Cangshu Qianyu, Here I Come

Six years later, atop Kage Rock.

Qianyu slumped without a shred of dignity in the shadow cast by the First's statue, gazing up at the sky, which the setting sun had burned orange-red.

"Damn you, heavens," he mumbled around a blade of foxtail grass he'd plucked from the roadside. "You bring me to this high-risk world, but there's no cheat ability, no system going ding, and my beginner's gift pack is a Nine-Tails-in-my-face special and a VIP White Zetsu spectator package..."

Just thinking about it made his back teeth itch.

The orphanage bed was hard as a rock, but what kept him awake even more than the bed were certain nights. Half-asleep, he could always feel some kind of gaze on him.

The first time, he'd thought it was a dream. Then he'd cracked one eye open in a daze—and found a head with wild, grass-like white hair on the floor less than twenty centimeters from his nose. A pair of round, bean-like eyes stared at him without blinking, its mouth stretched from ear to ear.

Qianyu had been so terrified his heart nearly stopped. He squeezed his eyes shut and went rigid as a corpse. When he finally dared to sneak another look, the thing was gone again.

After it happened more and more often, he was forced to get used to it. Sometimes it was on the floor, sometimes on the wall, and once it even hung upside down from the ceiling to watch him sleep. He would never mistake that twisted shape, like white clay a mischievous child had squashed and left out to dry—it was the bizarre White Zetsu that had used its body to shield him from a brick on the night of the Nine-Tails' attack!

What did it want? Was it acting on orders from Madara Uchiha or Obito? Some kind of long-term observation experiment for their amusement? Qianyu had racked his brains and still couldn't figure it out. Every time he met those bean-like eyes, which seemed to be watching just for the fun of it, he felt like a fish in a glass tank, put on display for someone to admire.

"And then there's the little prince..." Qianyu sighed. During their brief time as classmates at the orphanage, Naruto Uzumaki's bright blond hair and whisker-like marks on his cheeks had always stood out the most—and made him the target of the most bullying.

When the nurses handed out food, Naruto's portion was always the smallest and thinnest. Qianyu had realized that there was something strange about his own body: he got full after eating very little and was slow to get hungry. Unable to stand watching that kid lick his lips from hunger while pretending everything was fine, he often pushed over what little mush he had left.

"Here, I'm not hungry."

Naruto always stared at him with wide blue eyes, looking from the mush to Qianyu, then grinning with a big, foolish smile. "You're so nice! I'm Naruto! What's your name?"

"Qianyu."

"Qianyu! I'll remember that!"

Naruto was taken away when he was around three. Qianyu heard he was being "given special care." He had a pretty good idea what that meant, but all he could do was wish him luck in his heart.

The wind picked up, making his robe flap. Qianyu sat up and brushed aside the long hair blocking his view. In the blurry reflection of a puddle beside him, he saw a face that had yet to lose its childish softness but already showed astonishing potential—fine features and fair skin.

Especially that beautiful long hair inherited from some unknown gene. It really was... very handsome.

"Tsk. If all else fails, I could make a living off my looks?" He rubbed his chin, then snorted at himself. In the ninja world, where a strong fist was the only truth, just being good-looking would probably mean dying in a more elaborate way.

From far away, the school bell rang at the Ninja Academy, and a crowd of little kids in matching uniforms poured out, chattering noisily.

As Qianyu watched, his expression slowly changed. He did have his regrets. He'd ended up here for no reason—was he really going to live an ordinary life, then die one day on some unknown mission, or simply become background dust in some great war?

Besides, White Zetsu was watching him from the shadows. He needed some way to protect himself. At the very least, he had to figure out what was special about him that made that twisted White Zetsu keep watching him so persistently.

Since he was here, he might as well make the best of it. But making the best of it didn't mean lying down and giving up.

He climbed to his feet on Kage Rock and brushed the dust off his backside. The setting sun stretched his shadow long, while his hair fluttered behind him.

"The Ninja Academy, huh..." Qianyu hopped down the gentler slope and headed toward the foot of the mountain, his destination clear—the orphanage office, where the application forms were. "No system, no system. No cheat ability, no cheat ability."

