Kakashi's Suggestion

The dense clanging of metal in a secluded forest suddenly came to a halt.

Poof!

Poof!

The two Shadow Clones dispersed. The next second, Kakashi's expression changed, and he dropped straight to the ground.

When Shadow Clones dispersed, their memories returned. Once too many memories came back at once, they could place a huge burden on the body in an instant.

Fortunately, Kakashi had only used two Shadow Clones, and they had only been throwing Shuriken, so the burden was not too great.

"Come have something to eat. Food helps restore Chakra. We'll train twice more this afternoon, then today's training will be over."

Uchiha Yoichi beckoned Kakashi over. Three large food boxes had already been prepared beside him, containing roughly enough food for six people: rice balls, meat, and seafood, all ordered from several cooked-food shops In the Village.

He had temporarily subscribed for a month, costing around 120,000 ryo. The seafood was the most expensive part; everything else was normally priced.

"Then I'll accept your hospitality."

Kakashi did not stand on ceremony. After sitting down, he took the food box Uchiha Yoichi handed him and began eating. If Uchiha Yoichi had not called him over, he would have eaten the dry rations he had brought himself.

Although they were In the Village and Kakashi could have gone home for a meal, he was carrying out a mission and had to follow the employer's arrangements until it was completed.

A ninja's foundation was Chakra. To restore Chakra quickly, food was the only real option. Nutritious meals helped Chakra recover, while medicinal ingredients worked even faster—but generally, no one took medicine just to restore Chakra.

Even Soldier Pills made from medicinal ingredients were reserved for emergencies.

"Are you planning to train in swordsmanship?"

After finishing his food, Kakashi turned and asked. He removed his mask when he ate, but he had eaten with his back to Uchiha Yoichi.

"Yeah. I'm planning to practice swordsmanship that works with Lightning Release speed. That way, I'll have a better chance of surviving on the battlefield. And, Kakashi, didn't I say not to ask me questions so casually?!"

Uchiha Yoichi had not been paying attention. When he Opened Mouth to answer, he had spoken his thoughts again. Fortunately, after talking with Kakashi yesterday, he had figured out a bit of a pattern.

As long as he consciously controlled himself, he could avoid speaking aloud. But if he Opened Mouth unconsciously, then he would definitely say what was on his mind.

"Sorry. I'll keep that in mind next time. But if you want a sparring partner for swordsmanship, I can change how we train—for example, I can use a ninja blade too."

Kakashi apologized with no expression visible on his masked face, then continued, "I should be a little better than you at swordsmanship. Compared to Shuriken throwing, which can only train your reactions and blocking, sparring with swords should be more effective."

At Kakashi's words, Uchiha Yoichi suddenly remembered that Kakashi's father was Konoha's White Fang, whose blade techniques were renowned throughout the shinobi world.

During the Third Shinobi World War, Kakashi had even been able to intimidate a Stone Ninja Jonin merely because his features closely resembled Hatake Sakumo's.

However, it was not graduation season, and there were no suitable Mission Squads where someone could be placed, so Kakashi could only take on D-rank missions.

Running into Uchiha Yoichi's mission had been pure coincidence. Kakashi had happened to be at the mission office when the request was posted. Since there was little danger within the village, he had accepted it.

"Of course I'm fine with that. If you have no objections, I can pay you at the rate of a B-rank Mission. The hours will remain the same as we agreed before—just don't take the initiative to talk to me."

"Mm, no problem. Then it's settled. You could also try using blade techniques against all kinds of Ninjutsu, but my Chakra is limited, so I can't accompany you in that sort of training."

Kakashi agreed at once. After watching Uchiha Yoichi train for a day, he had gained some understanding of this Chunin who was "somewhat well-known" In the Village.

He had a One Tomoe Sharingan, yet his reaction speed was fast. He had no foundation in swordsmanship, yet he could rely on his reflexes to block every single Shuriken.

