Home Visit

It seemed they had caused trouble. On the way home, Hui hung his head and whispered, "Senior Itachi, I will pay for whatever damages are needed. Please give me some time. Can you please not go to my house?"

"It's not Hui's fault, brother. I was the one who dragged him there," Sasuke explained to his older brother from the side.

"Alright, you two, I already said that isn't the issue. I actually wanted to visit Senior Chuanhe anyway. I have no intention of assigning blame; I just wanted to ask why he would teach you such a dangerous technique. This has nothing to do with you, Hui."

"And you, Sasuke, next time you test ninjutsu with Hui, just go to the Training Ground like a proper ninja. That place was built by Senior Chuanhe specifically for testing dangerous techniques like that."

After hearing their "confessions," Uchiha Itachi roughly understood the situation. He decided to pay Senior Chuanhe a visit. He had never found a good opportunity to talk, and this was undoubtedly a perfect chance.

"I'm home," came Hui's listless voice.

Pushing open the living room door, Hui was surprised to find his father sitting there. Tea had already been brewed on the small table, steam rising faintly from the cups.

Itachi's eyes narrowed slightly as he said, "Senior Chuanhe, please forgive this unannounced visit."

"Young masters, welcome, welcome. Please, come in," Chuanhe stood up and gestured for them to enter.

Sasuke frowned slightly; he really disliked being addressed as a "young master." Furthermore, while the rumored Senior Chuanhe appeared very polite, he gave Sasuke an unsettling feeling.

"Many thanks, Senior." Itachi then led them into the living room.

"Sasuke, you and Hui go to another room. I have some matters to discuss with the Senior," Itachi said to Sasuke.

"I see. Fine," Sasuke, who disliked these kinds of scenarios anyway, obediently followed the still-dejected Hui toward the study.

"Please, sit."

Itachi sat down accordingly and said, "This is my first time visiting your home, Senior, so I will get straight to the point."

"Hui is only six years old. Isn't it too early for you to be teaching him such dangerous ninjutsu?"

"Too early? Perhaps if we wait any longer, he won't have such leisurely time to practice ninjutsu," Chuanhe replied calmly, taking a sip of tea.

Chuanhe's words made Itachi's heart sink. As expected, Senior Chuanhe knew something about the inner workings of things.

"Senior, how do you think we should choose between the clan and the village?" Itachi asked the question that had been troubling him, showing no hesitation.

"How did Shisui answer you when you asked him that?" Chuanhe didn't answer, instead posing a question back to Itachi.

"Senior Shisui... I never asked him that," Itachi said, his tone faltering.

"No matter who asks me, I have only one answer: the Uchiha Clan showed me great kindness. No matter the circumstances, I will always stand on the side of the Uchiha Clan," Chuanhe said after a brief pause, following Itachi's statement.

"Besides, this was also Yuki's wish. She hoped I could help her find a path for the clan to survive. Unfortunately..." Chuanhe's expression became complex as he finished his sentence.

"My apologies, Senior."

"It is of no consequence; those are things of the past. If we are talking about survival, as long as Clan Head Fugaku maintains the current status quo, I believe we can hold out until the Fourth Great Ninja War without issue. Perhaps sticking to the status quo is the best choice for now."

Itachi was silent for a moment before saying, "I will convey your words exactly as they are, Senior."

Itachi paused, then spoke with a hint of embarrassment, "Senior, may I ask a favor of you?"

"Speak your mind."

"I would like to ask you to teach Sasuke ninjutsu when you have free time. Because of my duties to the village, I don't have much time to instruct him. I don't think there is anyone in all of Konoha more suitable for teaching ninjutsu than you."

"Naturally, I can do that," Chuanhe readily agreed.

"Then I leave him in your care, Senior." With that, Itachi bowed to Chuanhe.

"You are too polite. After all, I am also a member of the clan; this is my duty."

Just then, Sasuke's voice drifted from the study: "That's cheating! Hui, that's cheating! These scrolls... any ninja could learn these techniques just by reading them!"

Itachi and Chuanhe looked toward the study, then shared a smile.

"I leave Sasuke to you, Senior. I will come to pick him up before dinner. Farewell, Senior." Itachi finished his tea in one gulp and stood up to leave.

"Walk safely."

Time returned to a few minutes earlier. Watching Hui still looking dejected, Sasuke said, "Don't worry, my brother agreed to it, so it will be fine. If there really is compensation to be paid, I'll pay it."

Hui looked at Sasuke as if he were looking at a new species.

"What is that look for, you guy?" Sasuke said, annoyed.

Perhaps not everyone in the clan is an annoying jerk, Hui thought to himself. Then, as if he had made a decision, he extended his right hand.

"Let's introduce ourselves properly. My name is Uchiha Hui, six years old this year. I like researching ninjutsu. My dream is to protect everyone I want to protect," Hui said solemnly.

