Hidden Leaf Village, year 20.
Uchiha Nen was an orphan, at least as far back as he could remember, he knew he was a child without parents.
Over the years, he had been living off the clan's compensation.
A cold bed, stale bread, expired milk, a room all to himself... Nen didn't know what loneliness was, only that this kind of life was his norm.
A kind-hearted uncle in the clan told him that his parents had died in the Shinobi World War, their lives consumed by the ruthless flames of war.
But lacking parental love since childhood, he didn't really feel anything about it, only curious about what heinous things his parents had done to make everyone in the clan avoid him like the plague.
He knew he wasn't liked. Some people in the clan were as annoyed to see him as they would be to see a fly, especially a strange aunt named "Yuko," who always looked at him with resentment and hatred.
At first, he thought it was because of his withdrawn personality, but when he made his first friend, he didn't think so.
"My sister told me that everyone dislikes you because of your parents," Uchiha Tong Ren said, biting into a tri-color dango.
Tong Ren's words made Nen believe it, after all, this was his only friend, and the only one who didn't care about his background and was willing to see him as a normal person.
He found the uncle named "Setsuna" and asked about his parents. The uncle said helplessly that his father was a guy who betrayed the village, and the crimes he committed were too numerous to count. Not to mention the clan, even the people of the entire village couldn't wait to eat his flesh and sleep on his skin.
Fortunately, this news was only confined to the clan, and basically no one in the village knew that he was that person's child, otherwise the consequences would be unimaginable.
After saying that, the uncle looked complicated and didn't say anything more.
"What, so he was a deserter..."
Died in the war, but betrayed the village, wasn't that a deserter?
Nen understood in his heart that only weak guys would succumb to fear, choosing to desert in the face of a great enemy. He secretly vowed that he must become stronger and not repeat the same mistake.
So, in order to become a powerful Ninja, he began to save money, and finally today, he bought his first Shuriken.
The clan's training ground didn't welcome him, so he ran to the village's training ground to practice, but was told that only Ninjas and Ninja Academy kids were qualified to use the training ground.
This made him very helpless. He was only five years old this year and had not yet reached the age to enter the academy. Tong Ren was already in the second grade, and he could feel that the strength of the two was rapidly diverging.
Having someone to guide your training and exploring it on your own are two completely different things.
The Shuriken Technique that he had painstakingly practiced for a long time was as simple as eating and drinking in front of others. It was already very difficult for him to keep the Shuriken he threw from missing the target, but Tong Ren could easily hit the bullseye with a casual wave of his hand.
Tong Ren told Nen that this was nothing at all, and his sister could control the landing points of dozens of Shuriken at the same time.
Tong Ren's sister, named Uchiha Chiri, had just officially graduated from the Ninja Academy this year. She was a very gentle older sister, and also very powerful.
But Nen didn't care, because in his heart, he always believed that a Ninja's strength was directly proportional to their age, and when they reached that age, they would become as powerful as Chiri.
Tong Ren quickly retorted him, saying that there was a boy named Orochimaru in his class, that that person was even more powerful than himself, but his personality was even more withdrawn than Nen, and he was also a poor child whose parents had died in the war.
"Maybe, the three of us can have a lot to talk about," Tong Ren said, because his father also died in the war.
Mentioning this topic, Nen couldn't help but feel a little lost, because he didn't want to use this as capital to make friends. His father was a deserter, which was not only not glorious, but also made people feel ashamed.
On the street, Tong Ren grabbed Nen's arm, "Let's go, I'll take you to find him."
"Find who?"
"Orochimaru."
"This... this isn't very good..." Nen was somewhat reserved.
Tong Ren tilted his head, revealing a set of white teeth: "My sister said, having more friends means more paths. When you go to school next year, we can both look after you."
He smiled and pulled Nen along, but hurriedly collided head-on with a wall, landing on his butt.
"Ouch." Tong Ren rubbed his head, and Nen quickly helped him up. A tall figure blocked the sunlight, casting a long, oppressive shadow.
Only then did Tong Ren realize that he hadn't bumped into a wall, but a person.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" He quickly got up and apologized.
The man wore a mask and had shaggy, medium-short hair. Just looking at his eyes made him seem fierce.
"Watch where you're going, brat." The man said, his voice rough, low, and somewhat muffled.
The two young Uchiha immediately nodded like chickens pecking at rice, watching the man walk into a pub by the roadside.
The man casually ordered a few dishes and sat down by the window.
"What a pain, I didn't expect the Hidden Leaf Village to be so big." He muttered to himself, his tone slightly complaining.
At that moment, a curious voice floated over.
"So, is this your first time in the Hidden Leaf Village?"
The man looked up at the sound. It was a young man dressed in black. Seeing him turn his head, he actually walked over familiarly and plopped down opposite him.
The young man was slender and upright, with thick, black hair that seemed like the deepest corner of the night sky, falling naturally on his forehead. His eyes were lightly wrapped with a black ribbon, covering his eyes and the blue sky.
"I came once a long time ago, but I didn't have a chance to come in and look around." The man responded in a low voice. For some reason, after seeing the young man in front of him, he had a familiar feeling.
"I see." The young man smiled slightly, raising his glass for a light sip.
The man's gaze was sharp as electricity, as if he wanted to see through the black ribbon and directly into the other's eyes. "Can you see?"
"No, just a little bit of minor sensory Ninjutsu, nothing to be surprised about." The young man paused. "Compared to the Exchange Station's most famous Kakuzu, it's not even worth mentioning."
The man narrowed his eyes. "You recognize me?"
"The man who once assassinated the First Hokage, I have long admired your name."
Kakuzu leaned forward, carefully examining the young man's appearance. The other's features were deep, and his facial lines were clear. Even if he couldn't see his eyes, he was still handsome.
"What a coincidence, I think you look familiar too."
"Being looked at as familiar by you isn't a good thing, maybe I'm one of your bounty targets." The young man still had a gentle and respectful appearance.
Kakuzu said, "Take off the black ribbon and let me see your eyes."
"Sorry, that's the only thing that's not convenient." The young man's laughter carried a hint of apology. "The time has not yet come."
Kakuzu took out a stack of posters on his own, which were bounty orders taken from the Exchange Station. He flipped through them one by one, until he pulled out the last page and held it up for a distant comparison.
"You are..." Kakuzu looked at the bounty order in his hand, his pupils shrinking, "Uchiha Shin'yu?"
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