014. Closed-Door Disciple

Yashui spoke his mind exactly as it was, rather than the thoughts of the original Yashui.

This statement caused a massive uproar among the birds. They chirped and chattered, discussing it among themselves, and many asked, "Are you truly one of those vengeful Uchiha?"

"Quiet." The Three-Legged Golden Crow spoke slowly. Though its voice was not loud, its piercing quality quickly brought everyone to silence.

"Your thoughts are truly interesting..." The Three-Legged Golden Crow laughed heartily. "This Seat has not seen such an interesting human in a hundred years."

"You haven't even seen many humans in a hundred years!" Yashui suddenly activated his roasting skill.

"How can you speak to the Three-Legged Golden Crow like that! You can't bully an old man who's losing his marbles!"

"That's right... don't let his senility fool you, he's still our boss."

Yashui chuckled. He had only provided the opening; the real cutting remarks came from the birds of the Hundred Bird Nest! However, this also showed that this place called the Hundred Bird Nest was a very relaxed environment, far more so than the Konoha ninja village.

"Now, Yashui." The Three-Legged Golden Crow's eyes suddenly widened. The birds scattered instantly, leaving Yashui alone in the entire palace.

The brilliant light radiating from the Three-Legged Golden Crow's eyes was truly blinding. Fortunately, Yashui was wearing sunglasses; otherwise, he feared he would have been scared off just like the other birds.

Amidst the light, Yashui barely managed to activate his Sharingan to withstand the glare. He vaguely saw that the Three-Legged Golden Crow's eyes were actually miniature suns!

"Would you be willing to become this Seat's closing disciple?" Seeing Yashui open his eyes, the Three-Legged Golden Crow seemed to be smiling.

"Lord Three-Legged Golden Crow, is this really alright?" Yashui asked cautiously, as if afraid of breaking some rule. Even though he wanted to agree, he felt he should go through a more formal process.

"Are you willing or not?" the Three-Legged Golden Crow urged.

"I am, I am!" Despite Yashui pretending to be bashful, he was actually overjoyed. The Three-Legged Golden Crow was a deity; how many people would kill for the chance to be a god's disciple?

"Hehehehe..." The Three-Legged Golden Crow laughed again. "Tomorrow, bring two jin of rice wine, and after infusing it with all your chakra, bring it here."

"But how do I get here?" Yashui asked.

"Reverse the hand seals for the Summoning Jutsu, and you will arrive at this place," the Three-Legged Golden Crow replied. "You brat, don't you dare stand me up tomorrow."

"Boss, did you call me?" A white dove flew into the center of the palace.

"Hahahaha..." Yashui finally couldn't help but burst into laughter. "This place is great, I feel so relaxed here! I will definitely come tomorrow, Master, rest assured."

The Three-Legged Golden Crow watched the white dove that had just undermined him with a cold sweat, flapping his wings in embarrassment as Yashui vanished with a "pop."

Yashui's vision went black, and when he opened his eyes again, he was back in his room.

"It's already seven o'clock in the evening..." Yashui sighed. Time really flew by.

The vibrant atmosphere of the Hundred Bird Nest was completely different from the lifelessness of Konoha.

Yashui went downstairs, but there was no delicious dinner prepared in the living room. The house was completely empty.

"Grandpa? Konohamaru?" Yashui called out softly.

Clearly, neither of them was home.

"The Third Hokage is busy with official business and might be home late. But Konohamaru shouldn't be out." Yashui opened the front door and peered left and right.

He was very concerned about dinner, having eaten nothing all day in the Hundred Bird Nest.

"Yashui, where have you been?" The Third Hokage walked out from behind him.

"Grandpa, that..." Yashui stammered. To him, the Third Hokage was also an accomplice in the Uchiha Clan's massacre. Even for the sake of the original Yashui, he had to try his best to hide his whereabouts.

"Forget it, as long as you're back." The Third Hokage smiled kindly. "In the future, if you want to go somewhere, just go. The child is grown, and this old man can't keep track of you anymore. But you must tell your family. Konohamaru and Uncle Asuma have been searching everywhere for you; if you hadn't returned, I might have had to abuse my authority as Hokage. Hehehe..."

Yashui felt a bit moved. Even though he was just an outsider whose disappearance wouldn't have mattered, the Sarutobi Clan had still gone to such lengths to find him.

"Thank you, Grandpa!" A warmth surged in Yashui's heart; he hadn't felt this way in a long, long time. This warmth was like poison, and Yashui almost forgot the fact that the Third Hokage had tacitly allowed the Uchiha Clan's massacre.

"I'll go notify everyone to come home for dinner." The Third Hokage before him vanished with a "pop." It was a Shadow Clone; the Third must have left it here out of concern that he might return home alone.

Yashui returned to the house, his reason suppressing the touch of emotion he felt for the Third Hokage. Before he could even savor the warmth, Yashui realized he couldn't see through the Third Hokage at all.

This time, the Third Hokage had left a Shadow Clone here, and that clone had seen Yashui leave from inside the house rather than entering from outside. A seasoned ninja like the Third Hokage would naturally analyze why, and it wouldn't be long before he guessed the truth about Yashui training in the summoning realm.

Yashui didn't intend to tell the Third Hokage about this yet. Tomorrow, before heading to the Hundred Bird Nest to train, he planned to make up some excuse to brush it off.

"The Third Hokage is truly a troublesome person." Yashui returned to his room and looked at a photo of himself with the Third. He scratched the Third Hokage's face with his fingernail. How much did the Third really know? This gave Yashui a sense of insecurity.

At this moment, Yashui remembered another important matter. He hadn't immediately asked for a way to control the Sharingan while at the Hundred Bird Nest. These eyes might still lose control at times.

Looking at the sunglasses the Third had given him, he thought that he wouldn't be able to part with them in the short term.

The night passed quickly, and the next morning, Yashui woke up especially early. He scoured every corner of his room to find the pocket money scattered about.

Despite being a child adopted by the Third Hokage, his allowance was pitifully small. Yashui spent every last bit of it to buy two jin of rice wine under the suspicious gaze of the grocery store owner.

The owner must have been wondering why a child would be buying rice wine.

After obtaining the wine, Yashui found an open space, checked that no one was around, and performed the Summoning Jutsu.

Today, Yashui didn't have to worry about his "family" from the Sarutobi Clan searching for him; he had already informed the Third Hokage before leaving, and the thoughtful Third had even prepared a bento for him.