The morning sun cast a gentle golden glow across the polished corridors of the Nakamura Mansion. Though Shi Yan had discarded his birth name, he intentionally kept the estate's original designation.
It was a silent homage to his deceased parents. Personally, having never known them in this life or his past one, he held no deep emotional attachment to them but it had been Old Man Roshi's earnest, dying wish, and Shi Yan had happily complied.
Dressing himself in a loose, beautifully tailored grey robe, Shi Yan clipped the runic hilt of Samatage Rarenai firmly to his waist.
Stepping out of the mansion, he began a leisurely walk toward the Hokage Tower.
'Today is the day,' he mused, a calm smirk playing on his lips. 'Today is the exact date Naruto and the rest of Team 7 will finally grow entirely fed up with carrying out monotonous D-rank missions. They will storm the old man's office to demand a real C-rank assignment.'
Shi Yan's objective was simple: he was going to tag along. The Land of Waves arc had always been one of his absolute favorite narratives in his past life.
After twelve long years of intentionally keeping a low profile, he had finally decided to step out of the shadows. It was time to let the Elemental Nations learn the sheer, terror of his name.
The Hokage's Office
"Old man! I am totally sick and tired of doing these baby missions! I want a real ninja assignment!"
The heavy oak doors of the office had barely closed behind Shi Yan when the familiar, loud pouting of Naruto echoed through the room. Shi Yan quietly retreated to a dim corner of the office, crossing his arms as he thoroughly enjoyed the live-action drama unfolding before him.
Right on cue, a heavily reeking, drunken old bridge builder named Tazuna was introduced, promptly complaining that a group of scrawny, incompetent brats had been assigned to escort him back to his homeland.
Seizing the perfect moment, Shi Yan smoothly stepped out from the shadows and cut through the tension.
"Hokage-sama," Shi Yan spoke up, his smooth voice catching everyone's immediate attention. "If you do not mind, I would highly like to partake in this specific excursion as well. You see, I happen to have an incredibly important commercial meeting to attend near the borders of the Land of Waves. I was originally coming here today to log a formal mission request for transit security. Since Team 7 is already heading in the exact same direction, and given the world-class capabilities of Ninja Kakashi, I would feel remarkably secure under their banner. Naturally, I am more than willing to pay triple the standard mission compensation to the village treasury for the accommodation."
Sarutobi Hiruzen turned his weathered gaze toward the youth, a kind, grandfatherly smile gracing his wrinkled face.
Underneath that benign expression, however, the old Hokage's mind was rapidly calculating the variables.
'Hiroshi Nakamura... or Shi Yan, as he calls himself,' Hiruzen mused internally. 'I had several complex dealings with his late father, so after the family's tragic demise, I ensured the boy was left entirely unbothered by the village factions. Yet, in a mere ten years or so, this boy has single-handedly established a massive, flourishing commercial empire. He has even somehow managed to secure deep political favor within the Fire Daimyo's court. Kakashi reported that his personal physical capabilities are far from weak. I was already planning to launch a thorough investigation into his true motives... but allowing him to leave the village makes a background check significantly easier. With Kakashi keeping a direct eye on him in the field, this is the optimal choice.'
On the surface, Shi Yan had never caused a single ounce of harm to the Hidden Leaf. In fact, his business empire regularly provided massive, anonymous monetary donations to the village's struggling orphanages.
Though he was clearly hiding the true extent of his martial strength, he was a registered noble; it was within his rights to harbor personal security secrets.
Weighing the pros and cons, Hiruzen let out a slow puff of smoke and nodded. "Very well. I shall permit your insertion into the mission parameters as an official client extension."
"What?!" Tazuna roared, slamming his liquor bottle onto a nearby desk as his eyes glared aggressively at Shi Yan. "Why the hell is this pampered boy-toy coming along with us?! This is a joke! I don't—"
Before the bridge builder could finish his sentence, Kakashi instantly materialized in front of him, his hand gripping Tazuna's shoulder with a crushing force.
"I suggest you hold your tongue, Master Tazuna," Kakashi cut in, his voice entirely devoid of its usual lazy demeanor. "You are currently standing in the direct presence of high nobility. Show some proper respect, or you will find yourself swiftly executed under the Fire Nation's royal laws for defaming a lord."
Tazuna privileges evaporated instantly. He shuddered violently, the sudden spike of adrenaline completely numbing the alcohol in his system, and hurriedly bowed his head in a panicked apology.
In this world, though shinobi held all the practical, destructive military power, the Daimyo remained the absolute feudal ruler of the land.
The pristine reputation of the high nobility could not be sullied or insulted by commoners without severe, lethal consequences.
Even in the original history, many corrupt nobles with filthy, black-market dealings could never be eliminated openly without ironclad proof, and the Daimyo's opinion was taken into account on almost all major matters including the official selection of the Hokage.
