Three-Legged Golden Crow

That day, Yashui didn't get up as early as usual. Asuma was submitting his early graduation application for him.

Once he submitted the application, he wouldn't have to go to school anymore. He only needed to take the graduation exam a month later. He wouldn't have any homework during that month, so improving his strength would be entirely up to him.

Since elite Jonin Sarutobi Asuma was submitting it in person, the school had no reason to refuse. Sarutobi Asuma was the Third Hokage's son. No matter how low-key he was, everyone knew it. Nobody would dare turn him down casually.

Now, Yashui needed to consider how to improve his strength. First, he had to reach Genin level.

"Sharingan, why can't you shut off?" Yashui took off his glasses in front of the mirror. His blood-red Sharingan had already changed into a Two-Tomoe Sharingan.

His Sharingan had advanced, but Yashui wasn't happy at all.

The eyes were feeling less and less like his own. They were also getting harder and harder to control.

A Sharingan that couldn't be shut off was a chakra-draining device that kept itself running. The Naruto manga had left everyone with the mistaken impression that the Uchiha Clan naturally had very little chakra.

That wasn't true. Even if the Uchiha Clan had less chakra than some, their reserves were no different from those of other ninja clans. In fact, they were still fairly substantial by comparison. The problem was that their eyes consumed even more.

The Sharingan's enormous chakra drain meant that the Uchiha Clan had to be more careful with how they distributed their chakra. It also gave people the mistaken impression that the clan had very little chakra. Hatake Kakashi and others also had their chakra reserves "reduced" by the Sharingan.

So even after a night's rest, Yashui's chakra and stamina hadn't recovered much.

Yashui put his glasses back on. Even though he couldn't control the Sharingan, he didn't intend to tell anyone about it. He was sure that if he did, there would be more people watching for a spectacle than offering a helping hand.

Especially with the troublesome Danzo around.

But until he solved the problem, he wouldn't be able to put it out of his mind.

"Wait!" Yashui suddenly remembered a method that might work.

He remembered that in the original Naruto story, many talented ninja trained in the world of their summoning beasts. Jiraiya and Naruto, for instance. If he could train in the world of a summoning beast too, he could ask one for advice about his Sharingan while getting away from Danzo's surveillance.

All right, he had a method and an idea. All he needed now was a summoning beast, and he'd be set.

But... did he even have a summoning beast? Even if he did, he didn't know the Summoning Technique!

At that moment, the Hand Seals and application of the Summoning Technique flowed into Yashui's mind.

Yashui frowned. Learning the Hand Seals was certainly useful, but the way he'd learned them irritated him. He'd always wanted to learn ninjutsu easily without resorting to this method, yet once again he'd accidentally learned a technique this way.

Every time he activated the Sharingan, he inexplicably learned ninjutsu he hadn't known before.

"Damn it!" Yashui punched himself in the chest. He was starting to feel like he couldn't even control his own body! He hated himself for being unable to control it.

"I have to find a way to shut off the Sharingan. Even if it means making sure it can never open again, I have to close these terrifying eyes!" Yashui set himself a goal: he had to shut off the Sharingan!

Having made up his mind, Yashui stopped worrying about how he'd learned the Summoning Technique. He didn't bother wondering what his summoning beast might be, either. Without another thought, he performed the Summoning Technique.

Whatever he summoned, Yashui wanted to bring it out right away and ask what he should do!

Yashui's hands flashed through the Hand Seals, completing them in the blink of an eye.

"Ninja Art: Summoning Technique!"

Yashui regretted it as soon as he finished. Before him lay an endless expanse of darkness.

Yashui had watched Naruto, so he immediately understood: the Summoning Technique had failed because he hadn't signed a contract with a summoning beast!

He wanted to curse. "That's not fair! Why would I learn the Summoning Technique without signing a contract with a summoning beast..."

The Summoning Technique was not to be taken lightly. Even though it was widespread, it was still a Space-Time Ninjutsu. Who knew where he might end up after a failed attempt?

After who knew how long, Yashui opened his eyes.

His body felt much lighter. He looked at his hands but couldn't see his chakra pathways. It seemed the Sharingan had finally shut off.

Yashui's heart, which had been in suspense all this time, finally settled. But where was he now?

Only then did Yashui notice the mist swirling all around him. It was just like a celestial paradise. Birds of all kinds flew everywhere, their calls filling the air.

"Where... is this...?" Yashui was stunned. This place was so beautiful.

Yashui stood up and looked around. When he glanced down, the villages on the ground beneath the clouds looked like tiny toys, and the people were like ants.

Yashui had only seen a sight like this from airplanes, which didn't exist in this world. Could he really be thousands of meters in the sky right now?

"Caw, caw, caw..."

Nearby, a crow kept calling out to Yashui. As it called, it circled overhead, seemingly leading him somewhere.

Having arrived in this strange place, Yashui didn't know what to do, so he followed the crow.

He didn't know how long he walked. Maybe ten days, maybe a hundred, maybe a million. Yashui followed the crow onward without tiring, gradually losing all sense of time.

At last, Yashui reached the end of the road.

A magnificent, immense palace stood before him. Inside it was a gigantic three-legged bird, carrying itself like the master of the place.

Yashui recognized the bird. It was famous in the mythology of East Asia! In many myths, it was the embodiment of the sun—it was the Three-Legged Golden Crow!

"Are you... the Three-Legged Golden Crow?" Yashui asked, still unsure.

"Uchiha clansman, I never thought your people still remembered this old one..." The Three-Legged Golden Crow's voice was extraordinarily penetrating. Every syllable seemed capable of piercing Yashui's young body with ease.

Since it had said that, Yashui knew he'd guessed correctly. This really was the world of Naruto, where all kinds of myths and legends were mixed together.

"Hello. I never thought I'd get to meet a legendary immortal. It's my great fortune." Yashui humbly bowed before the Three-Legged Golden Crow.

"Raise your head, Uchiha clansman," the Three-Legged Golden Crow said. "You walked through an illusion for one hundred and one years. Meeting me is the reward you deserve."

"An illusion?" Only then did Yashui understand. "Then the actual time that passed was..."

"Only one minute," the Three-Legged Golden Crow said with a laugh. "You endured one hundred and one years. You must have a very strong mind."