A conversation in the tea room

Autumn, Year 6 of Konoha.

The Naka River sounded a little deeper than it had in summer, its rushing waters carrying leaves downstream. The needles of the old pine at Elder Xuan's home had darkened a shade. When the wind passed through them, they rustled like an old man sighing softly.

That afternoon, wisps of steam curled through the tea room.

Elder Xuan sat cross-legged in the seat of honor, his dark gray kimono without a single crease. Liuli knelt before the tea kettle, deftly grinding tea, adding water, and whisking up foam, her movements so light that she seemed afraid of disturbing something. Yinglang sat farther down, his back perfectly straight and his hands resting neatly on his knees.

The scent of tea mingled with the smell of charcoal, slowly spreading through the room.

"The Clan Meeting just ended." Elder Xuan lifted his tea bowl without drinking, merely watching the layer of fine foam inside. "Yuanguang put forward a proposal."

Liuli's whisking hand paused almost imperceptibly, then continued. Yinglang raised his eyes.

"What proposal?" Liuli asked, her voice still level.

"An 'Elite Ninja' training policy," Elder Xuan said, his tone betraying no emotion. "He suggested that children in the clan aged six and older undergo aptitude assessments, with a group of 'Elite Prospects' selected for focused training using pooled resources. The rest... would follow the usual course and attend the Ninja Academy."

The tea room fell silent for a moment. Only the charcoal occasionally crackled.

"What was his reasoning?" Liuli asked again.

"Beautifully worded." The corner of Elder Xuan's mouth twitched. It looked less like a smile than a blade scraping stone. "'Concentrate our limited resources on raising pillars of strength who can establish themselves firmly in Konoha and protect the clan in the future.' 'Avoid spreading resources too thin and letting true geniuses go undiscovered.'"

Yinglang listened without speaking. He stared at his blurred reflection in the tea bowl, the face of a five-year-old wavering and distorting slightly in the foam.

"What do you think, Father?" Liuli offered Elder Xuan the freshly whisked tea with both hands.

Elder Xuan took it without drinking and set it heavily on the table. "What do I think?" His voice was low, each word seeming to squeeze out between his teeth. "I think that bastard Yuanguang Uchiha-of course he has the nerve to propose this!"

The air in the tea room abruptly grew heavy.

Liuli lowered her eyes without answering. Yinglang felt the pressure of a Kage Level fighter, usually held in check within Elder Xuan, spread outward an inch like a rising tide before he forcibly reined it back in.

"He's a core elder," Elder Xuan continued, every word cold. "If he proposes this policy, his son Kagami Uchiha-seven this year, with a Single Tomoe Sharingan awakened and decent talent-will be among the first 'elites.' He'll enjoy the best training resources, the most mission opportunities, and first priority for access to secret techniques. Of course he has the nerve!"

Yinglang looked up at Elder Xuan. The muscles in the old man's face were taut, and his eyes held a deep anger that had burned for years.

"Father," Liuli reminded him softly, "Yinglang is here..."

Elder Xuan glanced at Yinglang, his gaze sharp enough to scrape bone. But Yinglang did not flinch. He simply met it, his eyes clear, holding none of the bewilderment or fear a child should have, only an excessively calm focus.

Elder Xuan stared at him for several breaths, then suddenly asked, "Yinglang, what do you think?"

Somewhat surprised, Liuli looked at her father, then at Yinglang.

Yinglang did not answer immediately. He lifted his own bowl of tea and carefully took a small sip. Bitter, with sweetness slow to return, but after he swallowed, a little refreshing moisture lingered in his throat. He set the bowl down, its base making a faint click against the table.

"Elder Xuan is right," he began, his voice still childish but his words clear. "Of course that bastard Yuanguang Uchiha has the nerve to say it."

Liuli's lashes trembled.

"He benefits from it," Yinglang continued, speaking as unhurriedly as if discussing the pleasant weather. "His son will receive this so-called 'elite training.' He can also use the policy to win over clansmen whose families have talented children-look, I secured the best path for your children. As for those who aren't selected..." He paused. "Who cares?"

