No Loans

After class, Hizashi Hyuga handed Katsuo eight one-hundred-ryo bills. Katsuo nodded and said:

"Just give it to Nawaki from now on. He'll collect it for me."

"Got it!"

Hizashi did not dare say much. He was an honest, timid person, and after handing over the money, he hurried off.

"Hehe, money!"

Katsuo grinned foolishly.

"Haha, we have enough to buy the special-edition Chili Smoke Bombs now!"

Nawaki gave a sleazy grin. He got a share of the money they collected too—thirty percent for him and seventy percent for Katsuo...

Originally, Nawaki should have received 240 ryo, but Katsuo chopped off forty ryo as "change," claiming that rounding it off would save the trouble of making change.

Rubbing the six hundred ryo in his hands, Katsuo smiled. Everyone in their class came from major clans and did not lack spending money. Katsuo had spotted that and ruthlessly charged each of them two hundred ryo***.

The main reason he had Nawaki collect the money was so Nawaki could bear the pressure from the teachers. After all, he was the crown prince of the Senju Clan. At most, the teachers would scold him a few times and give him some token punishment. They would never truly dare do anything to him.

Of course, even without Nawaki, nothing would have happened if Katsuo had done it himself. Every child in Class One had someone backing them. The academy teachers could not simply push them around.

Nawaki would bear the pressure from the teachers, while Katsuo would bear the pressure from the students. He had already discussed it with Nawaki—anyone who refused to accept it could just use his name!

Want to start something? Then come find Katsuo...

That night, Mikoto led Uchiha Feng by the hand as the two arrived at Katsuo's camp.

"You little brat, doesn't the clan compound have a place for you to live? You insist on staying in this dump like some wild child, disgracing the Uchiha Clan!"

Uchiha Feng cursed as he looked at Katsuo.

"Disgrace? What dignity does the Uchiha Clan even have for me to disgrace? If it has any, it's shameless dignity. Of course, Izumi-sensei and Sister Kuiko are exceptions..."

Katsuo curled his lip, but when he saw the killing intent on Mikoto's face, he immediately corrected himself.

"Of course, Mikoto is an exception too. Mikoto looks very different tonight!"

Mikoto pouted at that, a playful smile appearing amid her proud expression.

Seeing this, Katsuo quickly leaned closer and examined her carefully before giving a slightly lecherous sniff.

"Dressed up so cutely, and it seems you even put on perfume. Tell me, what are you up to?"

Katsuo had just finished teasing Mikoto. Before he could laugh at her flustered expression, he saw Uchiha Feng gritting his teeth and staring at his own palm.

One hand was stretched out flat while the other gripped its wrist, making Katsuo immediately wary.

He frowned and asked, "What are you doing?"

Uchiha Feng looked at Katsuo and answered with great seriousness:

"I'm controlling myself. I'm afraid I won't be able to control myself and will chop you to death with one palm."

"..."

Sweat formed on Katsuo's forehead, and he gave an awkward smile.

"You little brat, why did you call me here? Let me make this clear first—no loans!"

Uchiha Feng asked bluntly.

"Grandfather! Stop calling him names all the time. Didn't you say that our clan is an ancient great clan of the ninja world and should uphold proper etiquette? It's wrong for you to speak so foully..."

Uchiha Feng's leak-proof little padded jacket frowned in dissatisfaction. She felt that her grandfather seemed to dislike Katsuo. Every time Katsuo was mentioned, he seemed to get angry!

Of course, she had no concept of money. When she grew up and learned how much Katsuo had borrowed from her grandfather in total—and that he borrowed without ever repaying—she would understand why her grandfather was angry...

Katsuo gave Mikoto a teasing wink, then hurriedly said to the dark-faced Uchiha Feng:

"Well, I already have the strength of a Genin. I think I can graduate..."

"Hmm???"

"What did you say?"

Uchiha Feng asked uncertainly. He had only been in school for a little over half a year, and he was already thinking about graduating?

Although he knew Katsuo was a Prodigy-level genius, hearing with his own ears that Katsuo wanted to graduate made the corner of his mouth twitch violently. Katsuo might become the youngest Genin in Konoha's history, setting a new record for the youngest Ninja Academy graduate.

He did not doubt that Katsuo possessed Genin-level strength. With a Two-Tomoe Sharingan and two techniques, one genjutsu and one ninjutsu, he already firmly possessed Chunin-level strength.

After all, one only needed to master the Three Body Technique to qualify as a Genin.

In the original story, Naruto's class took the Genin graduation exam at age twelve, and they had only been tested on the simple Clone Technique. It was clear that becoming a Genin was not difficult.

If there were not still so much knowledge in the Ninja Academy that needed—or had to be—learned, many people would likely choose to graduate early.

Although Katsuo fully possessed the strength to graduate, Uchiha Feng could not allow him to graduate just like that.

For a Prodigy-level genius like Katsuo, fame was the most dangerous thing. Once he became too famous, there was a ninety-percent chance he would die before reaching adulthood.

Konoha was a cradle that produced countless geniuses. Within Konoha, spies from every ninja village operated in secret.

Among their most important tasks was gathering intelligence on Konoha's talented shinobi below the rank of Jonin.

Some ninja villages even had assassination squads specifically established to eliminate the geniuses of other villages, targeting and assassinating talented youths from every nation to prevent them from rising one day and threatening their own countries.

If someone like Katsuo revealed his strength, Uchiha Feng was certain that there would be no need for ninja from other villages to act. There would likely be many people within their own village who could not tolerate him!

No, he only needed to reveal that pair of Sharingan, and it would become difficult for him to continue growing!

Within Konoha, none of the older generation wanted to see another "Uchiha Madara" emerge from the Uchiha Clan!

After hearing Katsuo's answer again, Uchiha Feng neither agreed nor refused. He merely raised a hand toward Katsuo and said:

"Come. Attack me and let me see whether you have the qualifications to become a Genin."

"This... wouldn't that be inappropriate, considering your age..."

Katsuo said, pretending to be troubled.

"Hurry up, you little brat. Stop dawdling..."

Uchiha Feng was somewhat enraged. A little brat was actually looking down on him?

When had anyone ever looked down on him like this? Although his strength had indeed declined greatly, he had still been an Elite Jonin in his youth.

His strength had deteriorated severely, leaving him with only Chunin-level strength now, but the combat experience he had accumulated over decades was not something an ordinary Chunin could compare to. After all, he was one of the few remaining people who had witnessed the end of the Sengoku era!

By a more accurate estimate, he currently possessed the strength of an elite Chunin. With his Sharingan activated, he could still maintain the level of a Special Jonin—not quite a Jonin—for a while.

At his age, his eyes had long since become thoroughly clouded. The three tomoe gave him only a negligible boost in strength!

"Izumi-sensei, why are you here!"

Katsuo cried out as he looked behind Uchiha Feng.

"Whoosh!!!"

Uchiha Feng had only just glanced behind him when he immediately heard a sharp rush of wind from ahead.

A fist came hurtling toward his old face!