Though Sasuke and Sakura looked deeply displeased with a civilian noble intruding on their first real mission, there was absolutely nothing they could do to override a direct mandate from the Hokage.
The Konoha Main Gates
The entirety of Team 7, alongside a sobered Tazuna, stood waiting by the village gates. Both Kakashi and Tazuna were notoriously late by nature, yet they found themselves thoroughly pissed off by Shi Yan's complete lack of punctuality.
"Where on earth is that idiot?!" Sakura complained loudly, stomping her foot. "He's the one who practically begged to tag along, and now he's the one keeping us all waiting!"
Sasuke stood off to the side, his arms crossed, his mood incredibly sour. As a proud Uchiha, the fact that he was being forced to wait around for a person he perceived as a nobody noble was an absolute insult to his lineage.
"Now, now, Sakura," Kakashi tried to placate her, waving his hands lazily. "Let's not get too angry. I am entirely certain he will be arriving shortly."
Naruto was the only one who didn't voice a single complaint; he was more than happy to wait for his best friend. Tazuna merely grunted, a massive, visible tick mark throbbing on his forehead as he chugged his alcohol.
Ten minutes later, a figure emerged down the path.
Shi Yan walked at a highly leisurely, incredibly slow pace. This time, he wore a pristine, flowing white robe heavily accented with intricate gold lining, his legendary sword resting silently inside a sleek black sheath.
Furthermore, he wore a beautiful, stylized mask that concealed his face from his forehead down to the bridge of his nose, giving him the highly sophisticated, magnetic charm of an ancient, brilliant scholar.
"Let's get moving," Kakashi muttered, refusing to waste another single second. He immediately turned and began walking down the dirt path, not even bothering to ask for the youth's reason for being late.
Shi Yan chuckled smoothly, catching up to the group. "Don't look at me with such venomous glares, everyone. I actually departed from my mansion exactly on schedule. However, the sheer radiance of my natural charm caused several passing ladies to faint in the streets. Being a true gentleman, I couldn't simply leave them to suffer in the dirt. I had to return indoors to don this mask to protect the fragile hearts of every woman in Konoha... sigh, it is truly a heavy, exhausting burden being this profoundly handsome."
The entire group almost tripped over their own feet at the sheer shamelessness of his words. They all simultaneously cursed his name deep within their hearts.
'I knew for a fact that if I asked him why he was late, he would give me some ridiculously absurd answer like that,' Kakashi thought, letting out a massive, exhausted mental sigh.
It didn't take long for the destined ambush to strike.
As they walked past a seemingly ordinary puddle on a completely dry day, the notorious Demon Brothers of the Hidden Mist suddenly erupted from the water, their razor-sharp bladed chains tearing through the air.
The entire sequence played out exactly as it did in the original timeline, with one major deviation.
Shi Yan stood completely stationary off to the side, a highly amused, mocking smile gracing his features as he enjoyed the live-action performance.
Because the assassins' sole designated target was Tazuna, they didn't waste a single look on the white-robed noble. Knowing their exact, pathetic fate beforehand, Shi Yan didn't bother to lift a single finger to intervene.
Once Kakashi effortlessly neutralized the threat, the veteran Jonin's sharp gaze immediately snapped directly onto Shi Yan. His internal vigilance skyrocketed.
'His expression... there wasn't a single trace of panic or fear in his eyes,' Kakashi analyzed, his heart tightening. 'It was as if he knew exactly when and where they would strike. There was nothing but a faint, mocking amusement and a look of disdain in his gaze.'
With this chilling discovery, Kakashi realized that Shi Yan was either an elite, hidden Jonin-level combatant operating under deep cover, or an absolute madman. Either way, his personal guard against the youth reached an all-time high.
As they resumed their journey, Naruto looked up at Tazuna, innocently asking about the political and geographical layout of the Land of Waves. The old bridge builder sighed, preparing to launch into his standard explanation.
"It is quite a tragic irony that you of all people are entirely ignorant regarding the history of the Land of Waves, Naruto," Shi Yan spoke up, his voice cutting through the ambient rustle of the trees.
Naruto blinked, completely confused and felt a little infuriated at being inadvertently called an "idiot" in front of his squad.
He glared at Shi Yan, crossing his arms. "What the heck is that supposed to mean?! What irony?!"
"Naruto... your last name is Uzumaki," Shi Yan stated coldly, the smoke from his cigarette drifting back into the wind. "In all these years of your life, have you truly never once wondered about the history of your own surname? Or who your people actually were?"
Tazuna stopped dead in his tracks, his eyes widening in sheer shock as he stared intently at the blond boy. "He... he carries the name Uzumaki? No, that's impossible. It must be a random name the village assigned to him. He doesn't possess their legendary, signature crimson-red hair."
