In Konoha: Three Choices at the Start

Kushina's face turned bright red. She lowered her head and fell silent.

Liuyun's words had clearly embarrassed her.

Just then, a young Teuchi brought over three bowls of freshly made ramen and set them before them.

"Three tonkotsu ramen! Enjoy!"

The three nodded, picked up their chopsticks, and began slurping.

They had been through combat practice that afternoon, and they were still growing. Of course they were hungry!

Before long, all three had emptied their large bowls of tonkotsu ramen.

"I'm so full! That was so good!" Kushina patted her stomach, her eyes curving into crescents with satisfaction.

"Then we'll come again," Liuyun said with a fond smile.

After paying, Liuyun and Mikoto accompanied Kushina toward the Senju compound.

The Uzumaki clan was distantly related to the Senju clan, and Kushina had lived there ever since she arrived in Konoha.

She even lived with Uzumaki Mito, an elder whose prestige and power were both formidable.

Liuyun had no need to worry about her safety.

He was walking Kushina home for another reason. Like Xiao Huo, he knew you had to start winning your future wife's heart young.

Walk her home for five or six years, and that beautiful bride would be his.

As the most prosperous village in the Five Great Nations, Konoha was bustling even at night.

The three strolled along, admiring Konoha's nighttime streets as they walked off their dinner.

This was Konoha's busiest street. At its end stood the compound of the now-declining Senju clan.

Before long, they reached the Senju clan's gate.

The finely crafted gate was painted vermilion, with a stone lion on either side and two large lanterns hanging overhead.

Their light was bright as day, illuminating every detail of the gilded characters for "Senju" on the sign above the gate.

Though he had been here many times, Liuyun still found himself marveling at it.

Who would have guessed that this magnificent Senju clan would soon fade from the shinobi world, leaving only Tsunade behind?

He shook his head. That was beyond his concern. All he had to do was protect Kushina, his little spitfire.

Liuyun and Uchiha Mikoto looked up and waved with smiles. "Goodbye, Kushina! See you tomorrow!"

"Bye! See you tomorrow!" Kushina waved back, then pushed open the gate and skipped inside.

"We should go too," Liuyun said with a smile once she had gone in.

Without waiting for Uchiha Mikoto to respond, he took her soft hand and led her into the night.

In the Hokage's office, Sarutobi Hiruzen, still in the prime of his life, smoked his pipe as he read the report in his hands.

Wang Tenggangyi stood respectfully nearby.

"You're saying Uchiha Liuyun took first place in this combat exercise? And that he defeated Namikaze Minato head-on?"

"Yes, Lord Hokage! Uchiha Liuyun also used Ice Release!" Wang Tenggangyi answered at once.

"Ice Release?" Surprise flashed through Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes.

That was the hallmark kekkei genkai of the Yuki clan!

Could Liuyun be someone other than an Uchiha?

Was he a spy sent by the Hidden Mist Village?

Sarutobi Hiruzen dismissed the thought as soon as it arose.

He glanced at Wang Tenggangyi and waved a hand. "I understand. You may go."

"Yes, Lord Hokage!" Wang Tenggangyi left the office.

Sarutobi Hiruzen was alone in the brightly lit office.

"Someone! Bring me Uchiha Liuyun's records!"

"Yes, Lord Hokage!" A cold voice answered from the otherwise empty room.

A moment later, an ANBU operative appeared before Sarutobi Hiruzen with a stack of documents.

Liuyun's photograph sat on top.

Sarutobi Hiruzen waved his hand, and the operative vanished.

He picked up the documents and began reading carefully.

Liuyun's file looked lengthy, but once Sarutobi Hiruzen skipped the irrelevant details, he soon reached the end.

He drew deeply on his pipe, then slowly exhaled.

Smoke curled through the office until it looked like a realm of immortals.

He murmured, "The records can't be wrong. He was born into the Uchiha clan. There's no problem with his identity."

The only possibility was that someone among Uchiha Liuyun's ancestors had married into the Yuki clan.

His ancestral bloodline must have resurfaced!

He wondered whether the boy had awakened the Sharingan.

If he had, combining Uchiha and Yuki bloodlines might produce another Uchiha Madara.

But the boy's situation within the Uchiha clan was hardly good.

Nor did he carry himself with the clan's usual air of superiority.

