The Storm of Taking Disciples (Part 2)

Sasuke Uchiha finally ran out of stamina and failed to dodge in time.

A straight punch from Denji Akimichi sent Sasuke flying, signaling the end of the match.

Sasuke did not get up; he lay on the ground, staring at the sky and questioning his life.

"Where exactly did I go wrong? Why couldn't I beat him even after awakening my eyes?"

He stood up, unconvinced, and stared at Denji to ask.

"Why couldn't I copy your ninjutsu?"

"It seems your perception needs a bit more work; that was my Kekkei Genkai. You have a Kekkei Genkai, so why shouldn't I?" Denji Akimichi gave the answer with a smile.

"A Kekkei Genkai?" Sasuke said in shock.

"Why would the Akimichi clan have a Kekkei Genkai?"

Shikamaru Nara's expression shifted, thinking he had finally figured out why Denji had been taken on as an apprentice by Tsunade.

"As expected of my best friend!" Naruto Uzumaki walked up enthusiastically, feeling a sense of shared pride.

"Is there anyone else who wants to spar?"

Seeing that the sparring had been effective—even motivating Sasuke Uchiha to awaken his eyes—Iruka simply asked again.

"Shall we have a go?" Ino Yamanaka asked Sakura Haruno, who was standing nearby.

"Bring it on!" Sakura Haruno said, refusing to back down.

The two had been at each other's throats while cheering, and now they were both fired up.

"Denji-kun! Can you cheer for me?" Ino Yamanaka walked up to Denji shyly and asked.

"Good luck." Denji Akimichi did not refuse; she had cheered for him earlier, after all.

Besides, what if he could earn some Wish Points?

Sakura Haruno looked at Ino Yamanaka with resentment, then turned her gaze toward Sasuke, wishing he would cheer for her too.

But seeing Sasuke defeated and looking like he was questioning his existence, she abandoned the thought.

Denji Akimichi watched as Sakura Haruno and Ino Yamanaka formed hand seals and faced off, beginning their match.

They didn't use ninjutsu, engaging instead in pure taijutsu and ninja tool throwing.

This served as a reminder to him.

His physique was already very strong, and with the Strength of a Hundred, his future constitution would be far superior to that of other ninjas. Today, when sparring with Naruto and Sasuke, he had even held back, not fully utilizing the Strength of a Hundred; otherwise, the destructive power of that technique could have shattered the earth.

But that would have gone against the spirit of a spar.

The match with Sasuke today was a perfect example; although his own strength and speed were superior, Sasuke had still managed to tangle with him for a long time thanks to the dynamic vision of the Sharingan.

Essentially, his taijutsu wasn't strong enough, and he had been relying on wild, unrefined swings. If he had combined it with proper taijutsu, it should have been a total blowout.

It was time to learn taijutsu to better diversify his combat style.

Ninjas were creatures with high attack and low defense; aside from the Third Raikage, who was an exception, everyone else had very fragile health bars.

Denji Akimichi could recklessly increase his physique by spending points on his stats.

Investing in his physique would allow him to overcome this weakness; after all, he didn't want to be killed by a kunai in the back on the battlefield. Increasing his physique would also boost his defense. If he could reach a constitution like the Nine-Tails, let alone ninja tools, even ninjutsu might just feel like a tickle...

If he combined that with his own taijutsu, kicking his way to the series finale might not be an empty boast.

A fiery look appeared in Denji Akimichi's eyes.

When it came to taijutsu, the most common in Konoha was Konoha Style Taijutsu, which was taught at the Ninja Academy and learned by Naruto, Sakura, and the others; it was the most ubiquitous style available.

Beyond that, every ninja clan had their own taijutsu to some extent, such as Uchiha Style Taijutsu or even Akimichi Style Taijutsu.

But as for the most famous taijutsu, could anything be more renowned than that of the Blue Beast?

In the arena, although Sakura Haruno had more raw strength than Ino Yamanaka, it hadn't fully manifested yet. In the original story, she was taken in by Tsunade and inherited the "Strength of a Hundred."

Unfortunately, it probably wouldn't be her turn now.

In the end, Ino Yamanaka managed to edge out a win thanks to her superior ninja tool throwing.

Ino Yamanaka patted Sakura Haruno's shoulder triumphantly: "Better luck next time."

"Just you wait." Sakura Haruno looked indignant.

Kiba Inuzuka glanced at Shikamaru Nara and said: "Do you want to spar with me?"

Shikamaru Nara waved his hand and said: "No interest."

He was a lazy guy who hated meaningless exercise more than anything.

Umino Iruka clapped his hands to summarize: "Everyone did well in today's practical class, and the students who sparred showed off their own flair. Everyone should learn from them."

The crowd dispersed one after another.

Although this was a world of ninjas, the children here were no different from those in his past life; they all had great enthusiasm for the end of the school day.