"He is not a pure-blooded Uzumaki," Shi Yan corrected smoothly, sliding his hands into his golden-lined sleeves. "But he undeniably originates directly from their primary lineage. Most likely, his mother was a survivor who managed to settle within Konoha right before the great invasion took place."
Tazuna let out a breath, a deeply respectful look entering his eyes. "Oh... I see. In that case, this mission can practically be considered a homecoming for the boy."
Getting more and more thoroughly bewildered by the cryptic conversation, Sakura and Sasuke's interest was fully piqued. Sasuke's eyes narrowed, listening intently.
Finally, Naruto snapped, throwing his hands in the air. "What lineage?! What home?! I don't get a single thing you guys are talking about! I've never read or heard a single thing about an 'Uzumaki' clan in any of the history books back at the Academy! Have you, Sakura?!"
Sakura shook her head vigorously. "No, nothing at all. There is absolutely no record of such a clan in the public curriculum."
"Of course you have never read about them," Shi Yan laughed, a freezing, mocking edge to his voice. "You will find absolutely zero references to the Uzumaki clan within the public archives of Konoha's central library. The higher-ups systematically purged them from the general history books. Currently, only the ancient, prominent shinobi clans retain private records of their historical existence and world-shattering exploits."
"But... why would the village leadership do something like that?" Sakura asked, thoroughly confused.
At this point, all three Genin were completely hooked on Shi Yan's narration, hanging onto his every word.
"Because remembering the Uzumaki clan serves as a permanent, humiliating reminder of Konoha's absolute cowardice and failure," Shi Yan delivered the line like an absolute hammer blow.
The air around them turned instantly heavy.
"The Uzumaki Clan of Uzushiogakure and the Senju Clan of Konoha were cousins," Shi Yan explained, completely ignoring the sharp, warning glare Kakashi was directing at him. "They were ironclad allies long before the chaotic Warring States period even concluded. In fact, the lawful wife of the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, was herself a pure-blooded Uzumaki princess—Mito Uzumaki."
Shocked by the monumental revelation, the Genin opened their mouths to ask a barrage of questions, but Shi Yan continued his lecture without paying them any heed.
In truth, even Kakashi didn't possess the absolute, unredacted facts regarding the fall of Uzu. As the son of an S-class ninja, he knew of their existence, but the darkest details had been buried deep within the Hokage's private vaults. Konoha simply chose to tactfully erase the shame.
"Let me enlighten you on how the world truly works," Shi Yan continued, his golden eyes flashing beneath his scholar's mask. "During the Warring States period, the Uzumaki were a monstrously remarkable bunch. By nature, they were kind, peaceful, and fiercely independent, mostly keeping to their own territory within the Land of Whirlpools. However, they possessed an absolute, terrifying mastery over the art of Fuinjutsu—a power so fundamentally absolute that all other nations feared them."
Shi Yan took a slow drag of his cigarette.
"The other great shinobi villages realized that the Uzumaki's sealing techniques posed a direct threat to their national military interests. So, the Hidden Stone, the Hidden Mist, and the Hidden Cloud formed an unprecedented, massive military coalition to completely eradicate them from the face of the earth. Their objective was simple: slaughter the men to steal their sealing scrolls, and capture their women to utilize as breeding stock to integrate their legendary life-force into their own military programs."
Shi Yan's gaze locked directly onto Kakashi.
"But here is the golden question: Uzushiogakure was entirely surrounded by violent, raging whirlpools and protected by a massive, multi-layered Fuinjutsu barrier reef. It was physically impossible for an invading armada to safely navigate those waters without knowing the exact, secret celestial paths. Yet, the three invading nations sailed right through the barriers without losing a single ship. How? The answer is incredibly simple: Someone high up within the infrastructure of Konoha intentionally betrayed them, leaking the secret coordinates to eliminate the Uzumaki as a wildcard variable from the global board."
"But the Uzumaki were absolutely nothing to scoff at," Shi Yan continued flawlessly. "The campaign that was supposed to be a one-sided massacre turned into an absolute bloodbath. It took three entire national armies weeks of grueling warfare to put them down, and the invaders suffered ten times the casualties of the Uzumaki. In the end, they only managed to secure low-level Fuinjutsu scrolls while suffering terrible, irreversible consequences. The Uzumaki held off the wolves for weeks against impossible odds... but help from their beloved allies never arrived. They were completely wiped out. In my opinion, Konoha is nothing but a sanctuary of supreme hypocrites. Of course, they were manipulated behind the scenes as well, but that is simply the dark nature of this world. Ashamed of their own spinelessness and their failure to protect their allies in their time of dire need, they opted to erase all markings and history of the Uzumaki within Konoha."
Everyone was completely shocked, but they were simultaneously highly unwilling to accept such a dark reality.
