It wouldn't be so bad to have a little house of his own. It was much better than the place he'd lived before. Qiuyang comforted himself as he continued walking through the streets of Konoha, following his memories.
As he walked, he was constantly greeted by the Genin and Chunin helping the villagers rebuild:
"Lord Qiuyang."
"Lord Qiuyang!"
At first, Qiuyang had happily greeted them back, a little bashfully. But after being called "Lord" over and over, he started to feel embarrassed, so he turned down a road with fewer people.
Being famous wasn't easy!
Qiuyang let out a sigh and thought to himself. He hadn't walked for more than a few minutes when a kunai flew out from the side and stuck into the road ahead of him.
Qiuyang turned to see who it was, then smiled.
"Sasuke, don't you think that's a bit of a rude way to say hello?"
Sasuke ignored him. His Two-Tomoe Sharingan narrowed, its tomoe spinning rapidly as he silently studied Qiuyang for quite some time. Then he finally spoke, unable to believe it.
"You really are one of the Uchiha. Back then... how did you survive that night?"
He'd always believed he was the only one left from that night—Sasuke Uchiha.
Ever since Hiashi returned and spread the news that Jiraiya had a genius Uchiha student, Sasuke had been questioning whether it was true.
For a while, he'd been convinced that someone had stolen the Sharingan from a dead member of the Uchiha Clan.
After bringing Naruto and Sakura back to the village, injured from their fight with Gaara, Sasuke had heard that this person had returned to the village and had been searching for information about him ever since.
But what he saw now, along with his instincts, told him there was no doubt: this was a member of the Uchiha Clan.
"That's right. A lot happened, but I really am one of the Uchiha, just like you."
Except that his soul wasn't.
"If you ever need anything, you can come find me."
Their eyes had confirmed it: they were clan members. After leaving him with those words, Sasuke walked away with his hands in his pockets, looking cool and aloof.
Qiuyang knew all too well how ridiculously proud Sasuke was at this point, but he didn't mind. He turned and continued on, only to run into the blond boy—Naruto.
"Hey, are you the Black Flash of Konoha everyone's talking about? The other student Pervy Sage took on?"
Qiuyang was just about to say yes when Naruto continued:
"Then that makes you my senior. You may be stronger than me now, but I'll surpass you one day and become the Hokage everyone respects, you jerk!"
"..."
I never said I was trying to steal your Hokage seat!
Qiuyang's mouth twitched awkwardly.
He'd just witnessed Sasuke's cool, aloof attitude, and now he'd heard Naruto's over-the-top declaration. Qiuyang had originally wanted to get along with the main characters, but he decided to put that on hold for now.
Forget it. They were still just kids.
Especially Naruto. Maybe they could talk after Jiraiya took him away to train for three years and he came back a little more mature!
So Qiuyang faced Naruto, who was clenching his fists and shouting at him, and replied without expression:
"Oh, I'm not giving up on becoming Hokage. You'd better be ready, dattebayo."
"Argh! You bastard! You'd better be ready! I'll stomp you and Sasuke into the ground!"
Qiuyang was about to keep teasing the chuunibyou blond boy when he suddenly heard a very bashful "Mm."
He raised a hand to stop Naruto from moving his head any closer, then turned to look. He caught sight of a pair of pale eyes peeking at them before disappearing around the corner.
Well, there was another one of the Konoha 12. He didn't even need to guess—it had to be Naruto's future wife, Hinata. And...
A mysterious smile tugged at Qiuyang's lips. He let go and dodged Naruto's headbutt, then appeared in a flash at the corner where Naruto's future wife was hiding.
Their eyes met as Hinata peeked out again, blushing. She stumbled and fell onto the ground, her already-developing chest heaving...
She'd clearly been badly startled. Qiuyang grinned and reached out to help Naruto's future wife up.
"Hey, where's your younger sister, Hanabi Hyuga?"
"I... I'm over here."
Huh?
Qiuyang leaned out to look and saw Hanabi Hyuga standing at the other end of the corner. Her pale eyes met his for a few seconds before she looked away.
She was almost as shy as Hinata.
"Hey, Black Flash of Konoha! Did you knock Hinata over on purpose? Don't think you can bully people just because you're my senior!"
Naruto had been tricked by Qiuyang and had taken a face-first tumble. Now he'd run over, and seeing Hinata on the ground made him even angrier.
Hinata wanted to explain, but her shyness around Naruto overwhelmed her. Her voice came out as faint as a mosquito's buzz.
"N-no, Naruto-kun. I just... tripped..."
"Don't be scared, Hinata. If he bullies you again, I'll punch him and send him flying."
Naruto's unconscious words of comfort left Hinata, who'd already been stammering, unable to say another word. She lowered her face until it was almost buried in the ground.
Qiuyang had been debating whether to ask Hinata or Hanabi for help. In that moment, he'd decided who to ask.
As the daughter of a wealthy family, Naruto's future wife had fallen for the blond troublemaker of Konoha while they were still young. That story alone made her sound rather unreliable.
By comparison, he preferred the quiet, well-behaved Hanabi. Ignoring Naruto and Hinata, Qiuyang put a hand to his forehead and spoke gently to the little girl.
"Come on, Hanabi. I need your help with something."
"Okay!"
She agreed so quickly that Qiuyang almost thought he'd misheard. But then he saw the smile bloom on Hanabi's face and knew he hadn't.
"I'll buy you some candy when we're done."
"..."
Hanabi Hyuga had agreed because of what her father had told her when he came home the day before.
"Hanabi, Neji from the branch family can already use Rotation and the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms. You and your sister still... Sigh. When you have some free time, go ask Qiuyang for guidance."
Hanabi had nodded in innocent confusion. She didn't understand why her father had suddenly become so gloomy, but she remembered that he'd told her to ask Big Brother Qiuyang for guidance.
So when Qiuyang asked for her help, she agreed at once. She simply thought it was a good chance to learn from Big Brother Qiuyang, though she had no idea what she was supposed to ask him about.
She quietly followed behind him, and then... they arrived at the entrance to Ichiraku Ramen Shop.
"It's still early. How about I treat you to a bowl of ramen, Hanabi? This place is famous."
Qiuyang spoke with a touch of exaggeration. It was partly because it was still early, but more importantly, he wanted a chance to see the famous "Otsutsuki Ichiraku."
"I'm not a kid."
"Look at you, you're so tiny. How are you not a kid? Come on in."
"..."
A strange feeling stirred in Hanabi's heart. Ever since she could remember, her father had told her she was already an adult and had to shoulder the responsibility of inheriting the Hyuga Clan.
Now someone was treating her like a little girl. Though she'd been annoyed, it felt... nice. Like someone was doting on her.
So Hanabi didn't refuse. She stepped into Ichiraku Ramen Shop and, at Qiuyang's insistence, chose a bowl of seafood ramen that looked rather cute.
Anyway, this was the task... her father had assigned her. All she had to do was follow through.
By the time they'd eaten their fill, dusk had fallen.
Qiuyang took Hanabi and sneaked into the former Uchiha Clan compound.
Come on, Obito!
You must be here. You left White Zetsu spies around, didn't you?
He'd use that as the item in his deal with Snake Auntie.
Before you continue