Konoha: Calling Mom Won't Help

"I made it." Shisui handed it over. "It's nutritionally balanced, perfect for refueling after training."

Qingyu opened the container. Inside were rice, grilled fish, vegetables, and a soft-boiled egg.

The presentation was so exquisite, it looked like something from a restaurant.

"Senpai, you can cook?" Qingyu asked, astonished.

My soft, fragrant little chef!

Baby Shisui, you're a soft, fragrant little cake!

"When you live alone, you have to know a few things to take care of yourself." Shisui smiled.

"Besides, cooking is a lot like ninjutsu! Both require precise control and good timing."

Qingyu took a bite of the grilled fish. It was crispy on the outside and tender within, seasoned just right.

Delicious! Senpai, you could open a restaurant with these skills!

During their after-meal break, Shisui began explaining what they knew about Sunagakure.

"Kankuro, thirteen years old, a puppeteer." Shisui spread out a diagram.

It showed detailed schematics of two puppets.

"He specializes in 'Crow' and 'Black Ant.' 'Crow' is for offense, equipped with poison needles and hidden mechanisms. 'Black Ant' is for control, with restraints and capture mechanisms."

Qingyu studied the schematics carefully.

The intelligence was absurdly detailed. It even showed how each joint was connected and where the mechanisms were located.

"Where did you get these?" he couldn't help asking.

Schematics this highly classified couldn't possibly have come through ordinary channels.

Shisui blinked. "Trade secret~"

Qingyu: "..." Senpai, you didn't sneak into Sunagakure and steal them, did you? That's way too risky!

Shisui: Mine, mine. My buddy's, mine. I forgot to turn off the Sharingan this time and accidentally locked onto them through the wall.

Besides, could you really call it stealing when the Sharingan was involved?

"But this is only a reference." Shisui's expression turned serious.

"In a real fight, an opponent might modify their puppets on the spot or hide new mechanisms, so you can't rely on intelligence completely."

Qingyu nodded.

He understood. It was like following a game guide—there were always surprises in a boss fight.

On the road to becoming king, it wasn't just three hundred and sixty-five li of travel. There were also secret bosses with lightning-fast strikes.

It's been three minutes since I last heard a little bedtime story about going home...

"Next, the overall situation in Sunagakure." Shisui put away the schematics, his expression growing more serious.

"Sunagakure's been acting a little strange lately."

"Strange?"

Has Orochimaru finally made his move? That's some serious guts!

With the whole Uchiha clan here, wouldn't they get turned into a sieve...

"It's not Orochimaru who's strong. It's Rashomon! Don't nerf me, Butterfly!"

"Clan Head and Itachi are keeping an eye on it, too." Shisui lowered his voice.

"So this joint event... might not be just a friendly exchange."

A chill ran down Qingyu's back. So he was about to walk right into a pit of fire?

[ Ding!]

[System Alert: Key intelligence detected!]

[Hidden Mission Updated: Sunagakure's Conspiracy]

[Mission: Investigate Sunagakure's true intentions during the joint event and obtain at least one piece of key evidence.]

[Reward: Unlock "Conspiracy Insight" (Passive; slightly increases the chance of detecting traps and lies.)]

[Failure Penalty: Sunagakure's favorability -∞, and the legend of "that Uchiha who got completely played by Sunagakure" will live on in Konoha.]

Qingyu stared at the mission, wailing inwardly.

System bro, that penalty is even worse than death! "That Uchiha who got completely played"...

If word gets out, how am I supposed to show my face in Konoha?!

"Don't worry too much." Shisui patted him on the shoulder. "With Itachi and me around, we won't let anything happen to you! Besides..." He smiled. "This is a chance to grow."

Qingyu smiled bitterly.

Senpai, that sounds just like a teacher saying, "Exams are a chance to see how much you've learned." I get it, but I still don't want to take one!

The afternoon's ninjutsu coordination training was even more brutal.