Elder Xuan said nothing, merely watching him, his gaze deepening.

"Besides," Yinglang added, his voice softer, though every word landed clearly in the quiet room, "isn't he close to Tobirama Senju? This policy sounds familiar. Isn't Konoha doing the same thing now with its 'Elite Jonin' and 'Elite Anbu'? Gather the talented ones together, focus on training them, and use the rest... as ordinary spare parts. Put nicely, it's concentrating strength to accomplish great things. Put bluntly, it's trying to monopolize all the good stuff!"

He raised his eyes to Elder Xuan. "He betrayed the Uchiha long ago. Now he's... a Senju clansman who stole the Sharingan."

The tea room was deathly silent.

The charcoal crackled again, scattering a few sparks that fell into the ash and quickly faded.

Elder Xuan sat motionless, like a stone statue. Only after a long while did he take an extremely slow, deep breath and gradually release it. With that breath, his oppressive presence slowly receded.

"Those words," he began, his voice somewhat hoarse, "who taught you that?"

"No one," Yinglang said, his expression perfectly open. "I thought of it myself. When Mother used to collect the supplies the clan distributed, the good stuff and the larger portions always went to the core elders' households and families with ninja first. Side branches like ours got the leftovers, the damp stuff, the broken bits. Isn't the principle the same? Is there anything new under the sun?"

He spoke with such matter-of-fact certainty that it left little room for doubt. A child who had suffered under resource allocation had used the plainest logic to see through the policy's gorgeous trappings to its essence-it was merely a new label for continuing to concentrate "the good stuff and the larger portions" in the hands of a few.

Elder Xuan remained silent even longer. He looked at Yinglang with a gaze as tangled as the weeds beneath the Naka River. There was scrutiny, surprise, and perhaps a trace of... almost imperceptible gratification mingled with sorrow.

"These words," he finally said, "must not leave this tea room. Not a single one."

"I know." Yinglang nodded. "I'll only say them in front of you and Sister Liuli."

Elder Xuan watched him a while longer, then suddenly turned to Liuli. "What do you think?"

Liuli had been listening quietly all along. Only now did she raise her eyes. She looked first at her father, then at Yinglang, before lowering her gaze to her hands folded in her lap.

"Will the clan approve Elder Yuanguang's proposal?" she asked.

"Yes." Elder Xuan's answer was decisive. "At least for an initial trial, yes. The reasoning is too beautiful, so beautiful that no one can openly oppose it-for the clan's future, pool resources to train elites. Is that wrong? Those whose children aren't selected may resent it, but they won't dare say so. If they do, they'll be accused of 'disregarding the bigger picture' and 'holding the clan back.'"

He gave a cold laugh. "That's how politics is played."

"What about Yinglang, then?" Liuli asked, her voice still calm, though Yinglang heard something else in it. "He's five this year and will be six next year. Under this policy, he'll need to take the assessment and be 'selected.'"

The tea room fell silent again.

Yinglang felt two gazes settle on him. One heavy, the other quiet. He stayed still and waited.

Elder Xuan was not looking at Yinglang. He watched the water in the kettle, just short of boiling, fine bubbles floating on its surface. "Yinglang," he suddenly asked, "do you want to attend the Ninja Academy?"

The question came abruptly. Yinglang looked up and met Elder Xuan's gaze. There was no probing in the old man's eyes, only a deep pressure demanding that he speak the truth.

Yinglang thought for a moment, then shook his head very seriously.

"No."

"Why?"

Yinglang sat a little straighter, his small face showing a child's unabashed disdain. "Anything the Ninja Academy can teach me, the Uchiha Clan can teach me too! For Taijutsu, Teacher Shinichi teaches better than the academy's basic courses, doesn't he? For ninja tools, the clan has dedicated training grounds. You're teaching me Fire Release. Sister Liuli will guide me in Genjutsu later. Why should I go to school and squeeze in with a crowd to learn how to climb trees and walk on water?"

