Graduation Gift

The Uchiha Clan Compound was not particularly close to the Konoha Ninja Academy, but the Aozora brothers traveled quickly and returned to their home before long.

Kagami Uchiha had once been a Konoha Jonin and a member of the Second Hokage's Elite Guard. He had not left his descendants a great deal of wealth, but neither had it been little. Although their father's generation had squandered much of it, they had still left the Aozora brothers a grand residence.

As soon as they entered, Uchiha Shisui suddenly remembered that his younger brother had graduated today and hurriedly said, "Let's eat out. You can have whatever you want."

Uchiha Aozora rolled his eyes at him. "You should've said that earlier. We're already home."

With that, he headed for the kitchen.

Aozora's parents had died on a mission shortly after he was born, and he had been raised by his older brother, Uchiha Shisui. But after he entered the Ninja Academy, Shisui had also become busy with missions, often staying away from home for three to five days at a time. From then on, Aozora had lived alone, becoming highly skilled at cooking, laundry, and household chores.

Uchiha Shisui followed him in and asked, "Do you need any help?"

After thinking for a moment, Aozora said, "There's frozen beef in the fridge. Just slice it thin."

After assigning Shisui his task, Uchiha Aozora began picking through and washing the vegetables.

Uchiha Shisui took out the frozen beef and placed it on the chopping board. He frowned as though facing a formidable enemy.

A moment later, he slapped the chopping board. The beef flew into the air, and he instantly drew the sword from his back. With a rapid series of slashes, he chopped wildly at it.

Thin slices of beef, as delicate as cicada wings, hung from the chopping board. He asked, "Will this do?"

"Uh... I guess so!" Uchiha Aozora did not know what to say.

After thinking about it, thinner was not a problem. It was all edible anyway; they would just need to blanch it for two seconds less.

With a chef boasting "top-tier knife skills" joining in, the hot pot ingredients were prepared in no time.

After placing the iron pot of broth on a small stove, Uchiha Aozora announced, "Time to eat!"

The soup in the pot had already been heated, and steam soon began rising from it.

The fragrance from the pot base drifted out with the steam, tantalizing Uchiha Shisui's taste buds.

"The water's boiling, eat! Start with the meat, then the vegetables. Dip the beef for two seconds, or it'll get tough."

As he spoke, he picked up a thin slice of beef and put it into the pot. Two seconds later, he fished it out, dipped it in his homemade sauce, and stuffed it into his mouth.

The rich aroma of the sauce and the tender texture of the beef instantly enveloped him.

Savoring the tender meat, Uchiha Aozora gave his brother a thumbs-up and said indistinctly, "Not bad knife work."

"Really? Let me try too!"

His younger brother's praise filled Uchiha Shisui with delight, and he could not resist trying it himself.

"Delicious!"

"Aozora, when did you get so good at cooking? This broth is so fresh!"

"Ha, the beef you sliced is great too. So tender!"

"I think so too. Give me another slice!"

"..."

The beef disappeared rapidly, and the vegetables were soon wiped out by the two of them as well. When Uchiha Shisui had even eaten the ginger in the pot, the battle finally came to an end.

Leaving the stove to heat the clear broth, the brothers lay comfortably on the floor, clutching their bellies.

"Aozora, what's your dream?" Uchiha Shisui suddenly asked.

Uchiha Aozora thought for a moment before answering, "To learn every ninjutsu in the Shinobi World!"

He wanted to know what connection the ninjutsu of this world had to the Heavenly Book. Once he learned every ninjutsu in the Shinobi World, what changes would occur in the Heavenly Book?

"What?"

Uchiha Shisui sat up in shock. He had thought his younger brother might want to become a Jonin, or even the Hokage, but he had never imagined that this would be his dream.

Aside from Aozora, someone else had once said the same thing. But that person possessed ninjutsu talent rarely seen in a century, while his younger brother...

His brother's surprise was within his expectations. Aozora said, "This is my dream. I'm not joking."

