Why So Selfish?! Damn It!

He brought up the system panel:

[Host: Uchiha Qingyu]

[Age: 12]

[Power Assessment: Upper Chunin (combat)/Special Jōnin (tactics)]

[Skills: Water-Fire Rotation series (proficient), Uchiha Style Shuriken Advanced (mastered), Desert Adaptation (beginner), Puppet Master Countermeasures (basic)]

[Special Status: Dancer on the Wire (active)]

[Uchiha Internal Balance: 55% (safe range)]

Not bad. At least he was making progress.

"Qingyu." A voice suddenly called out.

Qingyu jumped and turned to see Shisui standing beside him. He hadn't noticed when he showed up.

"Shisui-senpai, what are you—"

"I came to check on you." Shisui sat down beside him. "You're training pretty hard."

"Can't help it," Qingyu said with a bitter smile. "I'm afraid of dying."

Shisui laughed. "Afraid of dying? That's a good thing! The most important thing for a ninja is staying alive."

For Uchiha, even if your skills were lousy, it didn't matter. You could just wait for your Sharingan to save you.

He paused, then said, "Itachi told me everything."

Qingyu's heart tightened.

"About Elder Setsuna seeking you out and giving you information." Shisui looked up at the stars. "And about Itachi's analysis."

Qingyu fell silent.

So Shisui had come to... give him a warning?

Probably not, right? You're one of the good guys!

"Don't be nervous." Shisui patted him on the shoulder. "The Clan Head knows, too. Our attitude is... we don't object."

Qingyu stared at him. "You don't object?"

"The Uchiha aren't of one mind. That's perfectly normal," Shisui said calmly.

"The Clan Head hopes to change things through peaceful means. Elder Setsuna wants to be more aggressive, and others have their own ideas... But as long as we're all working toward the Uchiha's future, we can accept our differences."

Qingyu was a little baffled.

They were that open-minded?

No wonder he'd taken the lead in making those pointed remarks during the New Year celebrations...

"Of course," Shisui continued, his tone shifting.

"That's assuming you don't do anything to harm the Uchiha. If you sell information to outsiders or conspire with external forces against your own people... that's another matter."

Qingyu quickly shook his head. "I wouldn't do that!"

"I know." Shisui smiled.

"So the Clan Head asked me to tell you to prepare well for the joint mission and show everyone how capable the Uchiha are. As for everything else... we'll talk when you get back."

He stood up. "One last piece of advice."

"Go ahead."

"In the desert, the enemy isn't necessarily the most dangerous thing." Shisui spoke meaningfully. "There's the environment, and... your own people."

With that, he used the Body Flicker Technique and disappeared.

Qingyu lay on the training field, mulling over Shisui's words.

His own people... Did he mean the Uchiha?

Or his comrades from Konoha?

Or... both?

The stars twinkled in the night sky, like countless eyes watching him.

Qingyu took a deep breath and got to his feet.

Whatever lay ahead, he could only keep moving forward.

On the morning of the gathering, Qingyu stood at the Konoha Gate, looking at the lineup before him as he ranted inwardly:

On the left, Sasuke Uchiha—the aloof genius, arms folded, with a look that said, "You're all trash."

On the right, Neji Hyuga—the serious top student, Byakugan slightly activated, radiating, "I've already seen through everything."

In front, Naruto Uzumaki—the hot-blooded idiot, bouncing around, in full "Let's go! Sunagakure ramen, here we come!" mode.

Good grief, what kind of legendary lineup was this?

An arrogant Uchiha, a cold-faced Hyuga, a loose-cannon Jinchuriki, and me—a transmigrator with two old men living in my head.

Would this team even survive three chapters in a manga? Anyone else feel me?

Aaaaaah!!!

[System: My bad, my bad! Forgot to shut down!]

"Is everyone here?" Their leader, Kakashi Hatake, arrived late, still holding his copy of Icha Icha Paradise.

"Then let's get going. Behave yourselves on the road, especially you, blondie!"

"I won't cause trouble!" Naruto protested. "I'm going to be Hokage!"

Sasuke gave a cold snort.

Neji remained expressionless.

Qingyu... Qingyu just wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear.

I regret this. I want off this trip!

[Ping!]

[System Notification: Squad assembled]

[Squad Name: Konoha Problem Child Squad (automatically named by the system)]

[Squad Members: Sasuke Uchiha (the tsundere), Neji Hyuga (the calm one), Naruto Uzumaki (the mood maker), Uchiha Qingyu (the commentator)]

[Squad Rating: S-Rank Potential, F-Rank Teamwork]

[Helpful Reminder: Host, please do your best to survive. This system does not provide team resurrection services (lol)]

Qingyu read the system notification, the corner of his mouth twitching.

You've got to be kidding me. Why are you so selfish?! Damn it!

"All right, let's go." Kakashi closed his book with a satisfied look and led the way out of the gate.

"The trip should take five days. We'll rest near the border of the Land of Rivers along the way. Stay together and don't fall behind."

The four of them followed.

As soon as they left the gate, Naruto started running his mouth:

"Hey, is there really that much sand in Sunagakure?"

"I heard they live in castles!"

"Do they have ramen that's special to Sunagakure? I wonder if the Land of Wind has a different flavor!"

"Shut up," Sasuke said coldly. "Be quiet and keep walking."

"What'd you say, you bastard, Sasuke? Wanna fight?"

"Bring it, dead last."

Neji rubbed his temples.

Qingyu quietly picked up his pace, trying to get farther from the battlefield.

Without looking back, Kakashi said, "You can fight if you want. Whoever loses can stand watch tonight."

The two fell silent at once.

Qingyu gave Kakashi a mental thumbs-up. As expected of a wily veteran Jōnin—he knew just how to handle problem children!

The first day's journey went fairly smoothly.

All four were elite Genin (Naruto: Huh?), and they had plenty of stamina, so they made good time.

During their midday break, Kakashi explained the essentials of desert survival:

"Deserts have large temperature swings between day and night. Keep warm at night and protect yourself from the sun during the day."

"Water is the most important thing. Each of you gets two liters a day, so ration it."

"If you run into a sandstorm, find cover. Don't try to tough it out..."

Qingyu took careful notes.

This was life-saving information. He couldn't afford to be careless.

Naruto raised his hand. "Kakashi-sensei! What do we do if we run into a scorpion?"

"Stab it with a Kunai."

"What about a venomous snake?"

"Stab it with a Kunai."

"What about a Sunagakure ninja?"

"Stab them with a Kunai... Wait, don't just go stabbing those!"

Qingyu held his forehead.

Naruto, were you here just to make people laugh?

They continued on in the afternoon.

The farther west they went, the sparser the vegetation became, and the drier the air grew.

Qingyu felt his lips starting to dry, so he quickly took a sip of water. Following Kakashi's advice, he drank in small sips, frequently.

Sasuke stayed silent the whole way, but his eyes constantly scanned their surroundings, his Sharingan occasionally flashing.

Neji also activated his Byakugan from time to time to scout ahead.

Only Naruto... After nearly tripping over a rock for the third time, Kakashi finally tethered his wrist with Chakra Threads.

"Is this supposed to be walking a dog?" Naruto protested.

"It's to stop you from getting lost," Kakashi replied evenly.

"Getting lost in the desert would make you hard to find."