Haku Who Knew the Truth

Yuki Haku's mind was indeed in turmoil. He looked at Yichen, then at Fujii Kusaka and Kamizuru Tsuruhime, his mouth agape, unsure of what to say.

Yichen smiled and said, "Bai, don't be nervous. Whatever your final choice is, you must not lose the composure a ninja should have."

"Take a deep breath and calm yourself down. Your Chakra is fluctuating wildly right now; you're not in a good state of mind to make any judgments."

Upon hearing this, Yuki Haku closed his eyes and silently took several deep breaths.

After a while, he calmed down a bit when he opened his eyes again. His Chakra was no longer fluctuating, and his breathing was no longer rapid. But his heartbeat was still faster than normal.

Seeing this, Yichen smiled inwardly. It was normal to be shocked, but the fact that he could recover so quickly meant that the shock he had suffered was not great.

There probably won't be any significant changes in their thinking.

Yichen said, "Bai, Ni, Sokai (oh, Zao Jie is Zhongxing), and Neji, you are all ninjas from Kekkei Genkai clans that I rescued from other ninja villages."

"You lived with Sokai and Neji, so you must have heard them talk about their experiences in Konoha."

Bai nodded and said, "Zhongxing talked a lot about his past, but Neji rarely mentioned it."

Yichen nodded and said, "They both know their origins. Look at how they feel about Iwagakure now."

After thinking for a moment, Yuki Haku said, "I remember that the two of them were initially somewhat distant from me and Kurotsuchi. Their relationship with my parents seemed even more distant."

"But I don't know when it started, this sense of mutual repulsion between the two of them disappeared."

Yichen smiled and said, "I know when it started, because their families weren't doing well in their respective ninja villages."

"Neji's father became a scapegoat for his uncle, meaning the Main Family. That's why Neji never felt a sense of belonging to Konoha from the very beginning."

"But Neji's branch family members are all in Konoha, so Neji subconsciously feels that that's where his home is."

"It wasn't until later, when he saw how much effort the village went to for the Caged Bird on his forehead, that he accepted the village."

"His current idea is probably to rescue the branch family members suffering in Konoha and then bring them here to live."

"Of course, there's also the matter of taking revenge on the Main Family. As for how he plans to retaliate once he has the power, I have no idea."

Yuki Haku nodded slightly, pondering Yichen's words.

Yichen only hoped that he could empathize with Neji's experience, not that he should think about whether he and Neji were the same.

Then Yichen continued, "As for Sokai, he's just a fool."

Yichen rubbed his temples.

Yuki Haku smiled upon hearing this. He recalled some of the silly things Sokai done in his life. Although Sokai was a few years older than him, his intelligence was indeed worrying.

Reflecting on Sokai's situation, he was reminded of Uzumaki Riori IQ was similar to Sokai's.

Thinking of Uzumaki Riori, Yuki Haku suddenly asked, "Teacher Yichen, how did Uzumaki Sister Riori's family join the village?"

He knew that the Uzumaki Clan was formerly the rulers of the Land of Whirlpools, which was mentioned in the Ninja Academy textbooks. However, why they joined the Iwagakure was not mentioned in the textbooks, nor did the teacher explain it.

Yichen smiled and said, "That was right after the Second Shinobi World War ended. Konoha suffered heavy losses in the war."

"Therefore, the Cloud ninja, Mist ninja, and Sunagakure launched a surprise attack on the Land of Whirlpools Konoha, a staunch ally of Konoha."

"The Three Great Ninja Villages joined forces to annihilate the Uzumaki Clan. Our Third Lord led his troops to rescue many members of the Uzumaki Clan from the clutches of the Three Great Ninja Villages."

"Among them were Riori and Karin's elders. From then on, the Uzumaki Clan became a member of the village."

"The village didn't record it in too much detail because they were mindful of Uzumaki Riori."

"However, the situation of the Uzumaki Clan is different from yours. Many members of the Uzumaki Clan come to the village, and they have almost no clansmen left in other places."

"Furthermore, the village was genuinely sincere towards them, so they quickly accepted the village."

Yuki Haku seemed thoughtful, then asked, "Teacher Yichen, did Kirigakure also participate in the annihilation of the Uzumaki Clan?"

Yichen nodded and said, "That's true. The Mist ninja and Cloud ninja were the ones who led the attack; they killed every Uzumaki Clan member they could find."

"But that has nothing to do with you, don't overthink it. To be honest, the Land of Earth and the Land of Whirlpools fought a war a few years ago."

"There's no need to dwell on such old, trivial matters. If ninjas were to remember every grudge, no one would have peace."

