The forest air was thick with the scent of damp moss and ozone. Shisui Uchiha had returned to the village under the cover of a moonless night, slipping through the canopy after completing a classified mission that had taken him deep into the Land of Fire's borders.
The wounds on his body were not the result of carelessness, but of a desperate, final counterattack from an enemy shinobi who had realized he was facing the "Shisui of the Body Flicker." It was a serrated blade strike—nothing immediately fatal, but a messy, jagged tear that left lingering chakra-based damage beneath the surface of the skin. It was the kind of wound that throbbed with every heartbeat, a constant reminder of the cost of peace.
Shisui was not surprised that Evan Kamiyo noticed his injuries at a glance. A medic's eyes are often sharper than a warrior's. What truly surprised him, however, was the boy's unnerving calm.
He hadn't expected a four-year-old child to react so naturally to an elite ANBU operative walking out of the shadows with blood soaking through his high collar. There was no flinch of fear, no stutter of hesitation. Evan looked at him with a clinical detachment that would have been more appropriate for a veteran surgeon.
But then again, Shisui thought as he sat on the moss-covered log, Kamiyo Evan was never an ordinary child.
Shisui's reputation within the Uchiha clan was a tangled web of contradictions. To the Konoha Guard, he was a captain who represented law and order. To the village leadership, he was a bridge. But to the arrogant, pride-driven Uchiha elders, he was a nuisance—a pacifist whose values were an affront to their extreme sense of clan superiority.
In the eyes of the Uchiha, the strong were gods who owed no explanations. Within the ANBU, Shisui remained a distant professional. Among his own kin, very few truly cared for his well-being; they only cared for his prowess as a deterrent.
Evan's treatment today, however, felt like something else entirely.
"Kamiyo Evan," Shisui said thoughtfully, his eyes tracking a beetle crawling over a root as the boy prepared his medical kit. "Tell me... what do you think about the Uchiha clan? Honestly."
Evan paused, his hand hovering over a roll of bandages. He looked up, his dark eyes reflecting the fading twilight.
"You want the truth?"
Shisui nodded, his expression unreadable.
"If I speak," Evan continued, his voice steady, "you have to promise not to get angry. I'm just a doctor, not a politician."
Shisui smiled faintly, the first genuine expression he'd worn all day. "I won't. I promise."
Evan thought for a second, then said calmly, "You're the first Uchiha I've ever met in person. So far... it feels pretty good. You seem like a man who carries too much weight on his shoulders, but you still take the time to bow to a child."
Shisui blinked. The answer was so far removed from the political strife he expected that it left him momentary speechless.
"I haven't met any other Uchihas," Evan added as he began to channel chakra. "Even in the hospital, I haven't treated one yet. They seem to prefer their own healers, or perhaps they simply refuse to admit they can be hurt."
A trace of disappointment flashed across Shisui's face—a recognition of the isolation his clan had built for itself—but it faded quickly. After all, Evan was still a child. What kind of deep clan opinions could he really have beyond what he saw with his own eyes?
"Stop thinking," Evan said suddenly, his tone turning sharp. "If you keep moving your diaphragm with those deep sighs, the internal knitting won't take. Sit still."
Shisui chuckled and relaxed his posture. "It's just a minor injury. It would have recovered in a few days on its own."
Evan didn't argue. He simply began the treatment.
Green chakra flowed steadily from Evan's palm, sinking into Shisui's shoulder and chest. But this time, Evan didn't just use his standard restoration. He channeled a sliver of the Ashura fragment he had recently acquired—a drop of pure, ancient vitality.
The result was instantaneous. Shisui's breath hitched as a sensation of immense, radiant warmth flooded his system. It wasn't just his flesh mending; it felt as though the very fatigue in his marrow was being washed away by a golden tide.
[Ding!]
[Target Healed: Uchiha Shisui (Mangekyō Sharingan Awakened)]
[Reward: Uchiha Bloodline Talent +1]
[Reward: Yin Chakra Affinity +1]
A flicker of shock passed through Evan's eyes. This reward... was fundamentally different. This wasn't the slow, incremental accumulation of points he got from bears or boars. It was like a sharp, concentrated injection straight into his soul.
The Uchiha Bloodline Talent...
For the first time, Evan felt the "Yin" side of his nature stir. If the Ashura fragment was the sun—limitless energy and physical life—then this trace of Uchiha talent was the moon—precision, spiritual depth, and the power of form.
The Sage Body. The Immortal Eyes. For the first time, Evan clearly felt himself stepping toward the true core of the ninja world's power balance. He wasn't just a medic anymore; he was becoming a synthesis of the two warring halves of history.
Shisui, meanwhile, stared at his arm in a stunned silence. The jagged wound was gone. Not even a faint pink scar remained. More than that, the heavy, spiritual pressure that usually weighed on his eyes—the strain of his Mangekyō—felt strangely dampened, soothed by the boy's "gentle" chakra.
