The Uzumaki Bloodline

Nobody around them paid any attention to the jealous voice. Besides, its owner was a universally "hated" guy, so everyone chose to exclude him.

But Yu turned around to look.

A blond-haired boy stood not far behind him. Though there were plenty of people around, the boy seemed completely out of place.

"Loneliness."

That was the word that came to Yu's mind as he looked at the boy. The boy's identity also surfaced in his thoughts: Naruto Uzumaki, the true protagonist of Naruto, whose Talk no Jutsu was the strongest in the universe.

Naruto was wearing a very old outfit. Head bowed, he listlessly scuffed the ground with his foot, clearly in a terrible mood. But more than anything, Naruto was envious. He wished he could be Sasuke, surrounded by people.

"Naruto Uzumaki... Uzumaki... Uzumaki..."

As Yu watched Naruto, bits of information began to surface in his mind. His eyes widened more and more, and a fierce excitement kindled in them as he stared at Naruto.

"After mountains and rivers leave you doubting there's a way through, dark willows and bright flowers reveal another village."

The old poem sprang into Yu's mind. The solution to his current shortage of Chakra had been right beside him all along, and he had only just thought of it. Wasn't that exactly what the poem described?

"Who are you? What do you want?"

Naruto had sensed Yu's fervent gaze. He had never seen anyone look at him that way before, and he took a couple of frightened steps backward.

"The Uzumaki Clan are descendants of Ashura and distant blood relatives of the Senju Clan. They possess vast reserves of Chakra and vitality."

That was what Yu remembered about the Uzumaki Clan.

What he needed now was more Chakra. The three methods he had considered before were all impossible, but the Uzumaki bloodline was right in front of him. Wasn't this the perfect solution?

And Naruto was the reincarnation of Ashura, the Sage of Six Paths' second son. The Sage's physical bloodline was even stronger in him. If Yu could obtain Naruto's bloodline, it would be a tremendous boost—one not much weaker than Hashirama Senju's bloodline.

Besides, this was better than any of the methods he had considered before, and easier to pull off.

Yu forcibly suppressed his excitement and tried to put on a kind, friendly expression as he walked toward Naruto.

But Yu had no idea that his expression looked downright creepy. His lips curled up in a way that made him look like some middle-aged creep trying to lure a little boy.

"Wh... who are you?"

Naruto always acted like a fearless little troublemaker who caused chaos every day, but it was all an act to hide himself and attract people's attention. Deep down, he was still an eight-year-old child.

"I'm not a bad guy. I just wanted to get to know you." Yu kept smiling as he spoke, his eyes roaming up and down Naruto.

"I... I..."

Naruto was stunned by Yu's words. Nobody had ever wanted to be his friend. If he hadn't constantly caused trouble to draw people's attention, they might have forgotten he existed.

Looking at Yu's somewhat creepy smile, Naruto felt deeply uneasy. He didn't know what to do with the hand Yu had held out. He couldn't decide whether to shake it or not. He truly longed for a friend, but he was also afraid Yu was making fun of him.

Then Naruto noticed Yu's clothes and immediately realized something. His expression turned wary.

"You're from the same clan as that stuck-up Sasuke!" Naruto said, glaring at Yu "fiercely."

"That's right."

Yu answered without hesitation. He was wearing Uchiha clothes, so anyone with eyes could tell he was a member of the Uchiha Clan.

"I'm a member of the Uchiha Clan, but what does that have to do with me being friends with you?" Yu asked.

"Uh..."

Naruto thought about it and realized Yu had a point. There were lots of people in the Uchiha Clan, and Sasuke was only one of them.

"Don't you want to be friends with me? Do you look down on me because I'm a dead-last?" Yu suddenly changed tactics. Naruto was very wary of him, so Yu decided to play the fellow outcast card.

"That's not what I think."

Naruto said.

But Yu wasn't finished.

"Everyone in our class thinks I'm weak. They avoid me and don't want to play with me or be my friend. I thought you might become my friend, but I never expected you wouldn't want to either."

Tears welled in Yu's eyes, as if Naruto's rejection had deeply hurt him. He pulled his hand back, gave Naruto a slight bow, and said, "Sorry to trouble you, Naruto."

Then Yu turned and walked away with his head bowed, looking utterly dejected.

Naruto froze. As he watched Yu's retreating figure, he seemed to see himself. He thought back to how Yu had approached him to be friends, only for him to respond with suspicion instead of accepting the offer.

"Was I wrong?"

Naruto watched Yu's back and wondered.

But Yu was in a panic.

"No way! My acting won first place in the middle school arts festival skit competition. How could I not fool an eight-year-old? Have my acting skills gotten worse, or are kids in the Naruto world all little schemers?"

But he couldn't stop now. Even if he'd botched it, he had to see it through. He could figure out another way to get closer to Naruto later. He still had plenty of time.

Of course, Yu had considered simply finding a chance to get some blood from Naruto. All he needed were Naruto's cells, after all.

But he'd decided that wasn't very practical. Naruto might look like he was all alone, but his movements were constantly monitored by Hiruzen Sarutobi.

If Hiruzen Sarutobi realized Yu was after Naruto, he'd be finished. Naruto was far more important than he was.

Besides, merging bloodlines wasn't something that could be done overnight. Yu only had a vague idea of how to do it, and he still needed to study the process before he could truly merge Naruto's bloodline. He would need a lot of Naruto's blood, cells, and other samples. This was a long-term undertaking.

Yu had reached a patch of woods beside the playground, but Naruto still hadn't called out to him.