Young Shisui

"Not absorbing..."

"But releasing it..."

There was no time to wonder when the boy had appeared.

But after hearing the boy's words, Yu suddenly understood.

All this time, he'd been stuck in a mistaken way of thinking.

Tree climbing, water walking, tree climbing, water walking. Generally speaking, fanfiction about people transported to the Naruto World grouped these two basic ninja skills together.

So, as someone who'd been transported here, Yu had unconsciously treated the two basic skills as one and the same, making a small mistake out of sheer habit.

Fanfiction really did a number on you...

Hmm... I'd burn all those books for firewood as soon as I got back!

After understanding the cause of his mistake, Yu made a solemn mental note to learn from it.

"I did it!"

Once he'd figured out the principle behind water walking,

Yu focused chakra in the soles of his feet again and stepped onto the water. It felt like standing on solid ground.

Carefully shifting his weight onto the foot on the water, he released chakra from the sole of his other foot as well. At last, Yu stood steadily on the water's surface.

"You've already got the hang of it?"

Watching Yu successfully stand on the river,

the boy sitting on a tree branch nearby looked surprised.

At first, he'd often fallen into the water himself, so he hadn't expected Yu to succeed on his very first try.

"His chakra control is amazing..."

After all, even Sakura, who had excellent chakra control in the original story,

had taken quite some time to fully master tree climbing and water walking.

Seeing Yu grasp the key and master water walking in a single try, it was no wonder the boy was surprised.

"Thanks. I haven't asked your name yet."

Now that he was standing steadily on the water, Yu was clearly in a good mood.

Only then did he have a chance to take a closer look at the boy sitting on the tree branch.

His black hair was slightly wavy, and he wore an open, gentle smile.

He wore a dark, high-collared short-sleeved shirt and triangular armor on his upper body, with matching pants and white bandages wrapped around his legs.

His black eyes looked especially large, and his lashes curled slightly upward at the corners, almost like eyeliner. His nose was distinctive—a rare "dango nose" in Konoha.

For some reason, the boy looked familiar to Yu, though he couldn't quite place him.

"Wait, are you from the Uchiha Clan?"

But soon, Yu's expression changed.

He'd noticed the clan emblem on the back of the boy's clothes—a fan-shaped symbol made up of red and white.

That symbol was known by everyone in Konoha, and throughout the entire Ninja World.

The Uchiha Clan—the descendants of Indra, the eldest son of the Sage of Six Paths, Otsutsuki Hagoromo.

They had inherited the Sage's eyes and were renowned for wielding the Sharingan, one of the Three Great Dojutsu. Since the Warring States period, the Uchiha Clan and the Senju Clan had been two of the most powerful clans in the entire Ninja World.

Later, Uchiha Madara, leader of the Uchiha Clan, and Senju Hashirama, leader of the Senju Clan, founded Konoha. The Uchiha Clan, which had endured to the present day, was undoubtedly Konoha's—and even the entire Ninja World's—foremost clan.

And to Yu,

the name Uchiha held deep significance.

Having read the story, Yu naturally knew just how much power this clan's bloodline represented.

He wasn't the only one. Surely every person transported to this world had once dreamed of being born into the Uchiha Clan.

Of gaining the legendary Sharingan, the Mangekyō Sharingan, the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, and even the Sage's eyes—the Rinnegan, which could create and destroy.

"Ah, you noticed."

Noticing the slight change in Yu's expression, the boy gave a helpless smile.

He jumped down from the tree branch and landed lightly on the grass, facing Yu.

"My name's Shisui. Uchiha Shisui."

Gasp...

If Yu hadn't known before, he certainly did now.

Standing on the water, Yu drew in a sharp breath and nearly fell in.

It was...

Really him?

Yu stared at the boy before him, stunned.

In his eyes, the boy's small figure gradually merged with the powerful image of the man known as "Body Flicker Shisui."

Who was Uchiha Shisui?

In Naruto, if you mentioned "Itachi the God," Uchiha Itachi,

you couldn't leave out one person: Uchiha Shisui.

Although Uchiha Shisui appeared in only a handful of scenes in the original story, his astonishing strength and talent had left a deep impression on every viewer.

Yu knew that the boy before him was descended from Kagami Uchiha, a companion of the Third Hokage in his youth. He was both Uchiha Itachi's mentor and his close friend.

He was the fourth Uchiha to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan, after Madara, Izuna, and Obito.

Even as a child, his skill with the Sharingan had been on par with Uchiha Itachi's. He possessed the Uchiha Clan's highest-level genjutsu eye, Kotoamatsukami.

The ultimate genjutsu, Kotoamatsukami, could invade an opponent's mind without their knowledge and permanently, completely alter their will, turning anyone the user saw into a puppet!

And Yu also knew

that before long,

this little boy, who looked about the same age as him,

would become the most celebrated prodigy in the Uchiha Clan, a ninja of extraordinary ability.

He excelled at genjutsu and the Body Flicker Technique, and was hailed as "Body Flicker Shisui," "the Strongest Genjutsu Ninja," "the Strongest Uchiha," and so many other names that it was hard to keep track.

He was known throughout the Ninja World. Even Killer B, the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki from the Land of Lightning, who had spent years away from the Valley of Clouds and Lightning, had heard of him.

Yu had simply never expected to meet Uchiha Shisui as a little boy here today.

"Uh..."

"Does my name surprise you?"

Looking at Yu's stunned expression,

Uchiha Shisui scratched the back of his head.

He looked apologetically at Yu and pointed to the waterfall crashing down not far away. "The Uchiha Clan's compound is nearby. That's the Naka River."

"I'm sorry for interrupting your training."

So that was it...

The Uchiha Clan's compound was nearby...

At Shisui's words, Yu glanced at the waterfall roaring nearby.

"My name's Yu. Yakushi Hane."

Yu looked away and walked from the river onto the grass.

Looking at the cheerful, gentle boy before him, he held out a hand.

"Yakushi Hane..."

Shisui repeated Yu's name quietly.

He took Yu's hand and smiled. "It's nice to make a new friend."

Likewise, Yu left a deep impression on Uchiha Shisui with his exceptional talent and striking appearance.

"Hey! Shisui!"

"We should head back! What are you still doing here?"

Just then, the sound of rustling footsteps came from the woods nearby.