Eyes Opened for Love

"Zeyu, hurry up and wash your hands, dinner is ready." Meiling, busy at the stove in her apron, called out as soon as she saw Zeyu arrive home.

"Mm, got it." Zeyu hung his schoolbag on the rack by the door and slumped onto the sofa.

Eight years had passed since the Nine-Tails incident, and he had been attending the Ninja Academy for two years now.

Ever since he was one year old and able to walk, he had begun mobilizing the chakra within his body. It was a habit from his many past lives; he started training from a young age to ensure better survival and to become stronger.

However, he realized this time was different. The chakra contained in this body seemed more abundant than ever before.

Combining this with the fact that his mother, Yangmei, had a head of red hair, he had reason to suspect that she was a member of the Uzumaki clan.

This made him incredibly excited; he had finally started with a cheat code.

How could he not take off with this?

Consequently, he practiced his chakra diligently every day, paid attention to his diet, and kept up his training. With the boost from the Uzumaki lineage, his chakra reserves became even more plentiful, and when added to the experience of his many past lives, he could say that he could easily thrash his past self.

He spent his days at school, but since he had already mastered everything being taught, he found it incredibly boring and usually slept through class.

However, his grades couldn't be too good or too bad; either extreme would be too conspicuous. Keeping them average and hiding in the crowd was the safest bet.

Only by staying inconspicuous could he develop steadily. This was the wisdom gained from many lifetimes—being too high-profile invited disaster.

Therefore, Zeyu intentionally kept his grades at a B, just an average level.

At night, he would sneak off to the training grounds to practice, and before bed, he would refine his chakra, feeling its flow to improve his precision and control, making his body more familiar with it.

Occasionally, on holidays, he would head into the mountains to practice ninjutsu and hunt some game to supplement their nutrition and give his family a treat.

His main focus was on grinding.

"Oh, right, bring some to Grandma later," Meiling said, sitting at the dining table after serving the last dish.

"Mm, oh, by the way, Aunt Meiling, I'm going to the mountains tomorrow and will be back by evening." Zeyu washed his hands casually and sat down opposite Meiling.

"You, you're just too playful. 'Back by evening,' you say? Every time you come back after dark, and I have to go to the gate to pick you up. Even the guard knows you by now."

"Aiya, Aunt Meiling, I was wrong, okay? I'll bring you some game when I get back."

"Tch, you little rascal." Meiling chuckled and placed some food in Zeyu's bowl.

"Be careful. I won't worry about you tomorrow, then; you'll have to handle your own meals."

"Mm, thank you, Aunt Meiling." Zeyu gave a goofy smile.

The next day, Zeyu set off early, carrying a bamboo basket, a fishing rod, and a small knife.

As he reached the street corner, he saw that aged figure and quickened his pace to greet her.

"Grandma Shanping!"

"Oh, Zeyu is here. Going to the mountains again?" Grandma Shanping asked with a kind, gentle smile.

"Mm, Grandma, what do you want to eat? I'll go get it for you. I know this mountain like the back of my hand."

"Hahaha, Grandma doesn't need anything. Just be careful and come back early."

"Alright, Grandma, you take care of yourself too. I'm off!" Zeyu bowed to Shanping and turned to leave.

But Shanping caught him, helped straighten his red hair, and pinched his cheeks.

"Grandma, what's wrong?" Zeyu was stunned by her unusual behavior. They usually just exchanged greetings and left since they saw each other every day; what was going on today?

Shanping was momentarily dazed by the question. She felt as if she were looking at Yangmei.

This child looks so much like Yangmei. Even the way he looks at people with concern is the same, Shanping thought, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Grandma is fine. I'm just a bit sleepy and want to go back and rest. You must be careful and don't come back too late."

"Mm, Grandma, I know. Go get some sleep. I'll bring back something delicious and cook it for you later."

"Mm, go on." Shanping watched Zeyu leave, her tears finally spilling over as she looked at his retreating back.

They say those near death have a premonition, and Shanping was one of them. For the past two days, she had been dreaming of her late husband coming to pick her up. She knew her lifespan was likely coming to an end.

If it weren't for the fact that Zeyu had been sensible since he was a child, she might have had more regrets. Yangmei had entrusted Zeyu to her; if she hadn't taken good care of him, she would have died with a heavy heart.

