"Hey, you stinkbag! How dare you ignore the Great Me?! Are you looking to die?!" The fat thug roared when he saw that not only was Shin unafraid, but he actually smiled slightly, lost in thought.
Feeling his authority challenged, the fat kid swung his massive fist straight at Shin's face. The shout jolted Shin out of his thoughts, and he immediately dodged. No way he was taking a hit to the face—he still had to show up at the Academy, after all.
Though the fat kid wasn't a ninja, his movements showed he was on par with a recent Academy graduate. Shin managed to dodge the full blow, but not completely. The punch crashed into his shoulder, knocking him to the ground with a painful groan.
"You even dare to dodge?! I'm hitting you, and you dare dodge?! You really are looking to die!"
The fat thug glanced at his minions, who instantly swarmed Shin and began beating him down. All escape routes were cut off. Shin tried to fight back, but his chakra scattered before he could focus it. In the end, civilians—even after graduating and becoming genin or chūnin—without guidance remained nothing more than cannon fodder.
Four against one—resistance was futile. All Shin could do was cover his head with his arms and silently endure the kicks and punches, trying to keep them away from his face.
The fat kid and his gang circled him, raining down blows and curses. Onlookers jeered and laughed.
[Hyūga Hinata: They're so cruel! How can they treat Shin like this?]
[Yamanaka Ino: Those bastards! I want to kill them!]
[Ten-Ten: Calm down. Don't let your emotions take over. If this video is accurate, Shin is about to awaken his Sharingan. If we interfere now, we might ruin everything.]
[Haruno Sakura: If a beating can earn you immense power, then it's worth it.]
To avoid revealing themselves, the girls communicated through their shared mental chat. Except for Sakura, who remained emotionally detached, the others were deeply affected. Kindhearted by nature, they clenched their fists, aching at the sight of Shin being beaten.
But Shin had no time to worry about their feelings. The pain ripping through his body made him seriously regret this decision. This humiliation was part of the future he had scripted for himself.
Yes, the Sharingan required an external stimulus to awaken, and Shin had chosen the least painful way to trigger it with maximum gain. But if he had known just how excruciating it would be, he might've gone with the other option—watching someone die in front of him. After all, empathy could also awaken the Sharingan, and at least then someone else would've felt the pain.
Not that it mattered. With his personality, even if a background character died in front of him, he'd feel bad, sure—but not bad enough. If awakening the Sharingan were that easy, it wouldn't be so special.
"Ha! This guy's a total coward! He's not even fighting back!" the fat thug laughed. "Looks like he's completely spineless. Perfect—we've got ourselves a little toy. First, we'll find out who he is. You don't see trash like this every day. We'll drop in on him from time to time to have some fun!"
The gang burst out laughing, looking down on Shin with open contempt.
Their words struck a nerve. Rage ignited in Shin's heart.
He'd just wanted to follow the script and gain power. But now he was starting to wonder—was he being too much of a coward? Power gained through humiliation like this would be a stain on his legacy!
Damn it! Whether the Sharingan awakened or not didn't matter anymore. How could someone who transmigrated here allow these two-bit thugs to treat him like garbage? Worst case, he'd find another way to gain power!
With that realization, his fighting spirit exploded.
"Aaaaaah!!!" he roared, and chakra surged through his body like a bursting dam.
Like steam from a shattered kettle, his sudden power blew the surrounding bullies back. Without a moment's hesitation, Shin charged straight at the fat thug—whose face was already showing signs of panic—and punched him square in the face.
Despite his surprise, the fat thug wasn't inexperienced. A sneer even curled at the corners of his mouth.
"That weak little—"
BAM!
He never finished the sentence. Shin's speed and strength suddenly multiplied. Just as the thug was about to dodge, Shin's fist slammed into his face. A sickening thud rang out. His head warped grotesquely from the impact, and with a howl of pain, his massive body was launched backward like a cannonball.
CRASH!
Nearly a hundred kilos of dead weight smashed into the wall behind him, leaving spiderweb cracks. He felt like every bone had snapped. His insides churned. He doubled over and coughed up blood.
The other thugs froze, stunned by the sudden reversal. Their brains couldn't process what had just happened. They stared at Shin—whose aura now felt wild and murderous. His bloodshot eyes looked like a predator about to tear its prey apart. That chilling gaze sent a shiver down their spines, and with terrified shrieks, they grabbed their leader and ran for their lives.
Shin instinctively started after them—but just one step forward made his vision blur. A strange sensation washed over him, and everything went hazy.
From the outside, his bloodshot eyes suddenly turned crimson, each one marked with two tomoe. The tomoe spun slowly clockwise, then settled into place.
His sight returned in an instant—but the world looked entirely different now. Everything was sharper, clearer. If his vision before was HD, this was Blu-ray. He could even slow down time—or at least it felt that way. In reality, it was just the dynamic perception of the Sharingan at work.
Not just that—his body felt unshackled. Speed, strength, chakra control, mental reflexes—all surged. Shin knew immediately: the Sharingan had awakened. His potential was unlocked.
"What... what is this?!" he gasped, holding out his hands and staring at his palms in disbelief.
Of course, the act was mostly for the benefit of the four girls watching. He couldn't just recognize it instantly, or he'd give himself away.
Even though the girls had already seen this moment in the future, watching it unfold in real life was still shocking.
[Ten-Ten: That's definitely the Sharingan. Looks like Shin has Uchiha blood.]
[Yamanaka Ino: But he doesn't seem to know. I doubt he's hiding his identity. More likely, he's a descendant raised outside the clan.]
[Hyūga Hinata: Still… if he awakened the Sharingan, shouldn't he have tried to keep it a secret?]
[Yamanaka Ino: You're still hung up on that, Hinata? Don't forget Sasuke is in our class. Everyone knows what happened to his clan.]
[Haruno Sakura: So what if they know about Sasuke-kun? What does that have to do with keeping a Sharingan secret? I didn't even know what a Sharingan was until now!]
[Yamanaka Ino: Well... I mean...]
[Ten-Ten: Looks like Shin's not only talented—he's hiding secrets of his own!]
Shin, still basking in the surge of strength from his newly awakened Sharingan, saw their messages—and his face immediately went blank.