"…This medical ninjutsu," Shisui murmured, his voice hushed. "It's already approaching Tsunade-sama's level. Maybe... in terms of pure vitality, it's already something else entirely."
Evan didn't linger to soak in the praise. He packed his kit and gave a polite bow. "Don't go looking for more fights tonight, Shisui-senpai. Even a miracle needs sleep to set."
After parting ways with Shisui, Evan returned to the village. Today's gain was monumental. He had discovered a sustainable path to physical growth through the beasts of the forest, and he had successfully tapped into the Uchiha's spiritual reserves. The weakness that had plagued him since his rebirth—the feeling of being a glass cannon—was finally disappearing.
When Evan reached the gate of his modest courtyard, he stopped. Two unexpected figures were standing by his door.
"Lord Third... Naruto?"
Seeing the Hokage himself standing there without his formal guard was enough to make anyone pause. Naruto, however, didn't have a "pause" button.
"Evan! You're so slow! I've been waiting forever!" Naruto shouted, jumping up and down. "If Grandpa Hokage didn't tell me, I wouldn't even know today is your birthday!"
Birthday?
Evan froze. His mind raced back. He had crossed into this world on the night of the Nine-Tails Rebellion. His parents had died that same night. In the chaos of his early years and the clinical obsession of his training, the concept of a "birthday" had never crossed his mind. It was just another day to get stronger.
"…Today?" Evan asked quietly.
"Yes," Hiruzen said gently, stepping forward. The old man looked at Evan with a gaze that was more grandfatherly than political. "June sixth. An auspicious day for a child who brings so much life back to this village."
The Third Hokage smiled. For the past six months, he had watched Evan through his crystal ball. He had seen the boy go to the hospital every single morning, rain or shine. He had seen the "Little Genius Doctor" treat the broken and the weary without asking for anything in return.
In Hiruzen's mind, this child was the living embodiment of the Will of Fire. If Evan were just a few years older, Hiruzen would have bypassed the Academy and taken him as a personal apprentice on the spot.
"Evan," Hiruzen said seriously, "your contribution to Konoha Hospital over the last half-year has been remarkable. Most Chunin haven't served the village with such consistency."
"I just do what I can, Lord Third," Evan replied, lowering his head.
"Modesty is a virtue, but so is recognition," Hiruzen said. He leaned closer, his voice dropping. "I know you worry about your time once you enter the Academy next year. You're afraid you won't be able to balance your medical work with your studies."
Evan looked up, surprised that the old man had read his thoughts so accurately.
"Consider this a birthday gift from the village," Hiruzen said. He began to form a series of familiar hand signs—too fast for a normal child to follow, but Evan's eyes, now touched by Uchiha talent, tracked every finger.
Tiger. Ox. Dog. Ren. Tiger.
"The Shadow Clone Technique," Hiruzen said. "Unlike the basic Illusion Clone, these are physical. They can work, they can study, and most importantly, they return their experiences to the original when they disperse."
Evan's eyes widened. This was the perfect solution. With Shadow Clones, he could maintain his "Grind" at the hospital while his original body focused on higher-level training or Academy politics.
Naruto immediately jumped up, tugging at the Hokage's robes. "I want to learn that! That looks way cooler than the stupid leaf-balancing thing!"
"First, learn the Transformation Technique so you stop turning into a half-human fox," Hiruzen said calmly, knocking Naruto lightly on the head.
With Naruto sulking in the corner, Evan focused. He closed his eyes, visualizing his chakra. He felt the Ashura vitality and the newly acquired Yin precision. He crossed his fingers in the signature sign.
Poof!
A cloud of white smoke erupted. Beside Evan stood a perfect replica. The clone looked at the original and gave a small, clinical nod.
"Tomorrow," Evan's clone said quietly, "I'll send two of us to the hospital."
Hiruzen's eyebrows shot up. To learn the Shadow Clone Technique on the first try was impressive—to have the clone immediately manifest the creator's personality and professional intent was unheard of.
Before leaving, Naruto excitedly handed Evan a small, crumpled package. "And this is from me! I had to save up for two weeks!"
Inside was a five-use Ichiraku Ramen coupon, stained slightly with what looked like broth. Evan smiled, a genuine warmth spreading through him that had nothing to do with chakra.
"Thank you, Naruto. Truly."
As the moon rose over Konoha, Hiruzen and Naruto walked away, leaving Evan alone in his courtyard. He sat on the porch, looking at the ramen coupons and the glowing blue notification of his stats.
He had spent his first birthday in this world surrounded by the leader of the village and its greatest outcast. He had the blood of the Senju awakening in his body and the talent of the Uchiha stirring in his soul.
And somewhere, in the dark corners of the village where the Uchiha gathered in secret, the name "Evan Kamiyo" was already beginning to be whispered—not as a doctor, but as a variable that didn't fit their plans.
Evan looked up at the moon, his eyes cold and clear.
"Happy birthday to me," he whispered. "The real work starts now."