Yahiko, Pakura, and Raiga listened as Qianyu spoke of once being at the absolute bottom in Konoha, with no hope of rising unless he struggled and sold his life for the village. All three found it hard to believe.
By all appearances, Qianyu didn't seem like someone who had ever lived a rough life.
A shinobi as powerful as him should have been cultivated from childhood to reach such heights.
The reason civilian-born shinobi rarely rose to prominence was precisely the skewed allocation of resources. The strong grew stronger. The mediocre remained mediocre.
They hadn't witnessed Qianyu's battles on the frontlines themselves, but he was a student of the Legendary Sannin, Orochimaru. He possessed the formidable Thunder Breathing Taijutsu, the Mangekyō Sharingan… Rumors like these were impossible to avoid.
More importantly, a Sharingan user like Qianyu had to be from the Uchiha clan.
And now he was telling them he used to be at the bottom? An Uchiha, at Konoha's bottom rung?
Qianyu chuckled at their incredulous looks. "Don't believe me? Honestly, if I were you, I wouldn't either. When I introduced myself earlier, I didn't give a surname. Because I don't have one.
Yes, I have the Sharingan. But I have no connection to Konoha's Uchiha clan.
I suppose if I don't explain in a bit more detail, you won't truly believe the depth of my disgust for Konoha.
I wasn't planning to say any of this. But since we'll be comrades now, fighting side by side… letting you understand a little can't hurt.
First, until I was five, I didn't live in Konoha. My parents were driven out by the Uchiha clan.
Why? Because their clans were mortal enemies. My father was from the Senju clan. My mother was from the Uchiha clan. Do you understand what that means?"
Pakura and Raiga's eyes widened in shock as they stared at Qianyu.
Yahiko's gaze held only clear, unadulterated confusion. "Why are you two making that face? They were just from two different clans, right?"
Pakura gave Yahiko a look that spoke volumes. "Shindai… you really don't know?"
Yahiko scratched his head. "Should I?"
Raiga took over, explaining. "In the Warring States Era, before the concept of hidden villages, it was clan versus clan. The two strongest ninja clans in the world at that time were the Senju and the Uchiha.
Later, for reasons unknown, the clan leaders of the time, Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama, reconciled. The two most powerful clans joined forces to found Konohagakure. The other nations followed the Land of Fire's lead, forming their own shinobi organizations. Thus began the era of the Five Great Nations ruling the shinobi world.
But the Senju and Uchiha were always bitter rivals. Later, Uchiha Madara mysteriously left Konoha. He returned to attack the village, attempting to destroy it.
Senju Hashirama fought Madara. Hashirama won. Madara died.
The valley where they fought is now known as the Valley of the End. Konoha even built statues of the two, standing on opposite sides of the valley, to commemorate the battle.
This bit of history… I think most shinobi in the world know it."
Yahiko rubbed his nose awkwardly.
He genuinely hadn't known. And, well, he wasn't exactly a studious type.
Pakura turned back to Qianyu. "You said your parents were driven out… because they were together?"
Qianyu nodded. "Correct. After Hiruzen Sarutobi took office, the Senju clan had already fully integrated into Konoha. There was no 'Senju clan' anymore. The number one clan in Konoha became the Uchiha.
But the Uchiha couldn't accept my parents' union. My mother was already pregnant with me. The clan wanted her to… get rid of me. In the end, my father sneaked into the Uchiha compound, took my mother, and fled Konoha.
The Uchiha pressured Hiruzen Sarutobi. My parents were branded missing-nin. Fugitives in the shinobi world.
Eventually, because of my mother's Sharingan, they were hunted. My father died protecting my mother and me. Before she died, my mother brought me back to Konoha. She begged Hiruzen Sarutobi, and only then was I allowed to live in the village.
But because my bloodline wasn't pure Uchiha, the clan never acknowledged me.
The Uchiha's reputation in Konoha was terrible. The ignorant villagers feared them, seethed in silence, and took their anger out on me—the one with half-Uchiha blood.
And because of my parents' status as missing-nin, I was bullied and humiliated by everyone in Konoha. I had no dignity. No one would help me."
Yahiko, Pakura, and Raiga listened, stunned.
They never imagined someone as powerful as Qianyu had lived such a difficult life in Konoha.
Yahiko pressed his lips together. "And then?"
Qianyu shrugged. "Then, to survive in Konoha, I had no choice but to sell my life to the village. Got lucky, was noticed by my teacher Orochimaru, and step by step… made it to today."
He made it sound simple. But Yahiko and the others knew the truth. The struggle behind those words was unimaginable.
Pakura looked at Qianyu, her expression complex. "So… you hate Konoha?"
Qianyu smiled. "What do you think? Konoha sheltered me all those years, true. But I've sold my life for Konoha all these years. Any debt of gratitude has been paid in full. What we had was a transactional relationship.
Setting aside that transaction… all that's left is hate, wouldn't you say?"
Raiga guessed, "So you founded this organization… for revenge against Konoha?"
Qianyu shook his head again. "Don't be so narrow-minded. Broaden your perspective. Now that you know my past, you shouldn't be so resistant to this organization, right?
Let me tell you why I founded it.
People like us… we're shinobi poisoned by the villages. Everything we struggled and sacrificed for, they took for granted. In the end, we were disposable.
Our passion was worthless to them. So why not turn that passion inward? Onto ourselves?"
Yahiko was puzzled. "Turn it onto ourselves?"
Qianyu nodded. "Simply put, love yourself. The shinobi world will enter over a decade of peace now. But after that… this world will descend into utter chaos. The scale will make this last Great War look like child's play.
Our organization's goal is to find a place in this world that belongs to us. We may not be able to change the whole world. But we can strive to live the lives we want. To live without regrets!"
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