"Which side is the Uchiha Clan's residential district on?"
On the streets of Konoha, Qi followed the directions he had gathered along the way, searching as he went.
Realizing that his earlier behavior had been inappropriate, he certainly wasn't going to wait for Uchiha Xiu to "deliver it to his door." That wasn't how you acted high and mighty.
Everyone in Konoha knew the Uchiha Clan, and of course everyone knew where their residential district was. Qi found it in no time.
Just as he had learned from the manga, the Uchiha Clan lived on the outskirts of the village. Their position in the Police Force had practically turned them into Konoha's gatekeepers.
Thinking that the Senju line had produced three Hokage over the generations, and that it had taken them decades to turn a powerful clan that once dominated the Shinobi World from a ferocious tiger into a wildcat, made Qi feel a chill in his heart.
No wonder the Uchiha would eventually be wiped out. When it came to political maneuvering, the Uchiha were far behind the Senju...
Raw power was certainly useful, but once you reached a certain level, even as a ninja, it seemed you had to learn to play the political game...
"Stop right there!"
At the entrance to the street leading into the Uchiha Clan's territory, two Uchiha in black saw Qi heading toward their residential district and immediately stopped him.
The Uchiha and the Hyuga both had territories of their own. Even the Hokage would notify them in advance before entering either clan's domain.
"Who are you? From here on, this is Uchiha Clan territory. Without permission, no one may come and go as they please."
The older of the two Uchiha stared intently at Qi.
"Please stop at once!"
"Sorry for the trouble. I'm Kaguya Qi, and I've come to visit Uchiha Xiu. Could you two let him know I'm here?"
Qi was sensible enough to stop at a distance the two men could tolerate.
"Kagetsu? Never heard of it..."
The Uchiha frowned. He truly had never heard of the Kagetsu surname...
The Uchiha Clan's history was almost as long as the history of the Shinobi World. They had a strong clan mentality, and when dealing with outsiders, they tended to check the other person's surname first rather than judge them by their character.
"What's your relationship with young master Xiu? Why are you calling him by his name?"
The Uchiha had finally confirmed that he had never heard of the Kagetsu surname, but the fact that Qi had addressed Uchiha Xiu by name still made him wary.
"Young master? Looks like Xiu has quite a bit of standing..."
The Uchiha's way of addressing Xiu made Qi pause, but he didn't pay it much mind. Honestly, Xiu didn't look like an ordinary Uchiha, either.
Muttering softly, Qi then smiled and said,
"I'm his teammate on this mission. We don't have any special relationship. I've just come to visit."
He wouldn't mind being turned away. If they refused, he could simply leave. He knew what would become of this clan, and hadn't wanted to get too close to them in the first place.
He had come purely because Uchiha Xiu was a decent comrade.
"Teammate?"
The two Uchiha exchanged glances. To Qi's surprise, their expressions softened.
"So you're young master Xiu's comrade. Please wait a moment while we inform him."
"Certainly..."
Though he was a little bewildered, Qi replied politely.
The truth was, he had seen how teammates worked in the ninja system. It was common for ninjas who had never met before to become close friends because they were assigned to the same team.
Ninja teams were long-term assignments. Unless someone died, their members rarely changed. They shared life and death, and after a while, teammates naturally became close...
When the Konoha High Command tried to resolve conflicts between clans, they would often assign their younger members to the same team, hoping that friendship would ease disputes over their interests.
"You're here. I was just about to go to your place."
Before long, Uchiha Xiu arrived, escorted by the Uchiha who had gone to notify him. He looked surprised.
"Well... I thought it over. Since you're the one giving me something, it seemed better for me to come pick it up myself."
Qi gave an awkward laugh.
"Good thinking! You put on airs as soon as you got back to the village. If you'd really waited for me to bring it to your door, I'd have thought less of you."
Uchiha Xiu grinned at Qi.
"But since you're here, I don't mind. Come sit at my place."
"That's all right..."
For once, Qi looked a little embarrassed.
"I wouldn't want to bother your family."
Of course, what he was really thinking was: The Uchiha are so proud. What if I'm friendly and they give me the cold shoulder? I'd be mortified...
"You? Embarrassed?"
