My Cultivation

Honestly, there was never a moment when Hui felt more desperate about her future. She stared at the text before her, repeatedly confirming what was written, but once the characters were combined, she couldn't understand them at all, let alone practice anything.

Is the Three Body Technique really that difficult? Or is she just too stupid?

"Ah!!! Life!!!"

Hui looked up at the sky, speechless, wanting nothing more than to scream that life was hopeless. But since no miracle was going to descend, she let her head droop and began to ponder what to do next.

Just then, Rock Lee and a haggard-looking Naruto returned.

"Hui-kun!" Rock Lee called out excitedly from a distance. Naruto looked as if he were about to collapse. Hui turned to look, puzzled by Naruto's state.

As the two ran up to her, Hui asked in surprise, "Lee, what did you two go do?"

"Oh! We went running on the mountain trails! I can't believe Naruto was actually able to keep up with me, he's amazing!" Stars seemed to shimmer in Rock Lee's eyes.

"Hui, let's go home," Naruto said listlessly. Only then did Hui notice the bruises on Naruto's face, as if someone had sat on him.

Hui imagined the scene: Naruto desperately trying to catch up to Rock Lee, only to have his face struck by some unknown object. She laughed unethically, and Naruto, standing to the side, bristled and made a move to hit her.

"I was wrong, I was wrong..." Hui quickly admitted her mistake. Didn't this guy just say he had no energy left?

Rock Lee looked at the two, oblivious to the context, and began to laugh as he watched them bicker.

The days of training were boring yet full of episodes, with the three of them encouraging each other and improving their combat abilities through daily sparring.

Hui had been searching for a way to condense chakra but had yet to make a breakthrough, while Naruto and Rock Lee had made progress in both stamina and taijutsu. Watching the two fight on equal footing, Hui felt a mix of relief and loss.

She felt relieved that the two had met and started training early, but felt a sense of loss that she herself hadn't changed. After this situation continued for a month, Hui grew increasingly anxious.

After finishing their morning run by the river, Hui stopped as she looked at the shimmering water. Naruto and Rock Lee were still competing behind her, sprinting past her. She froze for a moment, stopped abruptly, and then backed up.

"Hui (Hui-kun), what's wrong?" the two asked in unison.

Hui looked at them, a faint smile touching her lips. "Hey, let's make a promise, shall we?"

"What kind of promise?" Naruto spoke first, scratching the back of his head, while Rock Lee nodded in agreement.

"Let's train separately! And then, in a month, we'll see what each of us has achieved," Hui said, tilting her head with an inscrutable smile.

"Why!" Naruto only heard the word "separately," and a trace of loss flickered in his heart.

Hui didn't answer Naruto's question, looking quietly at Rock Lee instead. Rock Lee lowered his head to think for a moment, then looked up at Hui. "Alright, I understand. Let's have a match in a month!"

Hui looked at the youth burning in Rock Lee's eyes and smiled faintly, simply feeling that one should not let their youth go to waste.

Naruto was going crazy on the side, completely unable to keep up with their rhythm, but from everyone's expressions, he roughly understood that it wasn't what he had initially thought.

Perhaps Hui had her own plans, but he wouldn't give up either. Seeing the two, he started to laugh foolishly as well.

Afterward, they parted ways. Hui headed back from the other side, but when she reached a small bridge, she didn't know where to go. She stared blankly at the river, sighed silently, and finally turned to walk in the other direction.

Hui walked silently along the street, relying only on her intuition to find the residence of the Uchiha clan.

Hui really didn't know if she could run into Itachi. He was always busy, possessed immense strength, had become a genin at a very young age, and the Uchiha compound wasn't a place she could just walk into.

Although she wanted to ask him for advice on the Three Body Technique, the fundamental problem was that she couldn't condense chakra. At Itachi's age, had he already been able to use the Three Body Technique?

Standing at the gate of the Uchiha compound, Hui began to space out again, completely forgetting that she was blocking the way. After Hui hesitated for a long time, an old woman at the gate laughed softly. Hui turned to look at her, and the old woman's warm smile comforted her heart.

"Sorry..." Hui scratched her head, looking at the old woman. "I want to find Brother Itachi, but I don't know if I'll be disturbing him..." She pursed her lips, looking quite innocent, like a shy little girl.

The old woman laughed softly again. "That child Itachi is very gentle, don't worry, he won't blame you. But, I haven't seen him for a long time either. Why don't you go check his house?"

