Cultivation

"Then, I shall trouble you, Senior!" After a long moment, a soft, stuttering voice finally flowed from Izumi's throat. As soon as she finished speaking, a faint blush instantly swept across her youthful cheeks, as delicate and moving as a peach blossom blooming in early spring.

Although it might seem inappropriate to say so, the meticulous guidance of a Jonin was undoubtedly extremely tempting.

Izumi knew this was a rare opportunity and truly did not want to let it slip away easily.

Especially since the Senior had just praised her for being cute—a sentiment she had never heard from Itachi. At the mere thought of the upcoming training, a strong sense of anticipation surged within her heart uncontrollably.

Watching the expectant look on the girl's face, Uchiha Chen immediately accelerated his eating.

When it was time to leave, Izumi stood up first, scrambling to pay the bill, only to be stopped by a hand that suddenly reached out. She hurriedly said, "Senior, let me treat you to this meal; please, do not refuse."

"You are going to guide my training later, so consider this a small token of my appreciation." As she spoke, her expression grew increasingly anxious.

Uchiha Chen paid the bill while teasing, "My guidance isn't something that can be bought with a mere meal. Besides, I am not short on money. Your best way to repay me is to train hard later."

With that, Uchiha Chen paid the bill briskly, then firmly took Izumi's small hand and led her away.

On the way to the previous training ground while holding Izumi's hand, Uchiha Chen spoke thoughtfully, "Izumi, tell me about your current training progress so that I can better tailor an exclusive training plan for you."

Izumi stared in astonishment at the hand being held tightly by Uchiha Chen, a shy blush gradually creeping onto her cheeks, yet she made no attempt to pull away.

At this moment, she mused to herself that she didn't feel much aversion to this overbearing behavior from Uchiha Chen. After all, young girls in the bloom of youth have just tasted the flavor of affection and have yet to clearly define their feelings for those they like.

Moreover, her interaction with the Senior just now had made her feel incredibly comfortable, and she would soon receive his careful guidance, so she silently lowered her head in tacit agreement.

Just as Izumi was immersed in her shyness, she didn't even clearly hear Uchiha Chen's inquiry.

It wasn't until Uchiha Chen asked several times that she looked up as if waking from a dream, stuttering in reply, "Um... I've just started learning the Three Body Technique, and I've also learned some Great Fireball Technique, and... and others."

Before she could finish, Uchiha Chen raised his hand with a solemn expression, placed it gently on her forehead, and muttered to himself, "Why is your face so flushed? Could it be that you're sick?"

Hearing his concerned words, her already slightly red cheeks instantly turned into the color of a ripe peach, so delicate and juicy that one couldn't help but want to take a bite.

She explained somewhat awkwardly, "Sen... Senior, I'm not sick. It's just that the sun is too bright, and I'm a bit hot." Looking at the flower-like, delicate face before him, how could Uchiha Chen not know that she was like this because of shyness?

However, this did not stop him from intentionally teasing this easily embarrassed girl.

To her answer, Uchiha Chen simply responded with a faint "Good" and said nothing more, continuing to walk forward. However, Uchiha Chen's hand never let go, as if this were just a normal stroll.

When we arrived at the small riverbank from before and saw the mess he had made, Uchiha Chen stopped and said, "Alright, we're here."

Hearing the Senior's words, Izumi slowly looked up and was surprised to find that this was the very place she and Itachi had discovered earlier.

Her heart stirred, but she didn't speak. It wasn't until Uchiha Chen signaled for her to spar with him first so he could gauge her baseline strength that she said firmly, "Please, teach me!" With that, she resolutely picked up a Kunai and charged toward me.

Uchiha Chen kept his left hand behind his back, responding to Izumi's attacks nimbly with only his right hand. He reminded her as he moved, "Your movements are too wide; it's very easy to expose your attack intentions!"