"At worst... I'll leave you all in the dust."

He muttered under his breath, and at last a faint light kindled in his eyes. It belonged to someone his age, yet held something else as well.

On a nearby tree trunk, a small patch of white slowly sank into the bark. All that remained was a faintly curved mark, like a smile of satisfaction and anticipation. Then it disappeared.

A week later.

A crooked line had formed at the Ninja Academy registration desk, filled with the distinctive clamor of six-year-olds.

Qianyu stood alone in the middle of the line, his black hair tied behind his head as he carefully observed his future classmates. Shino Aburame and Kiba Inuzuka were engaged in a childish bug-versus-dog battle, while Ino Yamanaka glared fiercely at Kiba as he tried to approach her.

Hinata Hyuga shyly watched the blond boy, Choji Akimichi crunched away as he shared his chips, and Shikamaru Nara was already leaning against the wall, yawning.

Just as he was about to step forward, the crowd suddenly fell quiet for a moment and parted on its own.

Fugaku Uchiha walked in. The current head of the Uchiha Clan had a solemn face and deep furrows around his mouth. He wore a dark kimono embroidered with the clan's Gunbai crest, and his steady steps carried an air of authority.

A little boy walked beside him, with the same black hair and eyes. He had fine features, but an almost infuriating air of smugness. It was Sasuke Uchiha.

No large entourage followed father and son, but the intangible presence of Konoha's foremost clan still seemed to make the air around them grow heavy.

"It's Clan Head Fugaku!"

"He even came in person to bring young master Sasuke?"

"He is his youngest son, after all..."

Whispers rippled through the crowd. Fugaku paid them no heed and led Sasuke straight to the registration desk, clearly entitled to skip the line. Sasuke followed quietly at his father's side, his small face expressionless. As his gaze passed over the children in line, it carried a watchful scrutiny and distance.

Qianyu only glanced over casually. It was unusual for the clan head to come in person, but considering Sasuke's status, it made sense. He looked away and went back to wondering how well he should do on the physical test. He knew his body was in good shape, but should he hold back?

Just then—

Fugaku Uchiha, who was having a brief conversation with the registration teacher while waiting for Sasuke to fill out his form, let his gaze drift absently over the waiting crowd.

His eyes passed over Shikamaru's slouched back and Choji's puffed-out cheeks, then, without warning, collided with a pair of eyes that had been wandering around out of boredom.

Time seemed to stretch, twist, and then slam back into reality.

Fugaku Uchiha froze.

The steady expression he habitually wore, as if it were a mask, cracked in an instant. Shock, confusion, and a tremor rising from the depths of his soul, almost like horror. His pupils shrank to pinpoints, and the fingers gripping the edge of his son's form clenched hard. The paper gave a faint, strained tear.

That face... That long, straight black hair, whose sheen was impossible to hide even when simply tied back... The shape of those brows...

Fragments of memory came crashing into his mind. Not the dignified, retouched portraits in the clan's hidden archives, but a fleeting glimpse of a profile he'd caught as a child. It had happened during a rare, secret ritual attended by only a few clan elders, when a door to the innermost forbidden chamber of the shrine had opened for an instant.

A figure whose mere silhouette had left him almost unable to breathe as a child, whose half-profile he'd remembered ever since... The legendary figure.

Madara Uchiha.

The age didn't match, and their temperaments were worlds apart. The child before him merely had a gaze that seemed to wander and assess. But the foundation of those features, that vague familiarity that struck straight at the soul... He looked so much like him! Especially when he tilted his head slightly, revealing his jawline at just the right angle...

How could this be?! How could the image of that face—the forbidden name long buried by time and deliberately faded from the clan's memory—appear on a child of unknown origin?!

A cold shiver crawled up Fugaku's spine.

Qianyu felt his skin prickle under that stare. The way the Uchiha Clan Head was looking at him was as if he'd seen a ghost crawling out of a grave, filled with disbelief and deep apprehension.

