Two Weeks Before Enrollment

The state of combat readiness lasted for an entire day. The Anbu and the Hyuga Clan conducted a carpet search around the village, questioning everyone they encountered. With extreme efficiency, they managed to screen all the villages surrounding Konoha.

The final result was no result. Because there was very little movement of people in the villages around Konoha, and one could easily find out if there were any strangers in a village just by asking a villager, the progress of the search was naturally extremely fast.

Fuyuki, having left the shelter, did not run around either, choosing instead to stay home and read his Magic Book obediently.

It was not that he was afraid of Orochimaru or anything of the sort; he simply did not want to go out.

He was, after all, the favorite child of the Ancestor. If he encountered an opponent he couldn't beat, he could just call for the Ancestor to handle it.

His training in the Summoning Technique had hit a bottleneck. Just as Orochimaru had said, what Fuyuki needed to summon a High-level Spirit was not practice or luck; what he truly needed was chakra—chakra that surpassed the Genin level!

Unfortunately, chakra could not be increased just by wishing for it; it required waiting for his body to develop, or perhaps catching a giant fox!

Neither of these methods was viable, and Fuyuki was simply incapable of achieving them with his current abilities.

Therefore, the Summoning Technique could be put on hold for now. Fuyuki was currently living like a young noble, wandering around with his maid and occasionally messing with idiots; his days were quite comfortable.

"Young Master Fuyuki, that won't do. If the Clan Head finds out, he will punish me."

The usually spirited and heroic Natsumi now looked particularly awkward, her face flushed red. She even subconsciously bit her lower lip, revealing the bashfulness of a young girl.

"What are you shy about? I just want you to bring me the Icha Icha Paradise from your room to take a look."

Fuyuki looked speechless. It was just a work of fiction about romance; could that old mage Jiraiya really write anything explosive?

If it weren't for the fact that the original work featured so many shots of the Icha Icha Paradise and Kakashi reading it, Fuyuki would have had no interest in the fictional romance written by Jiraiya. As the heir to the Hyuga Clan, he was never short of beauties around him; he just hadn't found one he liked yet.

"Alright then!"

Natsumi's face was as red as a burning branding iron. She slowly moved away from Fuyuki's side, walking away with stiff steps to retrieve the Icha Icha Paradise from her room. She had never imagined that the Young Master would be interested in this sort of thing.

What do I do, what do I do? If the Young Master discovers my unique hobby, will he—ah, how annoying!

I should have hidden the book better instead of leaving it on the shelf!

Fuyuki didn't have to wait long before the maid returned with the gold-leaf-covered Icha Icha Paradise. This was a signed collector's edition, a rare item that could even appreciate in value if kept at home. She had asked her good friend, who was on a mission in the Land of Water, to buy it for her.

In the Land of Fire, it was impossible to buy the collector's edition; Lord Jiraiya's books were simply too popular, and they could only be found in sparsely populated countries.

"Let go! Although I am young, I have seen plenty of things. It's just romance." Fuyuki snatched the book from the maid's hand and flipped it open with a look of disdain.

As a transmigrator, he had seen it all; there was no bizarre relationship between men and women he hadn't witnessed.

However, when Fuyuki flipped past the table of contents and saw the actual text, he froze. He stared at the illustrations and the descriptive text in shock: "My god, medical ninjutsu can actually be used like this??? What the hell?!"

Hearing the Young Master's exclamation, Natsumi's face turned red, and she silently lowered her head, not daring to look at Young Master Fuyuki.

It's over. Could this be the public execution Young Master Fuyuki often talks about?

So shameful, don't look at my book!

After reading a few more lines, Fuyuki closed the book and handed it back to the maid. "It is still too early for me; the content is truly terrifying. In my understanding, the things described inside are things humans cannot—or at the very least, should not—do!"

Having only flipped through two pages, Fuyuki could no longer look at the life-saving medical ninjutsu the same way. He felt that he could not continue reading, or he would never be able to look at a ninja the same way again.

Fuyuki did not believe this was written by Jiraiya. If it really was written by Jiraiya, he deserved to be beaten to death by Tsunade!

What happened to the good romance?

This young master's worldview was almost shattered!

"Understood, Young Master." Natsumi, as if granted amnesty, took the book and tucked it into the front of her kimono, hiding the Icha Icha Paradise away as if nothing had happened. "Young Master, you have to participate in the Ninja Academy Entrance Exam in two weeks. Shouldn't you start doing some restorative training?"

More than three months had passed since the killing of Orochimaru, and it was almost time for the October enrollment season at the Ninja Academy. It was also three months ago that Fuyuki had used the excuse of being unwell to stop attending the intensive training.

In truth, Fuyuki was indeed feeling unwell. The Forbidden Summoning was not without side effects. This magic actually had a very frustrating side effect: because the summoned legendary creature had no physical form, the summoner had to lend their own body to the creature as a vessel.

During this process, because the summoned beast was stronger than the summoner, the beast would influence the summoner's will. Although it wasn't a serious problem and the negative effects would dissipate after a while, Kaguya's descent into Fuyuki had brought him a negative buff.

That was arrogance. Once he started fighting, he couldn't control the strength of his hands and feet, and there would be an uncontrollable urge in his heart to stomp the ants who dared to provoke a 'god' to death.

That was only one thing; the second was that he was currently not suited for overly strenuous exercise.

He was constantly summoning Life Spirits to nourish his body, making himself stronger.

The benefit of Yin-Yang Release was an increase in chakra, and Fuyuki had been working hard to accumulate chakra.

"Heh, do you think the entrance exam will be difficult?" Fuyuki shook his head. "It's just running laps and an obstacle course. I could pass with the best score even with my eyes closed."

The Ninja Academy Entrance Exam was used to test whether the enrolling children had chakra. As long as they had chakra, a six-year-old child could pass the test by gritting their teeth.

"Young Master, it makes no difference whether you close your eyes or not."

Natsumi retorted. With the Byakugan, it made no difference whether his eyes were closed or not; the Byakugan could even see through flesh, and a thin layer of eyelids couldn't stop it. "You need to watch out for the Uchiha second son. His older brother is a genius who finished the entrance lap run in thirty-two point five seconds. His younger brother's talent shouldn't be lower than his brother's."

"If you lose to him, the Clan Head will blow a fuse."

Fuyuki turned his head, resting his cheek on his hand, and looked at the maid kneeling beside him. "How do you address me?"

A veteran Chunin or Special Jonin would subconsciously use honorifics when referring to themselves. Although the Hyuga family rules were strict, they also respected the strong. Once one reached the level of Jonin, they didn't need to use honorifics to other clansmen, except for the Clan Head.

The maid didn't need to use honorifics for him, and Natsumi hadn't used them for him often in the past.

It was only after the Orochimaru incident that this sixteen-year-old girl started using honorifics.

"Since you are using honorifics, you must acknowledge my strength in your heart. A mere Uchiha blockhead..."

Natsumi was stunned. A second-rate fool? You—you seem to be the second-born at home too! Aren't you just insulting yourself?

"That may be so, but Young Master Fuyuki, don't think you can change the subject. You haven't practiced in two months, so it would be better to do some recovery training to avoid cramping up from overexertion during the exam."

"Mm, I'll definitely do that."

PS: Seeking votes and chapter support. I was busy mailing the contract until very late today, which is why the update is slow.