Ino Yamanaka walked over to Denji Akimichi, tucked her hair behind her ear, and said shyly: "Denji, let's eat together today."

Denji Akimichi thought for a moment and said: "I still need to find Lady Tsunade first; I'll head over after training."

He had yet to farm any Wish Points from Yamanaka Ino today, and he wanted to make one final attempt.

Because he had promised Tsunade that he would visit her every two days for guidance.

He still had to go train first.

Yamanaka Ino nodded; as long as Choji could make it in the end, that was all that mattered.

Hyuga Hinata watched from the side, her mood sinking.

She wanted to join the gathering too, but unfortunately, her father had already issued a grounding order.

Akimichi Denji looked at the line of wishes appearing above Hinata's head.

[Grounded Hinata]: Hinata also wants to join the gathering, but unfortunately, Hyuga Hiashi has grounded her, and she is troubled by this.

Akimichi Denji pondered for a while, but he couldn't think of any good way to resolve it. No matter how much energy he had, he couldn't interfere with Hyuga Hiashi—that was the head of the Hyuga Clan.

The Hyuga Clan had strict rules. The Main House not only used the Caged Bird seal to control the life and death of the Branch House, but the Main House members themselves were also held to rigorous standards of etiquette and conduct.

After school, Akimichi Denji did not walk with his companions, heading toward the Senju Ancestral Home alone.

But what he did not expect was that the entire ninja population of Konoha, from the famous to the obscure, was in an uproar because of him.

In the Root headquarters, Shimura Danzō stared fixedly at the report submitted by a Root ninja, his face so gloomy it could drip water.

He had long since seen the potential Akimichi Denji possessed, but unfortunately, his many attempts to recruit him into the Root had been fruitless. Now that Akimichi Denji had been taken as a disciple by Tsunade, it was even more impossible.

The emotions in Shimura Danzō's eyes were volatile. After a long silence, he finally spat out, "Damn monkey."

Imperceptibly, his desire for the position of Hokage grew even stronger.

Uchiha Sasuke returned home, but Itachi had not yet arrived.

He excitedly shared the news of his Sharingan awakening with his mother.

Uchiha Mikoto's eyes were filled with shock at first, as if a stormy sea had been stirred up. She stared at Sasuke in astonishment, unable to calm down for a long time.

Uchiha Sasuke looked at his mother strangely and asked, "Mother, what's wrong?"

The eyes beneath his bowl cut were filled with pride, desperately craving his mother's approval.

Uchiha Mikoto snapped out of it, gently stroked Uchiha Sasuke's hair, and said dotingly, "Our Sasuke is such a genius!"

The expression in her eyes was complex, though that statement was not a lie.

The reason the Uchiha Clan was called the "Naturally Evil Uchiha" by Shimura Danzō and Tobirama was that the process of awakening their eyes required intense emotional stimulation.

And what could bring more emotional stimulation than death?

Therefore, the Uchiha awakening process was often accompanied by the death of close friends or family; this was true for both Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Mikoto.

Some radical elders in the clan would even send Uchiha squads on high-difficulty missions, or even secretly kill civilians with whom they had formed deep friendships, just to let the younger generation gain the power of the Sharingan...

So, in essence, Tobirama was not wrong; the Sharingan was indeed an evil power.

"How did you awaken them?" Uchiha Mikoto asked the question she cared about most.

Uchiha Sasuke's face turned slightly red. He didn't really want to say he had awakened them after being defeated, but under the urging of Mikoto's eager gaze, Uchiha Sasuke finally mumbled the full story.

Emotions flickered in Uchiha Mikoto's eyes as she asked, "So you mean you awakened the Sharingan just because you were defeated?"

Uchiha Sasuke didn't really want to admit it, but he nodded in shame.

Uchiha Mikoto was so shocked her jaw nearly dropped.

Are you kidding me? If the Uchiha awakening process were this easy, they would have mass-produced powerhouses long ago.

Uchiha Mikoto stared at the embarrassed Sasuke and reached a conclusion: Uchiha Sasuke's pride was too strong, which led to him feeling a massive amount of shame when he was defeated in the spar.

A clear weakness had instead brought about the Sharingan.

She didn't know whether to call this child a genius or a fool.

Uchiha Mikoto was caught between laughter and tears.

"Then when your brother gets back, tell him this good news."

"Mm, mm!" Uchiha Sasuke nodded heavily; he was very much looking forward to his brother hearing the news.

Uchiha Itachi returned a bit late, looking somewhat exhausted.

Uchiha Sasuke rushed up to greet him, happily telling him, "Brother, I've awakened my eyes."

Uchiha Itachi's reaction was the same as Mikoto's; he froze at first, then subconsciously asked, "Who died?"

It was only after Uchiha Sasuke explained the whole story that he understood.

One couldn't blame Itachi for his blunt reaction; every time Itachi had awakened his eyes, it had been accompanied by the sacrifice of someone close to him. Upon hearing Sasuke's words, he had almost suspected that Uchiha Sasuke had no heart. How could an Uchiha be so excited about awakening their eyes?

