Shisui Uchiha

That evening, Shazo followed his plan and arrived at the Creek, where he completed his usual Wood Release training.

Once his Wood Release chakra was exhausted, he cleaned up all traces of the site and headed home along the stream.

But before he had gone far, Shazo keenly sensed a ninja ahead of him.

A very powerful ninja.

The other party almost simultaneously noticed and locked onto him, asking, "Who is it?"

Shazo did not choose to hide. Instead, he walked over openly.

A Konoha Ninja wandering around Konoha in the middle of the night was perfectly normal. There was no need to hide at all.

He stopped ten steps away before answering, "I'm Shazo, a Konoha Genin."

Then he asked, "Who are you?"

Sensing Shazo's frank attitude, the other person stepped out from his hiding place and answered brightly, "I'm Shisui Uchiha."

Hearing that name, Shazo's heart skipped a beat.

He steadied himself and asked again, "Body Flicker Shisui? An Uchiha Jonin—why are you here?"

"This is the northeast corner of the village. Your Uchiha Clan compound is in the southwest. Are you carrying out a mission?"

Shisui Uchiha answered calmly, "There are few people here, and it's quiet. I came to relax. What about you?"

Shazo told the truth. "I'm training a Secret Technique here."

Shisui Uchiha was startled. "Sorry. I'll leave right away."

Shazo shook his head. "No need. I've already finished training and was about to go home to sleep."

"Yes, Jonin-sama can come tomorrow too. Just don't come so early."

With that, he walked forward and brushed past Shisui.

Even after Shazo had completely disappeared, Shisui Uchiha remained where he was, his eyes fixed on the direction Shazo had left.

After a long while, Shisui murmured almost soundlessly to himself, "There was no fear in his eyes when he looked at me, nor any hostility. Only the distance brought by unfamiliarity."

"And a trace of pity?"

"I must have seen wrong. Since when could a Genin pity an Uchiha Clan Jonin like me?"

"Even the Third Hokage-sama wouldn't look at me with pity. I'm Body Flicker Shisui."

After another long silence, Shisui Uchiha let out a distant sigh. "If all Konoha Ninja were like Genin Shazo, the clansmen probably wouldn't be so anxious."

After Shazo had walked some distance away, he suddenly stopped and looked back toward the place where he had encountered Shisui.

Why did I run into Shisui?

Was it a coincidence, or did someone arrange it behind the scenes?

Or did my sudden surge in strength alter the course of fate and draw him here?

I'll see tomorrow.

On the fifth day, Shazo came to the Creek as usual to train his Wood Release Secret Technique.

Today, he made a major breakthrough and successfully used the newly developed [Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence].

This was an iconic Wood Release Secret Technique, the power Hashirama Senju, the First Hokage, had used to pacify an age of chaos.

Of course, the Wood Release Secret Technique Shazo had developed based on cultivation theory was still immature.

The scale of the technique was small, affecting an area of less than thirty meters, roughly comparable to the First Hokage brought back through Impure World Reincarnation during the Konoha Crush Plan.

Moreover, the trees it produced were not large enough. Controlling the branches to attack felt obviously sluggish, leaving it far below the First Hokage's standard.

Perhaps it would be more appropriate to call it [Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence: Pseudo].

But Shazo still felt extremely happy, because this was progress from zero to one. It solved the question of whether it could be done at all.

All he needed to do next was practice and refine it further, continuously expanding the technique's range and increasing the power of the Wood Release Secret Technique.

Excited, Shazo intensified his training, accelerating the development of [Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence]. Its range grew larger and larger, while the casting speed became faster and faster.

The sense of accomplishment brought by the Secret Technique's rapid progress left Shazo deeply satisfied. He could not help practicing for another half hour, only leaving contentedly once his Wood Release chakra was exhausted.

Sure enough, he ran into Shisui Uchiha again.

Shazo noticed that Shisui Uchiha had activated his Sharingan. When he saw Shazo, the three tomoe were spinning rapidly.

Before Shisui could speak, Shazo apologized first. "Sorry, I made considerable progress today, so I lost control of myself and trained for an extra half hour."

"I hope I didn't disturb you."

Shisui Uchiha had already deactivated his Sharingan. He waved a hand. "It's fine."

Shazo nodded again in apology, then left.

Shisui Uchiha turned to face the Creek. His unfocused eyes looked at the flowing water, and unlike yesterday, he did not watch Shazo's departing back.

But after Shazo had gone far away, he gathered his scattered thoughts and muttered, "As expected, Genin Shazo has no hostility or fear toward me. Even the distance brought by unfamiliarity has disappeared."

"When he looks at me, it's as though he's looking at a familiar fellow villager who deserves a polite greeting."

"It's so normal that it's not normal at all."

Suddenly, Shisui Uchiha frowned deeply. "And Genin Shazo... his strength isn't that of a Genin."

The growth in power brought by the sharing was immense. In five days, Shazo had only managed to readjust to it; he had not yet mastered it naturally.

Today, Shisui Uchiha had deliberately activated his Sharingan to observe Shazo. His sharp perception not only confirmed Shazo's attitude, but also discovered the openings exposed by Shazo's uncoordinated body.

As a result, Shisui discovered that Shazo was extremely strong. He had even surpassed the level of a Chunin and reached the level of a Jonin.

This left Shisui Uchiha deeply puzzled. How could a Konoha Ninja with Jonin-level strength be willing to remain a Genin?

Everyone knew that a ninja's rank was directly tied to their income and status.

Genin had relatively low incomes, barely enough to support a family.

Their status in the village was only slightly higher than that of ordinary villagers, and they could even rank below especially wealthy merchants.

A Genin like Might Duy, who had remained a Genin for decades and was already over forty, could be looked down upon by even Konoha villagers, who dared mock him to his face for training too loudly.

Only Genin Maruboshi Kosuke was an exception in Konoha, but that was because of his immense seniority.

Maruboshi Kosuke had received instruction from the Second Hokage, had his will recognized by the Third Hokage, and had his spirit respected by the Fourth Hokage.

This eternal Genin, Maruboshi Kosuke, was usually treated as a Jonin. He could even speak at Jonin meetings.

So it was highly abnormal for someone like Shazo, who possessed Jonin-level strength, to still hold the rank of Genin.

It couldn't be that he had suddenly become so powerful overnight, could it?

There had to be a special reason behind a ninja's abnormality.

As a member of Konoha and a former Anbu member, Shisui Uchiha believed it was his responsibility to investigate the anomaly and confirm that Genin Shazo posed no threat to Konoha.

But sneaking into someone else's home because of that would be far too impolite.

Shisui decided to wait here again tomorrow. He would personally ask Shazo and find out exactly what was going on.