At four in the morning, Qingyu dragged his exhausted body home.
He slipped quietly into his room and collapsed onto the bed. He was asleep almost instantly.
What he didn't know was that the meeting in the secret chamber of Naka Shrine was still underway that night.
"Fugaku, about that child..." one of the elders began, then hesitated.
Uchiha Fugaku sat at the head of the table, tapping his fingers against its surface. "His chakra fluctuations are abnormal, but they don't seem hostile. Yashiro, what do you think?"
Uchiha Yashiro replied in a grave voice, "I checked the shrine's barrier. There are no signs of an outside intrusion. His appearance... really was an accident. But that chakra disturbance reminds me of what his parents were researching back then..."
"The forbidden technique, Soul Guidance," another elder interjected in a low voice.
"An incomplete secret technique discovered in the ancient records at Naka Shrine. It's said to attract fragments of special souls. Before his parents disappeared, they were researching it."
"The calamity Tobirama Senju left behind!" an elder from the Radical Faction slammed the table.
"We never should have let the Uchiha research Senju techniques!"
"There's no point bringing that up now." Fugaku raised a hand to stop the argument.
"The important thing is whether Qingyu knows anything, and... whether his abnormality will affect the clan's plans."
"If that child really did attract... a soul that shouldn't have appeared..."
"Should we deal with him...?"
Silence filled the chamber.
Fugaku broke it. "Let's keep observing him for now. He is an Uchiha, after all..."
Outside the window, the moonlight gradually faded.
The darkness before dawn was the deepest of all.
In Qingyu's dream, two Warring States-era big shots were making him practice Shuriken at the same time. One demanded that he throw in an arc with three changes of direction, while the other made him calculate wind speed, humidity, and lead time.
He cried in his dream.
So even sleep couldn't offer him an escape.
If you hanged yourself, those two would say you were swinging on a swing!
Three days later, the first round of the Chunin Ninja Exams began in the Forest of Death.
Qingyu stood among the crowd, trying his best not to draw attention.
That was difficult, though, because he was an Uchiha, and the Uchiha always stood out in Konoha.
Especially when you were...
the only Uchiha dead last taking part in this year's Chunin Ninja Exams.
But it was an order!
"Is that one from the Uchiha Clan?"
"I heard his grades aren't very good..."
"Shh, keep your voice down. Uchiha have sharp ears."
What, did you think the Uchiha were dogs?
Though he had heard them...
Qingyu pretended not to.
All his attention was focused inside his head.
More precisely, on the two Warring States souls arguing in there.
"So this is what 'ninja' are like now?" Izuna's voice was full of disdain.
"Lax discipline, sloppy stances, chakra fluctuations completely uncontrolled... People like these wouldn't last three days in the Warring States era."
"Times have changed," Tobirama analyzed calmly.
"Training naturally becomes less intense in peacetime. But, on the other hand, the tactical thinking that develops in this kind of environment might be more... flexible."
"Flexible? I'd call it careless."
"Still better than being a one-track mind like some people."
Qingyu rubbed his temples. The two of them hadn't stopped bickering since he got up that morning.
They'd started with whether breakfast should be a Military Ration Pill or a rice ball, and they hadn't let up since.
Izuna: "Military Ration Pills are more efficient!"
Tobirama: "An empty stomach reduces blood flow to the brain!"
Then they'd argued about whether to wear a high-collared or low-collared uniform.
Izuna: "A high collar offers better protection!"
Tobirama: "A low collar lets heat escape more easily!"
Qingyu: This is one area where I get a say. Pull the collar up to the top—that's how we show we're all in!
Then they'd moved on to whether Kunai should be strapped to his thigh or calf. (They argued about it for fifteen minutes.)
In the end, Qingyu had done half of each: he ate a rice ball with half a Military Ration Pill, wore a medium-collared uniform, and strapped a Kunai to each leg.
Sigh, how did it end up being left and right again?
He was practically half Ao Bing and half Nezha.
What a headache!
Now the two big shots were evaluating the other examinees around him.
"That one from the Hyuga Clan has very pure Byakugan, but there's a flaw in his Taijutsu stance. His left shoulder is 0.3 inches lower than his right."
"The one from Sunagakure has a sharp, Wind Release quality to his chakra. He must specialize in Wind Release. I recommend avoiding a direct confrontation."
"The three from Kirigakure have synchronized breathing. They're probably a squad specially trained in combined attacks."
"As for the Konoha candidates... Tch, why is that blond kid eating instant noodles? Eating that before an exam will affect the efficiency of his chakra flow..."
"Wait," Qingyu suddenly interrupted Tobirama.
"Blond kid? Eating instant noodles?"
He looked in the direction Tobirama had "pointed" out.
Sure enough, a boy with spiky blond hair and six whisker-like markings on his cheeks was happily slurping noodles from a bowl.
A pink-haired girl stood beside him, scolding him, while a cool-looking black-haired boy watched with his arms folded.
Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno, Sasuke Uchiha.
Team 7.
Qingyu's heart skipped a beat.
Not because he'd seen the original story's main characters—well, maybe a little.
Half of them were characters he'd watched grow up, and the other half were protagonists he'd put himself in the shoes of.
Oh my god, this was basically me!
But then he realized: Sasuke was over there—his clansman, the Clan Head's second son, and the acknowledged genius of this generation of Uchiha.
And he, Uchiha Qingyu, was a nobody in the clan.
"Oh? That Uchiha kid," Izuna said with interest.
"His chakra quality is decent, but his emotions are unstable... anxious? Angry? Interesting."
Qingyu: Isn't it because he looks so much like you?
The classic case of a father looking like his son.
"The blond boy is the one to focus on," Tobirama said seriously.
"His chakra... is very unusual. Enormous, chaotic, and carrying a familiar presence..."
Qingyu: Let the old-timers have a go! I figured out what kind of Jinchuriki he was in one second. Let the other ninja villages try that!
Danzo: No idea~
"The Nine-Tails," Izuna said coldly.
"Though it's been weakened countless times, that feeling... There's no mistaking it."
"A Jinchuriki..." Tobirama mused.
"In this era, they're letting a Jinchuriki take part in an exam like this? The Konoha leadership..." Have they gone mad?
Tobirama: Who are you calling the leadership?! I really need to keep you all under control!
"The examiner's here," Qingyu interrupted them.
Mitaraishi Anko leaped onto the platform and began explaining the rules in her trademark booming voice.
Qingyu listened carefully while the two big shots in his head analyzed everything at lightning speed.
"Every method is allowed... That means killing is allowed too." Izuna sneered.
"Just like the old days."
"The scrolls are the key," Tobirama countered.
"Teams have to collect both the 'Heaven' and 'Earth' scrolls. So the optimal strategy is to seize a scroll as quickly as possible, then hide and wait for other teams to wear each other down before ambushing a team carrying the matching scroll."
"Too cautious," Izuna immediately retorted.
"We should take the initiative, collect the scrolls as quickly as possible, and head straight to the Central Tower. Delaying only adds more variables."
"Uchiha brat, that's too risky! Your tactics are always so reckless!"
"Senju white-haired schemer! Your tactics are always so boring!"
"Stop!" Qingyu shouted in his mind.
"I'll remember both plans and choose based on the situation, okay?"
The two of them (souls) both snorted at the same time, reluctantly agreeing.
After the rules were explained, each team drew a scroll and was assigned a different entrance.
Qingyu took his scroll and looked down. It was "Earth."
After a brief silence inside his head...
the arguing started again.
"I told you! The Uchiha's glory means we should micromanage them directly!"
"Bullshit! We should wait for the right moment and win with one decisive strike!"
Before you continue