The Strange Child of the Uchiha Clan

Konoha Year 32, early autumn.

Evenings in the Uchiha Clan Grounds were always quiet. Unlike the bustle at the center of the village, people here kept their voices low and their footsteps light, as if even daily life had to follow some unspoken rule.

Bai Ye crouched in a corner of his courtyard, gripping a wooden sword.

The wooden sword was short, only a little longer than his arm. Its blade bore several scratches of varying depths, while the handle had been polished bright from years of use. This sword was the only thing his father had left behind—a wooden practice sword, not even a real weapon. But his father had carved it himself two years ago.

His parents had died during a border reconnaissance mission in Konoha Year 30. Bai Ye had been three that year. All that remained of his memories of them were fragments: his father's back as he held a sword, his mother's humming, and the touch of a warm hand on his head. Everything else had blurred away.

After the war, a distant aunt took him in.

His aunt was an Uchiha woman in her thirties. Her husband had died in the same battle. She was not particularly close to Bai Ye, but at least she gave him food to eat and a bed to sleep in. Bai Ye had no complaints about that. To him, it was already enough.

He tightened his grip on the wooden sword, rose to his feet, and began to practice.

Swing after swing after swing. Every movement was meticulous, every angle as precise as possible. No one stood beside him to guide him. He merely imitated the way his father had practiced in his memories. Back then, he had been so small that he could only sit on the doorstep and watch. Sunlight had fallen across his father, and the sound of the wooden sword cutting through the air had resembled the wind.

Back then, he had not understood what his father was practicing.

Even now, he did not fully understand.

But he knew that as long as he held this sword, it felt as though his father had not completely disappeared.

After practicing for an hour, his arms were so sore he could barely lift them. Only then did Bai Ye stop. He sat on the ground, gasping for breath as sweat slid down his forehead and dripped onto the wooden sword. The autumn wind blew past, cold and biting.

"Bai Ye!"

His aunt's voice came from inside the house.

"Dinner."

"Mm."

Bai Ye stood and dusted the dirt from himself. He tucked the wooden sword into his waistband. It was too long, and it knocked against his leg when he walked, but he insisted on carrying it that way. His aunt had scolded him about it several times. He would agree out loud, then wear it the same way the next day.

At the dinner table, his aunt nagged him as usual.

"There was a clan meeting today. They said the children's training needs to be strengthened." She placed a chopstickful of food into Bai Ye's bowl. "You'll be six soon. Next year, you should be going to the Ninja Academy. Don't disgrace the Uchiha Clan when the time comes."

Bai Ye gave a quiet acknowledgment and continued eating.

"Look at Fugaku. He's still so young, yet he's already one of the clan's key trainees. And you spend all day crouching in the yard, swinging that broken sword, but I've never seen you make anything of it..."

Bai Ye did not respond.

He had heard those names before. Fugaku Uchiha, a genius of the clan. He had awakened his Sharingan early and was skilled in Fire Release. Whenever the clan elders mentioned him, they were full of praise. Bai Ye had seen him once at the training ground, from far away. Fugaku had been practicing kunai throws, every single one striking the bullseye.

"You child, why do you never react when I talk to you?" His aunt sighed. "Your father wasn't like this back then..."

Bai Ye's chopsticks paused for an instant.

A very brief instant.

Then they continued moving.

After dinner, Bai Ye cleaned up the dishes as usual. This was the only time his aunt seemed to feel that he was "still a child." He silently carried the bowls to the water jar and carefully washed them until they were spotless, then turned them upside down on the rack to drain.

By the time he finished, it was already dark.

Bai Ye walked out into the courtyard.

The Uchiha Clan Grounds were quiet at night. Occasionally, a few adults passed through the streets. When they saw Bai Ye crouching at the gate, their gazes varied. Some were sympathetic, some indifferent, and some carried an indescribable complexity. His parents had died in battle. Within the Uchiha Clan, dying in battle was an honor. But when it left behind a quiet, withdrawn child, that honor became somewhat heavy.

Bai Ye ignored them all.

He stood and headed toward the training ground. There were too many people there during the day, and he did not want to go then. At night, no one was around. It was perfect.