Zeyu, however, remained unaware of all this. He went up the mountain to practice as usual.

Having lived so many lives, he hadn't actually learned many ninjutsu; he could only say he knew a little bit of everything.

"Let's study the Big Ball Rasengan today."

He had already mastered the Chidori; the hand seals and principles were simple, and adjusting the flow and shape was easy for Zeyu, who had trained his chakra control for so long.

He had seen Jiraiya teach Naruto the Rasengan on Blue Star, and after recalling it a few times, he had managed to recreate it. But the original work only mentioned the Big Ball Rasengan in passing, so he had to figure it out on his own.

There really wasn't much else to practice, and with so much chakra, he didn't know what else to work on.

He was in desperate need of more ninjutsu!

Evening

After finishing his training, Zeyu descended the mountain.

He had barely reached the main gate of Konoha when Kotetsu Hagane, who was on guard duty, called him over.

"Big Brother, what's the matter?" Zeyu asked, his face full of confusion.

"Zeyu, you should hurry home and check on things. It seems something happened at your place. Your Aunt Meiling came by and told me to let you know as soon as I saw you, to get you to go back immediately," Kotetsu Hagane said with a grave expression.

Zeyu was completely bewildered. After thanking him, he rushed toward home.

Along the way, he kept guessing at all the possibilities, but suddenly he remembered Grandma Shanping's unusual behavior that morning, and a bad premonition took hold of his heart.

He headed straight for Grandma Shanping's house at the corner of the street.

The door was open. Meiling was sitting by the bed, and on the bed lay the deceased Shanping.

As soon as Zeyu entered, he felt that the atmosphere was wrong, so he didn't act as boisterously as usual; he set his things down and walked quietly to Meiling's side.

Meiling didn't speak either; she lifted her swollen, tear-filled eyes and glanced at Zeyu.

Zeyu understood instantly and looked toward Grandma Shanping on the bed.

He sat down beside her and reached out to take Shanping's hand.

Tears flowed uncontrollably down his cheeks, and the two of them sat in silence.

The next day, the grandmother's funeral arrangements were all settled, and the two of them mourned before Shanping's grave.

In this world of ninjas, death was all too common, and the death of an ordinary person even more so.

Zeyu recalled the various events from his past life: the Nine-Tails' attack, the Uchiha clan's massacre, the Chunin Exams, the Pain assault, the Ninja War—so many had died, and so tragically. In this world where the strong were respected, the weak and ordinary people were treated like blades of grass; if they died, they died, and no one cared or paid them any mind.

Grandma could be considered fortunate; she had died a natural death without pain. Perhaps this was the ending a kind person deserved.

Having spent so much time together, he had long since come to regard them as his own family. Although he was a transmigrator and the two had no blood relation to him, the love and care were not fake, and the feelings were not fake. Scenes of the past replayed in his mind.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but shed tears again.

"Aunt Meiling, Grandma was fortunate, wasn't she?"

Meiling hadn't expected Zeyu to say such a thing, but she didn't brush him off.

"Yes, in this world of ninjas, Grandma was truly fortunate. She was still smiling when she passed away; she must have seen her husband."

"What about Mom and Dad?" Meiling froze for a moment, then stepped forward and hugged Zeyu, whispering, "They certainly were. I was there when your mom and dad were finally reunited, and they were smiling so happily... so you must grow up well and not let them worry too much, okay?"

As she spoke, Meiling crouched down, intending to wipe away his tears.

"I want to change this world so that everyone can be happy," Zeyu said.

"Mm, I believe Zeyu will definitely be able to do it."

"Zeyu, you have to keep..." Meiling was just about to help Zeyu wipe his tears when she noticed a change in his eyes.

The pupils in his eyes had turned red, with two tomoe symmetrically arranged around them.

Zeyu didn't know what was happening, but he felt Aunt Meiling staring at his eyes, so he raised a finger and pointed to them.

"Aunt Meiling, what's wrong with my eyes?"

Meiling didn't speak; she simply took out the small mirror she carried with her and held it up for Zeyu to see.

Zeyu was shocked to see the Sharingan reflected in the mirror.

I... I awakened my eyes? Could it be that my dad was from the Uchiha clan? Zeyu thought to himself.