Uchiha Xiu laughed.
"Cut the nonsense! You're coming in whether you like it or not. Are you walking in on your own, or do I have to carry you?"
As he spoke, Uchiha Xiu gave a few sinister little laughs. Qi started to sweat. This wasn't the battlefield; he couldn't fight back...
"Then I'll walk in myself..."
"That's more like it. You're at my house now, so quit acting all formal..."
"..."
With no other choice, Qi followed Xiu into Uchiha Clan territory.
Honestly, it almost felt as if he had arrived in another village...
Everyone here was Uchiha, and even their clothes all followed roughly the same style. An outsider like Qi stood out terribly on the street. The moment he appeared, the Uchiha turned in unison to stare at him, making him very uncomfortable.
The Uchiha and the Hyuga had both built up their territories into something like a city within the village, thanks to their obsessive clan mentality. In the ninja villages of the Naruto world, perhaps it was more like a village within a village... It sounded awkward, though...
Your mindset determined your attitude, and your attitude determined your achievements. Qi finally understood from another angle why the Senju and Uchiha, once equally powerful, had grown so far apart...
As for the Hyuga... They were even worse than the Uchiha. It wasn't that he looked down on the Byakugan, but their system of dividing the clan into Main and Branch Families according to birth order was a huge ticking bomb. It was bound to cause trouble sooner or later.
By comparison, the Uchiha Clan's family system was much better than the Hyuga Clan's. They didn't divide the clan into Main and Branch Families at all. They cared only about strength: the stronger a person was, the higher the standing of his family line within the clan.
Leaving aside the Senju, who kept a low profile and had spread throughout Konoha until they had become one with the village, the Uchiha were indeed Konoha Village's strongest clan on the surface...
But for some reason, Qi couldn't sense the same vitality in this clan that he had felt among the Yuki Clan.
In terms of strength, the Yuki Clan was far weaker than the Uchiha. You could even say they were in completely different leagues. But the Yuki Clan was filled with hope for the future and absolute confidence. Even after offending the daimyo of the Land of Water, they hadn't shown the slightest fear.
The Uchiha Clan didn't give Qi that same feeling. The street was lively, but to him, it seemed to lack energy.
"So this is your friend?"
As they arrived at a house, a middle-aged man opened the door and came out. From the looks of it, he was about to leave.
"Yes, Uncle."
Xiu answered respectfully.
"Young man, you seem decent. Come by whenever you have time."
Xiu's uncle looked Qi over and nodded.
"Since Xiu was willing to bring you here, you must be very good friends. That's rare. Make yourself at home."
After saying that, he patted Xiu on the head and left.
Why does Uncle always pat my head...? I'm a grown man now. What a pain...
Rubbing his head, Xiu watched his uncle's back with discontent.
"If you keep patting someone on the head, they'll get dumber..."
Qi looked at Xiu, then at Xiu's uncle, who was already walking farther away. He wanted to make a snarky comment, but held back.
A grown man in his teens? By that standard, wouldn't his age from his previous life make him an old man?
"Uncle's habit is such a headache... Never mind, let's go inside."
Xiu muttered for quite a while. Only after his uncle had disappeared from sight did he reluctantly stop complaining and lead Qi into his house.
"You're here... Is this your friend?"
They hadn't gone far before a woman came toward them. Like Xiu's uncle, she asked about Qi as soon as she saw him.
Qi guessed she was Xiu's mother.
"Yes, Mother."
Xiu pulled Qi forward.
"This is Kaguya Qi, the one I told you and Father about."
So she really was his mother...
"Hello, Auntie."
After all, he was in someone else's home. Qi made sure to be polite.
"Don't be shy."
Xiu's mother smiled. Ignoring Xiu's plaintive expression, she stepped forward and vigorously ruffled his hair before continuing,
"Your father's home for once these past few days. Take your friend to pay your respects. You're a ninja now, after all, and could be sent on a mission at any time."
"I know, Mother... Stop messing up my hair!"
Xiu looked like someone who wanted to beat somebody up but couldn't find anyone nearby.
"The boy's embarrassed? Hehe... All right, I'll stop teasing you. Your father's waiting. Hurry along."
