Have You Ever Seen Konoha at Four in the Morning?

"Qingyu, I didn't expect to draw you."

Uchiha Tekka walked up to Qingyu with a sigh.

Although they were likely to lose, Uchiha Tekka wanted to hold on a little longer.

Just as losing to someone of equal skill is a misstep in chess, losing to someone weaker than oneself is a disgrace.

But if the challenge is against an opponent stronger than oneself, then it is a testament to courage.

Uchiha Tekka had heard that there was once a missing-nin in Takigakure named Kakuzu.

It is said that he survived a battle with Hashirama Senju, the God of Shinobi, demonstrating his terrifying strength.

Now that he's challenging Qingyu, isn't he himself just another Kakuzu?

In short, even in defeat, you should show some style!

But Uchiha Tekka's eyes.

"That's fine too, it'll give me a chance to see just how big the gap between us really is!"

Uchiha Tekka said decisively.

"Qingyu and Tekka?"

In the audience, Fugaku, the head of the Uchiha Clan, also cast a glance at him with interest.

As the clan leader, he naturally had to observe the potential of the younger generation within the clan.

Therefore, every year at this time, Uchiha Fugaku would come to take a look.

Sitting next to him, Uchiha Yakumi followed his gaze and asked, "Captain Fugaku, I heard that Tekka recently awakened One-Tomoe Sharingan and his strength has improved a lot."

"Yes, I've seen Tekka's Effort."

Uchiha Fugaku nodded, but then sighed and looked at Qingyu.

"But facing Qingyu, it's still uncertain; his eyes already have Three-Tomoe."

He knew very well what Qingyu was capable of in the state of the Three-Tomoe Sharingan.

Even a clansman as gifted as Shisui was easily defeated by Qingyu, so even if Tekka activated his One-Tomoe, the gap was still too great.

Uchiha Fugaku thought of this, his fingers unconsciously tightened.

I should have taken him back to the clan despite the pressure from the hawks.

But there's no going back in life.

Now that they've unlocked all Three-Tomoe, trying to win them over would come at a completely different cost.

Thinking of this, Uchiha Fugaku felt a pang of pain in his heart, filled with regret.

Damn it!

A peerless genius born with the Sharingan, perfectly fusing the power of the Uchiha and Senju, was forced to marry the Senju because of the stubborn members' claim that his bloodline was "impure."

Now, seeing him shine brightly under the village's nurturing, gradually drifting further and further away from the Uchiha Clan, how could he not feel heartbroken?

He deeply regretted being so weak and indecisive.

If only we had been more assertive then.

Unfortunately, there are no "what ifs".

At that time, he had only recently become the clan chief and had not yet firmly established himself.

Moreover, they lacked sufficient resolve and hadn't anticipated that Qingyu would possess such exceptional talent in the future.

"Is that so?"

Uchiha Yakumi scratched his head, looking somewhat bewildered.

He spent most of his time handling trivial matters at the Konoha Police Force and didn't know much about the village's new generation of geniuses.

Patrolling to catch thieves during the day, mediating neighborhood disputes at night, and occasionally finding the parents of lost children—these trivial matters consume almost all of his energy.

Uchiha Yakumi thought helplessly.

The work in the Konoha Military Police Force was so exhausting that he had only heard of Qingyu, a renowned genius, and had no idea of his abilities.

Off the field.

"I've awakened the Sharingan, I'm different now!"

Uchiha Tekka revealed his Sharingan.

[Collectible trait detected: Tekka's Effort]

[D-Rank Trait: Tekka's Effort]

--

[Effect: Increases the effectiveness of Uchiha Style Taijutsu by 30%.]

[Synthesis: Make Uchiha Tekka completely convinced, upgrade to a higher level trait]

"I can feel your progress, Tekka,"

Qingyu smiled slightly and closed the trait panel.

Watching your own chives grow strong and healthy is also a good experience.

The conditions for upgrading surprised Qingyu somewhat.

It seems the only option is to let Uchiha Tekka.

"Although you've tried very hard, there's still a significant gap between you and me."

As Qingyu spoke, he slowly revealed his Three-Tomoe Sharingan.

Three black Tomoe slowly rotated in his scarlet pupils.

A chorus of gasps erupted from the audience; no one expected Qingyu to possess the Three-Tomoe Sharingan at such a young age.

Some retired ninjas gasped in shock. Having lived through the Warring States Era, they knew all too well just how powerful the Three-Tomoe Sharingan truly was.

Even among the current Uchiha Clan, there are very few ninjas with the Three-Tomoe Sharingan.

The skilled Uchiha are practically copy masters; they can steal other people's Ninjutsu on the spot.

Moreover, the Three-Tomoe Sharingan possesses extremely powerful overall abilities.

Not only does it greatly enhance dynamic vision and possess innate Hypnosis abilities, but it can even see through the flow of Chakra, thus predicting and dodging enemy Ninjutsu in advance.

It's safe to say that the Three-Tomoe Sharingan is practically cheating!

"Three-Tomoe —how old is he this year?"

At the very top of the stands, a Land of Fire official wearing a straw hat put down his teacup, somewhat surprised.

