Bonds Beneath the Sun
"Just wait for the new mission!"
When Nara Kazama heard this, he only gave a slight nod, as if he'd been expecting it all along.
Uchiha Jin also exhaled quietly.
This exchange only confirmed what he had suspected.
The Uchiha clan's downfall was tied not only to their ideals but to power and interests.
If the clan never changed its mindset—if it never learned to blend with the rest of the village—its fate in Konoha would remain as it had been in the original timeline.
---
Days passed slowly.
No new missions were issued.
Every morning, after waking, Uchiha Jin would lie on the meadow outside the frontline camp, eyes closed, basking in the sun.
Training? He'd long since given that up. Not since gaining his system plug-in.
Why bother, when strength came regardless? It was much nicer to simply lie there.
By evening, Nara Kazama—returning from yet another training session—would always see the same sight: Jin sprawled lazily on the grass, looking like he didn't have a care in the world.
He couldn't help walking over and sitting down next to him.
"Jin-kun," Kazama said at last, "you're really strange."
"We've been at the front line for days now. Whenever we're not on missions, everyone's training nonstop—trying to strengthen themselves before the next battle."
"But you? You look like you're on a picnic."
He stared at Jin, baffled. The closer he tried to get to him, the less he understood.
Every time he thought he'd figured Jin out, the boy would prove him wrong the next second.
The only thing Kazama could say for sure was that Jin didn't resemble a typical Uchiha at all.
Neither in temperament nor in work ethic.
It gave Kazama a headache.
Yes, he was a Nara—lazy on the surface, but only because he could see through most things at a glance. Over time, that boredom became a habit.
But Uchiha Jin… was different.
No matter how hard Kazama tried, he couldn't pin him down. It bothered him more than he wanted to admit.
He kept telling himself it didn't matter. They weren't friends; they'd just been thrown into the same squad. Cannon-fodder teams like theirs didn't form bonds.
Only—he was a Nara. And Nara hated leaving puzzles unsolved.
So, for days now, he'd been trying to get closer to Jin, to understand him.
But the closer he got, the lazier Jin seemed.
Kazama still trained at least a little every day. Since leaving Konoha, he'd never once seen Jin practice. And yet, Jin's performance against the enemy had been anything but weak.
By any standard, it was already at Class A level.
Kazama could guess Jin was hiding his true ability—and even why. But how had someone so lazy trained to that level? That was what he couldn't grasp.
So today, he tried again.
---
Lying on the grass, Jin looked at Kazama calmly. His eyes held a faint wariness.
He didn't answer Kazama's probing directly. Instead, his voice came quiet and even:
"I'm curious about you, too."
"With the strength you've shown, you'd have no problem being in Class A. So why are you in a cannon-fodder team like ours?"
"And another thing. Pig–Deer–Butterfly."
"That's an iron rule of your three clans. We have members from the other two in our class. How did you end up on the same team as me, an Uchiha?"
He tilted his head slightly.
"Nara-san, you're curious about me. I'm curious about you. Want to trade stories?"
Kazama fell silent. He didn't know how to answer.
Jin didn't push. He'd made his point: everyone has their own secrets.
If their relationship hadn't reached that level, there was no need to pry.
So he simply turned his face back to the sun, letting the late-day light wash over him.
Evening sun wasn't as warm as midday, but he liked it better. Here, he didn't have to calculate every step like back in the village.
It was peaceful.
Tiring, yes—but a different kind of tired.
As the sky turned gold, Jin finally stood and stretched with a yawn. But when he turned to leave, he noticed Kazama still sitting there.
"Why haven't you left yet?" Jin asked, a hint of curiosity in his voice.
Kazama lifted his head and studied him for a long moment before speaking in a low, steady tone.
"My father's name was Nara Shikamei. He and Nara Shikaku were brothers."
"But he failed in his bid for clan leader. Then, five years ago, he died on a mission."
"Before he died, he told my brothers and me never to become geniuses. He said an ordinary life was safer."
"But my brothers didn't listen. They were both prodigies. And one by one, they died over the past few years."
"I listened. I played the mediocre one."
"So I survived."
"Pig–Deer–Butterfly is indeed a bond we share, but I gave it up willingly."
His voice dropped into silence.