Hello, Obito

"Yin Release: Projection!"

A flash of blue light, and the sword was complete!

One second!

Two seconds!

Before three seconds had passed...

"Crack-sizzle~" The blade shattered and slowly dissipated in his hand.

Shunren couldn't help sighing. "Ideals are plump, but reality is skin and bones."

Shunren's idea was simple: use the creative power of Yin Release to make two-dimensional weapons from his memories of his previous life. Since Yin Release Chakra governed spiritual energy, theoretically, as long as his conception was sufficiently complete, he could create anything. The first thing Shunren tried to make was the Noble Phantasm "Kanshou and Bakuya" from the Fate series. They were famous swords with a strong Chinese flavor in Japanese anime, a male-and-female pair whose black-and-white yin-yang fish represented the yin and yang derived from onmyōdō.

He had managed to make one, but the problem was that it was hard to maintain: converting chakra into pure spiritual energy and fixing it in the form of a "sword." Since he could create it, that proved the theory was viable, but in practice, there was still a problem with stability.

He had the constant feeling that there was some key point he hadn't yet grasped.

But working behind closed doors alone would make it hard to achieve a technical breakthrough.

Shunren frowned and muttered to himself, "What I'm lacking is a real fight. No, I'm afraid I won't grasp it until I'm at a critical juncture between life and death, will I?"

It reminded him of Shirou Emiya from Fate, who had trained in Projection Magecraft for years, practicing day after day. No matter how diligently he worked, he had failed to create his ideal weapon. Only when he faced a life-or-death battle did he succeed in forging a true "sword."

He took off his clothes, which had long since been soaked with sweat. On the surface, he didn't seem to have exercised much, but in truth, training spiritual energy with such intense concentration was far more taxing than physical exercise. It wasn't just soreness in his muscle tissue; the mental exhaustion left him feeling weary, as though he hadn't rested for days and nights.

"Phew~"

Lying facedown and supporting himself with both hands, Shunren did push-ups. Enduring his mental fatigue, he continued to work hard on his physical training. Though he had little talent for Taijutsu, he understood that the body was the capital of the revolution. Physical strength and stamina were both basic attributes; no one would ever complain about having too much of either.

It was worth mentioning that the Yin Release training Shunren had gotten up early to do consumed spiritual energy, and his body felt no discomfort at all. The illusion of his mental and physical states being separated and opposed was truly strange.

"Huff, huff~" In the quiet room, there was only the sound of slightly hurried breathing.

Without counting how many he did, Shunren simply kept going until his physical exhaustion caught up with his mental fatigue. At that point, with both his mind and body exhausted, he had truly reached the limit of his training.

"Thud~" His mind and body spent, Shunren collapsed helplessly onto the floor, his eyelids sinking.

His gaze finally fell on the alarm clock by the bed, and he murmured, "Oh no... I overdid it... a little..."

Unable to resist the onslaught of exhaustion, Shunren's consciousness sank into a deep sleep.

His consciousness gradually cleared. Though he wanted to keep sleeping, his powerful will forced him to open his eyes.

The bright light that met his eyes took some getting used to. Shunren immediately turned to the alarm clock beside him. Seeing that it read 9:50, he couldn't help sighing. "I'm late again."

He hurried out of bed, changed and washed up, then snatched up the bread he had prepared the day before and rushed out.

Shunren lived in the Uchiha Clan's compound, in the western part of central Konoha. It was a relatively closed-off community, with a large enough population to be self-sufficient in daily life. Outsiders, even people from the same village, had to be questioned by the guards before entering. With such a high degree of autonomy, it could be called a village within a village.

The Uchiha Clan, which also held sole control over the Konoha Military Police Force, enjoyed considerable power and status in the village. On top of that, the ninja who came from the Uchiha generally possessed talent far above that of ordinary people, standing out like cranes among chickens. Inevitably and naturally, they drew the fear and envy of others.

There was no denying the baseness of human nature. When people discovered that among the generally outstanding Uchiha, a few individuals of somewhat mediocre aptitude occasionally appeared, they directed malice at them for no reason.

"Look, it's that child from the Uchiha Clan..."

"Hey! I know, I know. His name's Shunren, I think?"

"I heard that kid hasn't learned a single Ninjutsu at school."

"No way! How could someone from the Uchiha Clan, who've always claimed to be masters of ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu, not know any Ninjutsu?"

"Who knows? Heh, serves them right! That's what the Uchiha get for being so arrogant."

Shunren ran out through the Uchiha gates and onto Konoha's streets. The Uchiha Clan crest on his clothes marked him out conspicuously; it was a pattern that was hard to ignore. Passersby all around turned their gazes on him.

As the saying went, good news never left home, but bad news traveled a thousand miles. For the Uchiha, who produced geniuses in abundance, the appearance of a genius would not attract ordinary people's attention. Only when an "ugly duckling" appeared among the Uchiha would it draw more notice. Or rather, they were more eager to pay attention to the "ugly duckling" than to look directly at the swans.

Ridicule, contempt, envy of the Uchiha—they could focus all that malice on a child only eight years old.

They whispered among themselves, covering their mouths as they laughed, thinking their slander behind his back would go unnoticed. Never in their wildest dreams did they imagine that Shunren, with his powerful spiritual energy, had senses beyond those of ordinary people and could hear every word without missing a thing.

But Shunren felt no anger at this. He was neither sad nor happy throughout; with the mind of an adult, he naturally wouldn't be easily affected by other people's gossip. He knew this was only one insignificant dark side of reality.

"Whoosh, whoosh~" In a few leaps, Shunren reached the rooftops and ran toward the school.

Surprisingly, not far away, another figure was hurrying along in the same way.

His expression was hurried; clearly, he too was flustered about being late.

Shunren fixed his gaze on the goggles the boy wore, and his eyes narrowed slightly.

The boy seemed to notice Shunren as well. He turned his head, and his face immediately lit up. "Yo~ Morning, Shunren! Great, you're late just like me!"

The boy's sunny smile was full of anticipation for the good things the future held. He waved, greeting Shunren enthusiastically.

But as Shunren watched the lively boy before him, his eyes flickered rather meaningfully. He paused before replying coolly.

"Hello, Obito."