Three Years

Three years had passed since the Uchiha clan's annihilation. Initially, the village was in a state of shock and heightened alert—after all, the overnight destruction of a major clan was shocking anywhere. The "culprit" behind it all, Itachi Uchiha, was naturally wanted by every major ninja village.

But after the massacre, the Third Hokage came forward to explain the incident, claiming Itachi Uchiha had conspired with outside forces to orchestrate the attack. Konoha called on all major villages to stay vigilant, while mourning and praying for the fallen Uchiha clan. He also assured the other clans in the village that such a thing would never happen again, and so on.

Zi Xu and the others had grown rapidly over these three years. They had fully mastered the basics of the Ninja Academy curriculum, and their practical combat results ranked among the top. Zi Xu maintained a steady, middle-of-the-road performance within their team, showing strength above Hatsumi but below Chino.

Because of their outstanding performance, their team was about to face the final assessment and officially become genin. But the so-called assessment was just a formality. Takeshi Goda already had a clear picture of their abilities—passing was a foregone conclusion.

Ever since the Uchiha massacre, a heavy weight had pressed on Zi Xu and the others' hearts. They all knew the truth: how could a teenage boy silently kill an entire clan? If the Third Hokage hadn't given the nod behind the scenes, Zi Xu absolutely refused to believe it.

Even if the Anbu assassins couldn't stop Itachi Uchiha, couldn't they have alerted other Uchiha members? Something as simple as shouting—yet it never happened. If even one measure had been taken, the Uchiha clan wouldn't have been wiped out.

From this, a terrifying conclusion emerged: the Third Hokage wanted to eliminate the Uchiha clan. The specific reasons were unknown. The Uchiha had always been Konoha's combat backbone. Though they seemed arrogant and aloof in the village, on the battlefield they charged at the front, embodying a kind of medieval knightly spirit.

Maybe it had to do with the Uchiha's combative nature and ambition? After all, in the history books of his past life, Zi Xu had read countless accounts of emperors ordering the execution of entire families of generals who threatened their authority with military power.

Guessing the reasons was pointless now. Konoha had annihilated one of its own major clans—that in itself was a warning to other clans, a classic case of killing the chicken to scare the monkey. But since the massacre, the other clans had indeed rallied more firmly behind the Third Hokage's rule. Whether all this was part of the Third Hokage's calculations remained unknown.

Zi Xu hadn't stopped training in these three years. He had mastered the Shadow Clone Technique and felt he was just one step away from grasping the higher-level Multi Shadow Clone Technique. But he lacked the inspiration to take that final leap. After much deliberation, he had his shadow clone eat the Silent Fruit.

The clone could indeed wield the Silent Fruit's power. The side effects existed but were weaker than in the original—contact with water only caused instinctive aversion, not complete weakness. Zi Xu guessed this was because the sea in the One Piece world differed from the water in the Naruto World, lacking Seastone factors.

The bad news was that the fruit's power seemed to only reach its peak in the clone. When the clone disappeared, Zi Xu could feel the power that had resided in it return to his body, but it treated his body like a hotel—its attachment was weak, as if it didn't intend to stay long.

Though Zi Xu's main body could also use the fruit's power, the Demon Power within the Silent Fruit seemed to slack off, like an office worker coasting on the job. When Zi Xu used a clone, he could transfer the Devil Fruit power into it, and inside the clone, the power acted like it was home, obeying his every command.

This could be seen as good news. At least this way, he could integrate multiple abilities into one body—even, no, definitely more than Blackbeard could master. But compared to Devil Fruit abilities, he still favored Haki. Fruit abilities set the lower limit; Haki set the upper limit.

If he weren't so eager to improve his self-preservation, he would have prioritized unlocking Haki. After all, the strongest fighters—Hawkeye Mihawk, Pluto Rayleigh, Red-haired Shanks, Pirate King Roger—relied not on fruit powers but on Haki and Taijutsu.

Over these three years, Zi Xu hadn't unlocked other abilities. He had fully adapted to his current physique. With the help of Hatsumi's bugs, his Chakra had become purer and more abundant. The poor Horned Beetle, though—day after day it tried to pierce Zi Xu's skin, only to bend its own horn without making him feel pain.

He had also learned Chino's Gentle Fist well, including various palm techniques, striking methods, and human acupoints. Zi Xu could now fight a Chunin to a standstill without dying—though by "Chunin," he meant the ones he'd read about in books. Those in the know would understand: in real combat, holding back enough to kill a Chunin in one punch would already be showing restraint.

It was the weekend. Zi Xu lay in the spot where the three of them often trained, gazing at the clear sky and taking a short nap. Compared to three years ago, he had changed a lot. At ten years old, he stood about 1.65 meters tall, his body much stronger. Refined muscles clung to his sturdy frame, neither too much nor too little, giving a harmonious, unified aesthetic.