"Reporting to you, sir, Qingyu is not yet—"

The attendant leaned close to his ear and whispered a few numbers, causing the official's brows to furrow even more deeply.

"The younger generation is truly formidable."

The official sighed inwardly.

In the shadows of another section of the stands, an aged face, filled with hostility, was also watching that side.

"Elder Setsuna, it's been a long time since I've seen you."

Uchiha Heyuan spoke.

"Hmph, so this old man can't come?"

Uchiha Setsuna looked at him.

Uchiha Heyuan immediately felt the pressure increase and quickly said, "Of course!"

Afterwards, Uchiha Setsuna ignored Uchiha Heyuan and instead looked at Qingyu below the field with a sinister gaze.

He muttered to himself, "Why is this Senju- Senju brat behaving so differently? This talent is simply—"

He didn't understand at all.

Why would a child born from Senju hybrid outperform a pure-blooded Uchiha?

This result contradicted everything he had believed in for decades.

The Senju and Uchiha are sworn enemies, two forces that cannot be reconciled. Mixing blood would only weaken the Purity of the Sharingan.

But Qingyu's existence was a slap in the face to him, a stark reminder of the truth.

A thought suddenly flashed through Uchiha Setsuna's mind.

He once read a sentence in an ancient book that had been passed down from the Warring States Era, which said that if we trace back a thousand years, we are all one family.

A thousand years ago, there was no Senju or Uchiha; there was only one common ancestor.

Could it be that the Senju and Uchiha were once one family?

The thought lingered in Uchiha Setsuna's mind for less than a second before he dismissed it.

No, that's absolutely impossible.

The Uchiha Clan are descendants of the Sage of Sage of Six Paths' eyes; how could they possibly share a common ancestor with a clan like the Senju that fights using brute force?

He snorted coldly and turned his gaze back to the audience.

Off the field.

"The matching results are all random, I'm going to make my move."

Are you ready?

Qingyu said calmly.

Qingyu wanted to see if there was anything different about the current Tekka.

"Bring it on!"

Uchiha Tekka shouted loudly.

He formed a mudra with his hands, and his cheeks bulged slightly.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

A huge fireball shot out in response, carrying a scorching wave of air, and rolled towards Qingyu!

The moment the flames brushed against the ground, the soil surface was instantly baked dry and cracked, and the heat wave distorted the air.

People in the front rows of the audience could feel a wave of scorching heat hitting them.

This is the largest-scale Fire Release Ninjutsu that Uchiha Tekka has mastered so far. After activating the One-Tomoe, his control over Chakra has significantly improved.

The power and range of the Great Fireball are now a whole size larger than before.

He knew how strong Qingyu was, so he never intended to hold back from the start.

In an instant, Qingyu concentrated his Chakra into his right fist. "Strength of a Hundred | Chakra flowed rapidly along the meridians of his arm, activating simultaneously with the [Sword Bone] trait."

A layer of white, sword-tip-like Chakra Flames appeared on his fist.

Boom!

Qingyu threw a punch, unleashing a visible white shockwave.

The moment the shockwave collided head-on with the fireball, the fireball was shattered by the punch.

Uchiha Tekka's Sharingan seeing this scene.

He knew Qingyu was strong, but to shatter Great Fireball with a single punch was beyond his comprehension.

Before he could even react, a sharp whooshing sound rang in his ears.

More than a dozen Shuriken burst forth from the scattered Kakkō and shot toward him.

Uchiha Tekka quickly drew his Kunai parry, and with a few crisp clangs, he knocked the Shurikens away one by one.

But Qingyu had no intention of ending the battle with just a few Shuriken. With a flick of his finger, the silk thread tightened instantly.

The crisscrossing threads form a wire mesh.

Uchiha Tekka's Sharingan of the fine wire mesh trailing behind the Shuriken, and alarm bells immediately went off in his mind.

He pushed off with both feet, jerking backward to avoid the area covered by the wire mesh.

"Call--"

When Uchiha Tekka landed, he secretly felt relieved.

If he had gotten tangled in that wire mesh, with Qingyu's strength, he could have been dragged across with just a tug, and the battle would have been over.

Luckily, he dodged it.

The thought had barely crossed his mind when his back touched something cold and hard.

Uchiha Tekka's pupils suddenly contracted.

He slowly turned his head and saw that Qingyu had been standing behind him at some point, and the Muramasa in his right hand had been drawn at some point, its long blade pressed against his back.

He didn't see at all when Qingyu Body Flicker Technique behind him.

Is this the speed that the Three-Tomoe Sharingan brings?

Or is it that Qingyu's speed was already this fast, Three-Tomoe were just icing on the cake?

Uchiha Tekka didn't know the answer.

All he knew was that if this were a real battle, he was already dead.

"I--"

Uchiha Tekka slowly released his grip on the Kunai his fingers and embedded itself in the soil.

"I lost."

Qingyu sheathed Muramasa and slid it back into its scabbard.

Uchiha Setsuna immediately narrowed his eyes.

This sword... it looks a bit like Izuna's sword.

Was it just his imagination?

In the audience, Tsunade leaned against the railing, a smile playing on her lips.