He paused, his tone growing a little more aggressive, like a small merchant calculating his gains. "If the Ninja Academy shared the Forbidden Techniques Tobirama Senju created, I'd go! Learning those would be worth it! If the Ninja Academy were free, with meals and lodging included, I'd go too! It would save the family money on food! But neither is true!"

He delivered his closing argument with a sharpness and vulgarity no five-year-old should possess:

"I'd be paying tuition to learn a bunch of basics I could learn at home, and learn even better, while being hemmed in by rules, watched by teachers, and compared with classmates... like hell I'm going!"

He spat out those last words quickly and crisply, like tossing four little stones into the quiet tea room.

Liuli drew a very soft breath, as though she wanted to laugh but held it back. She lowered her head to arrange the tea utensils, her shoulders trembling almost imperceptibly.

Elder Xuan's face showed little expression, but Yinglang saw the deep wrinkles at the corners of his eyes relax for an almost imperceptible instant.

"Mm." That was Elder Xuan's only response. He lifted his now slightly cooled tea, drained it in one gulp, then set the bowl down and looked at Yinglang. "Then you won't go."

He said it casually, as though deciding what to eat for breakfast tomorrow.

"If Yuanguang wants to trial his policy, let him," Elder Xuan continued, his voice returning to its usual cold hardness. "But assessments and selection are the clan's affairs. You are the heir to my Xuan Lineage. Your training is for me to decide. You won't need to take any assessment, and you won't attend the Ninja Academy. You'll stay here and learn what you need to learn from Shinichi, from me, and from Liuli."

He looked at Yinglang, his gaze like a blade. "But there's one condition-you must be able to handle the resources I give you. You must walk steadily on the path I provide. If you can't handle them, if you can't walk steadily..." He did not finish, but the meaning carried more weight than if he had.

Yinglang stood, walked to the center of the tea room, and knelt properly before Elder Xuan, performing a formal prostration. His forehead touched the floor, and his voice was clear:

"I understand. I will never fail the care Elder Xuan has put into training me."

He did not say "Father," still addressing him as "Elder Xuan." But this bow carried more weight than calling him Father a hundred times.

Elder Xuan watched his bowed back for a moment before saying, "Get up."

Yinglang rose and returned to his seat. His back remained perfectly straight.

Liuli prepared another bowl of tea and handed it to Yinglang. This time, the foam was especially fine, and the fragrance richer. Yinglang accepted it with both hands and carefully took a sip.

Bitter, but the sweetness returned quickly, leaving a faint sweetness on his tongue.

"As for Yuanguang," Liuli suddenly said softly, "what do you intend to do, Father?"

Elder Xuan picked up the fire tongs and slowly stirred the charcoal. Sparks brightened and dimmed with his movements, their light reflected on his expressionless face.

"Nothing," he said. "He can carry out his elite policy, and I'll teach my heir. We'll stay out of each other's way."

He paused, the tongs stopping on a lump of charcoal, his voice lowering as though he were speaking to himself, or to the other two people in the tea room:

"But the Uchiha must not produce another Yuanguang Uchiha."

Tea steam rose slowly, twisting into strange shapes in the afternoon light slanting into the room. Outside the window, the old pine rustled, and the distant rush of the Naka River drifted over, rushing, rushing, like a second hand that never stopped, counting out the autumn of Konoha's sixth year, one beat at a time.

Yinglang cradled his tea bowl, drinking in small sips. The tea was warm, sliding down his throat, warming his stomach and settling his heart.

Not attending the Ninja Academy had been part of his plan all along. He simply had not expected Yuanguang's policy to make it all the more natural.

Just as well.

He raised his eyes and looked out the window. The sky was high and blue, with a few long wisps of cloud stretched across it. A lone wild goose flew in from the south, its wings beating steadily as it headed farther north.

The road was still long. But at least this step had landed firmly.