"For example, we fought with Kirigakure, but aren't we allies now?"

Yuki Haku nodded, seemingly understanding.

Yichen continued, "Let's continue talking about Sokai. Sokai's family, the Uchiha Clan, is the most powerful family in Konoha, and they are also one of the Founders of Konoha."

"However, the Konoha High-ranking officials has been suppressing the Uchiha Clan, and now they are even considering how to the annihilation of the Uchiha Clan at the lowest possible cost."

"Sokai understood this as well, which is why he wanted to create another home for the Uchiha Clan here."

"However, bringing the Uchiha Clan out of Konoha will be incredibly difficult. A great battle is inevitable, and the clansmen who Sokai will likely suffer heavy casualties."

"It's even possible that the entire Uchiha clan will be wiped out. When that happens, you'll have to comfort him properly."

Upon hearing this, Yuki Haku also showed a worried expression; he was concerned for his big-hearted, foolish older brother, Sokai.

Seeing this, Yichen finally breathed a sigh of relief. Currently, Yuki Haku's overall stance is still on the side of Iwagakure, at least in terms of family and friendship, he still habitually relies on Iwagakure.

So Yichen began to play hard to get. "Of course, Haku, your family's situation in Kirigakure is much better."

"Back then, the Fourth Mizukage was controlled by that mysterious Uchiha I just mentioned, and he was constantly targeting the large ninja clans of Kirigakure."

"The Kirigakure, originally the most powerful Kaguya Clan, was wiped out around that time."

"Later, the Yuki Clan, the Hozuki Clan, and other major clans united to fight against the Fourth Mizukage. Ultimately, the Fourth Mizukage was overthrown, but these major clans also suffered heavy losses."

"Bai, I've heard that your biological father also died in that First Shinobi War."

"As for your biological mother, she died at the hands of that mysterious Uchiha we just mentioned."

Yuki Haku's face turned pale, and he couldn't utter a single word. Yichen's sudden words had greatly shocked him.

At this moment, Fujii Kusaka said, "Teacher Yichen, if Haku stays in Kirigakure, will he also be killed by that Uchiha?"

Yichen mentally gave Fujii Kusaka a thumbs up.

Yichen was just about to subtly point this out. Now, having Fujii Kusaka say it would obviously feel more natural than saying it himself.

Yichen deliberately pondered for a moment, then slowly nodded and said, "It's highly likely that the Uchiha killed all the children over the age of seven."

"Given Haku's age, he probably wouldn't have gone to war with his clan at that time; he would have stayed at home. That Uchiha probably won't let Haku go."

Yuki Haku looked blankly at Yichen and Fujii Kusaka. He hadn't recovered from the death of his biological parents and couldn't keep up with their train of thought at all.

Yichen and the others stopped talking and waited quietly to the side.

After a long silence, Bai finally said, "Teacher Yichen, I'm feeling very confused right now."

Yichen said, "Go home and rest. If something's on your mind, talk to your family."

"Captain Kurotsuchi, Captain Purple Lightning, and even the Third Lord have all said that if you want to go to Kirigakure, they hope I will support you."

"Dad, Mom, Grandpa?" Yuki Haku murmured to himself.

"Teacher Yichen, I want to go home now," Yuki Haku said after a moment of silence.

Yichen nodded, created a Shadow Clone, and sent the Shadow Clone to Yuki Haku back to Kitsuchi's home.

After Yuki Haku left, Yichen turned his attention to Kamizuru Tsuruhime.

Kamizuru Tsuruhime is a bee-controlling creature, Yichen has no experience in this area to teach her, but Yichen can offer her many conveniences.

From the very first day he accepted her as a disciple, Yichen began using his authority to help Kamizuru Tsuruhime cultivate.

For example, finding a suitable place for her to raise bees, or an environment where she could potentially train the bees.

In addition, Yichen assigned her the task of continuing to reduce the size of her bees.

"Tsuruhime, how big are your bees now?" Yichen asked.

After these days, Yichen wanted to see the results of her hard work.

Kamizuru Tsuruhime reached out her hand, more than a dozen bees flew out from her sleeve.

Yichen glanced at it, nodded, and said, "Yes, that's about right. That's about the size of the insects from the Konoha Aburame Clan."

"Although I don't understand insect control, since the Aburame Clan defeated the Kamizuru Clan back then, we need to acknowledge their strengths."

"Absorb the opponent's strengths, leverage your own advantages, and then surpass the opponent."

Kamizuru Tsuruhime nodded somewhat dejectedly. Because of their defeat at the hands of the Aburame Clan, the Kamizuru Clan's status in Iwagakure had plummeted, and they were having a very difficult time.