Before he finished speaking, he took advantage of the momentum to strike with his palm, shattering her without mercy—yes, literally shattering her.

The moment she was attacked, Izumi keenly sensed Uchiha Chen's intent and used the Substitution Technique to successfully block the blow, taking the opportunity to vanish into the dense forest.

Since we were conducting a live combat drill, Uchiha Chen did not specifically pursue her whereabouts, choosing instead to wait leisurely by the stream for her to launch a new round of attacks.

Sure enough, a few seconds later, several Shuriken flashing with cold light shot out from the forest like a gale.

Facing these incoming hidden weapons, Uchiha Chen observed carefully and found that while they were precise, they clearly lacked power, likely due to her young age and lack of strength. Thus, he easily dodged to the side, found the opening in the dense attack, and evaded them one by one.

Immediately after, he exerted force through his feet, his figure moving like lightning as he dashed into the forest in a few strides. Looking closely, Izumi was retreating in a panic under pursuit.

Seeing this, he immediately pressed the advantage, closed the distance, and threw a punch that struck her abdomen hard.

Before Uchiha Chen could say anything, there was a muffled "poof" sound, and Izumi's figure instantly turned into a cloud of smoke and dissipated.

Just then, a sharp whistling sound suddenly came from the ground!

A sharp Kunai struck toward Uchiha Chen like lightning, aiming directly at his blind spot! Just as the Kunai was about to pierce his body, at the critical moment, a strong, powerful left hand gripped the Kunai like an iron pincer, preventing it from moving even an inch further!

At the same time, Uchiha Chen flashed and rushed toward Izumi, who was still maintaining her throwing posture.

He waved his right hand gently, tapping her forehead accurately, and said softly, "Not bad tactics. First using the Substitution Technique to dodge my attack, then using the Clone Technique to distract me, and finally using the Transformation Technique to launch a fatal blow... You've mastered these tactics quite well; your foundation is very solid!"

Having said this, the corners of Uchiha Chen's mouth curled into a playful smile as he continued to tease, "You almost hurt me."

Hearing my praise and teasing, a flash of irrepressible excitement crossed the young girl's eyes, but she quickly suppressed it.

As for Uchiha Chen's claim of "almost hurting me," she didn't believe it at all.

After all, she knew that these little tricks of hers would likely be seen through in an instant by a Jonin.

However, hearing the Senior's evaluation of her performance still made her feel incredibly happy. In reality, even without using his left hand, Uchiha Chen could have easily caught that wave of attacks. Still, he wanted to give this hardworking girl some encouragement to motivate her to become stronger.

After another period of arduous training, the sun gradually set, and night was about to fall.

Under the beautiful sunset glow, the two of us said our goodbyes. Before leaving, Uchiha Chen gently patted Izumi's small, cute head, but upon seeing her indignant look, he said somewhat awkwardly, "Your performance today was excellent! You must be exhausted, right? Let's stop here for today."

Hearing me say "let's stop here," a trace of panic instantly flashed through Izumi's heart—would he not bring her to train tomorrow?

She struggled with this question internally, but ultimately lacked the courage to ask.

Uchiha Chen was in a hurry to leave to receive intelligence from Mikoto, so he didn't think much more and turned to leave.

However, just as Uchiha Chen had lifted his foot to turn away, a slightly conflicted voice came from behind: "Senior, can I come to find you for training again tomorrow?"

Hearing this, a flash of surprise crossed Uchiha Chen's eyes; he really didn't understand what kind of situation this was. Just as he fell into deep thought, Izumi seemed to have already received an answer, saying in a dull tone, "I understand... since Senior has to go, I shouldn't keep you. It's just that I still have some questions about training that I haven't figured out..."

At this moment, although Uchiha Chen didn't fully know what was happening, the scene before him clearly told him how to respond.

He first patted her head and then said: "I will wait for you here at noon tomorrow; don't be late."

He then turned and left, not seeing the excited face of the young girl behind him.