The Sheep That Came to My Door

Shisui naturally didn't understand.

At his current stage, he simply couldn't comprehend what Kyoichi was saying, but he knew one thing—the teacher didn't hate him for being a student from the Uchiha clan.

On the contrary, he was very willing to communicate and share with him.

That alone was enough to make Shisui happy.

There was one thing Kyoichi hadn't said.

The Ninja Academy was one of the few places where the Uchiha could communicate with the rest of Konoha.

After graduating early, it would be far too difficult to come into contact with Konoha's civilians again—

The Uchiha seemed to have privileges, but in reality, they had been isolated from the outside.

Kyoichi didn't agree with it, but he was powerless to change anything.

He hadn't told Shisui all this because he wanted to change anything. It had merely occurred to him on a whim.

However.

Before long, he received a notification—

[You have gained Shisui Uchiha's initial recognition.]

[Reward obtained: Basic Genjutsu.]

Genjutsu?

This really did cover one of his blind spots.

Many new memories appeared in Kyoichi's mind. After carefully pondering them for a moment, he felt quite satisfied.

He had no intention of becoming a genjutsu master.

But solid genjutsu fundamentals came with an additional benefit—chakra control.

"Teacher, can I come to you with more questions in the future?"

"Of course."

Kyoichi smiled from ear to ear.

He wasn't just being polite. He was genuinely happy.

Shisui was such a good kid!

He was practically a sheep delivering itself to his door. Kyoichi had even prepared the wool and shears.

"Thank you, Teacher!"

Shisui bowed deeply.

He still hadn't realized that in Kyoichi's eyes, he had already changed from a good kid into a fat sheep meant only for shearing.

"Come on. I'll treat you to a meal."

Kyoichi smiled.

"Huh? No, no..."

Shisui felt a little embarrassed, but Kyoichi still dragged him away by force.

In the distance.

The Shadow Clone watched him leave with Shisui, its face full of resentment.

What the heck!

Taking students around was all a lie.

He simply didn't want to train and had made his clone do the hard labor here.

His mentality was shattered.

Kyoichi had made his clone practice Taijutsu techniques.

As for physical training—

That could only be done through his own hard work.

He would deal with that later. His injuries were still "not healed."

Besides...

He needed to eat his fill before he had the strength to train.

Ichiraku Ramen.

"Boss, two bowls of ramen."

"Sure. Please take a seat, sir."

Ichiraku was only in his twenties at this point and looked very young. His daughter Ayame had only recently been born.

Shisui looked around curiously.

He had heard of this shop. Obito seemed to like coming here a lot, but...

He had never eaten here before.

Not long after.

"Rin, I really was just careless earlier. If I got another chance—no, once I awaken the Sharingan, I'll definitely beat the teacher until he's crying for his teeth."

Obito was bragging outside.

Before entering, he had been waving his hands around, talking and gesturing at the same time.

Shisui pressed a hand to his forehead.

He had just thought of this clansman older brother, and the next moment, Obito had arrived. His entrance was unexpectedly dramatic, too.

Crying for his teeth...

How could he even say that?

Even with an extra Sharingan, Shisui didn't think Obito could defeat Kyoichi—especially after witnessing the power of Kyoichi's Water Release ninjutsu. He was even more certain of it.

Shisui knew very well.

In class, this teacher hadn't been serious at all.

Kyoichi, meanwhile, wasn't surprised in the slightest.

There was a reason Kakashi called Obito a dead last.

This guy wasn't weak.

But.

At this stage, he was just like early Naruto. His combat intelligence was truly terrible.

Circling around? Coordinating?

He didn't understand either!

He was also extremely arrogant, constantly mentioning the "Sharingan"—although the gap between him and many Uchiha geniuses was really only one Sharingan.

The moment Rin entered, she stopped in her tracks.

Obito trembled all over. His first reaction upon seeing Kyoichi was to...

Turn around and leave.

But.

He couldn't. He still had class tomorrow. Running now would count as fleeing, and the punishment later might be even worse.

Obito's face turned green.

Damn it.

I was only bragging. How did I get this unlucky?

He was completely numb.

He forced a stiff smile onto his face and entered with an impeccably deep bow. "Sumimasen!"

"Obito, you're really something. You make mistakes as quickly as you apologize."

"Yes, I'm very sorry!"

Obito's face flushed red.

"All right, sit down. Tomorrow's exam will combine the Transformation Jutsu and Clone Technique. You'll be the first to go up and give everyone a demonstration."

"Huh?"

"Pfft..."

Rin couldn't hold it in.

Obito had been so arrogant while bragging just now, but now he was every bit as cowardly.

She found the whole thing hilarious.

"Teacher, I... I can't do it. My chakra control is among the worst."

By the end, Obito's voice was barely audible. He had just bragged that having the Sharingan would let him beat the teacher senseless, only to run into him immediately afterward. The situation was truly awkward.

"Knowing your own shortcomings is a good thing. Practice more while you still haven't gone to the battlefield. As for the Sharingan... a Kekkei Genkai is only an external factor. Whether you become powerful still depends on you."

"Shisui, what do you think?"

Having some self-awareness was a good thing.

Kyoichi launched into a lecture without thinking.

What if he happened to gain another reward?

He was taking on the role of a life mentor, after all.

He had to keep trying. Something would come of it eventually.

There happened to be another Uchiha here, too.

What a coincidence.

"Teacher, you're right."

Shisui pondered for a long while before finally nodding lightly.

There was no Uchiha who didn't yearn for the Sharingan, but after listening to Kyoichi's words and thinking it over carefully, he realized that the teacher was indeed right. Many powerful people had no Kekkei Genkai and were still formidable.

The Third Hokage and the Third Raikage, for example.

Neither possessed a Kekkei Genkai, yet both were famous throughout the shinobi world.

"..."

Obito felt uncomfortable, but he couldn't find any grounds to refute him.

At that moment, the ramen arrived.

"Please enjoy."

"Thank you!"

Kyoichi composed himself, then followed the local etiquette and went through the motions before finally picking up his chopsticks.

He slurped up a mouthful of noodles.

Delicious!

The flavor was rich, and there were plenty of toppings. No wonder the shop had managed to establish itself in Konoha for so many years.

Shisui's feelings were complicated.

He was nervous, but also happy—this was the first time he had eaten outside the Uchiha compound.

Still.

It felt pretty good.

Obito was depressed, sitting off to the side in self-isolation.

But.

The moment the ramen arrived, he immediately transformed into a human food vacuum.

"Let's eat!"

Partway through, Teuchi's wife came out carrying their child to help.

The shop was far too busy.

Kyoichi and the others had arrived early, so they had seats. Those who came later could only stand in line and wait. And this was during wartime; on ordinary days, there would probably be even more people.

With a good skill, one could make money even in the shinobi world.

After they finished eating, Kyoichi paid for the meal. Then he said goodbye to Shisui, Obito, and Rin before heading home.

He took a look, but there were no rewards.

Still.

It wasn't a problem.

For now, he could treat them as fish he was raising. One day, they would all take the bait.

He wasn't afraid of the leeks growing too strong.

After he got home, his Shadow Clone's chakra was exhausted, and it dispelled itself.

A wave of exhaustion surged over him.

That feeling was truly...

Satisfying in a painful way.

But the results were indeed excellent.

Although physical training had been ineffective, practicing and training Taijutsu techniques had worked. It had also given him a general idea of where his physical ability stood.

By his rough estimate, in terms of Taijutsu alone, he should rank among the stronger Jonin.

Of course.

That didn't amount to much. It only meant that if he returned to the battlefield, he would have a certain degree of self-protection.