Yichen patted the head of Kamizuru Tsuruhime and said, "Past achievements are history. We must look forward. In the future, we will defeat the Aburame Clan and wash away the shame of our ancestors."

"Your family should also have methods for controlling bees in battle. You can practice that on your own; I won't interfere."

"We'll first develop a training plan to cultivate various abilities in bees, such as waterproofing, fire resistance, and venom resistance."

"At the same time, you also need to pay attention to the natural mutations of bees. When you encounter bees that are particularly fast or strong, you must take care to cultivate them and then replace them with newer generations."

As he spoke, Yichen took out more than a dozen bottles of poison, saying, "These are poisons that I had the Medical Department prepare. Their toxicity varies from low to high."

"Use these poisons for practice, and first cultivate bees that are immune to the poison."

"Once this step is complete, you can practice controlling the bees to absorb the toxins from the ninja's body. I will arrange for ninjas from the Medical Department to assist you in this regard."

"If any ninja is poisoned, you can help with the treatment."

Kamizuru Tsuruhime nodded excitedly. Her family had fallen into decline, and she wanted to do the things Yichen mentioned, but she couldn't.

So the little girl excitedly and carefully put away the dozen or so bottles of poison that Yichen had given her.

Seeing this, Yichen added, "Take your time when testing the poisons, don't rush. The most potent of these poisons can easily kill a low- Genin, so be careful yourself."

"Remember not to use too much poison during the experiment."

Kamizuru Tsuruhime quickly replied, "I understand, Teacher Yichen."

After saying that, she happily ran off to do her experiment.

Finally, Yichen looked at Fujii Kusaka, Fujii Kusaka lowered her head somewhat self-consciously.

Looking at the girl who lacked any confidence, Yichen smiled and ruffled her hair, saying, "Kusaka, be more confident. You're a genius."

"When I wrote to the daimyo to express my desire to take you as my apprentice, the daimyo was very happy and looked forward to seeing your growth."

This is the absolute truth. After receiving Yichen's letter, the Daimyo immediately agreed. Furthermore, the Daimyo allocated a large sum of money to Iwagakure on the spot.

The daimyo didn't know much about ninjas; he only heard from his guards that this Fujii Kusaka had very poor talent, yet Yichen had taken a liking to her.

Yichen is a renowned teacher who can turn useless students into geniuses.

Therefore, the daimyo's confidence in Yichen was blind; he was waiting for Yichen to train an outstanding Guardian Ninja for him.

I heard that the daimyo of the neighboring Land of Fire recruited many ninjas from Konoha Land of Fire Guardian Ninja, and those ninjas are already carrying out their guard duties.

The Tsuchikage scoffed, saying that such self-taught ninjas could never compare to those formally trained in Great Ninja Village.

Among the disciples trained by the Great Ninja Village, those who become Kage are the most highly regarded.

Of all the shadows, the Tsuchikage of one's own family is the most capable of teaching disciples.

Once Fujii Kusaka grows up, she'll definitely be very strong. We could arrange a sparring match between her and the Daimyo of the Land of Fire's Guardian Ninja.

Daimyo was already fantasizing about the wonderful future.

Therefore, the higher-ups of Iwagakure were very pleased that Yichen Fujii Kusaka his disciple.

Fujii Kusaka looked up in surprise when Yichen mentioned Daimyo. She hadn't expected that she, who was considered a good-for-nothing by everyone, could receive the attention of both Daimyo and Kage.

The young girl was both excited and nervous. She was excited that she had caught the eye of these two important figures, but nervous that she might disappoint them if she didn't do well.

Yichen said, "Kusaka, your Fire Release is unusually weak for some reason, but there will always be a way to solve this problem in the future."

"Even if you can't solve it, once your strength increases, your Chakra will become stronger and stronger. At that time, your Fire Release techniques will still be able to kill people."

"Ninjas are generally high in attack and low in defense. Fire Release techniques are inherently powerful, so you don't need that much power to kill an enemy."

"If all else fails, you can use your talent to learn Fire Release Shape Transformation before others do."

"Since the Great Fireball is weak, let's compress it and increase its power through Shape Transformation."

"Besides, even though they're both Fire Release, the Great Fireball is only C-rank, so its burning effect is only average. Once you learn B-rank Fire Style Jutsu, you won't have to worry about not being able to kill someone."

Of course, Yichen's words were all nonsense, just something to fool naive young girls.

The main reason for doing this is that Yichen still doesn't understand what Fujii Kusaka's Fire Release is all about.

Of course, a white lie, if it can make a girl more confident and more motivated during practice, is also a good thing.