To the impressionable Genin, Konoha was the ultimate land of righteousness. They could never easily accept that their home had committed or allowed such an atrocity.
"Maybe... maybe Konoha just didn't know about the attack in time!" Sakura argued desperately.
"Hahaha!" Shi Yan barked out a loud, mocking laugh. "The primary directive of a shinobi is to see through deception, to see underneath the underneath. A village founded by the literal 'God of Shinobi' possessed an intelligence network so fundamentally incompetent that they failed to notice three entire national armies deploying across the sea? If you truly want to buy into that pathetic, comforting lie, be my guest."
"That is entirely enough!" Kakashi barked, his voice burning with an absolute, incensed fury. He was completely enraged by Shi Yan badmouthing the foundations of the village in front of his students.
Shi Yan merely shrugged, completely unfazed by the Jonin's anger.
"Well, enough about the past. But the ultimate truth of the matter is this: even if Konoha hadn't betrayed Uzushiogakure, their horrific fate would have remained exactly the same."
"Huh... why?" Naruto asked, his voice shaking, his entire worldview completely fractured.
"Because the world inherently envies supreme talent," Shi Yan spoke softly, his voice carrying the ancient weight of a cultivator. "Let me point out a highly amusing pattern. Think about the absolute strongest clans to ever walk this earth: The Senju, The Uchiha, The Uzumaki, The Kaguya, and The Yuki. Do you want to know what happened to them?"
He gestured around the quiet forest.
"The Senju? Every single male heir of the main clan is completely dead. The sole surviving member of the founding lineage is Tsunade Senju—a gambling, alcoholic, hemophobic woman pushing forty-five to fifty years old, living in self-exile with absolutely zero hope or desire of ever giving birth to a Senju heir. The Uchiha?"
Shi Yan turned his gaze directly onto Sasuke.
"Massacred like mere livestock in a single night by their own premier genius, leaving behind absolutely nothing but a sick, murdering psychopath and a single, revenge-crazed kid."
Sasuke's teeth ground together so hard they threatened to shatter, a violent, murderous fire igniting deep within his dark pupils.
He was already deeply upset to learn that it took three entire nations weeks of grueling warfare to put down the Uzumaki, while his own 'elite' Uchiha clan had been systematically butchered overnight by a single man. Shi Yan's blunt words were pouring pure acid onto his open wounds.
"The Kaguya clan?" Shi Yan continued flawlessly. "They went completely bat-shit crazy and fought themselves to absolute extinction. The Yuki clan? Ruthlessly hunted down and massacred by the common populace. And the Uzumaki? I have already detailed their demise."
Shi Yan stood tall, his gold-lined white robes swaying in the wind.
"The world is not a kind, righteous place, kids. It is a dark, gloomy, and predatory abyss. I am telling you these unredacted truths for your own good. With absolute power comes absolute attention. And if you do not possess the overwhelming strength to fight off the entire pack of invading wolves... then even if you are a magnificent tiger, you are bound to eventually starve, rot, and die in the dirt."
"Such is the fundamental law of the universe we inhabit."
With that final declaration, Shi Yan refused to speak another word.
The group silently boarded a small, secluded rowboat provided by Tazuna's contact, the dense, heavy mist of the ocean wrapping around them as the oars dipped into the calm water.
The atmosphere inside the boat was completely suffocating; the three Genin sat thoroughly trapped within their own minds, trying desperately to process the heavy, world-shattering concepts they had just been handed.
Shi Yan casually leaned back against the bow of the boat. Reaching his right hand forward, his golden ring flashed with a sudden, faint surge of spatial energy.
Flash.
Out of absolute thin air, a beautifully crafted, stringed acoustic guitar materialized directly into his lap. Tazuna, Sakura, Sasuke, and even Kakashi let out a collective, sharp gasp, their eyes bulging as they stared at the completely unexplainable phenomenon.
A spatial summoning technique without a single hand-sign or a sealing scroll? It defied all known laws of ninjutsu.
Paying their shocked expressions absolutely no mind, Shi Yan lay back comfortably against the wooden hull, his long black hair spilling over the side. He lightly ran his fingers across the strings, a beautiful, hauntingly melodic chord echoing across the misty water.
Closing his eyes, he began to sing, his smooth, mesmerizing voice carrying a deep, ethereal resonance that perfectly harmonized with the bleak, foggy expanse of the ocean:
Thought I found a way
Thought I found a way out (found)
But you never go away (never go away)
So I guess I gotta stay now
Oh, I hope someday I'll make it out of here
Even if it takes all night or a hundred years
Need a place to hide, but I can't find one near
Wanna feel alive, outside I can't fight my fear
Isn't it lovely? All alone
Heart made of glass, my mind of stone
Tear me to pieces, skin to bone
Hello, welcome home...