Kido? Ghost Release?

"Little Sasuke, Big Sis brought you some candy. Do you want some?"

Ye Wuyue watched Fugaku and Itachi in the center of the training ground. Just then, Izumi came over, took several candies from her pocket, bent down, and handed them to him.

Since Ye Wuyue often encouraged her relationship with Itachi, Izumi had a very favorable impression of him and frequently brought him small snacks.

"Thank you, Big Sis Izumi."

Ye Wuyue smiled sweetly and accepted the candy Izumi handed him.

To be honest, he had been a little unaccustomed to acting cute like a child at first, but he was already quite skilled at it now.

"Such a good boy. Big Sis will treat you to Ichiraku Ramen next time!"

Izumi ruffled Sasuke's hair and said with a smile.

At that moment, Itachi and Fugaku began their sparring match in the center of the field. The two of them also started watching the exchange seriously.

"Come on, give it everything you've got!" Fugaku beckoned to Itachi.

Itachi nodded, then took several shuriken from his ninja pouch. He held three in each hand and threw them with a slight delay between the two throws.

The six shuriken shot toward Fugaku's vital points the moment they left his hands.

"Shurikenjutsu? The accuracy is indeed very high, but with trajectories this unchanging, they won't be able to hit an enemy."

Fugaku spoke calmly.

The next moment, Itachi threw another shuriken. This one was faster than the previous ones, catching up to one of the shuriken he had thrown earlier in an instant.

The two shuriken collided, and their trajectories changed at that moment. The shuriken whose paths had changed then struck several of the others, causing all their trajectories to shift. Their angles became even more unpredictable.

Fugaku nodded approvingly at this. Then he took out a kunai and moved forward. With a series of clangs, he either knocked down or dodged the seven shuriken coming at extremely tricky angles.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

Fugaku had just dodged all the shuriken when a huge fireball flew toward him.

Ye Wuyue was stunned by the speed of Itachi's hand seals. He could only see afterimages of his hands.

"Itachi is amazing!"

Izumi, standing beside him, had long since been dumbfounded. She did not yet know a single ninjutsu, and her shurikenjutsu was only at an excellent level. To her, Itachi's current strength was on an entirely different level.

However, Itachi's current strength naturally posed no threat to Fugaku. Fugaku formed hand seals at incredible speed and actually completed the technique just as the fireball arrived.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

The two fireballs collided and canceled each other out. Since Fugaku was worried about hurting Itachi, he had only used a small portion of his strength.

Moreover, he had been defending passively the entire time and had not attacked even once.

Amid the white smoke left behind after the fireballs dissipated, a figure holding a kunai charged out. It was Uchiha Itachi.

Itachi leaped and threw a side kick, which Fugaku blocked with his hand. Itachi then raised his kunai and thrust forward.

Fugaku raised his own kunai and blocked the attack. He then seized Itachi's arm and threw him away. While flying through the air, Itachi threw a shuriken he had pulled from his ninja pouch, but Fugaku dodged it. Then, with a poof, Itachi turned into white smoke.

Shadow Clone Technique.

Fugaku was slightly surprised. He had never taught Itachi that technique.

Did he learn it from Shisui?

Fugaku soon figured out the reason.

Then the real one should be...

"Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique!"

A scorching sensation came from behind. A flaming dragon's head rushed toward Fugaku's back.

"That's a B-rank ninjutsu, right..."

Izumi was already numb with shock. She knew Itachi was a genius, but she had never expected a seven-year-old Itachi to be this powerful—to already possess strength exceeding that of a Genin while still at the Ninja Academy.

Ye Wuyue watched their battle and secretly compared their abilities. He felt that, without using his Zanpakuto, his current strength was probably slightly inferior to Itachi's. After all, Itachi's combat intelligence was far too high. He had devised an offensive strategy in an instant, something far beyond Ye Wuyue.

However, once he used his Zanpakuto, his overwhelming strength was not something Itachi could withstand, let alone if he put on his mask.

In the center of the field, Fugaku stood behind Itachi and tapped him on the head with his kunai. Itachi knew the spar was over and that he had lost.

"Hahahaha! As expected of my son! That was a beautiful fight!"

Fugaku laughed proudly and stroked Itachi's head with satisfaction.

"Dad, what did you use just now..."

Itachi turned to look at Fugaku. He knew his attack would definitely fail, but he had not expected Fugaku to subdue him in that instant.

"It was only a simple genjutsu combined with the Body Flicker Technique."