One could see a person's strength through training. Fighting someone like that would also help improve his blade techniques.

But the Uchiha Clan should have many powerful Ninja. Why had he not Looked For someone from his own clan, instead posting a request to find a ninja from the village?

"Let's continue training."

After resting for a while, Uchiha Yoichi stood and spoke. Kakashi had also rested enough by then and immediately created three Shadow Clones.

Before long, dense metallic clashes rang out through the woods once more.

Kakashi threw his Shuriken from extremely tricky angles. Though they were not infused with Chakra and thus lacked much power, every one of them targeted a vital point.

Uchiha Yoichi could only keep increasing the speed of his swings. The tomoe in his Sharingan nearly spun like pinwheels within his pupils before he managed to avoid being injured by the barrage of Shuriken.

By the end of the afternoon's training, Kakashi was exhausted as well. After Uchiha Yoichi bid him farewell, he hurried home.

Just after showering, his food delivery arrived. Uchiha Yoichi found cooking troublesome, so he had ordered both lunch and dinner to be delivered.

But not long after Uchiha Yoichi finished eating, someone knocked on his door.

When he opened it, Uchiha Yoichi frowned slightly. The visitor was one of the people he least wanted to see right now.

"Young Yoichi, don't forget to attend tonight's Clan Meeting."

"Senior Jianlin, I believe I already said that I don't want to attend. There's no precedent for Chunin to attend Clan Meetings either, so please stop coming to me."

"Yoichi, as long as someone belongs to the Uchiha Clan, they can attend the Clan Meeting. The Clan Head invited you this time. You should go. Don't make things difficult for me."

[If he refuses to go, then I can only use slightly stronger measures.]

After hearing both Uchiha Kanbayashi's words and inner thoughts, Uchiha Yoichi could not help saying, "Senior Jianlin, why don't I ever see you and the Clan Head acting this tough toward outsiders?"

"Even if you make me attend the Clan Meeting, your plans won't succeed. From the very beginning, I had no intention of apologizing to someone who insulted me. Senior Jianlin, don't tell me you think every clan member is like you and the Clan Head, swallowing humiliation and compromising whenever facing outsiders!"

This time, he did not need to deliberately restrain himself. He had wanted to say these words in the first place!

"Yoichi, you—"

[He's right. If Uchiha Yoichi explains everything in detail at the Clan Meeting, and the Second Elder stirs things up as well, then Fugaku's authority as Clan Head will definitely be questioned. No, Fugaku's plan is wrong. We should discuss it again.]

As Uchiha Kanbayashi thought this, his expression shifted slightly. He no longer wanted Uchiha Yoichi to attend the Clan Meeting either, but he could not bring himself to back down. In the end, he gave Uchiha Yoichi a deep look and said, "Yoichi, no matter what others have told you, you've misunderstood the Clan Head."

"I know better than anyone whether it's a misunderstanding, Senior Jianlin. Right now, I understand you even better than you understand yourself."

After saying that, Uchiha Yoichi went back inside, fetched a Storage Scroll, and tossed it to Uchiha Kanbayashi.

"This is the payment for forging the ninja blade. Keep the extra as material costs. If you haven't contacted the Cat Ninja Clan, then return my Chakra Metal to me and I'll find someone myself. I really don't want to accept your and the Clan Head's goodwill. Otherwise, I'm afraid I might die under the Clan Head's goodwill one day."

The Hyuga Clan Head could hand over his own younger brother, and the Uchiha young clan head could exterminate his clan for Konoha. Within the Clan, Uchiha Yoichi was merely a clan member with a little bit of fame. If he got too close to Uchiha Fugaku, he truly feared that one day Fugaku would say—

'Yoichi, for Konoha, please make a sacrifice!'

There were One Million Five Hundred Thousand Ryo inside the scroll—more than enough even to hire a master ninja-tool smith from the Land of Artisans.

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