Wusheng

"Where's Sensei?"

"Hey, you secretly drank alcohol!"

After putting away the cash box, Anko pulled open the wooden door. When she did not see Orochimaru but instead saw Uchiha Gen lifting the sake jug to his mouth, she cried out in surprise.

"Sensei had something to do and left first."

"Want to try what alcohol tastes like?"

"It's really good."

Uchiha Gen sat casually on the cushion, lifted the sake jug, and tempted her with a smile.

Gulp. Anko's throat bobbed, then she fiercely shook her head. "You can't drink before you're an adult. Besides, it's one of the three ninja prohibitions."

"Pfft..."

"What are you laughing at?"

Anko puffed out her cheeks in anger, forming two little bulges.

"What three ninja prohibitions? I've risked my life for Konoha. Can't I enjoy myself a little?"

"What's wrong with doing it once or twice now and then?"

"Actually, relaxing your body and mind is more beneficial to a ninja's growth and mission performance."

"After all, unbending rigidity cannot last forever. Even the moon waxes and wanes. Haven't you seen plenty of ninjas choose to unwind at all kinds of restaurants after completing missions?"

The so-called three ninja prohibitions were money, alcohol, and women.

The ninja world advocated the three ninja prohibitions not only because those things could indeed affect a ninja's ability to carry out missions, but more importantly because they helped control ninjas and preserve their combat strength and fighting spirit.

Hearing that, Anko was moved. It seemed to make some sense?

"Then I'll have a taste too."

Anko ran over and sat beside Uchiha Gen, anticipation written all over her face.

Smiling, Uchiha Gen poured Anko a cup of sake. She picked it up and downed it in one gulp.

"Cough, cough... You lied. It's spicy. It doesn't taste good at all."

Anko's face reddened as she coughed repeatedly.

"I think it tastes no different from water."

It was only sake. Compared to all the baijiu he had drunk in his previous life, he barely felt anything. He was just drinking it for fun.

"Are your taste buds broken or something?"

Anko could not understand it. It was clearly so spicy, and nowhere near as good as desserts.

Uchiha Gen curled his lips without speaking. He tilted his head back, opened his mouth, and poured a clear stream of liquid into it. Gulp, gulp... Before long, more than half the jug of sake was gone.

Unable to understand it, Anko stared in dumbfounded amazement...

Smack. Uchiha Gen set the sake jug on the low table and stood. "I'm heading back. What about you?"

"That's amazing. You didn't even get drunk."

Uchiha Gen smiled faintly but said nothing.

What was a little sake? Though he had not been a god of drink in his previous life, he could still put away one and a half jin of fifty-four-proof baijiu.

This body had not fully matured yet, but it was far stronger than his former one and had a high tolerance for alcohol. A jug of sake had basically no effect on him.

"I'm leaving with you. Now that I have money, I'm going to eat desserts."

"Take it easy. Don't forget what Sensei Orochimaru said."

"I know. You're putting on airs as Senior Brother already..."

"It's mainly because having a chubby Junior Sister would be pretty embarrassing."

"Pah, nonsense. I'm the type who never gets fat."

Uchiha Gen secretly shook his head. She really had no self-awareness at all.

Did she not know that in Naruto, she had practically turned into a ball?

It was not that she could not gain weight. She just exercised a lot and burned it all off.

The two bickered and played around as they left Orochimaru's house. After walking along the street for a while, they went their separate ways.

After returning home to the Uchiha Clan Estate, Uchiha Gen sat on the white sofa. After resting briefly, he removed the sword from his back, pressed his right hand against it, and extracted a glowing orb the size of a plum.

After absorbing the orb, he picked up the Kusanagi Blade Orochimaru had gifted him. He drew upon his soul and the lifespan he had stored, turning them into a glowing orb the size of an apple. With a thought, the orb landed on the Kusanagi Blade.

A miraculous change soon occurred. Tiny eyes, a nose, and a mouth appeared on the Kusanagi Blade's slender body, and it automatically flew into the air.

"Master." The longsword spoke in a cold, resonant voice.

