Chapter 3: Birth Amid War
Konoha Year 38
Kaito Household
Time waits for no one. A new year had arrived, and with it, the due date for Ren Uchiha's delivery approached rapidly.
But even with life growing inside her, Ren was hollow.
Still drowning in grief from Kaito's death, she had spent the last several months locked inside the house, shutting herself away from the world. The weight of despair never left her — but the life in her womb had kept her from giving in. She had lived for her child, clinging to the last fragile thread of purpose.
Yet now, with labor drawing near, she could feel her strength slipping. Deep down, she knew she would not survive childbirth. And the terrifying part was that she no longer wanted to.
Lying on her futon, she gently placed a trembling hand over her swollen belly and whispered in a voice that trembled with pain and love,
"You have to be strong… and ruthless. I'd love to say this world will be paradise for you. But it won't. This world is far too cold for gentle souls."
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The Day of Delivery
Today was the day. Ren Uchiha, the widow of the late Kaito Uchiha and daughter-in-law of the First Elder, was about to give birth.
Outside, the world had already begun to burn. The Second Great Ninja War had officially begun. After seventeen years of relative peace following the First War, most nations lacked the seasoned veterans of old. The first war had been a battlefield of legends, where Kage-level titans clashed — warriors far stronger than the current generation.
This second war was different. It was a war of armies.
The major powers — Konohagakure, Sunagakure, Iwagakure, and Amegakure — were locked in a deadly conflict that unfolded mainly across the blood-soaked soil of Amegakure. Kumogakure and Kirigakure, meanwhile, had not yet joined, instead choosing to bide their time, waiting for the other villages to bleed each other dry.
But here, in the heart of the Uchiha district, none of that mattered right now. All eyes were on one thing — the delivery room.
Midwives moved with practiced urgency, encouraging Ren to push as her screams filled the air. Outside the room, the old First Elder, Setsuna Uchiha, waited silently. His expression was grim.
He knew Ren's condition. She was fading. And he could do nothing.
He had already lost a son. Now, he might lose a daughter-in-law and gain a motherless grandchildren in one day.
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Within the Womb
Inside the womb, the soul of Yami Uchiha stirred.
His awareness had grown far beyond a normal infant. Though his senses were dulled by the undeveloped nature of his body, he could perceive his surroundings through the [All of Existence] ability, acting like a sonar, gathering data within a 10-meter radius. He had mapped the entire house, sensed people's voices, and even traced fluctuations in chakra.
His body, now fully formed, had developed chakra pathways beyond anything normal. The [Evolution Singularity] ensured every cell was optimized — his chakra network rivaled that of a Senju or Uzumaki child. While his chakra reserves were still small due to his age, the efficiency of his system was unmatched.
He was ready.
---
Then it happened.
A sharp cry rang out through the household — the unmistakable sound of a newborn entering the world.
Setsuna exhaled for what felt like the first time in hours and stepped into the delivery room.
A midwife emerged, gently cradling a tiny baby boy. The boy's eyes were open and oddly focused — filled with a strange curiosity and depth unnatural for a newborn. Of course, none of them knew he was observing everything with a calculating mind.
The midwife laid the baby in Ren's arms. Her body was weak — frail from childbirth, worn thin by months of grief — but in that moment, she held her son with all the strength she had left.
Her voice was tender, but resolute:"Your name will be Yami Uchiha. You will live only for yourself — not for anyone else. Be selfish. Be ruthless. Be cold. And above all… become the strongest."
Setsuna watched silently, heart heavy with unspoken emotion.
Ren turned to him slowly and gestured for him to come closer. She barely had the strength to speak as she passed the infant into his arms.
"Make him strong. Stronger than anyone. If you cannot avenge your son… then his son will."
Setsuna said nothing. He only nodded.
Moments later, Ren Uchiha — wife, jonin, and mother — exhaled her last breath.
She died with tears in her eyes… and a peaceful smile.
---
Yami stared at his mother's lifeless face.
He felt… nothing.
No sorrow. No attachment. No grief. Only observation and awareness.
But within his mind, a single thought echoed:
'So… this is the price of weakness.'
He made a silent vow — not to avenge his mother or father out of sentiment. No. He would eliminate the Third Hokage and Danzo because they were threats. Their manipulation and betrayal would eventually target him too.
If eliminating them also fulfilled his mother's final wish, so be it.
For the first time in this life, he felt something close to ambition ignite within him.
---
Setsuna looked down at the infant in his arms — his grandson, the heir of his bloodline, and perhaps the final card in his decades-long game of power.
And in that moment, he made a silent promise.
"I will raise you to be the strongest shinobi in the world — stronger than even Madara Uchiha."
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