Mastering Ninjutsu Is Still Essential for a Ninja

This was his first time entering another clan's home. Compared to the Uchiha, the Inuzuka Clan's territory was truly quite small.

After entering through the gates and winding through several turns, he found the Hai Maru that Inuzuka Hana had mentioned, lazily sprawled in its kennel.

At the sight of Inuzuka Hana, it gave its tail a slight wag, then completely ignored Uchiha Qingfeng.

Based on his limited knowledge, he put on a show of examining Hai Maru from head to tail. He could not find a single problem. Still, its fur felt really nice to pet.

Could this dog be faking illness?

After all, no dog could withstand a brat's enthusiasm.

Inuzuka Hana, standing beside him, anxiously asked, "Did you find anything?"

He really wanted to tell her that the dog was perfectly healthy and had a great appetite, but he could not say that if he wanted to keep his remaining Survivor Benefit.

What should he do? Uchiha Qingfeng gave Hai Maru a few pats, only to be ignored.

"Inuzuka Hana, go get some water."

He simply sent the young lady away first. Once she had gone far enough, he stroked the dog's head. "Don't blame me for this."

Then he gave its head a knock, holding back a little.

"Still pretending? Still pretending? I'll smash your dog head in."

It was a Ninja Hound, after all. This level of force would not hurt it much. Besides, even a professional Veterinarian had found nothing seriously wrong with it. So Uchiha Qingfeng used his fists to confirm whether the dog was faking it.

As everyone knew, Ninja Hounds and the like could understand human speech.

The blows did little damage, but Qingfeng kept repeating, "Still pretending? Still pretending?" until Hai Maru finally sprang up and lunged at him.

"You won't properly play with your owner, and you still dare slack off..."

Even if he offended a dog, even if it bit him, he would never pay up. That was Uchiha Qingfeng's ninja way.

When Inuzuka Hana returned with the water, she saw the supposedly sick Hai Maru chasing Uchiha Qingfeng all around the yard.

"Just as expected of a hereditary doctor. You're really good at treating dogs."

"Hai Maru, come here..."

The moment he heard Inuzuka Hana's voice, Uchiha Qingfeng darted behind her. If possible, it was best not to get bitten.

Hai Maru looked like a dog that held grudges, but for now, it obediently walked over to Inuzuka Hana's feet.

"What a joke. Would a proud Uchiha Ninja be afraid of a dog?"

After all that fuss, night had fully fallen.

Inuzuka Hana brought the resentful Hai Maru to show off to her mother. "Look, Hai Maru's better! I didn't expect Uchiha Qingfeng to actually have some skill."

"G-good. Qingfeng, why don't you stay for dinner?"

Inuzuka Tsume invited him to eat with them, not merely out of politeness, but because Qingfeng was now an orphan. As for Hai Maru's illness, they had long known that Inuzuka Hana had been pestering the dog too much, so it had strategically feigned sickness to rest for a few days.

Uchiha Qingfeng still declined. "I'd better not trouble you, Auntie. I'll be going now."

"Little Flower, see Qingfeng out. He cured Hai Maru, so make sure to thank him properly."

Inuzuka Tsume did not insist. A young man's thoughts were hard to read.

Inuzuka Hana escorted Qingfeng to the main gate and watched his figure recede into the night.

"Be careful on your way home."

Uchiha Qingfeng waved to let Inuzuka Hana know he understood.

Off to Ichiraku Ramen.

Before he even entered, his voice arrived first. "Boss, a large bowl of ramen!"

Only after going inside did he see that Uchiha Itachi was actually sitting there.

The truth was obvious: Itachi had deliberately been waiting for him, an Uchiha clansman with a Three Tomoe Sharingan.

Sure enough, when Uchiha Qingfeng entered, Itachi's eyes lit up.

"I'll treat you to ramen this time."

After eating, Qingfeng watched Uchiha Itachi eagerly pay the bill. Was it some obligation of an Uchiha young master to repay a bowl of ramen?

The two left Ichiraku Ramen together.

Itachi could not help but say, "Did you know? The candidate for Fourth Hokage has been decided."

Among his peers, not a single person was worthy of speaking with Itachi. They were weak and childish. He had only ever had Shisui Uchiha as an older-brother figure, until he saw Qingfeng's Sharingan.

Qingfeng had originally thought Itachi wanted to ask about Kekkei Genkai again. He had not expected him to bring up the Hokage.

"The Fourth Hokage? Minato Namikaze."

Sure enough, Uchiha Qingfeng was the same kind of person as him. They had both seen who would become Fourth Hokage.

"Then how should we Uchiha conduct ourselves?"

So he was thinking about the Uchiha and Konoha. Was this why he could view matters from a Hokage's perspective at only seven years old?

"At the village's founding, there were the two great clans, Senju and Uchiha. Now the Senju have completely integrated into the village, while the Uchiha stand alone as the dominant clan. It is normal for the Hokage to be wary of us. What is frightening is that some clansmen truly think they can obtain the Hokage's position through force. That would be utterly ridiculous."

"The Uchiha need Leaf Village, but Leaf Village does not necessarily need the Uchiha."

"Outside, the five great nations are fighting in chaos. Look at Leaf Village—its elderly, weak, women, and children all live under Konoha's protection. That is the meaning of a village's existence."

Itachi repeated that Konoha might not need an unstable Uchiha.

"If this continues, are the Uchiha truly courting death?"

"Whether it is seeking the Hokage's seat or rebelling against the village, neither is possible. To some people, only dead Uchiha are good Uchiha."

"Perhaps following the Hokage's lead like Ino-Shika-Cho and the Hyuga is the only way out."

Troubled children had to be taught from a young age. Once they grew up, would they just destroy everything at the drop of a hat? Wiping out an entire clan was absurd.

Killing the whole clan was killing. If eliminating the unstable ones who wanted to cause trouble beforehand could solve the issue, why insist on exterminating the entire clan?

Uchiha Itachi thought silently. Qingfeng said nothing more, and the two continued on in silence.

Since Qingfeng had no intention of returning to the Uchiha Clan Land, he said goodbye to Itachi directly at the intersection.

He hoped what he had said would have some effect. It would be best if Itachi could figure it out himself. If he could not, then Qingfeng would not blame himself for showing no mercy later.

He returned to the Pharmacy.

His physical abilities had caught up, and his Chakra had grown abundant. In the Ninja World, could someone who did not know ninjutsu even count as a Ninja? There was no harm in learning more things that could save his life.

He opened the scroll for the Three Jutsu.

The simplest E-rank ninjutsu, the Clone Jutsu. Following the scroll's instructions, he controlled the flow of Chakra and slowly formed Hand Seals.

Ram—Snake—Tiger

An identical clone condensed at his side.

Pretty simple. It felt like anyone with hands could do it. He would not need a mirror anymore, and forming Hand Seals was even simpler and more convenient.

Curiously, he reached out and touched the handsome face, but his hand passed straight through without resistance. The entire clone vanished.

As expected, it was only an illusion with no physical form. It could only confuse people a little. It seemed it would be better to learn the Shadow Clone Jutsu directly.

How was he supposed to get a Shadow Clone scroll? Thinking of Itachi using Shadow Clones to attend Ninja Academy, it seemed he could only ask him.

The remaining Substitution Jutsu and Transformation Jutsu were the same—he succeeded on the first try.

He had seen people in the original story struggle through years at Ninja Academy, unable to even use the Three Jutsu during graduation exams, so he had thought they would be difficult. But this was it?

By the standards of the Three Jutsu examination, Uchiha Qingfeng was now a qualified genin.