Before Uchiha Gen could speak, a flash of crimson light streaked past. A miniature scarlet dragon flew to the Kusanagi Blade's side, swimming up and down as it curiously examined the newly awakened blade.

"From now on, your name will be Wusheng."

"I hope that when you leave your sheath, none will live beneath your blade!"

Uchiha Gen pondered briefly before naming the new advanced Homie.

"Yes, Master!"

As it spoke, Wusheng seemed impatient with Zhurong swimming around and examining it, so it slashed at him.

Zhurong flashed aside, spitting two sparks from his nostrils as he shouted, "How dare you disrespect Big Brother! Believe it or not, I'll roast you!"

"I'm not afraid of being roasted," Wusheng said coldly.

"That's enough, you two."

Hearing their master speak, the two advanced Homies temporarily ceased hostilities.

"Neither of you can do anything to the other right now, but Zhurong was born first. Wusheng, you need to show him a certain degree of respect."

"Zhurong, don't throw your weight around just because you were born first. Since you consider yourself the big brother, act like one."

"You need to take care of your little brother. Only then will he respect you."

Uchiha Gen spoke again, earnestly lecturing them.

"Understood, Master."

"Yes, Master."

Uchiha Gen was not speaking nonsense. At present, Zhurong and Wusheng truly could not do anything to each other.

Though fire countered metal, the maximum temperature Zhurong could currently produce was not enough to melt the Kusanagi Blade, which was forged from the hardest material in the ninja world.

Iron's melting point was 1,538 degrees Celsius, while steel melted at around 1,500 degrees Celsius. As carbon content increased, the melting point decreased.

Likewise, Wusheng could not do anything to Zhurong. As a being formed from the fire element, Zhurong was immune to the vast majority of physical attacks.

"All right, go play."

"Remember, don't leave the house, and don't fight."

"Yes, Master."

Watching the two advanced Homies chase each other away, Uchiha Gen stood and went into the kitchen to start cooking.

While cooking, Zhurong and Wusheng ran into the kitchen. Zhurong lay beside the gas stove, feeding on the flames.

Seeing this, Wusheng floated in midair and looked at Uchiha Gen with pleading eyes...

With no other choice, Uchiha Gen took a kunai and two shuriken from his ninja tool pouch and placed them on the stove.

Wusheng pounced onto the stove, opened its mouth, and bit down. Crunch, crunch. The kunai and shuriken gradually disappeared...

By the time Uchiha Gen went to the dining room to eat, Zhurong and Wusheng had already eaten their fill. One moment, they flew back and forth between upstairs and downstairs; the next, they played hide-and-seek, having a wonderful time.

After lunch, Uchiha Gen rested for a while before taking out the Bringer-of-Darkness Technique and the serpent-style ninjutsu scroll to begin studying them.

Though the Bringer-of-Darkness Technique was an A-rank genjutsu, it was still not difficult for Uchiha Gen. After studying it for a while, he understood it.

A quarter of an hour later, Uchiha Gen lay on the sofa, his hands moving through seals at high speed as he successfully used the technique.

Genjutsu: Bringer-of-Darkness Technique!

"Ah... Master, I suddenly can't see."

"Me too."

Zhurong and Wusheng, who had been following their master around the living room while playing together, immediately became their unscrupulous master's test subjects.

He could not exactly use himself as a test subject, could he?

Still, Uchiha Gen was not completely unscrupulous. Once he confirmed that the genjutsu had taken effect, he dispelled it, not leaving the two Homies in pitch-black darkness where they could not see their hands before their faces.

"Huh, I can see again."

"It's fine now. Shall we continue?"

"Okay."

After learning the Bringer-of-Darkness Technique, Uchiha Gen began studying the serpent-style ninjutsu again.

He was not as talented with this as he was with the genjutsu, but fortunately, he could understand it and was gradually learning it bit by bit.

Just as Uchiha Gen was seriously studying ninjutsu, Shimura Danzō arrived at the Hokage Building in a rage and headed straight for the Hokage's office...