He instinctively furrowed his brows and quickly looked away, alarms blaring in his mind. Trouble—huge trouble has come looking for me! There really is something wrong with this damn face! Don't tell me he's gay!

But that small frown, full of resistance and distance, was the last straw for Fugaku's attempt to stay calm. Even the subtle changes in the child's expression seemed to carry a familiar rhythm that made his heart pound.

"Father." Sasuke's cool voice rang out. He had finished filling in the form and was looking up at his father, a flicker of confusion in his dark eyes. He'd keenly sensed his father's intense emotional upheaval, something he'd almost never seen before.

Fugaku snapped back to his senses, realizing that his loss of composure had drawn the attention of both his son and the registration teacher. He practically wrenched his gaze away from Qianyu's face and drew a deep breath, his chest rising and falling slightly. When he spoke again, his voice was much lower and raspier than usual. "...Mm. Go take the test."

He gestured for Sasuke to follow the instructor to the testing area, but remained where he was instead of leaving at once. His gaze settled heavily on Qianyu again.

The registration teacher looked at Fugaku in confusion, then at the black-haired child nearby, who was merely exceptionally handsome. He had no idea what was going on.

"Next, Cangshu Qianyu!"

Qianyu steeled himself and stepped forward, clearly feeling the gaze on his back, hot as a branding iron. He took the form and quickly filled in his basic information.

The first test was basic physical fitness: sprinting, long jump, and grip strength. Qianyu composed himself and focused on the tests. When he ran, his body felt almost weightless, his steps coordinated and powerful. He deliberately held back his explosive strength, yet still finished well ahead of the children in his group.

For the long jump, he took a casual leap and landed with ease. The distance made the Chunin keeping score nod. At the grip-strength test, he took hold of the dynamometer and tested it. He applied a little force, and the reading jumped high enough to draw a low whistle from one of the parents watching nearby.

"Excellent bone and muscle development, outstanding coordination, and basic strength... far beyond that of his peers." The Chunin recorded the results, regarding Qianyu with greater interest. "Go get your chakra sensitivity tested."

Qianyu headed to the next area. From the corner of his eye, he saw that Fugaku Uchiha was still standing where he'd been, quietly giving instructions to an Uchiha clan member who had appeared at his side at some point, though his gaze kept drifting toward Qianyu.

At the testing area farther away, Sasuke was throwing shuriken with perfect accuracy. Every one hit the bull's-eye, drawing a series of quiet gasps. His little face remained expressionless, though every so often he glanced toward his father—and toward Qianyu—with a curious look.

The chakra sensitivity test required touching a sensing crystal. Qianyu placed his hand on it and held his breath.

"He can sense chakra and is qualified to become a ninja." The Special Jōnin in charge of the test gave his assessment and recorded the result on the form. "Go wait in the waiting area for the overall evaluation and the class-placement discussion."

Holding his form stamped with a pass, Qianyu headed to the relatively open waiting area. He could feel a lot of eyes on him—some curious because of his impressive physical performance, some trying to figure out why the Uchiha Clan Head had paid him such unusual attention, and one familiar gaze from the shadows in the corner.

He found a corner and sat down.

Not far away, Fugaku Uchiha finally finished speaking with the clan member. He gave Qianyu one more long, inscrutable look, then turned and headed toward the area where Sasuke had finished his tests. His back remained straight, but his steps seemed heavier than before.

Qianyu looked away, leaned against the wall, closed his eyes, and let out a long breath.

He'd gotten his admission.

His extraordinary physical ability was confirmed.

And the Uchiha Clan Head's special attention was at full strength.

The road ahead was uncertain, trouble was piling up, and White Zetsu was still watching from the shadows.

But...

He opened his eyes and looked toward the figures leaping across the Ninja Academy training grounds, then toward Kage Rock towering in the distance.

His fingers unconsciously rubbed the old strip of cloth holding his hair back.

"Not bad," he muttered, the corners of his mouth slowly curling into a smile that was part resignation and part barely contained excitement.

"Starting today, Cangshu Qianyu officially enters the game."