Boom!
Like thunder exploding, lightning flashed and crackled. Every defense seemed pale and powerless.
The tremendous force sent Uchiha Seki flying like a cannonball.
With a dull crash, a huge tree snapped in half.
The sudden burst of violence, and Qin Yu bathed in lightning, made the two remaining lackeys turn ashen.
They had no time to think. They hurriedly drew kunai and lunged at Qin Yu, stabbing toward his chest.
Yet Qin Yu seemed completely unaware.
Clang!
The moment the two black kunai struck his chest, lightning surged and flung them away.
"W-what kind of monster is this?!"
The two lackeys went pale. They had barely taken a step back when a massive fist rapidly filled their vision.
Thud!
The two figures flew backward like cannonballs.
They slammed into two trees.
Blood splattered as they fell to the ground, unable to get back up.
"He's so strong..." Uchiha Itachi stared in disbelief.
He had learned about the changes in his cousin from Uchiha Fugaku.
But in Itachi's estimation, those changes should have made him a Jonin at most, or perhaps an Elite Jonin.
When he saw Uchiha Seki and the other two lackeys appear, he had even considered stepping in to hold them off.
He had never imagined that Qin Yu would take out Uchiha Seki, an Elite Jonin, in a single move.
"Are you hurt?" Qin Yu asked, ruffling the hair of Uzuki Yugao, who was still dazed.
"If you are, I can treat you."
Back at the base, Uchiha Qin Yu had seized every opportunity to get Shizune to teach him Medical Ninjutsu.
Now his Mystical Palm Technique and Chakra Scalpel were both maxed out.
"I'm fine. The lunchbox I brought you got broken," Uzuki Yugao said dejectedly.
"Come on. Let's go eat at Ichiraku Ramen," Qin Yu said with a helpless shake of his head.
"W-would that be all right?" Uzuki Yugao froze, her cheeks turning crimson.
To her, this was practically a date.
"And you too, kid. If you don't mind..." Qin Yu glanced at the baffled Uchiha Itachi.
Itachi was only a little over six. He wouldn't graduate from the Ninja Academy until he was seven.
So he had only awakened one Tomoe, and his strength was barely above that of a Chunin.
"Is this your younger brother, Uchiha Itachi?" Uzuki Yugao had clearly heard of the young prodigy. She hurriedly added, "I don't mind at all. Itachi is so cute."
Uzuki Yugao pinched Uchiha Itachi's cheek.
If people in the future knew that the great Itachi had been treated this way, who knew how they would react?
"I... I don't have to come along," Uchiha Itachi said, finally snapping out of his daze.
"Don't you want to know how much your brother is hiding?" Uzuki Yugao said with a playful smile. "The two of us could team up and squeeze his secrets out of him."
"And don't you want to know how he single-handedly drove back the Cloud Ninja and Mist Ninja?"
Hearing this, Uchiha Itachi hesitated for a moment, then bit his lip and agreed.
"Let's go." Qin Yu rolled his eyes helplessly and led the way.
With the pretty Uzuki Yugao along, they attracted plenty of attention as they walked. In particular, seeing her with someone from the Uchiha Clan brought more than a little hostility to people's faces.
Qin Yu paid it no mind. He just hadn't expected Konoha's hostility toward the Uchiha Clan to run so deep.
"Welcome!" A girl of around twelve or thirteen came out.
"Ayame, get the guests seated. I'll have the ramen ready soon," Teuchi called from the kitchen.
"I'll have a pork ramen," Qin Yu said, sitting down casually.
This was Ichiraku Ramen, the shop that Naruto fans jokingly said would never fall, even if Konoha did—the most mysterious ramen shop in the series.
People even imagined that Teuchi had a true identity: the mysterious Otsutsuki Teuchi, hiding in Konoha Hidden Leaf Village.
"I'll have pork too!" Uzuki Yugao quickly chimed in.
In her eyes, sharing the same food as Qin Yu was what made it a date.
"I'll have one too," Uchiha Itachi said helplessly.
Before long, the two of them were engrossed in conversation.
When Uzuki Yugao mentioned Uchiha Qin Yu using Lightning Style: Kirin to kill over a hundred Cloud Ninja in an instant, Uchiha Itachi looked at Qin Yu with a new sense of shock and awe.
"Teuchi, I'll have a pork ramen," a slightly tired voice called from outside.
Qin Yu raised an eyebrow as a silver-haired man carrying a huge scroll sat down beside him.
"Lord Jiraiya, I didn't expect you to return at such a critical moment." Teuchi came out of the kitchen, looking pleased.
Teuchi was an ordinary merchant in Konoha, so he only knew the general state of the war.
Still, with three battlefronts opening at once, who wouldn't be worried?
As someone who had made a name for himself in the Second Shinobi World War, Jiraiya was a reassuring presence for Konoha.
"Teuchi, you're still the same as ever." Jiraiya split his chopsticks and glanced at the snacks Ayame had brought over. Shaking his head, he said, "I've only come back to report some intelligence to the Third Hokage. I'll be leaving again soon."
"The war will soon reach its conclusion!"
Teuchi's expression changed. He hurriedly gestured for Jiraiya to be quiet. "Lord Jiraiya, there are youngsters here. You can't just go sharing that kind of intelligence."
"And no drinking this time, either. Last time, Lord Jiraiya revealed a lot of intelligence. If Lord Hokage hadn't arrived in time, I would've been branded a traitor."
Teuchi took the sake from Jiraiya's table.
"All right. This time, I really shouldn't drink," Jiraiya said. For once, he didn't argue with Teuchi. Instead, he looked toward Qin Yu.
Teuchi wasn't stupid. He immediately caught on and took Ayame back to the kitchen.
"The ramen will be ready in ten minutes."
"Understood." Jiraiya knew Teuchi was giving him a hint.
Looking at the boy before him, who seemed to have recognized him right away, Jiraiya let out a quiet sigh.
"I didn't expect Minato to call me back for you, kid."
"I heard you drove back the Cloud Ninja and Mist Ninja all by yourself. Your strength is already close to Kage Level. Across all of Konoha, there are very few who could defeat you."
Uzuki Yugao and Uchiha Itachi wisely stayed silent.
Seeing one of the Legendary Sannin himself give Uchiha Qin Yu such praise left them both astonished.
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