Wu Yu's Influence

During these ten days of rookie Genin life, everyone in Team Seven had been living quite fulfilling lives.

"...The ninety-ninth one."

On the ground, Sakura Haruno's shadow clone grabbed a passing Golden Thread Fur Wolf, tied a white ribbon around its front leg, while her real body, hidden in the treetops, recorded the count.

Not far away, Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha were also using their own methods to tally the other wild animals in the forest.

As for Wu Yu, that guy seemed to have used that so-called Sage Mode with the pointy ears and finished his part of the task in one go. He was now huddled together with Kakashi-sensei, seeming to have pulled out a stack of papers and acting all sneaky. Who knew what they were doing.

After the team disbanded that evening, Sakura Haruno rubbed her aching lower back after a day of work. Once home, she gave seventy percent of the day's mission pay to her parents and kept the remaining thirty percent for her little stash.

"Dinner will be ready soon, so don't go out, okay?" her father, Haruno Kizashi, called loudly from downstairs.

"Got it!" Sakura Haruno answered from her room.

In the past, Sakura Haruno would have taken a shower and gone out shopping with her friends by now. Even if she stayed home, she would have read magazines, tried out cosmetics, written in her journal, or daydreamed about boys... But now, after using Shadow Clone Technique so frequently all day, she felt utterly exhausted. Rubbing her temples, she lay on her bed without wanting to move at all.

"And you? Haven't you always complained that your physical aptitude is poor? From what I can see, your basic conditions are even worse than Sakura's..."

Kakashi-sensei's words to Wu Yu suddenly flashed through Sakura Haruno's mind again.

"..."

Sakura, sprawled like a salted fish on her pink bedsheets, abruptly sat up. Sitting cross-legged with her bare legs, she formed hand seals and silently began training Yin Nature Transformation and genjutsu.

"Nature Transformation, Nature Transformation... What does he mean my foundation is poor, so I don't need to think about that stuff yet? Kakashi-sensei really looks down on people!"

Naruto Uzumaki wore special gloves on both hands, like a pair of iron hoes, as he frantically dug through the fields.

All around him, dozens of identical Naruto Uzumaki shadow clones were diligently farming in row after row of fields.

Farther away were Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno, and Nakamori Wu Yu, carrying out the same mission as human-shaped soil-turning machines... But compared to Naruto, who had made so many shadow clones, their efficiency was far lower.

Wu Yu was still the same as always. He had one shadow clone working, while his real body was... Huh?

Naruto Uzumaki noticed that Wu Yu's real body was not training. Instead, he was holding a stack of papers and discussing something with Kakashi-sensei.

Could it be some secret training strategy?

One of Naruto's shadow clones quietly sidled over and heard the two discussing something about "Carefree" and "novels." Kakashi-sensei seemed highly impressed, endlessly praising it with remarks like, "It's even more exciting than anything the experienced Lord Jiraiya has written..."

What the heck were they even talking about?

Only after night had fallen did the mission finally end smoothly. The employer said that he hired Genin to help every year, and it usually took a full week to finish. Yet this time, with Naruto's Multiple Shadow Clones helping out, they had completed it in a single day.

The task had been grueling, but the pay was generous too. Naruto took his share of 12,500 Ryo home with satisfaction and happily tucked it into his Frog Wallet.

"..."

When he opened the refrigerator, Naruto checked the expiration date on the milk and found that it had expired. Though it had only been one day... Normally, he would never have checked, and even if he had seen it, he would not have cared. Throwing it away would be such a waste of money!

Although they had only lived together for one night and one morning, Naruto was surprised to find that he remembered Wu Yu's words so clearly.

He took out some money from his Frog Wallet and made a shadow clone, sending it downstairs to dispose of the expired milk and stop by the nearest convenience store for a quick dinner.

Naruto's real body stayed home and began concentrating on refining Chakra.

"Sage Mode... How exactly did Wu Yu get into that weird-looking state?"

As Naruto meditated, he silently thought, It was really so cool... Damn it, I'm so jealous! And that Sasuke guy too...

The other two boys on his team were each cooler than the last. It was like he alone was the lame one, using the Shadow Clone Technique that looked so clumsy.

Sasuke's Sharingan, just like Kakashi-sensei's, was seriously as cool as Kakashi-sensei's... So jealous!!

The two tomoe in Sasuke Uchiha's Sharingan slowly revolved within his irises...

Sasuke quietly watched Kakashi Hatake and Nakamori Wu Yu sitting side by side on the corridor of the courtyard, speaking in low voices about a novel called Carefree Wandering.

It was not that he was deliberately spying on them. Those two simply did not seem to be trying to avoid anyone.

Today's mission happened to be fairly relaxed as well, so Kakashi was even more openly slacking off. As he examined the revised new edition of Carefree Wandering, he spoke in astonishment. "Transmigration? I've never seen this kind of writing before..."

"Uchiha? This..." Kakashi lowered his voice and whispered with Wu Yu, sometimes shaking his head lightly, sometimes nodding.

It's just a novel. What does it have to do with the Uchiha?

Sasuke sensed movement beside him and turned to look. The active baby was nearly climbing out of the stroller, so Sasuke casually lifted him back inside, gently rocking the cradle to coax him to sleep.

That was right, today's mission was babysitting...

Sasuke was playing teenage dad here, Wu Yu's shadow clone was cleaning the house, Sakura was buying supplies on the street according to the list the employer had left before going out of the village on a trip, while Naruto had stubbornly tagged along to run errands...

"Waaah, waaah..." cries came from the stroller.

Speechless, Sasuke picked up the baby and soothed him. If you don't go to sleep soon, don't blame me for using the Sharingan to hypnotize you, little guy...

"Hehe, hehehe..." The baby grabbed and tugged at Sasuke's high collar. As he cried, he suddenly began to giggle foolishly.

Without realizing it, Sasuke smiled as well.

That warm smile still lingered in his mind even when the team disbanded that evening.

Naruto was still shamelessly bantering with Sakura, while Kakashi eagerly vanished with Wu Yu's latest manuscript clutched in his arms, leaving only Wu Yu and Sasuke behind. Sasuke was about to head home alone when Wu Yu suddenly said, "Sasuke, you don't need to feel guilty for being happy..."

"This is a very common case of Survivor Syndrome. There are plenty of examples—you're not as special as you think you are. My master is the Medical Saint."

"A very common case of Survivor Syndrome... You're not as special as you think you are..."

"You're not as special as you think you are..."

Late at night, Sasuke Uchiha lay alone on the floor of the empty, cold old house, its walls draped in cobwebs. Wu Yu's words from that evening echoed in his ears again and again.

He knew Wu Yu was trying to comfort him.

He understood all the reasoning.

But Itachi Uchiha's blood-red eyes, along with the corpses of his parents lying in pools of blood beneath the Uchiha's blade, always bound him like a chain of thorny iron and dragged him back into that painful past whenever he tried to let those memories go.

"..."

Sasuke allowed himself to stare blankly into space for a while, then sat up and began refining Chakra. One hand pressed against his forehead protector, he tried to practice Yin Nature Transformation according to Kakashi's method.