"But I didn't see you form any hand seals, Father."

Fugaku's explanation did not dispel Itachi's confusion.

Ye Wuyue, however, had noticed some clues. When Fugaku had his back turned to Itachi, he seemed to have lifted a finger. Then, when Itachi released Dragon Fire Technique, its direction had shifted slightly.

After that, Fugaku had used the Body Flicker Technique to move behind Itachi instantly.

"Some very simple ninjutsu can be performed with one hand seal, or even without hand seals, just like the Body Flicker Technique. The genjutsu I used just now could only slightly interfere with your vision. With enough practice, it can be performed merely by raising a finger. I'll teach it to you later."

Fugaku explained, and Itachi understood at once.

"Next, Sasuke, show us what you've accomplished with your recent training."

After sparring with Itachi, Fugaku's expectations for his younger son had grown even higher. He had long understood Itachi's talent, and now his younger son had begun training at such a young age. This filled him with great hopes for Sasuke, even though Sasuke was not yet three.

I hope Sasuke's talent will be like Itachi's too! At the very least, it can't be too far behind.

Fugaku thought about it expectantly.

Hearing this, Ye Wuyue walked to the center of the training ground.

"Dad, some of the abilities I've been training may take a little time to use." Ye Wuyue spoke in a childish voice.

"It's fine. I'll stand here and wait." Fugaku waved it off.

After hearing Fugaku's reply, Ye Wuyue secretly chuckled. He planned to test out the few Kido spells he had recently been practicing.

Ye Wuyue stood in the center of the training ground, extended his right palm, and began chanting.

"O ruler! Mask of flesh and blood, all creation, fluttering wings, that which bears the name of humankind! Heat and chaos, surging southward across the sea, advance with every step! Destructive Spell #31: Crimson Fire Cannon!"

As Ye Wuyue chanted, a bright red fireball slowly formed in his palm.

I did it! It worked!

Ye Wuyue felt the flow of spiritual power move exceptionally smoothly this time. When he shouted the final word, the fireball in his palm shot out toward Fugaku standing opposite him.

The fireball was considerably smaller than the one formed by Great Fireball Technique, but it was much faster. It reached Fugaku in an instant.

So fast!

Fugaku's pupils contracted slightly.

He did not panic, however. He dodged the fireball with a sidestep. The fireball struck a large tree outside the training ground, blasting a hole through its trunk.

Ye Wuyue was thrilled. This was the first Kido he had mastered beyond the thirtieth sequence, and its power seemed pretty good.

Then next...

"Binding Spell #30: Three-Spike Mouth Flash!"

Three beams of light shaped like sharp mouths appeared out of thin air. They struck Fugaku and bound him to the wall.

"Destructive Spell #4: White Lightning!"

A bolt of lightning appeared from Ye Wuyue's fingertip and shot toward the bound Fugaku.

The corner of Fugaku's mouth twitched. He used the Substitution Technique to dodge Ye Wuyue's attack.

"Destructive Spell #4: White Lightning!"

Seeing this, Ye Wuyue continued firing lightning. The moment he spotted Fugaku, he sent another White Lightning at him.

Because he was afraid of hurting Ye Wuyue, Fugaku kept using the Body Flicker Technique to dodge. For a time, he even looked somewhat flustered.

In the end... Ye Wuyue ran out of spiritual power.

"Hahahaha! As expected of my son!"

Fugaku laughed even louder. He stroked Sasuke's head, his heart filled with satisfaction.

"What kind of ability is that? I don't think I've ever seen it before. It looks like ninjutsu, but it doesn't require hand seals."

"It's an ability I figured out myself. I call it Kido."

"Ghost Release!? Did you create a Kekkei Genkai yourself?" Fugaku asked in shock.

"Uh, you could understand it that way, but it's called Kido," Ye Wuyue corrected him.

"To create a Kekkei Genkai yourself at the age of two—such talent is unprecedented!"

Fugaku was filled with excitement.

"Sasuke is already very strong! Then I need to become even stronger so I can protect my little brother!" Itachi secretly made up his mind.

Izumi watched this family and fell into deep thought.

If I'm not strong enough, will I be unable to marry into this family?

Afterward, Fugaku guided Itachi's genjutsu training while also teaching Ye Wuyue some training methods. He felt that, with a Kekkei Genkai like Kido, some ordinary ninjutsu was no longer very useful. Izumi also benefited greatly from listening nearby.