Uchiha Shisui saw the seriousness in Aozora's eyes, and the words of persuasion caught in his throat. After a while, he said solemnly, "Your brother believes in you!"

With that, he got up and walked toward his room.

After lying there for a while, Uchiha Aozora realized something was off.

Looking at the mess on the dining table, he felt that his brother was not being very honest.

"Hah—"

Letting out a long sigh, Uchiha Aozora could only clean up the mess himself.

Just after he finished washing the dishes, Uchiha Shisui appeared.

Faced with such a "heartless and ungrateful" older brother, Uchiha Aozora wore a dark expression.

Uchiha Shisui was utterly confused. He set down the wooden box he had been carrying in his arms.

"Aozora, this box contains the ninjutsu scrolls Father left behind. Over the years, I've also added some ninjutsu scrolls I collected."

"You hadn't refined Chakra before, so I kept them myself. Now that you've graduated from the Ninja Academy, you naturally qualify to read and study them."

As he spoke, Uchiha Shisui opened the box, revealing more than a dozen scrolls inside.

Seeing the burning look in his brother's eyes, Uchiha Shisui did not immediately push the box toward Uchiha Aozora. Instead, he warned him, "Aozora, I support your dream!"

"But biting off more than you can chew will only ruin things. I hope you can control your desires and make good choices."

"From now on, I'll regularly check your training progress. If I find that you've neglected your training to learn ninjutsu and your strength has stagnated, I'll take these back!"

With that, he pushed the box toward Uchiha Aozora.

Uchiha Aozora eagerly picked up the wooden box, preparing to carry it back to his room. After taking two steps, he remembered that he had not thanked his brother yet.

Uchiha Aozora quickly turned back. "Brother, thank you! And I won't give you the chance to take them back!"

With that, Uchiha Aozora carried the wooden box upstairs with a rapid clatter of footsteps.

Seeing the heartfelt smile on his younger brother's face, Uchiha Shisui returned to his room in satisfaction.

Meanwhile, Uchiha Aozora returned to his bedroom, placed the wooden box on the bed, kicked off his shoes, and climbed onto the bed to inspect it.

Just when he wanted to sleep, someone handed him a pillow. Things really were going exactly as he wished!

Looking at the treasure chest, Uchiha Aozora slowly reached out his sinful little hand!

Open!

"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique."

Open again!

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique."

Open once more!

"Fire Release: Great Fire Dragon Bullet."

After opening three low-level Fire Release ninjutsu in a row, Uchiha Aozora's excitement gradually calmed down. He quickly flipped through all the scrolls.

There were twenty-three scrolls in the entire wooden box. Each scroll recorded one or two ninjutsu along with related training insights, for a total of thirty-three ninjutsu.

Of the thirty-three, eighteen were ninjutsu, nine were genjutsu, three were sword techniques, and three were Ninja Tool Manipulation techniques.

Though the number was considerable, they were basically all D-Rank and C-Rank ninjutsu. There were only three B-Rank ninjutsu, and not a single A-Rank ninjutsu.

"Man, Brother, you're doing terribly. The great Body Flicker Shisui only collected this much?"

Though he complained aloud, Uchiha Aozora was blooming with joy inside.

He believed his brother must still be holding some back, but surely had his reasons. These ninjutsu alone would be enough to keep him training for a long time.

After considering it, he picked out three scrolls.

The first scroll recorded Uchiha Basic Fire Style—Great Fireball Technique and Phoenix Sage Fire Technique.

The second scroll recorded two basic genjutsu—Hell Viewing Technique and Demonic Illusion: False Servant Technique.

The third scroll recorded the throwing and manipulation technique of shuriken—Skill of the Shuriken.

Uchiha Aozora did not choose profound ninjutsu. Instead, he chose relatively basic ones, because he knew that a towering building rose from level ground.

Having selected ninjutsu that would be easier to learn in the early stages, Uchiha Aozora no longer felt any attachment to the ninjutsu in the box.

After hiding the sealed box away, Uchiha Aozora opened one of the scrolls.