Sasuke was stunned for a moment, then subconsciously mimicked Hui and extended his right hand: "My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I like... I like..."

Hui laughed out loud: "When you introduced yourself at the academy, you only said your name. So you didn't actually know what you liked?"

"Shut up! I... I like eating three-colored dango. Yes! Three-colored dango!" Sasuke stammered.

"Three-colored dango, I'll remember that," Hui said earnestly.

Sasuke didn't know how to respond, so he turned his head away, only to see a cabinet locked off to the side.

Following Sasuke's gaze, Hui explained, "Oh, those are the ninjutsu scrolls my father wrote. That's how I learned my [Flame Explosion Technique]."

"Really?"

Being a child at heart, Sasuke's attention was immediately drawn away.

Watching Sasuke's expression, Hui said generously, "Father said that I am free to teach the ninjutsu here to anyone I like. Since you are the first friend I've ever made, Sasuke, take a look at these techniques. If there's anything you don't understand, I can explain it to you."

Sasuke naturally understood the unspoken rules everyone followed: ninjutsu scrolls were the closely guarded secrets of every clan. No matter how much he yearned to learn ninjutsu, he had always had to suppress those thoughts.

A friend—what a distant word, yet this time, it felt so close to Sasuke. Surprisingly, Sasuke did not refute the claim.

As Hui's words reached his ears, Sasuke still hesitated, "Is this really okay? Perhaps you should ask Chuanhe-senpai again, Hui?"

"Don't worry, Father only told me this today; there's no way it could be wrong."

Since it had come to this, Sasuke naturally had no reason to refuse. He waited on the side while Hui unlocked the security key.

"Why did Father have to set the password as ciphertext? These characters are so hard to write," Hui complained while unlocking it.

"Alright, here you go, Sasuke. This is [Fire Style: Flame Explosion Technique]. I figured this was the technique you'd want to see most right now. The scroll has a spell protection, so it can't leave this room. Sorry, Sasuke, you'll have to memorize it here first."

Sasuke took the scroll, and at first glance, he was intimidated by the dense wall of text. As he braced himself to read it line by line, his shock grew with every sentence. Finally, he posed a soul-searching question: "Even an idiot like Naruto could learn this just by reading it, couldn't he?"

"This is cheating, Hui! You're cheating! With a scroll like this, any ninja could master these techniques after reading them."

"Naruto? Oh, you mean that classmate in our grade? I remember him quite well; he said he wanted to become the Fifth Hokage during the opening day introductions," Hui remarked with a sigh.

"Dammit! Hui, you haven't answered my question. Forget about an idiot like Naruto; I'm talking about this scroll. Do you believe me if I say I could cast this [Flame Explosion Technique] right now?"

"Hey, hey, hey, Sasuke, are you trying to get yourself killed? Have you forgotten that this technique requires a physical Clone Technique to cast? I let you see it, I didn't tell you to use it now!" Hui hurriedly stopped Sasuke.

"Sh... shut up, how could I have forgotten?" Sasuke retorted with his signature tsundere attitude.

Having just calmed his emotions, Sasuke suddenly realized something and asked, "Isn't [Flame Explosion Technique] only supposed to be cast using the Shadow Clone Technique?"

"Oh, that? Even though Father didn't mention it in the scroll, I suspect other physical clone techniques should work as well," Hui replied nonchalantly.

"Why don't we go to the Training Ground and test it out?" Sasuke suggested, as if possessed.

"No, no, no. I've already caused Father enough trouble today; I don't want to be dragged back by Itachi-senpai again," Hui shook his head like a rattle.

"As for that, don't worry, Hui. Itachi isn't here to hold you accountable," Chuanhe said as he pushed the door open.

"Sasuke, your brother entrusted me with teaching you ninjutsu. How about this: from now on, you and Hui can study together. If there's anything you don't understand, feel free to ask me at any time. I'll usually be in the room next door."

Sasuke was a bit dazed. Did his brother just leave? Did his brother not want him anymore?

Sasuke's expression was written all over his face, and Chuanhe naturally understood what he was thinking.

"Don't worry, Sasuke. Your brother went to take care of some work and will come to pick you up at dinner. For these next few hours, you two can study here or go to the Training Ground. Whatever you like."

Sasuke finally felt at ease. Although his brother's unannounced departure made him a bit angry, it wasn't the first time it had happened.

Chuanhe-senpai didn't seem as annoying as he had thought.

"Thank you, Chuanhe-senpai. Please take care of me during this time!" Sasuke said stiffly. It was clearly the first time he had ever said something so embarrassing.

"Haha, you're welcome. You two go ahead; I have things to attend to." Chuanhe closed the door behind him.

The study fell into a dead silence. Ten seconds later.

"Why don't we go to the Training Ground and try it?" Hui whispered.

"Let's try it!"