"Zeyu, go wash your hands and get ready to eat," Meiling said from the stove, busy in her apron. When she saw Zeyu come home, she spoke with a spatula in hand.
"Mm, got it." Zeyu hung his backpack on the rack by the door, then flopped onto the sofa.
Eight years had passed since the Nine-Tails' rampage, and he had been attending the Ninja Academy for two years.
As soon as Zeyu had learned to walk at one year old, he had started drawing on the chakra inside him. It was a habit he had formed with every reincarnation: start training young to improve his chances of survival and grow stronger.
But he had noticed something different this time. His body seemed to contain more chakra than any of his previous lives.
Considering that his mother, Yangmei, had red hair, he had reason to suspect she was from the Uzumaki Clan.
That excited him. He'd finally gotten a cheat ability.
Wouldn't that let him take off?
After that, he trained his chakra diligently every day. He watched his diet and kept up with his exercises. With the Uzumaki Clan's influence, his chakra reserves grew even more abundant. And with the experience of so many lifetimes...
He could now easily beat his past self.
He went to school each day and studied things he had mastered long ago, which bored him to tears. He usually slept through class.
But his grades couldn't be too good or too bad; either would make him stand out. Staying average and blending into the crowd was the safest option.
Only by keeping a low profile could he grow in secret. That was the lesson of many lifetimes: being too conspicuous would lead to trouble.
So Zeyu deliberately kept his grades at a B every time, just average.
At night, he secretly trained at the practice field. Before bed, he also worked on refining his chakra, sensing how it moved through him and improving his precision and control, making his body more accustomed to it.
On the occasional day off, he went into the mountains to practice ninjutsu. He would hunt some game while he was there, both to nourish himself and to bring home something new for his family to try.
He was all about grinding.
"Oh, right. Take some over to Grandma later." After bringing out the last dish, Meiling sat down at the table.
"Mm. Oh, right, Aunt Meiling, I'm going to the mountains tomorrow. I'll be back by evening." Zeyu rinsed his hands, then sat across from Meiling.
"You, honestly. You just love having fun. You say you'll be back by evening, but you always come home after dark, and I have to meet you at the gate. Even the gate guard knows you by now."
"Aw, Aunt Meiling, I'm sorry. I'll bring you some game when I get back."
"Hmph, you little smooth talker." Meiling chuckled and served Zeyu some food.
"Be careful. I won't be looking after you tomorrow, so you'll have to sort out your own meals."
"Mm, thanks, Aunt Meiling." Zeyu gave her a goofy grin.
Early the next morning, Zeyu set out with a bamboo basket on his back, a fishing rod, and a small knife.
At the street corner, he spotted a familiar, elderly figure and hurried over to greet her.
"Grandma Shanping!"
"Oh, Zeyu! Heading into the mountains again?" Grandma Shanping asked with a kind smile.
"Mm. Grandma, what would you like to eat? I'll get it for you. I know these mountains like the back of my hand."
"Hahaha, Grandma doesn't need anything. Just be careful and come back early."
"Okay, Grandma. You take care of yourself, too. I'm off." Zeyu bowed to Shanping, then turned to leave.
But Shanping caught him and straightened his red hair before pinching his cheek.
"Grandma, what's wrong?" Zeyu asked, a little dazed by her unusual behavior. She usually just greeted him and let him go; after all, they saw each other every day. What was different today?
Shanping was momentarily taken aback by his question. For a moment, she seemed to see Yangmei.
"This child looks so much like Yangmei. Even the way he looks at people with concern is the same," Shanping thought, tears welling in her eyes.
"I'm all right, Grandma's just a little sleepy. I think I'll go back and get some more rest. Make sure you're careful, and don't come back too late."
"Mm, I know, Grandma. Go get some sleep. I'll bring back something tasty, cook it, and bring you some."
"Mm, go on." Shanping watched Zeyu leave. She couldn't hold back her tears any longer, and they finally fell.
They said people who were about to die could sense it, and Shanping was one of them. For the past two days, she had kept dreaming about her husband coming to take her away. She knew her time was near.