Hui looked at the pride in the old woman's eyes; the immense hope she held for the child could be felt in her gaze and tone. Hui thought of the future, and the smile on her lips turned somewhat bitter. What kind of sins would Itachi have to bear?

The old woman enthusiastically gave Hui directions. Hui followed them and found the place from her memories, but the gate was tightly shut.

Hui was truly at a loss, only able to peer outside the gate, looking somewhat ridiculous. Just then, the door suddenly opened. Hui had the urge to run; she didn't know why she was so nervous.

"Eh? A child?" Mikoto asked curiously, crouching down to speak to Hui at eye level with gentle consideration. "Who are you looking for?"

Hui pursed her lips and smiled. "Beautiful sister, I'm looking for Brother Itachi."

"Hmm? Why are you looking for him? He isn't home right now." Mikoto smiled when she heard her say that, though she was also a bit puzzled. Looking closely, she suddenly felt the child looked a bit familiar.

"My name is Hui Youling. I wanted to ask Brother Itachi for some advice. Can you tell me when he might be free?" Hui answered Mikoto's question sincerely, a smile remaining on her lips.

"Hmm?" Mikoto thought for a moment. "He just went out and won't be back at noon. How about I have him come find you tomorrow morning?" Mikoto said softly as she looked at Hui, finally remembering who this child was. Itachi had mentioned her before.

The girl who treated him to dango, and was the same age as Sasuke.

"Okay, thank you, sister. I'll be waiting for him at the Three-Color Dango Shop at this time tomorrow. If he has time, he can come find me. I'm not in a hurry." Hui felt embarrassed to let Itachi delay his own important business.

"Alright, I'll pass the message along to him. So, Hui, would you like to come in and have something to eat? I'm preparing breakfast." Mikoto thought of her own son, who was the same age and still sleeping, and felt it was necessary to have Hui influence Sasuke.

"No... no... thank you, I'm going to go do my morning training. I've already eaten!" Hui waved her hands hurriedly and took a step back. She was still a bit timid; running into Fugaku Uchiha wouldn't be fun.

Mikoto felt a little regretful, but didn't force the issue. "Alright then, see you next time!" Hearing this only made her feel more strongly that Sasuke needed to wake up early to train.

"Goodbye, beautiful sister!" Hui waved goodbye and disappeared shortly after.

Mikoto watched the cute child run off and covered her mouth with a gentle laugh. What a lively child; she should be able to become friends with Sasuke.

Mikoto recalled what happened a few days ago.

That day, when Itachi returned holding the Three-Color Dango, Mikoto had been somewhat surprised, as Itachi hadn't engaged in such childish behavior for a long time, having been focused entirely on training.

Mikoto sighed and said, "It seems like it's been a long time since you visited that dango shop you like."

Itachi looked at the dango in his hand, his eyes calm to the point of feeling profound. He looked up at Mikoto and said, "This is for Sasuke."

Sasuke had heard the sound of his brother returning long ago and was just about to ask him to help with his training, so he ran to the doorway as fast as he could. Fearing that he might run off, he shouted directly, "Brother!"

Before even seeing him, Itachi heard his younger brother's call, and a helpless, faint smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

Mikoto turned her head to look. Little Sasuke down the hallway looked silly with joy, and she covered her mouth to stifle a laugh; this child still loved his brother the most.

Itachi took off his shoes and stepped into the house. Sasuke arrived right in front of him, pausing when he saw the dango in his hand.

He asked hesitantly, "Brother, why did you buy this?"

Itachi smiled gently and handed the dango to Sasuke. "Someone else asked me to bring it to you."

Sasuke furrowed his brows as he looked at Itachi, his expression growing increasingly confused. "Why would someone else buy me dango?"

Seeing that Sasuke wouldn't take it, Mikoto laughed helplessly. She took the item from Itachi, handed the dango to Sasuke, and said with a gentle smile and crinkling eyes, "Perhaps they want to be friends with Sasuke."

Sasuke clutched the item and pursed his lips. Although he didn't know who that person was, the treat looked quite delicious. He took a bite and began to munch away.

With his mouth full, he mumbled, "For the sake of them sending me something, I'll reluctantly be their friend."

Mikoto laughed, and Itachi also raised the corners of his mouth slightly. His brother truly shouldn't be confined to the Uchiha clan, merely chasing after his back.

"Then, in the future, Sasuke should go and train with his little friends as well," Mikoto said with a soft smile.

Later on, Sasuke never knew how his habit of sleeping in had disappeared, and Hui didn't know anything about it either; regardless, it was all the doing of the adults.