"Are you free tomorrow afternoon? We can start with shurikenjutsu," Shisui said.
"I noticed the way you used shuriken during the exam. It had hints of the Ancient Uchiha Style, but there's room to refine the details."
"I... I am," Qingyu said quickly. "I'm free anytime after three."
"Then let's meet at three at Training Ground 3." Shisui patted his shoulder, his touch gentle.
"Don't be nervous. The Clan Head just wants promising young people to grow faster. After all... the Uchiha need more young people who can shoulder responsibility."
With that, he turned and left, disappearing among the rooftops in just a few bounds. He performed the Body Flicker Technique with effortless ease.
Qingyu stood still, gazing in the direction Shisui had disappeared for a long time.
The intent was obvious: this was pure tutoring.
The two voices in his head fell silent together, for once.
After a long while,
Izuna spoke first, unusually serious. "That Shisui... his sword is fast! Not just ordinarily fast. It's the kind of speed where 'the moment his mind moves, the sword has already arrived.' I only saw a few people reach that level in my lifetime."
Tobirama was silent for a moment before adding, "His eyes... are even more worth keeping an eye on, though they look like ordinary three-tomoe Sharingan for now.
"The way his ocular power fluctuates is unusual. That's not just the Sharingan. There's something else mixed in... something with the nature of a 'soul.'"
Qingyu stopped in his tracks.
Even these two old hands from the Warring States period, who'd seen so much, were that perceptive?
He suddenly felt that the name Shisui Uchiha concealed secrets far more complicated than in the original story.
If Shisui found out he'd come from another world, he'd hit him with a Kotoamatsukami right away, triggering a defeat CG...
"Sorry, but I can't let you have a happy New Year!"
On the way home, cold moonlight spilled across the stone road.
Qingyu rubbed his face, which had stiffened a little from smiling at the clan meeting, and looked at the pitiful 1.2% chance of awakening the Sharingan on his system panel.
Then he thought of the upcoming special training with Shisui, Itachi watching him, and the public final round in seven days...
With all those eyes on him, could he really keep his little secret about his Water-Fire ninjutsu hidden, along with the fact that two old fossils lived in his head?
"Whatever..." He sighed and pushed open the door. "When you get to the bridge, the boat will sink... No, it'll straighten out!"
My boat's famous for being fast, after all!
I'll just get some sleep first.
I'll deal with tomorrow when it comes.
If the sky falls, the two big shots in my head can hold it up first... probably?
If the sky falls, he'll be the first to run!
[Ping!]
[Side Quest: The Uchiha's Invitation complete]
[Completion Rating: A-]
[Quest Reward: Sharingan awakening chance increased (slightly). Current chance: 0.7% → 1.2%]
[Bonus Reward: Following contact with key figure "Shisui Uchiha," subsequent interaction storyline unlocked]
[New Hint: Special training with Shisui Uchiha will directly affect the advancement path of the "Water-Fire Fusion Technique." Please take it seriously (smile)]
Qingyu stared at the word "smile" in the last set of parentheses, and couldn't help feeling the system was mocking him.
He shook his head and flopped onto the bed.
Three seconds later, he was snoring.
He was exhausted.
Far away, on the roof of Naka Shrine, Fugaku Uchiha stood quietly, gazing at the faint light spilling from Qingyu's window, his expression inscrutable.
"What do you think?" he asked the air.
Yashiro Uchiha emerged from the shadows.
"His rate of progress is abnormal, and his approach to ninjutsu is unusual—not what you'd expect from someone his age or with his experience. But his chakra does have Uchiha characteristics, and there are no signs of external modification."
"Keep observing," Fugaku said.
"Don't alert him before the final round. If he can make the top three..."
He left the sentence unfinished, but Yashiro understood.
Under the moonlight, the two disappeared among the rooftops.
At two fifty-five the next afternoon, five minutes early, Qingyu arrived at Training Ground 3.
Then he realized he might have misunderstood what "punctual" meant.
Shisui Uchiha was already in the middle of the training ground.
Not just arrived—he'd already completed a warm-up routine and even found time to throw fifty shuriken, all of them hitting the bull's-eye.
He was crouched on the ground, drawing some kind of pattern with a branch.
"Shisui, sir." Qingyu hurried over, a little embarrassed. "I'm late..."
"No, you're right on time." Shisui looked up with a bright smile.
"I'm just early. It's a habit from my mission days. I'm always worried that if I'm late, the enemy will ambush me."
Qingyu: "..." That joke was a little dark, sir.
"Sit." Shisui pointed the branch at the ground opposite him. "Before we start shuriken training, let's talk about something else."
Qingyu sat down obediently, his heart thumping.
Was he going to question him about where his Water-Fire ninjutsu came from?
"Qingyu," Shisui said, setting down the branch and folding his hands over his knees. He looked relaxed, as if they were just chatting.
"Do you know why the Uchiha's shurikenjutsu is considered the best in the Shinobi World?"
"Because... of the Sharingan's visual acuity?" Qingyu ventured.
"That's the result, not the reason." Shisui shook his head.
"A lot of people from other clans—and even some Uchiha—get this wrong.
"The Uchiha have never been powerful because of our Kekkei Genkai itself. It's because of how we 'use' it."
He casually picked up three pebbles from the ground.
"Watch closely."
The next moment, Qingyu witnessed something that briefly left his mind blank.
Shisui didn't even stand up. He just flicked his wrist.
The three pebbles crossed paths in the air like three unpredictable bolts of lightning.
They flew at exactly the same speed, yet traced three entirely different arcs.
One shot straight as an arrow, one spiraled upward, and one actually flew half a meter backward before suddenly turning and darting forward.
The three pebbles struck three different bull's-eyes thirty meters away almost simultaneously.
He hadn't coated them in chakra or pulled them with wires. It was pure technique and control of force.
"This..." Qingyu's mouth fell open.
Izuna's voice rang in his head. "Oh? That's interesting. My brother knew this 'Three Swallows Return' too, but the way this kid uses it... it's 'lighter.'"
Tobirama immediately analyzed it. "Not lighter—more precise! He calculated air resistance, the pebbles' weight, and the frequency of his wrist's movement.
"He even accounted for the wind shear near the ground. That takes terrifying spatial awareness and muscular control."
Shisui dusted off his hands and smiled. "This isn't ninjutsu or a Kekkei Genkai. It's a craft.
"It's a craft honed through thousands upon thousands of repetitions, until every movement is engraved in your body's memory."
He looked at Qingyu, his expression turning serious.
"The Clan Head told me you used a variation technique from the Ancient Uchiha Style in the exam. Could you show me? Just the most basic 'Single Swallow Return.'"
Qingyu got up nervously and took three standard shuriken from his pouch.
He drew a deep breath, recalling the points Izuna had emphasized during their three days of special training:
Wrist angle, how to apply force with the fingers, and the slight chakra adjustment at the moment of the throw...
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