When I opened my eyes, I was staring at a wooden ceiling.
For a few seconds, I didn't move. I simply lay there, listening.
Outside, I could hear faint footsteps, distant voices, the quiet rhythm of a village waking up. The air smelled of wood and ash. Somewhere nearby, someone was boiling tea.
I slowly sat up.
The body felt older.
Heavier.
Not weak—but aged.
I raised my hand and studied it carefully. The skin was rough, fingers thick with years of training. There were small scars along the knuckles. This was not a young shinobi's body.
I stood up and walked toward a small mirror placed against the wall.
A man in his forties looked back at me.
Sharp features. Mature face. Black hair tied back. Eyes calm, but carrying the weight of experience.
An Uchiha.
"This body is old," I muttered quietly. "But I can work with it."
The memories began to settle naturally in my mind. Unlike my first transmigration, this time the process was smooth. I accessed the information like flipping through organized files.
Name: Uchiha Daiki.
Position: Vice Captain of the Uchiha Guard.
Not bad.
He wasn't a top-tier powerhouse, but he held authority. Respect. Access.
That was enough.
I sat down at the small table in the room and summoned the book.
Transmigrator Killer Guide.
The black cover shimmered faintly before opening on its own. Blank pages began to move rapidly, flipping one after another until they stopped.
A chapter title appeared.
Chapter 23
"So twenty-three chapters have already happened," I murmured.
That meant the transmigrator had been active for a while.
I focused my chakra slightly and checked the physical strength of this body. It was respectable. High jonin level. With stored reserves from my original power, I could destroy this village in one blow if I released everything.
But that would be foolish.
The target had world-transfer capability, If threatened directly, he could escape.
Besides, raw destruction wasn't impressive.
The Nine-Tails could do that.
Even the Eight-Tails could level mountains with a tailed beast bomb.
That kind of strength wasn't special in this world.
I leaned back in my chair.
"Let's read the plot first," I said quietly.
The book displayed the summary of the transmigrator's current storyline.
As I read, I almost laughed out loud.
The boy was still young. He had just entered the academy. He had already befriended Mikoto and positioned himself close to her family.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
That worked in my favor.
Killing a transmigrator is simple in theory. You eliminate the host. End of story.
But in practice, it is rarely that easy.
Transmigrators often have narrative protection. Their cheat abilities evolve faster than logic allows. If I attacked too early and failed, he could escape or grow stronger.
The better method?
Suppression.
Corner them slowly.
Just like those novels where the villain carefully sets traps for the protagonist until there's no way out.
I turned the page and began reading previous chapters in detail. It took nearly an hour. I absorbed every action, every interaction, every deviation from the original timeline.
By the time I finished, I smiled faintly.
"He's not that strong yet."
At this stage, he was low Kage level at best.
His cheat ability came from another world—Thunder Breathing from Demon Slayer.
In comparison to the Naruto world, Demon Slayer was weak.
But as a cheat, its power was amplified.
His speed was absurd. Fast enough to eliminate ninety-nine percent of shinobi before they could react.
That was dangerous.
Speed kills.
However, I leaned forward slightly, thinking.
He may have Kage-level power, but would he dare expose it publicly? If a child suddenly displayed such strength, it would attract attention immediately.
"If he reveals too much," I whispered, "we'll send him to Orochimaru for research. Let's see how he enjoys being studied."
Still, I preferred a cleaner approach.
If his advantage was speed, then I would remove that advantage.
I closed the book and focused.
A system interface appeared in front of me, invisible to this world.
[Access to creator mod granted.]
I began typing commands calmly.
After a few seconds, a confirmation window appeared.
[Do you wish to use 70% of reserved power to increase baseline reaction speed of all ninjas in this world?]
I didn't hesitate.
I pressed confirm.
Instantly, I felt a massive portion of my stored power drain away. My body trembled slightly from the loss, but I remained steady.
The effect spread silently across the world. Every shinobi—every genin, chunin, jonin and kage experienced a subtle increase in reaction speed. Not enough to break the world's logic. Just enough to close the gap.
Because my authority in this world was still higher than the transmigrator's, the system adjustment went through smoothly.
I exhaled slowly.
"Now," I murmured, "let's watch."
I returned my attention to the book.
According to the plot, today Kushina Uzumaki would formally join the academy.
And the transmigrator planned to compliment her red hair, making her blush and develop feelings for him.
Which is very Classic and Predictable.
That small interaction would later turn into emotional dependency.
Then loyalty.
Then attachment.
And another "wife" added to the list.
I stood up and adjusted my cloak.
As Vice Captain of the Guard, I had freedom to move around the village without raising suspicion.
I stepped outside into the sunlight of Konoha.
Children were already heading toward the academy.
Among them a handsome boy with confident eyes and dark black was holding a hand of a cute girl and was heading towards the academy.
I folded my arms calmly.
"Let's see how fast you really are," I whispered to myself.