"There it is again—that unlucky kid."
"Heh, even if he has Uchiha blood, he's just a mutt without a clan."
"Shh! Are you crazy? If they hear you, you might get thrown into jail."
"A rogue ninja's kid is bound to be a traitor too. The Hokage's too soft for letting him stay here."
...
With his head slightly bowed and a gloomy expression, Chi Yu walked silently through the streets of Konohagakure.
Chi Yu had been in this world for nine years, and for the last five of those, he'd lived in Konoha.
What started as awe and excitement had slowly turned into bitterness and resentment.
As the gossiping villagers had mentioned, Chi Yu carried the blood of the Uchiha clan.
But he was never acknowledged by them.
Unlike most Uchiha, who valued the purity of their bloodline, Chi Yu was born of a union they considered blasphemous.
His mother was an Uchiha; his father—a member of the Senju clan, the Uchiha's historical rival.
If his father had been just a civilian, perhaps the Uchiha would have turned a blind eye. But the Senju name was enough to brand Chi Yu as a stain.
When Chi Yu's mother became pregnant, the clan elders were furious. They confined her and ordered the pregnancy to be terminated to "protect the integrity" of the Uchiha lineage.
But his father intervened. In a daring move, he infiltrated the Uchiha compound, rescued her, and fled the village with her.
To prevent the loss of a Sharingan wielder and their bloodline, the Uchiha reported the incident to the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Despite his usual kindness, Hiruzen declared them rogue ninjas. Anbu were dispatched to hunt them down.
Somehow, they escaped.
For the next four years, they lived quietly in a small village far from any shinobi affairs. It was the happiest time of Chi Yu's life.
But fate was cruel.
One day, a group of rogue ninja attacked the village. With no one to defend it, Chi Yu's parents stepped up. His mother unleashed her Sharingan, and together with his father, they managed to repel the attackers.
But their powers had drawn unwanted attention.
Other rogue ninjas soon appeared—those who hunted Uchiha for their eyes.
During the ensuing chaos, Chi Yu's father gave his life to protect him and his mother.
Wounded and desperate, his mother fled with Chi Yu and, in her final act, returned to Konoha, begging the Hokage to take her son in.
Though they were rogues, Hiruzen chose to honor her plea. He judged that they had caused no harm to Konoha, and Chi Yu's mixed heritage held potential. A child with Uchiha and Senju bloodlines might one day awaken unique abilities.
Chi Yu was taken in.
Hiruzen even approached the Uchiha clan to see if they would accept him.
But they refused.
To them, Chi Yu was an outsider—tainted by Senju blood and born of betrayal.
Konoha arranged for Chi Yu to live in a worn-down house at the village's edge. Beyond that, he was forgotten.
Chi Yu didn't expect warmth from the Uchiha. He understood the hatred that lingered between the two clans.
But what he didn't understand, back then, was how Konoha as a whole would treat him.
Naively, Chi Yu thought Konoha was a place of peace, of acceptance. That only those like the Jinchūriki faced stigma.
He was wrong.
The villagers whispered behind his back. Some openly showed disdain. Others used him as an outlet for their pent-up resentment toward the Uchiha.
Back then, the Konoha Military Police Force, under Uchiha leadership, was at its most authoritative. They were tasked with maintaining internal order—an essential role. But their strict enforcement and arrogance bred resentment among the people.
Villagers who couldn't stand up to the proud and powerful Uchiha found an easier target in Chi Yu—half Uchiha, yet unaffiliated, unprotected.
He wasn't like Naruto. He didn't have Naruto's boundless optimism or forgiving heart.
Five years of silent scorn and hostility would break anyone.
And over those years, Chi Yu began to see through the mask of Hiruzen Sarutobi. The Hokage had seen Chi Yu getting bullied several times. Not once did he intervene. His kindness, Chi Yu realized, was a mask of indifference.
Konoha was a gilded cage.
And Chi Yu couldn't escape it.
Even if he could flee the village, he had no means to survive.
Despite everything, Konoha was still the safest place—for now.
But Chi Yu vowed that he would one day rise above it.
Not because of his Uchiha or Senju blood. He knew that half a bloodline meant nothing if he couldn't awaken the Sharingan or the Wood Release (Mokuton).
His true hope lay in something else.
A system.
A mysterious ability known as Witness.
It granted him Witness Points for witnessing significant events.
But to activate the system, he needed 100 points.
So far, in five years, he had only gained 50.
Three years ago, when Minato Namikaze enrolled in the Ninja Academy, Chi Yu had been present. That single event had earned him 50 Witness Points.
But since then—nothing.
Peace left few chances to witness major events, and his ostracized status left him excluded from most things.
Still, a rare opportunity had emerged.
Kushina Uzumaki was about to enter Konoha and enroll in the Academy.
She was the next Jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails—a major figure.
Chi Yu was certain that witnessing her enrollment would earn him the remaining 50 points he needed.
And once the Witness System was activated…
Everything would change.