Don't Mess Around, Big Nephew!

Two years later.

"2,322, 2,323, 2,324... Five thousand side kicks! If I don't finish them, I'll have to do ten thousand frog jumps!"

Don't misunderstand—Hitomi wasn't the one training. It was Masahiko...

Ever since Masahiko had accidentally lost by a single move to Hitomi in a taijutsu match a year ago, he had begun his training journey of becoming a watermelon rind.

He hadn't been used to it at first. The clan members had often pointed and whispered whenever he trained. After all, although Masahiko had always looked like a middle-aged man, he was already sixty-three years old in their eyes. But as time passed, he got used to it. Perhaps because his age had dropped to twenty-two, his mentality had become hot-blooded again as well.

"Teacher, I've succeeded!" Hitomi rushed over from afar, his face full of excitement.

Masahiko stopped his side kicks, his face bitter. "You learned it that quickly..."

Hitomi had been training in a new technique Masahiko had taught him a month ago: Chidori. Originally, he hadn't wanted to teach Hitomi this technique so soon, but there was no helping it. After they began training taijutsu together, Masahiko discovered... Hitomi's talent for taijutsu truly surpassed his own. Or perhaps taijutsu training was most effective during the growth period?

Either way, one reason Masahiko had taught Hitomi Chidori was to slow down his taijutsu training a little. It was rather embarrassing for a teacher to be worse at taijutsu than his disciple... Yet he hadn't expected Hitomi to master Chidori in just one month.

Though bitterness filled Masahiko's heart, he quickly adjusted himself and gave Hitomi a disdainful look. "It took you a whole month to learn Chidori. What's there to be happy about? Iko learned Rasengan in three days, and it's a technique of the same rank!"

"I understand, Teacher! I'll work even harder!" Hitomi answered loudly, immediately dropped to the ground, and began doing push-ups.

Masahiko's face darkened. If you work any harder, Nanako will laugh me to death...

He hurriedly said, "You can slow down your taijutsu training for now. Have you forgotten the advanced ninjutsu related to Chidori that I told you about?"

Hitomi sprang to his feet. "I remember! Chidori Stream and Chidori Sharp Spear! I'll go train them right away!"

Masahiko watched Hitomi leave and let out a long sigh of relief. Having a taijutsu genius as a disciple was truly stressful. Iko was easier to handle. Though her ninjutsu talent was relatively greater, Masahiko had lived in the Naruto World for more than sixty years and had mastered over a hundred Wind Release and Fire Release techniques, which he could teach her gradually. But taijutsu... Masahiko had barely trained in it before. He had relied entirely on the Uzumaki Clan's physique and the boost from Yang Release Chakra.

His taijutsu training over the past year had brought tremendous progress. On the Attribute Panel, that was reflected in an increase of more than a hundred points. Masahiko's "Body" was now close to 500 points.

"But this is still far from enough... Although Hitomi's taijutsu, once quantified, is probably only around 300 points right now, he's only thirteen. He still has at least five years of rapid growth ahead of him." Thinking of this, Masahiko muttered inwardly, No, I can't slack off!

"How many side kicks was I at just now?" Masahiko murmured. "Forget it. I'll count it as 2,000 and keep going!"

"2,001, 2,002, 2,003..."

An hour later, just as Masahiko finished five thousand side kicks and ten thousand frog jumps and was about to rest, Nanako came running over.

"Teacher, the Clan Head is looking for you!" Sixteen-year-old Nanako had grown into a graceful young woman. Masahiko had heard that quite a few young men in the clan had even fought duels over her...

"What is it, Nanako? Which young man in the clan got hurt because of you, to the point that it alarmed the Clan Head?" Masahiko couldn't help teasing her.

The moment the words left his mouth, Masahiko regretted them and prepared himself for Nanako's outburst.

Yet unexpectedly, Nanako actually blushed at his teasing and said, "It's not that! The Clan Head wants to see you. The Second Elder and Third Elder are there too. It's probably something important..."

Masahiko blinked, hardly believing his eyes. Aside from when he had first met Nanako, it had been five years since he had seen her display such a girlish manner.

"This reaction... Could she have someone she likes?" Masahiko muttered, but he didn't press the matter. Mito had married into the Senju Clan at fifteen. It wasn't strange for sixteen-year-old Nanako to have someone in her heart.

After a pause, he replied, "All right, I understand." He waved his hand and headed toward the clan's Main Hall.

Half an hour later.

Uzumaki Main Hall.

Masahiko looked completely bewildered. "Founding a country? Big Nephew, don't mess with me!"

That was right. The Uzumaki Clan Head had called Masahiko over to discuss the Uzumaki Clan founding a country.

Masahiko glanced at the Second Elder and Third Elder. "Was this lousy idea yours?"

"Second Uncle, it was all of our idea." However, it wasn't the Clan Head who called him Second Uncle. The Second Elder and Third Elder did. The two elders were now Masahiko's second and third nephews, respectively. The entire Uzumaki Clan had become their family's personal domain.

Masahiko pondered it. There truly had been mention of the Land of Whirlpools in the original story, but it had only been described as a country destroyed in legend.

"Why did you suddenly have this idea?" Masahiko was still puzzled.

The other three exchanged looks before the Clan Head slowly spoke. "Because of our population. Since the battle with Kaguya, our clan has remained isolated for fourteen years. We originally had fewer than three thousand clan members, but now we have more than ten thousand. In the coming years, that number will likely continue growing. In addition, many civilians suffering from the turmoil of war in the Land of Fire have chosen to depend on us. There are hundreds of thousands of them!"

Masahiko nodded thoughtfully. "So our clan has so many children under sixteen..."

The Clan Head's face darkened. "Second Uncle, could you focus on the important matter?"

Masahiko smiled awkwardly. "I understand. But after founding a country, we won't be able to remain as closely connected to the Senju Clan, which still belongs to the Land of Fire. What if we encounter foreign enemies?"

The Second Elder asked in confusion, "Foreign enemies? Where would foreign enemies come from? Our Uzumaki Clan is surrounded by the sea on three sides, and the Senju Clan lies to the west. Even if we aren't as close as before, the Senju Clan surely won't attack us, right? There used to be Kaguya to the northwest, but now we don't even know whether the Kaguya Clan still exists..."

Masahiko asked doubtfully, "Have you not considered the Land of Water across the sea, or the Land of Lightning farther north?"

The three exchanged glances and shook their heads together. "They're still constantly fighting civil wars. Why would they come looking for trouble with us?"

Masahiko froze, then suddenly understood. He knew that in a few years, the Five Great Ninja Villages would be established one after another, but his nephews did not. Masahiko had nowhere near enough confidence in his current strength to protect the Uzumaki Clan from a joint assault by the Land of Water and the Land of Lightning, so he could only evade the matter. "Let's wait a few years. I have a feeling that the Land of Fire will undergo major changes in the next year or two. We should wait for now..."

Though the three were puzzled, they were not desperately eager to found a country. It would be fine to wait a few years until the clan population grew larger...

Thus, the turmoil over founding a country temporarily subsided. Masahiko returned home and gained another new reward.

Witnessed and completely altered a side plot of the Naruto World: the founding of the Land of Whirlpools. Obtained 2 (*10) Witness Points.