If Zeyu hadn't been such a sensible child since he was little, she might have had another regret. Yangmei had entrusted him to her, and she would have been heartbroken if she hadn't taken good care of him.
Zeyu knew nothing of this. As usual, he headed into the mountains to train.
Even after so many lifetimes, he hadn't learned many ninjutsu. He could only claim a passing familiarity with each.
"I'll work on the Big Ball Rasengan today."
He had learned Chidori long ago. The Hand Seals and principles behind it were simple, and changing the flow and shape of chakra came easily to Zeyu after all his training in chakra control.
He had seen Jiraiya teach Naruto the Rasengan on Blue Star, and after recalling it a few times, he had managed to create one himself. But the original story had only mentioned the Big Ball Rasengan in passing, so he'd have to figure it out on his own.
There just wasn't much else to practice, and despite having so much chakra, he didn't know what to train.
He urgently needed to expand his ninjutsu repertoire!
Evening.
After finishing his training, Zeyu came down from the mountain.
As soon as he reached the Konoha Gate, Izumo Kamizuki, who was on guard, called him over.
"Big brother, what is it?" Zeyu asked, puzzled.
"Zeyu, you'd better hurry home. Something seems to have happened at your house. Aunt Meiling came by and asked me to tell you as soon as I saw you. She said to get back right away," Izumo Kamizuki said gravely.
Zeyu was completely confused. After thanking him, he hurried home.
On the way, he tried to guess what might have happened. Then he suddenly remembered how strangely Grandma Shanping had acted that morning, and a sense of dread came over him.
He rushed straight to Grandma Shanping's house at the street corner.
The door was open. Meiling sat beside the bed, where Shanping lay dead.
As soon as Zeyu entered, he sensed that something was wrong. He didn't barge in as he usually would. Instead, he set down his things and quietly went over to Meiling.
Meiling didn't say a word. She looked at Zeyu with her eyes swollen from crying.
Zeyu understood at once and looked toward Grandma Shanping on the bed.
He sat down beside her, too, and took her hand.
Tears streamed uncontrollably down his face. Neither of them spoke.
The next day, they had finished making all the arrangements for Grandma's funeral. The two of them mourned at Shanping's grave.
In this ninja world, death was commonplace. The death of an ordinary person was even less remarkable.
Zeyu thought back over his past life: the Nine-Tails' rampage, the Uchiha Clan Massacre, the Chunin Ninja Exams, Pain's attack, the ninja wars. So many people had died, and so terribly. In this world where strength ruled, the weak and ordinary were treated as worthless as grass. Once they died, they were forgotten; no one cared or even noticed.
Grandma had been fortunate, at least. She had died naturally and without pain. That was the kind of ending a kind person deserved.
After spending so much time together, he had long since come to think of them as his own family. He had been reincarnated into this world, and neither of them was related to him by blood, but their love and care were real, and so were his feelings for them. Their memories replayed in his mind, one after another.
Thinking of it all, he couldn't help but cry again.
"Aunt Meiling, Grandma was fortunate, wasn't she?"
Meiling hadn't expected Zeyu to say that, but she didn't brush him off.
"Yes. In this ninja world, Grandma really was fortunate. She was smiling when she passed away. She must have seen her husband."
"What about my parents?" Meiling froze for a moment, then stepped forward and hugged Zeyu, speaking softly.
"Of course they were, too. I was there when your parents were reunited at the end. They were smiling so happily... So you need to grow up well and not make them worry too much, okay?"
As she spoke, Meiling crouched down to wipe his tears.
"I want to change this world so everyone can be happy," Zeyu said.
"Mm, I believe you can do it, Zeyu."
"Zeyu, you can do..." Meiling had just reached to wipe his tears when she noticed the change in his eyes.
His pupils had turned red, with two Tomoe set symmetrically around them.
Zeyu didn't know what had happened. He only noticed Meiling staring at his eyes, so he raised a hand and pointed at them.
"Aunt Meiling, is something wrong with my eyes?"
Meiling didn't answer. She took out a small mirror she carried with her and held it up for Zeyu to see.
Zeyu stared at the Sharingan in the mirror, stunned.
"I... awakened it? Could my dad have been from the Uchiha Clan?" Zeyu wondered.