE UCHIHA CLAN'S STRONGEST DOJUTSU. IT GRANTS ENHANCED PERCEPTION, GENJUTSU RESISTANCE, PRECOGNITION, AND THE SUSANOO.]
[THE PUPIL TECHNIQUES—KAMUI, TSUKUYOMI, AMATERASU, ETC.—ARE SEPARATE ABILITIES THAT MANIFEST BASED ON THE USER'S DEEPEST DESIRES. THEY ARE CALLED "THE EYE OF THE SOUL" FOR THIS REASON.]
[WHILE TWO USERS MAY AWAKEN THE SAME BASE DOJUTSU, THEIR TECHNIQUES DIFFER BASED ON INDIVIDUAL TRAUMA AND DESIRE.]
[THEREFORE:]
[• MANGEKYO SHARINGAN = 2 SLOTS]
[• KAMUI = 1 SLOT]
[• TSUKUYOMI = 1 SLOT]
[YOUR CURRENT SELECTION USES ALL FOUR SLOTS.]
Yuta's hands clenched into fists. "So you're telling me... if I take both Kamui and Tsukuyomi, I don't get anything else?"
[CORRECT.]
"And if I take JUST the Mangekyo Sharingan without the techniques...?"
[YOU WILL AWAKEN YOUR OWN UNIQUE PUPIL TECHNIQUES BASED ON YOUR SUBCONSCIOUS DESIRES.]
Yuta froze.
My own... techniques?
That was either the best news he'd heard all week or a complete disaster waiting to happen.
On one hand: custom abilities tailored specifically to what he needed most.
On the other hand: he had no idea what those would be.
Kamui was a guaranteed space-time technique. Tsukuyomi was a guaranteed mind-breaking torture dimension. Both were proven, documented, reliable.
But his own techniques?
What if I awaken something useless?
His mind raced. What do I want most right now?
Curing his mother's paralysis? That might give him some kind of healing ability—useful, but not exactly combat-oriented.
Killing Stain? That could manifest as Amaterasu or something equally destructive. But what if it manifested as something weirdly specific, like "the ability to sense people with murderous intent" or some niche garbage?
Shin Uchiha awakened the ability to control objects he marked with his Sharingan, Yuta thought grimly. And that guy was fucking useless.
He sat there for a long moment, pen hovering over the notepad.
Finally, he exhaled.
"Remove the pupil techniques."
[CONFIRM REMOVAL OF 'KAMUI' AND 'TSUKUYOMI'?]
"Yeah." He clenched his jaw. "I'll gamble on whatever I awaken."
It wasn't confidence. It was necessity.
Because the other two abilities—Nine-Tails Chakra and Hidan's Immortality—were non-negotiable.
Without the Nine-Tails' chakra reserves, activating the Mangekyo would drain him dry in minutes. He'd be another Kakashi, collapsing after two uses.
And without Hidan's immortality, using the Mangekyo would slowly blind him. Every activation brought him closer to permanent darkness.
I need both. No matter what.
The interface updated.
[CURRENT SELECTION:]
[• MANGEKYO SHARINGAN (LEFT EYE)]
[• MANGEKYO SHARINGAN (RIGHT EYE)]
[• NINE-TAILS CHAKRA]
[• HIDAN'S IMMORTAL BODY]
Yuta stared at the list.
Something felt wrong.
"Wait." His eyes narrowed, suddenly realizing "Are you telling me... each individual Mangekyo Sharingan takes up a slot?"
[CORRECT.]
"..."
He pressed his palms against his eyes. Of course. Of fucking course.
"Fine. FINE." He took a breath. "Two Mangekyo Sharingan. Nine-Tails Chakra. Hidan's Immortality. Four slots. Finalize."
[ERROR! ERROR! SELECTION REJECTED.]
[PLEASE RESELECT ABILITIES.]
"FUCK!!"
Yuta shot off the bed, fists clenched, voice cracking with frustration.
"WHAT NOW?! WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG THIS TIME?!"
[MULTIPLE ERRORS DETECTED IN ABILITY SELECTION.]
"WHAT'S WRONG WITH THE SHARINGAN NOW?!"
[NOTHING IS WRONG WITH THE SHARINGAN.]
"THEN?!"
[ERROR DETECTED IN 'NINE-TAILS CHAKRA' SELECTION.]
Yuta froze, chest heaving.