The moonlight was bright, casting a cold white glow over the stone paths of the Uchiha Clan Grounds. Bai Ye reached the training ground and was just about to begin practicing when he heard footsteps approaching from behind.

Three children blocked the entrance to the training ground.

The leader was Uchiha Yan, two years older than Bai Ye and known throughout the clan for causing trouble. Behind him were two boys around the same age, one called Uchiha Tetsu and the other Uchiha Shin. Bai Ye remembered their names, though he had never spoken to them.

"Hey." Uchiha Yan called out to him.

Bai Ye stopped and turned to look at him.

He did not ask what they wanted, nor did he show fear. He simply looked at them quietly.

Uchiha Yan stepped closer, his gaze landing on the wooden sword at Bai Ye's waist. "Let me see that sword."

Bai Ye did not move.

"I said, let me see it." Uchiha Yan's tone grew harsher.

Bai Ye lowered his eyes to the wooden sword, then looked back up. "What do you want to see?"

"What do you mean, what do I want to see?"

"The sword. What do you want to see about it? The material? Its length? Its weight? Or do you simply want to hold it?"

Uchiha Yan froze. The two lackeys behind him exchanged looks as well—this was nothing like the reaction they had expected. Normally, a child who got cornered would either be scared, put on a brave front, or start fighting. Who would ask, "What do you want to see?"

"Why does it matter what I want to see?!" Uchiha Yan snapped in embarrassment. "Your dad died and left you a broken sword. What's wrong with me taking a look?"

Bai Ye's expression did not change.

He looked at Uchiha Yan. There was no anger in his black eyes, nor was there any grievance. There was only a faint, almost imperceptible—coldness.

Not the coldness of ice.

The coldness of a blade.

"If you want to see it, you can."

Bai Ye drew the wooden sword from his waist and held it in his right hand, the blade pointed toward the ground. It was a stance that was neither offensive nor defensive. Moonlight shone over the wooden sword, making its scratches of varying depths plainly visible.

"Come take a look."

Uchiha Yan was thoroughly enraged by his attitude. He pulled out a kunai from his pocket—a practice one, unsharpened, but metal was still metal—and charged at Bai Ye.

The other two lackeys rushed forward as well.

Bai Ye did not retreat.

He sidestepped Uchiha Yan's kunai thrust, and at the same time, his wooden sword tapped the other boy's wrist. The movement was small, barely more than a flick, as if the blade had found its target on its own.

"Ah!"

Pain shot through Uchiha Yan's wrist, and the kunai flew from his hand. Before he could react, Bai Ye's second strike had arrived. The wooden sword struck the back of his knee from the side—not randomly, but at a precise point: the outer side of the knee, half an inch below.

Uchiha Yan's leg gave out, and he dropped to one knee.

Only then did the two lackeys pounce. Bai Ye lowered his body and slipped through the gap between them. His wooden sword tapped once to either side, striking both boys in the ribs. The force was not heavy, but the placement was exact, hitting the weakest point just as their ribs expanded with breath.

The two children doubled over in pain, clutching their ribs as they squatted on the ground and gasped.

From beginning to end, it took less than five breaths.

Bai Ye stood among the three of them, his wooden sword hanging at his side once more. His breathing remained steady, and there was not a drop of sweat on his forehead.

Uchiha Yan knelt on the ground and looked up at him.

Under the moonlight, half of Bai Ye's face was illuminated while the other half was shadowed. His expression remained unchanged. There was no pride, no anger, not even the satisfaction of having taught his bullies a lesson. It was as though everything that had just happened was simply part of his practice tonight.

"You... you..."

Uchiha Yan stammered for a long while without managing to form a complete sentence.

Bai Ye looked down at him.

"This sword," he said calmly, "is my father's keepsake. If I hear you call it a broken sword again..."

He did not finish.

He did not need to.

Fear finally appeared on Uchiha Yan's face.

Bai Ye turned and walked away. After taking a few steps, he stopped again.

"Your kunai."

Uchiha Yan froze.

"It's on the ground. Pick it up. The next time you want to take something from someone else, first learn how to hold on to your own weapon."

With that, Bai Ye left the training ground without looking back.