The Inuzuka Clan's Choice

Uchiha Toko took Sasuke to the backyard where they usually practiced archery and lit the corridor lamps.

"What do you know?" Uchiha Toko asked.

"My brother taught me the Three Body Technique before, and then there's the Lightning Style: Lightning Ball I just learned a few days ago." At the mention of ninjutsu, Sasuke perked up as well.

"Lightning Ball? Let me see it," Uchiha Toko said.

"Yes!" Sasuke answered, his little hands rapidly forming seals. Before long, a golden lightning sphere over a meter in diameter appeared out of thin air before them. It flew seven or eight meters forward before exploding, and a dazzling flash of white light lit up the dim backyard for an instant.

After finishing, little Sasuke looked at Uchiha Toko expectantly, hoping for his teacher's praise.

Instead, Uchiha Toko slapped the back of Sasuke's head, leaving the child completely bewildered.

"What are you doing, kid? I told you to use a ninjutsu, not blow up my lawn!"

"Sorry..." Sasuke said weakly.

"Watch closely. This is how you use Lightning Ball." After saying that, Uchiha Toko snapped his fingers, and a deep-blue lightning sphere barely ten centimeters across appeared out of thin air.

Although this Lightning Ball was much smaller than the one Sasuke had created just now, Sasuke could clearly sense that the energy contained within it was far more condensed.

Then, Uchiha Toko moved his finger, and the Lightning Ball began circling around them under his guidance. Sasuke was mesmerized.

After circling them several times, Uchiha Toko snapped his fingers again. The deep-blue Lightning Ball shot into the sky and burst into a firework.

"That's amazing," Sasuke exclaimed.

"You saw that, right? Go back and practice according to that. Once you can do it, I'll teach you something else," Uchiha Toko said.

"Yes!" Sasuke answered confidently.

Seeing Sasuke's confident smile, Uchiha Toko smiled as well. This kid probably would not pester him to learn new ninjutsu for quite a while. What he had just demonstrated required precise control of Chakra down to the smallest detail. Even many chunin proficient in Lightning Style might not be able to pull it off. For a beginner like Sasuke to achieve it, he would probably have to suffer a bit.

However, with this process of polishing his fundamentals, once Sasuke could do it, learning other ninjutsu in the future would be twice as effective with half the effort.

Moreover, practicing such fine Chakra control would temper the child's disposition. Uchiha Toko could not stand the temperament of that future Sasuke who would impulsively go out and get himself beaten up.

After Sasuke left, Uchiha Toko changed clothes as well, preparing to head to the training grounds to complete his daily training.

Before leaving, Uchiha Toko instructed:

"Sister Keiko, send a calling card to both the Inuzuka Clan and the Aburame Clan later."

"Now?" Uchiha Keiko asked. "It's already so late."

"It's fine. I don't think they'll mind," Uchiha Toko said.

"Then under what name should I send them?" Uchiha Keiko pressed.

"For the Inuzuka Clan, use the Military Police Force's name. As for the Aburame Clan, use my personal name," Uchiha Toko said.

"Understood." Uchiha Keiko nodded.

That night, neither of the two clans that received Uchiha Toko's calling cards remained calm.

The Inuzuka Clan convened a clan meeting immediately after receiving the card.

Unlike the Uchiha Clan's usual meetings, which would devolve into shouting matches within five minutes, arguing endlessly without ever reaching a conclusion, and perhaps even erupting into a brawl on a whim, the Inuzuka Clan's meetings were remarkably efficient.

Inside a modest room in the Clan Shrine, three jonin of the Inuzuka Clan, including the Clan Head, and the clan's Great Elder sat around a table. At its center lay the calling card Uchiha Keiko had delivered not long ago.

The current Clan Head of the Inuzuka Clan, Inuzuka Gaku, swept his gaze over everyone present and said, "Tell me. What do you think of this calling card?"

"Is this goodwill being extended to us by the Uchiha Clan? That's a rare sight indeed." The Inuzuka Clan's Great Elder, the seventy-five-year-old Inuzuka Kotsu, spoke up.

"This new Clan Head of the Uchiha Clan seems rather different from their previous heads," Inuzuka Gaku said. "Fū, you carried out a mission with this new Uchiha Clan Head. Could you tell everyone your impression of him?"

Inuzuka Fu, the youngest of the four, stroked his chin. After thinking for a while, he finally said, "This new Uchiha Clan Head... how should I put it? I simply can't see through him."

Inuzuka Fu's words made everyone frown.

"Still, working with him should not put us at a disadvantage." Inuzuka Fu then briefly recounted to the other three what had happened at Orochimaru's base that day.

"I see. This generation's Uchiha Clan Head is quite the man," Inuzuka Kotsu said.

"So, are we going to cooperate fully with the Uchiha Clan?" The last jonin present, Inuzuka Retsu, asked.

"Not to that extent." Inuzuka Gaku reached out and picked up the calling card on the table. "Clan Head Douhuan sent this card in the name of the Military Police Force, leaving our clan room to choose. Retsu, select twenty of the most capable among the latest batch of adult Ninja Dogs in the clan and send them to the Military Police Force as a gift from the Inuzuka Clan."

"Not enough." Inuzuka Kotsu suddenly spoke. "Besides that, select several Dog Trainers and talented Ninja Dog Handlers from within the clan and have them join the Military Police Force. If possible, ask the Uchiha Clan for several Military Police Force positions each year."

Hearing Inuzuka Kotsu's words, Inuzuka Gaku was somewhat surprised. "Great Elder, if we do that, the Inuzuka Clan will look as though we have completely thrown our lot in with the Uchiha Clan."

"Since Clan Head Douhuan has shown such sincerity, we might as well show the sincerity of the Inuzuka Clan," Inuzuka Kotsu said.

"This... Elder, isn't this a little too hasty?" Inuzuka Gaku hesitated. He did not know why the elder, who usually reminded him to be cautious, cautious, and cautious again, would make such an aggressive proposal today.

"Gaku, do you know why I repeatedly reminded you to treat every choice cautiously as Clan Head?" Inuzuka Kotsu looked at Inuzuka Gaku. "Because although the Inuzuka Clan has had its own legacy since the Warring States Era, at the end of the day, we are merely a small clan that possesses the secret art of raising Ninja Dogs. We cannot compare to those bloodline clans born with great combat power. Only by being careful and cautious can we build up a foundation, giving the clan the capital to take a gamble when opportunity comes."

"Three hundred and eighty-one years ago, our ancestors committed the entire clan to the Senju Clan's invitation, and that was how the Inuzuka Clan came to be what it is today. Now, a new opportunity lies before us," Inuzuka Kotsu said.

"You think that highly of this new Uchiha Clan Head?" Inuzuka Retsu asked.

"Consider it the instinct of an old man like me, one who lived through the Warring States Era, when it comes to judging people." Inuzuka Kotsu smiled, then looked at Inuzuka Fu. "Fū, what do you think?"

"Following Clan Head Douhuan? It wouldn't be a bad thing." Inuzuka Fu smiled. "Our clan has stayed on the fringes of the village long enough. We're all secret-art clans. If Ino-Shika-Cho can attain its current position, there's no reason we can't fight for one ourselves."

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