This kid finished the fight in less than thirty seconds, he really didn't even bother to leave any suspense for the opponent.

"It's not even a warm-up."

Tsunade spoke.

Meanwhile, Qingyu watched Tekka from the sidelines.

"Tekka, do you know why you lost to me?"

Uchiha Tekka was stunned; he really wanted to know where he fell short.

Where did I go wrong?

Uchiha Tekka was puzzled.

Qingyu looked at him with a serious expression.

Have you ever seen Konoha at four in the morning?

Konoha at 4 AM?

Those streetlights are still on, aren't they?

Uchiha Tekka's eyes widened.

Does Qingyu mean that he gets up at four in the morning every day to cultivate?

"I—I practice meditation until midnight every day, and then I don't get up until 7 a. m.—"

"!"

Uchiha Tekka's voice was hoarse.

He always felt that his training volume was already very high, with almost no rest time from morning to night.

Ke Qingyu was not only stronger than him, but also got up to cultivate earlier.

This made him feel ashamed.

Seeing his utterly shocked expression, Qingyu continued in a philosophical tone, "The best way to surpass someone is through hard work. Although I have some talent, there are many people stronger than me."

"If ten times the effort isn't enough, try a hundred times; if a hundred times isn't enough, try two hundred times. If anyone can put in two hundred times the effort of an ordinary person, I think anyone can surpass anyone else."

Qingyu said calmly.

That's right, there really are people who can put in two hundred times more effort than others Tenten and still not ruin themselves.

You're destined to be the Ninja King!

It's worth noting that neither Might Guy nor his son would dare claim to have worked two hundred times harder than others.

Because that's simply impossible to achieve. Let's say a very lazy ninja trains for only one hour a day; two hundred times that would be two hundred hours.

To be able to achieve the same results in 24 hours as someone who has practiced for 200 hours is truly remarkable; Qingyu can only be described as a superhuman.

After hearing Qingyu's words, Uchiha Tekka felt as if he had been enlightened.

So that's what he was lacking!

His frustration and resentment vanished at that moment, replaced by boundless admiration and an even stronger fighting spirit!

"I—I understand!"

Uchiha Tekka had an instant enlightenment.

It turns out he just hadn't tried hard enough.

He excitedly grasped Qingyu's hand, his eyes burning with renewed fervor.

"?"

What do you understand?

Qingyu looked at Uchiha Tekka, surprised that he was so easily fooled.

[D-Rank Trait detected: Tekka's Efforts have met the crafting requirements]

[Should we synthesize it?]

"Synthesis."

Qingyu silently recited the words in his heart, and looked at Uchiha Tekka's renewed passion with a gratified smile.

This is how chives should be harvested.

[C-Rank Trait: Tekka's Effort]

[Effect: Increases the effectiveness of Uchiha Style Taijutsu by 60%]

Seeing this trait, Qingyu knew that things had succeeded.

"Qingyu, thank you. Starting tomorrow, I'm going to go see Konoha at 4 AM too!!"

Qingyu looked at his face, which was full of determination, nodded slightly, and patted him on the shoulder.

As expected of Uchiha, their minds are rather simple.

"Tekka, your Sharingan has already awakened One-Tomoe, which means you have potential. Keep it up."

"Good!"

Uchiha Tekka nodded vigorously.

At the very top of the stands, Sarutobi Hiruzen took his pipe from his lips, his eyes showing approval.

"Qingyu truly possesses the will to Will of Fire."

Qingyu is not only exceptionally strong, but also possesses a remarkable spirit of guiding others and passing on the Will of Fire.

As the Hokage, he had seen too many talented but arrogant young people, and also too many hardworking but directionless Genin.

Offering sincere guidance and encouragement after defeating an opponent is a quality possessed by a true strong person.

Nara Shikaku, who was standing to the side, also snapped out of his brief daze. He had been an examiner in the Chunin Ninja Exams for so many years, and this was the first time he had ever seen such a scene.

This scene filled him with a sense of respect.

He stepped forward and announced, "Qingyu wins the first match!"

A wave of applause and cheers erupted from the audience.

Some people applauded the decisive battle, some applauded Uchiha Tekka's honorable defeat, but most people applauded Qingyu's words.

In this era shrouded in the shadow of war, seeing such young people is like seeing a ray of light in the darkness.

Tsunade on the railing of the VIP section.

This kid, when did he learn to talk such big nonsense?

"Qingyu- kun is indeed an interesting child."

Orochimaru's gaze followed Qingyu's footsteps as he murmured to himself.

At the same time, Qingyu turned and left the stage, leaving it to the next person.

Unbeknownst to him, a white head emerged from a secluded spot in the venue.

"I'm sorry, Lord Madara, but the security in Konoha is too tight today."

White Zetsu reported on the air quality.

Through the shared vision of White Zetsu, Madara Uchiha, far away in the Graveyard Mountains, let out a cold snort with a displeased expression.

Because Konoha suddenly strengthened its Sensory Barrier, he missed Qingyu's first battle.

"Keep a close eye on them, and make sure nothing else goes wrong."

Madara Uchiha spoke.