"...What?"
[NINE-TAILS CHAKRA CANNOT BE DIRECTLY SELECTED.]
"Why not?!"
[TAILED BEAST CHAKRA IS NOT A STANDALONE ABILITY. IT IS A BYPRODUCT OF HOSTING A TAILED BEAST.]
Yuta's blood ran cold.
"...What does that mean?"
[TO POSSESS NINE-TAILS CHAKRA, YOU MUST FIRST HAVE THE NINE-TAILS SEALED INSIDE YOU.]
"So... I need to use a slot for the Nine-Tails itself?"
[INCORRECT.]
"THEN WHAT?!"
[TO HAVE A TAILED BEAST SEALED INSIDE YOU, YOU MUST FIRST POSSESS THE SEALING TECHNIQUE REQUIRED TO CONTAIN IT.]
Yuta's mouth went dry.
"...The Four Symbols Seal."
[CORRECT.]
[REVISED REQUIREMENT:]
[• FOUR SYMBOLS SEAL (1 SLOT)]
[• NINE-TAILS BIJUU (1 SLOT)]
[RESULT: ACCESS TO NINE-TAILS CHAKRA.]
"That's... that's TWO slots just to get the chakra?!"
[CORRECT.]
"And—wait." A horrible realization crept over him. "If I take the Nine-Tails... it'll act exactly like it did in the series, won't it?"
[CORRECT. THE NINE-TAILS WILL RETAIN ITS PERSONALITY, MEMORIES, AND HOSTILITY.]
"So I'd have a giant demon fox sealed inside me that hates my guts and will try to take over my body every chance it gets?!"
[CORRECT.]
"..."
Yuta sat back down on the bed.
Slowly.
'This is a nightmare.'
He stared at the interface for a long, long time.
Then, voice hollow, he said: "Remove Nine-Tails Chakra."
[SELECTION REMOVED.]
He rubbed his face. Okay. Okay. Two Sharingan. Hidan's Immortality. That's three slots. I still have one left. I can work with this.
He pulled up the list again, scrolling through abilities.
Shadow Clones. Rasengan. No darn sage mode—wait, does that need a prerequisite too?
Before he could check, another thought hit him.
"System."
[YES?]
"Hidan's Immortality. Is there a problem with that one too?"
Silence.
Then:
[YES.]
Yuta closed his eyes.
"...Of course there is."
[HIDAN'S IMMORTALITY IS GRANTED BY THE JASHIN RELIGION. IT IS NOT AN INHERENT ABILITY.]
"Let me guess." Yuta's voice was flat. "I need to use a slot to bring Jashin into this universe."
[CORRECT.]
"..."
He sat there.
Just... sat.
'This is fine,' he thought distantly. 'Everything is fine. I'm not having a breakdown. This is fine.'
"System."
[YES?]
"If I choose Hidan's Immortality... does Jashin show up as, like, an actual god? Or is it just the blessing?"
[JASHIN WILL MANIFEST AS A LOCALIZED DIVINE ENTITY WITHIN THIS UNIVERSE. YOU WILL BE ITS FIRST—AND LIKELY ONLY—WORSHIPER.]
"So I'd have to... what, pray? Make sacrifices?"
[JASHIN REQUIRES RITUALISTIC KILLING TO MAINTAIN YOUR IMMORTALITY.]
Yuta laughed.
It wasn't a happy sound.
"So my options are:"
He held up his fingers, counting.
"One: Take the Nine-Tails and hope it doesn't eat my soul.
Two: Bring an evil god into the My Hero world and become a serial killer to stay immortal.
Three: Give up on both and just... fucking wing it with whatever's left."
[THOSE ARE ACCURATE ASSESSMENTS.]
"..."
Yuta looked at the ceiling.
Mom's in the hospital because of a serial killer.
And I was about to become one myself.
He exhaled slowly.
"Remove Hidan's Immortality."
[SELECTION REMOVED.]
The interface now showed:
[CURRENT SELECTION:]
[• MANGEKYO SHARINGAN (1 SLOT)]
[• MANGEKYO SHARINGAN (1 SLOT)]
[• EMPTY (1 SLOT)]
[• EMPTY (1 SLOT)]
Yuta stared at it for a long time.
Then he stood, walked to his desk, and pulled out a fresh sheet of paper.
Okay, he thought. Let's start over.
What can I actually use?