Shisui wanted Qingyu to use Fire Release and Water Release at the same time, switch between them whenever he wanted, and even merge them in specific areas.

"Your idea for 'Water-Fire Rotation' is good, but it takes too long to form in an actual fight." Shisui explained.

"You need to get your elemental switch down to 0.5 seconds."

0.5 seconds?! Qingyu felt like he was listening to a tall tale.

Thanks to all the basic training he'd done, he was a little stronger now, but something like this...

How could a little training possibly make it happen so quickly?

"Let's start with something simple." Shisui demonstrated.

"Keep a fireball in your left hand and a water ball in your right for ten seconds."

It sounded simple. In practice, it was hell.

It wasn't like he could make his left and right hands move in slow motion...

Qingyu gathered fire-natured chakra in his left hand and water-natured chakra in his right.

The two opposing chakra natures clashed inside him. He felt like he was constantly hopping back and forth on the verge of blowing himself up.

"Control them! Keep them separate!" Tobirama instructed him in his mind.

"Divide the chakra into two independent pathways. Don't let them meet in your chakra network!"

"Imagine there's a wall down the middle of your body," Izuna added.

"Fire on the left, water on the right. Keep them in their own lanes!"

Qingyu clenched his teeth and tried, sweat beading on his forehead.

Five seconds later, the fireball in his left hand exploded, and the water ball in his right dispersed.

"Again," Shisui said calmly.

Qingyu took a deep breath and tried again.

He did his utmost to summon all the control he'd built up over the past few days.

Once, twice, ten times...

By his twentieth attempt, with real-time guidance from the two great shinobi in his mind, he could finally maintain both for five seconds.

"Good progress." Shisui nodded.

"Rest for five minutes, then keep practicing the switch! Fire to water in your left hand, water to fire in your right."

Qingyu collapsed on the ground, feeling like a toy someone had played with until it broke.

This training was more exhausting than fighting Neji!

But he didn't complain. He just quietly recovered his strength.

Because he knew Shisui was right.

On the battlefield, the enemy wouldn't give him time to slowly build up his strength.

By dusk, the day's training was finally over.

Qingyu dragged his battered body home, still reviewing the day's training in his mind.

"Acceptable performance today," Tobirama commented.

"Your chakra control precision increased by 2%, and your Shuriken accuracy went up by 15%."

"Your stamina's still terrible," Izuna scoffed.

"You're exhausted after just twenty laps. Back in my day..."

"You were a monster from the Warring States period. I know," Qingyu replied weakly.

"Senpai, could you say something more constructive?"

"Eat more meat," Izuna offered, with disarming simplicity.

Qingyu gave a bitter smile.

Easy for you to say. How much meat can a ninja afford on that tiny stipend?!

Konoha: Calling Mom Won't Help. You need to make money before Mom will care about you!

When he got to his front door, he noticed an envelope tucked into the crack.

He picked it up. There was no name on it, just a simple drawing of a Gunbai.

Uchiha internal correspondence?

Qingyu's heart jumped. He warily glanced around.

He immediately sensed the area, and after confirming no one was there, hurried inside and shut the door.

He opened the envelope. Inside was a neatly written note:

[Tomorrow afternoon, at the shrine behind Naka Shrine, someone wants to meet you. Be sure to come alone. —Someone who cares about you]

Qingyu stared at the note, his brow furrowing. A powerful sense of unease seized him.

What's this? Is there a mole? Call off the deal?

What kind of mysterious invitation is this?

An Uchiha-style "I know your secret" setup?

Could some Radical Faction elder be trying to recruit me?

"Go," Izuna said decisively. "You can't hide from this."

"But be prepared," Tobirama added.

"Bring plenty of ninja tools and plan an escape route in advance. If anything seems wrong, use the Body Flicker Technique and get out immediately."

Qingyu nodded.

It looked like the Uchiha's internal drama was about to begin in earnest.

He put away the note and started preparing his gear for the next day.