His once-messy dark red hair, though trimmed many times, still grew quickly. Perhaps it was the influence of Kaido's Physique—his hair was like chives, cut down only to sprout again. Eventually, he stopped bothering, keeping it at ear length and leaving it at that.

"Zi Xu-kun! You're here early today!" A sweet female voice came from behind him. He opened his drowsy eyes, shielding them from the sun with one hand, and looked at the speaker.

The once-timid Hatsumi had grown into a beautiful girl, a true beauty in the making. Slightly shorter than Zi Xu at about 1.5 meters, her original glasses had been replaced by the "Tashigi's Glasses" Zi Xu had given her, lending her an intellectual charm. Her personality seemed more outgoing, and her figure had developed well—in every sense.

"Hatsumi, huh. Have you cultivated any new bug species lately?" Zi Xu sprang up with a kip-up and stretched.

"Mm... Recently I've cultivated the Green Silk Worm and the Moonlight Worm. The Green Silk Worm can lodge in hair—when infused with Chakra, it instantly stimulates hair growth and greatly enhances its defensive power. The Moonlight Worm absorbs moonlight to replenish itself and can fire a long-range Moon Blade. The attack power isn't strong, but it doesn't consume Chakra..."

Hatsumi excitedly introduced her achievements. Three years ago, Zi Xu recalled a novel about Gu worms from his past life and guided Hatsumi based on the abilities he remembered. The results were surprisingly good. Hatsumi had been hooked ever since, seemingly walking down a strange path—Zi Xu wasn't sure if that was good or bad.

But when he heard about the Green Silk Worm, he grew interested. It was perfect for him. Maybe he could even develop a fighting style using his hair—the potential was endless.

"Well done. In the future, you can try combining different bugs into killing moves. If you favor a certain type, you can also try refining it with other bugs to raise its rank..." As Zi Xu spoke, Hatsumi's eyes sparkled, delighted to have found a new path, her mind already buzzing with bug combinations.

Zi Xu took the Green Silk Worm in his hand. It was a small, greenish creature, strip-shaped, somewhat like a mantis but without the forelegs, and with several green hairs like silk on its abdomen. He wrapped it in Chakra and merged it into his hair, then put the Moonlight Worm in his pocket—it would be very helpful.

"Already here? Looks like I'm late." Just as the two were excitedly discussing the future development of bugs, a somewhat cool voice interrupted their thoughts.

"Chino's here! How's your Byakugan training going? My bugs have made a qualitative leap—next sparring, I'll show you their power." Hatsumi waved at Chino. Her newfound confidence was something she'd lacked before. Over these three years, they'd had many internal battles, with Chino winning most of the time. Zi Xu would always forfeit halfway through.

Both girls knew Zi Xu was strong, but he was the type to say "I've reached my limit" without even having his breathing disrupted. Though they knew he was hiding his strength, they still hadn't found his limit.

"Oh? Then I can't go easy on you." Chino said coolly, but a smile tugged at her lips. This had become their daily routine.

Chino stepped out from the shade, sunlight falling on her shoulders. Her blue-black hair now reached her shoulders. Her left eye sparkled like a finely carved white crystal in the sun, but her right eye—once the same color—had turned a gray-black. One white, one gray—a strange sight.

"Most of my Byakugan abilities have awakened. I can now precisely strike every acupoint. You'd better be careful not to get hit in battle." Chino waved at Hatsumi. She was slightly taller than Hatsumi, only half a head shorter than Zi Xu. Her long legs lightly tapped the ground, and in an instant, she was in front of him.

"That Feng Hou Qi Men you mentioned—I haven't fully grasped it yet. It deals with fortune and such—a bit mystical. But I can control the Bagua formation beneath my feet to instantly cast ninjutsu..." She made a hand seal, and Zi Xu felt the soil beneath him shift slightly, though only a faint squirm.

"But the drawback is obvious—the ninjutsu's power is too weak. There's still a lot of room for improvement..." Chino analyzed seriously, her delicate brows furrowed.

Zi Xu made a gesture, meaning "Let's set that aside for now. The Red Eye secret hasn't been discovered, right?"

Chino nodded. She had hidden it well. Ever since awakening the power of both eyes three years ago, she'd noticed that her right eye's ability didn't seem to be Byakugan. Though it could see through objects, sense power, and detect danger like Byakugan, when activated, her right eye gradually oozed a dark red Chakra.

Through experiments, she discovered this eye could create Chakra illusions and completely disrupt Byakugan's judgment, making it only see the illusions created by the Red Eye while missing the real enemy nearby. It seemed... like an eye naturally designed to counter Byakugan.

"We'll talk about this later. It's the weekend, and Fat Tiger doesn't have class. Let's go finish the exam—we've already put it off for months." Zi Xu patted both their shoulders. They were ready.

"Sure."

"Okay."

The three of them walked together toward the Ninja Academy, the place they had called home for three years.

--- Author's Note ---

Ball