Devil Fruit Users had one enormous weakness: seawater and Seastone. Although there was no such thing as Seastone in this world, being weak to water would still be a pain in the ass.
At that thought, Uya decided to test it first.
Back home, Uya brought out a wooden tub, the same crude thing he normally used for baths.
As an outsider, he was lucky Konoha had given him somewhere to live at all, so both his room and his belongings were extremely basic. But Uya did not mind.
After filling the tub with water, Uya stripped, jumped in, and crouched down to immerse his entire body.
Ordinary water was less restrictive than seawater, but in the original story, Devil Fruit Users still grew weak and limp when they took baths.
One second, two seconds...
Even after a full minute, Uya felt no weakness whatsoever!
He abruptly stood up, a look of delighted surprise appearing on his face.
"Ordinary water has no side effects at all?"
Though delighted, Uya still found it strange and puzzling.
Was it because this wasn't seawater?
Or...
He recalled that people who ate Devil Fruits were cursed by the sea and became unable to swim.
But that curse belonged to the world of the Pirate King.
And this was the world of Naruto!
Although he did not know how that Devil Fruit had appeared, there should not have been any curse of the sea in this world. So even if water was a weakness, it should only be seawater from the world of the Pirate King.
In other words, the power of this Tremor-Tremor Fruit was no longer a so-called Devil Fruit in this world.
Instead, it was... the Quake Release Kekkei Genkai!
"This is good."
A pleased look appeared on his face.
Next, Uya simply began bathing, washing away all the sweaty odor from his training.
There had been too many surprises and unexpected developments today. He needed to relax and settle down.
And just as Uya finished washing, stepped out of the tub, and was about to get dressed-
Creak!
With a soft sound, the door to Uya's home was suddenly pushed open.
A little red-haired head poked inside and looked around.
She was a very familiar character: Kushina Uzumaki.
"Uya, are you home... huh?!"
Her voice cut off abruptly.
Kushina Uzumaki, who was only eight or nine at the time, instantly froze.
"Uh..."
Uya was also a little stunned.
Since he had only intended to test whether water was his weakness, he had not locked the door.
Of course, that was not the main problem. The main problem was... it was already dark! How could he have expected Kushina to suddenly come running to his house?!
"Aaaah!!"
Finally coming to her senses, Kushina screamed and slammed the door shut.
"Uya, you bastard! You pervert! Just you remember this! You're dead when you come to school tomorrow!"
Her embarrassed, furious voice rang out from outside, shaking the entire street.
Uya was expressionless.
Fuck!
This wasn't my fault at all!
And did you really have to shout it outside my door this late at night?
"Great, I might as well skip school tomorrow..."
Looking thoroughly pained, Uya got dressed and opened the door.
Sure enough, Kushina was still standing outside, puffing her cheeks, her face full of embarrassment and anger.
"Ahem! Um... did you need something?"
With a slightly awkward cough, Uya hurriedly changed the subject.
She must have had some reason to come looking for me this late.
Uya and Kushina were both children from other villages, and they had arrived in Konoha at almost the same time. After discovering that she was Kushina Uzumaki from the original story, his existing fondness for her led him to deliberately approach her, and they soon became good friends.
However, the treatment they received was worlds apart.
Kushina had come to Konoha essentially as the next Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, and she was also from the Uzumaki Clan, which was allied with Konoha.
The previous Nine-Tails Jinchuriki was Mito Uzumaki, wife of the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju.
As a fellow member of the Uzumaki Clan, Mito Uzumaki naturally took good care of Kushina. With all those connections, Kushina even dared to burn the beard of the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi in Konoha!
Uya, on the other hand, had it much worse. He had no backing whatsoever and came from an untrustworthy minor ninja village. Although that village had already been destroyed, Konoha's ninja still neither trusted nor welcomed him.
When Kushina first arrived in Konoha, she had also been alone, with neither parent around. After Uya grew close to her, he often helped her and looked after her.
But because Kushina's identity was far more than simply a girl from another village, their relationship gradually shifted.
Little by little, Uya replaced Kushina as the one receiving help.
Even so, Kushina had never disliked Uya and still helped him willingly.
Because when she first arrived in Konoha, at her loneliest, Uya had freed her from that loneliness, given her warmth, and helped her become cheerful again.
So even if others saw Uya as trash who could not even train in Ninjutsu, Kushina had never looked down on him.
"I was afraid you'd get beaten to death tomorrow, so I came to bring you something in advance."
A faint blush still lingered on Kushina's little face. Putting on a fierce look, she glared at Uya irritably and handed him a small package.
Her words reminded Uya that there was a practical combat assessment at the Ninja Academy tomorrow.
Normally, a one-on-one combat assessment was nothing to worry about. With Chunin teachers watching, the students would not suffer any serious injuries.
But Uya was different.
The Chunin teachers had no liking for him, a student from another village. Their attitude was essentially that anything went as long as he was not beaten to death, so Uya was often injured.
"Thank you."
Rubbing his nose, Uya gratefully accepted the small package and glanced inside. Sure enough, it contained medicine for treating injuries and similar supplies.
Alongside his gratitude, the corner of Uya's mouth inexplicably twitched.
Why does this feel so weird?!
"Who wants your thanks? Like I'd bother caring about you!"
Still brooding over what had just happened, Kushina pouted at Uya, a cute blush lingering on her little face.
Seeing her so embarrassed and annoyed, Uya could not help wanting to laugh. Suddenly, an odd thought struck him: if Kushina had been the one seen naked instead of him, she would probably be chasing him all over Konoha trying to kill him by now.
"Anyway, that's that. Even if you can't train in Ninjutsu, I can always protect you... if you can't win tomorrow, don't try to act tough. Just surrender, y'know."
Kushina raised her little fist at Uya and waved it haughtily, then giggled, turned, and ran off, her figure gradually disappearing into the darkness.
"..."
Uya stared blankly at Kushina's retreating figure, then suddenly snapped out of it.
Just surrender? She would always protect me?!
Fuck!
Wasn't that making him a kept man?!