The people he cared about were Uzumaki Kushina and Uchiha Mikoto?

In that respect, he was rather like Jiraiya.

Perhaps he could... But that would have to wait until the boy graduated.

Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes glinted like a sly old fox's.

Had Liuyun been there, he would certainly have muttered that the old bastard was plotting something again.

At the Uchiha compound, Liuyun and Uchiha Mikoto returned home arm in arm and found the lights on.

Uchiha Mikoto frowned slightly.

"Liuyun! It looks like someone's waiting for us at home. No, they must be here for you!"

Uchiha Mikoto was quick-witted. She immediately connected the visitor to Liuyun's performance that day.

After all, their clan treated talented members exceptionally well.

She did not think the person inside was a thief.

Though the two of them were not especially welcome in the Uchiha clan, they were still Uchiha.

Who would be foolish enough to steal from them?

"Whoever it is, we'll find out when we go in."

Liuyun smiled unconcernedly. He had reached the same conclusion as Mikoto.

At his current rate of growth, it would take only a few years for the Uchiha clan to look up to him.

An investment from the clan would merely be a bonus.

He did not care whether they offered one.

Besides, he was certain his records had reached the Third Hokage that very night.

The crafty old man would never pass up a chance to win him over.

Liuyun shook the thought away. For now, he had to deal with whoever was inside.

Holding Mikoto's hand, Liuyun pushed open the door.

A tall figure knelt on one knee on the floor.

His severe features carried a natural authority, and he gave off the faint air of someone accustomed to command.

He was Uchiha Fūkyū, the current head of the Uchiha clan and the father of that bastard Uchiha Fugaku.

"You're back."

A smile appeared on Uchiha Fūkyū's stern face.

"Clan head! What brings you to our home?"

Liuyun put on a puzzled expression.

"We thought a thief had broken in!"

Uchiha Fūkyū paused. He had not expected Liuyun to say that.

But as head of the Uchiha clan, he did not take offense.

He laughed heartily. "Well, the clan noticed that you two live rather far from the center of the compound."

"As it happens, two houses there have become vacant. I'd like you to move into them!"

Naturally, Uchiha Fūkyū knew even more about Liuyun's origins than Sarutobi Hiruzen did.

Liuyun was unquestionably an Uchiha, and Fūkyū had reached the same conclusion as Sarutobi Hiruzen.

An ancestor in Uchiha Liuyun's family line must have married someone from the Yuki clan. His Ice Release came from that ancestral bloodline resurfacing.

And if Liuyun awakened the Sharingan as well... The thought alone excited Uchiha Fūkyū.

Awakening both bloodlines would make him far greater than the sum of their parts.

Why else would he have waited for Liuyun and Mikoto to come home?

The Uchiha clan had no shortage of prodigies. There was Uchiha Mikoto right in front of him, not to mention his own son, Uchiha Fugaku.

But Liuyun's potential had already made him more valuable than either of them.

Who else could have persuaded the Uchiha clan head to visit in person?

"Thank you for the offer, clan head, but Mikoto and I are used to living here. There are fewer people, and it's peaceful. We like it!"

Liuyun shook his head and refused without a hint of either arrogance or deference.

What kind of fucking joke is that? If they moved to the center of the compound, how was he supposed to enjoy his sweet little life with Mikoto?

And if that bastard Uchiha Fugaku learned they had moved there, wouldn't he keep coming around to fawn over her?

With Liuyun's temper, he might not be able to resist beating Uchiha Fugaku senseless.

Besides, Uchiha Fūkyū had been quite clear: there were two houses in the center of the compound.

That meant he and Mikoto would have to sleep apart. He would never allow it.

Their current home was perfect. There were hardly any people around, and at night, when things heated up, he could steal a kiss from his darling Mikoto.

Only a fool would give up such a wonderful life to accept Uchiha Fūkyū's offer.

Uchiha Fūkyū's expression did not change. He had clearly expected Liuyun to refuse.

Then his manner shifted, and he spoke with feeling.

"I know you haven't had an easy life in the clan these past few years! I've given those clan members a severe reprimand!"

"You have my word as clan head: what happened before will never happen to you again!"

"And I've already sent Uchiha Yuantong to the Uchiha cemetery. You won't have to see him in the compound again!"