The Stone Tablet Left Behind by the Sage of Six Paths

Well, this was probably goodbye to those chance acquaintances!

The kind of goodbye that meant forever.

Qiuyang had no intention of interfering with what came next in the story. He went home, fell asleep, and didn't wake up until noon the next day.

That afternoon, he got Hanabi to join him for lunch, and they went to Ichiraku Ramen for a bowl of noodles. Afterward, he took her to a training ground and taught her shuriken techniques, as thanks for helping him find the White Zetsu that day.

The little girl clearly wasn't interested in this training:

"My father says people from the Hyuga Clan don't need to focus on practicing shuriken techniques. We only need to master the Eight Trigrams Palms and Rotation."

Wouldn't that be wasting the Byakugan's ability to see through things?

Qiuyang knew it would be difficult to change the thinking of someone like Hyuga Hiashi, but he wanted to try changing the little girl's mind. He decided to explain with an example.

He pointed at a rock ahead.

"If there's an enemy behind that rock..."

He turned his finger and pointed at a large tree on the right.

"Another enemy behind that tree..."

He turned his finger again.

"And one more enemy up in that tree on the left, how would you take them all out within a minute?"

The little girl thought for a full minute, but couldn't come up with a way to deal with them all in time.

"You think it's impossible, right? But I can do it."

As he spoke, he used a short blade to cut three pieces of wood, then told Hanabi to put them in the spots he'd pointed out to serve as enemies.

Once the little girl had set them all up, Qiuyang told her to move farther away and observe with her Byakugan.

Hanabi obediently backed up a dozen or so steps.

"Farther."

The little girl backed up another dozen or so steps.

Qiuyang turned to face her, closed his eyes, and held out his hands to show her his empty palms.

The instant he clenched his hands and opened them again, four shuriken and four kunai appeared in them like magic.

The moment he activated his Sharingan, Qiuyang leaped into the air, hurling the ninja tools in his hands one after another. Then Hanabi heard the metallic clang of ninja tools colliding three times in midair.

"Clink, clink-clink..."

Her Byakugan saw it all clearly. The eight ninja tools in Big Brother Qiuyang's hands had each struck one of the wooden targets she'd placed in the blind spots. Not a single one had missed.

And the time from his first throw to the last was less than ten seconds.

Incredible. He could kill without anyone seeing it happen.

"Th-this is shuriken technique?"

It was far more advanced than the kind of target practice they did at the Ninja Academy.

"It's not just about changing their trajectories. You can also use wire to achieve unbelievable effects. Eyes like ours, which can track movement, are especially suited to shuriken techniques."

Hanabi was now completely convinced by her Big Brother Qiuyang. She raised her eager little face and asked him to teach her.

He taught her from noon until evening. When it was getting late, the little girl finally went home, though she did so reluctantly.

Phew...

Qiuyang let out a breath. He really couldn't understand how the little girl had so much energy.

After Hanabi left, Qiuyang didn't hurry home. Instead, under cover of night, he went to the Naka Shrine at the Uchiha ruins.

He formed Hand Seals to open the entrance and went inside. The shrine's eternal flame had already been lit by the wind, and straight ahead... stood the stone tablet left behind by the Sage of Six Paths.

"Sharingan..."

With the three-tomoe Sharingan, he could see the history of the Uchiha Clan and its conflict with the Senju Clan.

The rest of the content covered the Fire Release Ninjutsu passed down through generations of the Uchiha Clan, as well as shuriken techniques that could only be used in conjunction with the Sharingan.

Even Madara's Dragon Flame Song, Great Fire Annihilation, and Great Fire Destruction were recorded here.

The descriptions of these techniques stated how much chakra they required, and even Qiuyang was stunned by the amount.

After memorizing the techniques, Qiuyang's three-tomoe Sharingan changed into a Mangekyo. As expected, he could now see more.

Among the new information were introductions to several Mangekyo abilities that had appeared throughout Uchiha history, including the more common Tsukuyomi and Amaterasu.

To Qiuyang's surprise, his left eye's God-Meeting Machine had appeared somewhere in the long history of the clan.

This Mangekyo ability could draw divine weapons and treasures from another dimension.

According to the records, it had appeared only once, long before the Warring States period.

At the brink of death, an Uchiha ancestor had awakened this eye and drawn from another dimension the weapon later used by the Uchiha Clan Head.

That weapon was Madara's Gunbai, which should have been passed down from generation to generation by the Uchiha.

The ancestor had then used the Gunbai's power to fan a Great Fireball into a white blaze like the flames of the apocalypse.

The hordes that had come to invade with Tailed Beasts were all annihilated in that inferno.

But that was strange... Qiuyang clearly remembered that the Gunbai had never demonstrated such terrifying power throughout all of Naruto Shippuden, or even into the newer Boruto Era.

He could only guess that it had to be used in conjunction with the Mangekyo.

