Provocation?

When leaving the hospital, Yakushi Nonō did indeed lend Houka money, and she promised that if he were ever short on funds in the future, he could come to her again.

Houka knew that although this woman before him was a member of Root, she was kind-hearted by nature and especially fond of children; otherwise, she wouldn't have eventually left Root to become the director of an orphanage.

If Uchiha Fugaku had lent him money, Houka would never have accepted it, but he felt at ease borrowing from Yakushi Nonō.

"Thank you, big sister. By the way, I still don't know your name." Houka blinked his clear, wide eyes, putting on the innocent, well-behaved expression of a good child.

"My name is Yakushi Nonō." She stroked Houka's black hair, smiling very gently.

Perhaps she was the kindest person within the Konoha Root.

Houka lowered his head slightly, his heart filled with emotion; such a good person, yet she would not have a good ending in the end.

Can I change her fate?

Houka's heart suddenly tightened.

Changing the fate of a character from the original story seemed easy enough, but when he truly wanted to do it, he felt the illusion of challenging a predetermined destiny.

But immediately, he suppressed these thoughts; after all, he was only a six-year-old boy right now, and talking about such things was truly too early.

After saying goodbye to Yakushi Nonō with Uchiha Obito, Houka returned home.

"Houka, I'm going to buy some meat!" Uchiha Obito held the money, looking very happy. "Your body is too thin and weak; you must build yourself up!"

"Alright, but if you run into an old lady on the street who needs to cross the road, please don't give the money to her again." Houka spread his hands, feeling quite helpless.

"Hehe, I know." Uchiha Obito scratched his head with an awkward smile and turned to run outside.

"Right, my weights."

Houka's weights had been removed while he was hospitalized, and as he strapped them back on, he immediately felt his body sink.

"It seems I haven't fully recovered yet." Houka gritted his teeth, stood straight, and straightened his spine. "But I can persevere!"

Next, he began his recovery training, walking slowly in the backyard while circulating his Chakra through his body, attempting to stimulate the activity of his cells.

"Yakushi Nonō is a member of Root, but she is a good person and a Medical Ninja. I could totally learn medical ninjutsu from her!" Houka's eyes lit up, and he couldn't help but feel excited.

Houka's body had an extraordinary recovery speed, but it had no significant effect on injuries. However, who could guarantee they wouldn't get hurt while training?

Even the Blue Beast of Konoha couldn't guarantee that!

"Besides, after becoming a ninja, I'll have to go out on missions frequently, so getting injured is inevitable. Learning medical ninjutsu must be put on the agenda; the sooner, the better."

Moreover, there were only a few years left until the Third Shinobi World War.

"Currently, the person with the highest level of medical ninjutsu in Konoha is likely Princess Tsunade, one of the Sannin. Unfortunately, Tsunade should be suffering from hemophobia at this time, and I am from the Uchiha Clan."

The relationship between the Senju Clan and the Uchiha Clan was certainly not as good as one might imagine.

Therefore, Houka's only target could be Yakushi Nonō.

As he walked, Houka gradually adapted, then raised his hands to begin practicing hand seals while he moved.

Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Ram, Monkey, Bird, Dog, Boar!

Houka's hand seal gestures were already very standard, but his speed was still lacking; this required diligent practice and could not be faked.

The sun climbed higher, and Houka had been doing his recovery training for over an hour. He was drenched in sweat, yet his eyes kept glancing toward the outside.

"Why isn't Obito back yet?"

Houka had a bad premonition.

"This guy, he wouldn't happen to be unable to walk away after seeing an old lady on the side of the road, crying and insisting on helping her cross to the other side, would he?"

Just as Houka was using his worst malice to speculate about Uchiha Obito, a series of scuffles and muffled groans suddenly came from the street outside.

"That... that sounds like Obito's voice?"

Houka was stunned, then bolted toward the outside.

"Hahaha, with your stupid look, you want to awaken the Sharingan?"

"What an idiot!"

"Playing with that loser Houka every day, of course you're both idiots, hahaha!"

"That guy Houka is really an eyesore. It was already shameful enough to be beaten unconscious after challenging Kakashi, but to think he's now training in taijutsu and fainting—it's truly laughable."

"That's for sure. That guy must know he can't awaken the Sharingan, so he switched to taijutsu; otherwise, he wouldn't even be able to graduate."

"What a pair of pathetic idiots."

Several Uchiha children shoved Uchiha Obito hard, their words filled with mockery and sarcasm.

"Hey, what are you holding in your hand? Is that meat?"

"Haha, you're really rich, actually eating meat. We can't even afford it. Haha, Obito, can you share some of that meat with us?"

"You bastards!" Uchiha Obito hugged the meat tightly to his chest, glaring angrily at these guys. "Don't go too far!"

"Too far? You and that guy Houka have brought such shame to our Uchiha Clan; you guys are far worse than us!"

"That's right, beat him up!"

"Hit him!"

Smack! Smack! Smack!

As a student ranked at the bottom of the ninja academy, Uchiha Obito's combat power was less than a 5 at this moment. With his opponents outnumbering him, he was quickly beaten to the ground, groaning and unable to speak.

Several members of the Uchiha clan passed by on both sides of the street, but seeing this scene, they paid no mind; children fighting was nothing out of the ordinary.

"Stop!"

Uchiha Houka finally arrived. "Do you all want to die?"

Seeing the miserable state of Uchiha Obito, Uchiha Houka could barely control the ocular power that was on the verge of going berserk.

"Yo, isn't this Uchiha Houka? Haha, you coward finally crawled out."

"I heard you fainted while training your taijutsu. How embarrassing."

"How could our Uchiha clan have someone like you?"

"A fool like you should just stick to running a street stall. Why even try to be a ninja?"

"Asking for humiliation, you idiot, you moron!"

Uchiha Houka had encountered these mocking Uchiha children when he went out with Uchiha Obito before. At the time, he couldn't even be bothered to argue with them, but now, he felt he couldn't endure it any longer.

"What, you want to fight? Have you even mastered the Three Body Technique? Idiot!"

"Hahaha, look at that stupid look on his face!"

Uchiha Obito finally caught his breath. Lying on the ground and seeing Uchiha Houka, he shouted, "Houka, run! Your injuries haven't healed yet, you can't fight!"

Uchiha Obito was in a sorry state; his clothes were torn, his face was bruised and covered in bloodstains, and when he opened his mouth, it seemed he had even lost a tooth.

Uchiha Houka's pupils constricted slightly, and a faint scent of blood began to permeate the air. His rampaging ocular power was nearly impossible to contain. Reacting quickly, Uchiha Houka narrowed his eyes and began to weave hand signs.

Snake-Ram-Monkey-Boar-Horse-Tiger!

"Haha, is he actually weaving hand signs?"

"Idiot, who does he think he is? Does he think he can actually perform a ninjutsu?"

"Wait, this hand sign sequence is... the Great Fireball Technique?"

"Nani? The Great Fireball Technique?! I'm so scared, hahahaha."

"Hahaha, how stupid. How could this Fire Release ninjutsu be so easy to perform, you moron."

Uchiha Houka narrowed his eyes into slits and gave a cold, sharp smile: "Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

Uchiha Houka exhaled, and instantly, scorching flames erupted from his mouth, forming a fireball the size of a basketball that slammed directly into the group of Uchiha children.