The Third Elder's Furious Blow

Smack!

A small pebble struck his chest.

"You've already lost."

Katsuo said between heavy breaths. If that pebble had been a Kunai, Uchiha Feng would have died. So he had truly, utterly lost!

His Chakra was actually only enough to cast one Great Fireball Technique and one Phoenix Sage Fire Technique. Using an additional Substitution Technique already counted as surpassing his limits.

After all, no matter how quickly he refined Chakra, he was still too young. His body simply could not hold much Chakra, which was why his Chakra had not changed much over the past half year.

His body's capacity was limited. It was not something he could increase just because he wanted to. Being able to fire off three ninjutsu in succession was also thanks to his daily Water Walking training!

More than half a year of persistence, coupled with his powerful spiritual strength, had given him exceptional Chakra control.

"Despicable!"

Uchiha Feng snapped in anger. He felt that this little bastard was far too underhanded; his loss had been utterly unjust!

Losing to a child not even six years old was unbelievable enough, and it made his face burn with wave after wave of scorching embarrassment!

"A ninja was never a glorious profession. Do you need me to teach you that?"

Katsuo chuckled and waved toward Mikoto in the distance.

Uchiha Feng's expression changed at those words, then gradually became somewhat despondent. While inwardly cursing himself for being senile, he also felt immense shame and sorrow.

I truly am old! Not only can I not defeat even a child, but my own heart as a strong man... has rotted away as well!

Politics and power had severely poisoned both his body and mind.

"You were both amazing! Grandfather, hurry and tell me, who won?"

Mikoto's eyes glittered with admiration. This was the first time she had witnessed such a proper, complete ninja duel. She was also astonished that Katsuo was so powerful, able to fight her "powerful" grandfather to such a standstill!

After all, many powerful Jonin in their clan respected her grandfather greatly and were even willing to follow his commands and deployments!

Not understanding politics or power, she had simply assumed that her grandfather must be stronger than those Jonin. That was why they listened to him...

"I lost! Of course, I only lost by one move, so it was a close defeat!"

Katsuo smiled at her.

"My grandfather can't even beat him, so it's normal for you to lose. You're already incredible!"

Mikoto comforted him with an innocent, radiant smile.

Uchiha Feng felt awkward hearing that, but the way he looked at Katsuo was filled with undisguised appreciation.

This brat is so mature for his age! Whether in intelligence or emotional intelligence, he far surpasses children his age. It's hard to imagine he isn't even six yet! It feels as though some old ghost seized a child's body and was reborn!

Uchiha Feng suddenly had that thought, then shook his head and cursed himself for letting his imagination run wild.

If Katsuo had known what he was thinking, he would probably have said:

As expected of an old ghost who's lived long enough to become a monster. What a precise guess!

"I will not allow you to graduate at this time!"

Getting back to the point, Uchiha Feng spoke bluntly.

He had originally expected Katsuo to protest and make a fuss, but instead, Katsuo scratched his head awkwardly and said:

"Well... actually, I don't want to graduate early either. But if I don't graduate, I can't earn money. And without money, I can't survive..."

After all that fuss tonight, Katsuo's true goal was still money...

"Bullshit! The money I gave you is enough for you to lie around and live for ten years, yet you're still pretending to be poor in front of me?"

Uchiha Feng cursed furiously.

"Uh... I don't want it to be this way either. But on the path of cultivation, scholars can be poor while warriors must be rich. Great expenses are unavoidable..."

Unable to resist, Uchiha Feng asked:

"Where did you learn that? Did Might Duy teach you?"

Scholars can be poor while warriors must be rich! I've lived over half my life, yet I couldn't have come up with such an apt phrase!

"Yeah. Teacher Duy said that meat is indispensable for tempering the body, and that I should eat lots of it!"

Uchiha Feng looked utterly unconvinced.

"Stop trying to fool this old man. Even if you ate lavish meals of fish and meat every day, throwing away one plate after another, the money I gave you would still last you three to five years!"

"You know that Teacher Duy spends so much time and energy on me every day. I can't possibly eat with him and still make him pay, can I? Debts of gratitude are hard to repay. I should repay what I can..."

Katsuo spoke honestly, because he knew Uchiha Feng had always arranged for people to watch him. It counted as a form of protection.

Of course, that protection only meant sending someone to check on him whenever he happened to think of it. Katsuo was in Konoha and was also a student at the Ninja Academy, so he was already in a safe place and did not need constant surveillance.

Uchiha Feng first nodded subconsciously, indicating that Katsuo had done the right thing, then immediately froze.

Then his nose practically twisted with rage...

"Hm? His debt of gratitude needs repaying, but what about mine? What about my debt?"

"..."

Katsuo gave an awkward laugh. Once the topic turned to his own debt, he hurriedly promised:

"Please calm down... Just think about it. With my ability, isn't it perfectly normal for me to become a Jonin within three to five years? Once I start taking missions, money will just be a number, won't it?"

"As for your debt of gratitude? Hehe... don't worry. I'll take good care of Mikoto for you in the future... hehe!!!"

Katsuo grinned foolishly. He felt that if he waited until he grew up to repay Uchiha Feng, Uchiha Feng probably would not live to that age. Since he could not repay him directly, hehe, repaying his granddaughter was just as good...

"I'll fucking kill you!"

Uchiha Feng could not help but curse as he threw a fist at Katsuo's face. Caught completely off guard, Katsuo took the heavy punch head-on and immediately passed out!

That punch was viciously heavy, a blow fueled by Uchiha Feng's rage!

Just as Uchiha Feng was about to go over and stomp on him a few times, his beloved little cotton-padded jacket, who was terribly bad at keeping secrets, stopped him.

"Grandfather, what are you doing? Stop!"

Mikoto cried out in alarm. She was still young and did not quite understand what the two of them had been talking about, but she had actually been happy when Katsuo said he would take care of her. Why was her grandfather so angry? She could not understand it at all!

"Damn it! You little bastard, you eat my food and wear my clothes... and you still dare covet my granddaughter? Can't I take care of my own Mikoto? You call this repayment? You're clearly hoping I'll die early! You shameless, ungrateful little bastard, do you think I won't beat you to death?"

Even after cursing, Uchiha Feng was still not satisfied. He stomped twice more on Katsuo's handsome face before finally reining in his temper and dragging Mikoto away in a huff.

"Katsuo!!!"

Mikoto kept looking back with every step, somewhat reluctant to leave him like that...

That night, the friendly and warmhearted mosquitoes of the forest gave Katsuo a whole pile of "big red envelopes."

The next morning, Uchiha Izumi brought Katsuo a banknote worth a full 200,000 Ryo.

"Looks like yesterday's efforts weren't wasted. I really do need to show enough value before people can feel at ease increasing their investment. Blindly hiding my strength is foolish. Keeping a low profile while developing is fine, but if I keep too low a profile, I might end up underdeveloped!"

After seeing Uchiha Izumi off, Katsuo muttered to himself.