Otherwise, Madara wouldn't have used it only to block and deflect attacks. If he got the chance, Qiuyang would have to snatch the Gunbai and give it a try.

Qiuyang thought about it. It was just a shame that every time God-Meeting Machine drew a divine weapon or treasure from the other dimension, the eye power and chakra required increased exponentially.

Qiuyang estimated that by the third use, it would require as much chakra as the Ten-Tails.

In other words, after implanting Hashirama Cells, he should be able to use the ability one more time to draw something from the other dimension.

He continued deciphering the stone tablet, but found no mention of his right eye's Frost of Frozen Void, Kamui, or Kotoamatsukami. It seemed these abilities had never appeared before.

As for the section on Infinite Tsukuyomi... Qiuyang decided to skip it. He was afraid reading too much about it would mess with his head.

At the end were descriptions of the two forbidden techniques Izanagi and Izanami. Only Izanagi had instructions for forming Hand Seals. Izanami was described in a single passage of text.

Qiuyang couldn't help admiring Itachi. After reading that passage, he'd figured out how to use Izanami.

Qiuyang had thought about it from every angle and still couldn't understand it!

Qiuyang spent half the day reading at the shrine. When he came out, he found the sun blazing overhead. It was clearly noon already.

He had planned to go home and catch up on sleep, but before he even made it back, an Anbu wearing a mole mask stopped him.

"Lord Qiuyang, the Fifth Hokage wants to see you immediately."

Tsunade wanted to see him? Qiuyang was puzzled, but quickly guessed why: it was probably about Sasuke leaving Konoha.

He remembered the original story mentioning that most of the jōnin had been sent out on missions at the time, leaving them with no choice but to send Neji, Naruto, and the others.

If Tsunade hadn't urgently sent a request for help to Sunagakure afterward, Kiba, Shikamaru, and Rock Lee might all have died on that mission.

The Anbu who had delivered the message was still kneeling there, clearly unwilling to leave. Qiuyang reluctantly agreed. "All right, I'll go now."

The mole mask nodded and vanished in a gust of wind.

What was the point of going? Nobody died in the original story.

Qiuyang muttered to himself as he walked. Before long, he arrived at the Hokage Office.

There, he saw Tsunade, the voluptuous beauty who had captivated countless netizens, still alluring despite her age.

At a glance, Qiuyang realized just how impressive her... assets were. He hurriedly looked away, focusing his gaze on the bridge of his nose.

He kept reminding himself that the woman before him was already in her forties or fifties.

"You're Uchiha Qiuyang? The other prized pupil Jiraiya took in?"

Tsunade raised her head from her documents and asked.

Without waiting for Qiuyang to answer, she took out a map of the route and explained why she'd summoned him in such a hurry.

"You know Sasuke Uchiha, right? Orochimaru has bewitched your clan member, and he's planning to defect from the village."

What did that have to do with him?

Qiuyang didn't dare say it out loud. He was afraid the hot-tempered young lady would punch him in the face.

He only smiled and nodded repeatedly to show he was listening.

"I've already sent Naruto, Shikamaru, Neji, Choji, and Kiba after him. I've also just sent a request for help to the Sand Shinobi."

Tsunade paused, and her tone suddenly grew extremely serious.

"But I'm still worried. I want you to go after them and make sure those kids don't get hurt."

Who said he wasn't a kid too? He was only three or four years older than Sasuke!

Qiuyang thought helplessly, but since Tsunade hadn't used her authority as Hokage to force him into taking the mission, he agreed.

"Of course, Lord Hokage. I'll head out now and see how things are going."

It wasn't as if he had anything to do once he got there, and he could collect a mission reward when he returned.

"Good. When you get back, it'll be time to return the Uchiha Clan's assets to you."

At Tsunade's words, the dullness in Qiuyang's eyes instantly gave way to a bright gleam.

I knew it. How could such a large clan as the Uchiha have left nothing behind?

The old Third Hokage must have held on to it, thinking Sasuke was too young, and planned to transfer it directly into the village's collective assets.

Ah... So not interfering with the Third Hokage's downfall really had been the right choice.

And since Sasuke would still end up throwing himself into Snake Auntie's arms, all that gleaming silver would eventually belong to him, Uchiha Qiuyang.

Qiuyang hid his delight, his voice growing much louder as he answered.

"Yes, Lord Hokage. I'm leaving right away."

Then he walked over to take the map.

Since he was happy, he pretended to brush Tsunade's hand while taking it.

Mm... her skin was as smooth and tender as an eighteen-year-old girl's. No wonder the netizens and his teacher Jiraiya couldn't stop thinking about her.

Before Tsunade could realize she'd been groped, Qiuyang formed the Flying Thunder God hand sign and vanished from the Hokage Office.

Tsunade couldn't even tell whether Qiuyang had done it on purpose or by accident. After her chest rose and fell several times, she came to a conclusion.

"Hmph. He's more composed than Jiraiya and Naruto, but just as lecherous as Jiraiya."