Xiu's mother grinned. Only after completely mussing up his hair did she finally stop, satisfied. She gave Qi a greeting as well, then left.
Honestly, it made Qi laugh, but he was also a little envious.
Having parents... must be nice...
"Sorry you had to see that, Qi..."
Xiu looked thoroughly disgruntled. He gestured ahead.
"But don't worry. My father is very 'normal.' He won't do that."
Qi chuckled but didn't say anything. He simply continued following Xiu.
It had been one mishap after another along the way. It seemed that everyone in this house was Xiu's elder, and every one of his elders liked ruffling his hair.
Of course, they also asked Qi who he was.
By the time the two reached the courtyard, Xiu's face had completely fallen.
"You went to meet your friend. Is this him?"
Qi had heard that familiar question so many times on the way over that he was nearly sick of it, but he knew that wasn't the point...
The man speaking—Xiu's father—was someone Qi had seen before. He was the man they had encountered at the village entrance.
Now he wore a black kimono and sat in a bamboo chair, sipping tea one small mouthful at a time.
"Father, this is Kaguya Qi, the one I told you about."
Xiu's expression brightened when he saw his father. Qi could tell that Xiu respected him—or perhaps even admired him.
Maybe that was because his father was the only "normal" person in the whole family?
"Since you're Xiu's friend, I'll call you Qi. You don't mind, do you?"
Xiu's father smiled faintly.
"Of course not, Uncle. Please call me by my name."
Qi bowed.
"No need to be so polite. Come sit with us."
Xiu's father seemed quite amiable. Perhaps this was how he usually acted at home. Qi remembered that when he had seen him at the village entrance, his face had been almost expressionless and cold.
Being a ninja in a great clan really was exhausting...
There were two more chairs beside the table. Qi thanked him, then waited for Xiu to sit before taking a seat himself.
Throughout this, Xiu's father kept watching Qi. By comparison, Xiu was far more carefree. He plopped straight down in his chair and said to his father,
"Father, I want to get two chakra blades from the storeroom!"
"Oh?"
Xiu's father raised his eyebrows.
"You want to use swords?"
"Of course not. They're for Qi. We made a promise on the battlefield: if we made it back alive, I'd give him a pair of blades."
Xiu blinked.
"Qi's really strong. Thanks to his kekkei genkai, we had a much better chance of surviving."
"Kekkei genkai?"
Xiu's father's eyes lit up.
The Uchiha Clan was famous for its kekkei genkai, so naturally they were interested in others.
But they were interested in comparison, not in taking them...
That was probably the Uchiha Clan's proud self-respect at work. The Uchiha could admit that their clan was less powerful than the Senju, but they would never accept that their own kekkei genkai wasn't the strongest...
"You're a kekkei genkai user, too? There isn't a kekkei genkai clan in Konoha that we don't know about. You must have joined Konoha fairly recently, right? Xiu said you're Lord Orochimaru's student?"
Xiu's father looked Qi up and down, seemingly lost in thought...
"Please don't make too much of it, Uncle. It's just a small ability, nothing worth mentioning."
Qi hurriedly replied.
He didn't think Ice Release was much weaker than Wood Release, but he didn't dare say so here.
Whether Wood Release counted as a kekkei genkai was another question, but it was one of the few powerful techniques capable of matching the Sharingan. To the Uchiha, the First's Wood Release was sure to strike a nerve. Who knew what they might associate Ice Release with...
"If it's only a small ability, why does Xiu speak so highly of you?"
Xiu's father smiled.
"It's good for a young man to be modest, but if you're too modest, people will think they can push you around. You should have a little pride."
He lifted his teacup and took a sip.
"I believe it's called Ice Release... Don't be surprised. One of the people who returned with you is an old friend of mine, though that's all I know about your ability. You don't need to worry."
He waved a hand to stop Qi, who looked startled and seemed about to say something.
"Given your background, you should know that people in clans often have little choice in what they do. I'm glad you and Xiu became friends. You haven't distanced yourself from him for some reason or other. But..."
He suddenly set his teacup back on the table.
"Whatever the circumstances, one generation is one generation, and the next is the next. As Xiu's father, I hope your friendship won't be affected by the grievances of the previous generation. Can you promise me that?"