Then, Sasuke brought up another thing that shocked him: "I heard Akimichi Denji was taken as a disciple by someone named Tsunade?"

"Tsunade?" Uchiha Itachi was a bit puzzled, then his expression changed: "You mean Lady Tsunade?"

"Right." Uchiha Sasuke nodded, "I think that's the name."

He asked curiously, "Is this person very strong?"

"Lady Tsunade is a very powerful ninja," Uchiha Itachi said solemnly.

To ease the tension between his clan and Konoha, he had attempted many methods and naturally kept himself informed of the village's political landscape. Although Tsunade had been active before he was born and had already left the village by the time he rose to fame, he had heard of this "Princess of Konoha" and had even tried to enlist her aid, though to no avail.

"Is she stronger than big brother?" In Sasuke's heart, his brother was invincible.

Uchiha Itachi gave a wry smile and patted Sasuke's head, his expression tinged with bitterness.

"It's not quite like that. If only I were like Lady Tsunade."

He was referring to Lady Tsunade's political standing.

Itachi looked toward Mikoto and, after a long moment of contemplation, suggested, "Perhaps we should pay a visit to Akimichi Denji to congratulate him on becoming Lady Tsunade's apprentice, and incidentally, thank him for helping Sasuke awaken his Sharingan."

Uchiha Mikoto nodded.

Uchiha Sasuke felt a bit resentful; having been defeated by Akimichi Denji twice that afternoon, he was reluctant to thank him.

Suddenly, he thought of his Sharingan and asked Uchiha Itachi, "Now that I have the Sharingan, will I learn ninjutsu much faster?"

Uchiha Itachi nodded affirmatively: "The Sharingan can perceive the flow of chakra, giving it a natural advantage in learning ninjutsu."

"Then can I practice the Great Fireball Technique now?"

Uchiha Itachi paused. The Great Fireball Technique was the signature fire-style ninjutsu of the Uchiha Clan. He hadn't let Sasuke train in it before because Sasuke was still young and his foundation was shaky. Moreover, the technique could easily strain the throat. But with the Sharingan now, it should be fine.

Itachi nodded.

A satisfied smile appeared on Uchiha Sasuke's face.

He felt relieved about the afternoon's defeat. He hadn't even begun to tap into the true power of his Sharingan yet; once he used it to master his clan's ninjutsu, he would face Akimichi Denji again.

At this thought, Sasuke clenched his fists in excitement.

Akimichi Denji, just you wait. Once I use the Sharingan to master the Uchiha family's ninjutsu...

The tides of fortune change!

Hyuga Clan.

Hyuga Hiashi listened to the reports from his clansmen, looking quite astonished.

"Lady Tsunade has returned to the village! And she has taken a member of the Akimichi Clan as her apprentice."

"Such a major event—when did this happen?"

The Hyuga Clan was somewhat insular, rarely interacting with those outside the village and keeping to themselves. Many pieces of news did not reach them in time, which was why Hyuga Hiashi asked.

"It happened this morning. The Akimichi Clan made no attempt to hide it and informed many families of this joyous news."

The Hyuga Clan held an awkward position in Konoha; they were neither overly close to the Hokage's faction nor a completely independent party, maintaining a stance of neutrality.

Precisely because of this, to maintain such neutrality in the current climate, one had to be aware of the village's internal situation.

Hyuga Hiashi felt, for some reason, that the name of that Akimichi clansman sounded familiar.

Wasn't this the classmate Hinata had gone to dine with?

Hyuga Hiashi returned home and saw Hinata being led back by her guards. His expression was gentle: "You're back, Hinata."

Hyuga Hinata looked at her father, who was acting unusually different today, with surprise, wondering why his attitude had softened so much.

She nodded silently.

Hyuga Hiashi led her inside, gathered his thoughts for a moment, and asked, "What was the name of that classmate whose house you visited for dinner last time?"

Hyuga Hinata didn't understand why he was asking again, but as she was never one to refuse, she replied, "It was Akimichi Denji of the Akimichi Clan."

Hyuga Hiashi grinned and said gently, "I heard that a child from the Akimichi Clan was taken as an apprentice by Lady Tsunade. Is it that Akimichi Denji?"

Even if Hyuga Hinata was introverted, she was not foolish. She gradually realized the reason for the change in Hyuga Hiashi's attitude.

Complex emotions welled up in her heart; she didn't speak, but nodded in acknowledgment.

"Actually, your father wasn't trying to stop you from making friends. I was just worried you might fall in with the wrong crowd and be led astray."

"I've thought about it, and I feel I shouldn't interfere with your choices too much. You're growing up; it's normal to have your own ideas."

Hyuga Hiashi weighed his words carefully and spoke slowly.

Arrogant at first, then humble later.