Handsome, Right? Bought with My Life

Hiruzen Sarutobi sat upright in the hall, with Minato Namikaze the only one standing below him.

"I have always believed that you are the inheritor of the Will of Fire. I wish to entrust Konoha's future, and the future of the Ninja World, to you. Are you willing to accept it?"

Minato Namikaze answered solemnly, "I will strive to live up to the Third Hokage's trust."

On such a serious occasion, the Third Hokage did not even have his pipe with him.

"Originally, I planned to hold the succession ceremony in a better setting, but the road ahead of you remains difficult."

"I am prepared."

"I believe you can do it!"

Minato nodded seriously.

He put on the completed Fourth Hokage's ceremonial robe beside him and walked out together with Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Outside was the Hokage succession platform, atop the Hokage Building.

Present were Konoha's guard captain, Akimichi Torifu.

The two advisors, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu.

The head of Konoha's Intelligence Division, Yamanaka Inoichi.

The head of Konoha's Jonin Division, Nara Shikaku.

The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, Kushina Uzumaki.

Before so many of Konoha's high-ranking officials, as well as the civilians watching below, Hiruzen Sarutobi placed the final Hokage hat upon Minato's head.

"I'm counting on you, Fourth Hokage!"

"I am willing to offer my life."

Beneath the hat were steadfast blue eyes. He walked to the railing and removed the Hokage hat.

Everyone cheered. Below him were the people he was to protect, and beneath his feet was the village he was to protect.

He was the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, bearing the Hokage's name and leading the village onward.

Danzō was still on the front lines and had not returned. From this day onward, Orochimaru began distancing himself from Konoha. Uchiha Fugaku, the Commander-in-Chief of the Security Force and the only Uchiha who could be considered part of the upper ranks, had likewise not attended the Fourth Hokage's succession ceremony.

Uchiha Qingfeng and Itachi sat atop the pharmacy roof. There was also a large dog beside them, though it kept some distance from Qingfeng.

Because Qingfeng was not very good at using Chakra, he had slowly climbed onto the roof.

For Itachi, it only took two leaps. Yet the dog had also jumped up with ease, and it was even carrying someone on its back. It felt like it had come specifically to humiliate Qingfeng.

Fortunately, the dog had enough sense not to lie down beside Qingfeng. Otherwise, he would have kicked it right off the roof.

As he watched Minato Namikaze looking ridiculously handsome in the distance, Itachi beside him spoke first. "The Third Hokage moved quickly. The Fourth Hokage has already taken office."

For the Third Hokage, the village and peace had already become obsessions.

Qingfeng casually replied, "I'm afraid it was merely an expedient measure for peace."

???

Uchiha Itachi turned a puzzled gaze toward Qingfeng.

He had forgotten that Itachi viewed problems from a Hokage's perspective at the age of seven. Although he was only six now, Qingfeng still could not treat him like an ordinary child. He could not just say whatever he wanted.

Kids in the Ninja World really did mature early. Seven-year-old Naruto had fallen in love with Sakura at first sight, and there were Obito, Ino, and the rest. They had all gone astray from a young age.

"What I mean is, everyone has a side unknown to others. Don't trust someone so casually, or you might end up being used."

After hearing Qingfeng's explanation, Itachi fell into thought.

Hopefully, during Itachi's chuunibyou phase, he would not be tricked into massacring the clan again. Otherwise, as an Uchiha clansman, Qingfeng would be in a difficult position. Should he calmly accept death, or turn around and beat Itachi senseless?

Or should he beat him up in advance?

The resentment from being humiliated by that dog had yet to fully fade. He kicked the still-thoughtful Itachi straight off the roof.

That felt much better!

Caught completely off guard while thinking, Itachi was kicked down. Even the large dog beside them showed a remarkably human expression of surprise.

If Qingfeng could read the dog's expression, it would definitely be saying, "This guy is a real dog." Then it silently moved two steps farther away, keeping its distance from this inhuman person.

Fortunately, Itachi's movement skills were excellent. He instantly adjusted himself in midair, flipped over, and landed perfectly.

After landing, he leaped back up in two jumps.

Itachi, who was often expressionless, wore an unusually angry look.

"The succession ceremony is over. Why did you come back up?"

First step: speak first and interrupt Itachi's questioning.

Second step: jump down and run.

After seeing Itachi's move just now, Uchiha Qingfeng had only one thought: I can do that too! He jumped straight down.

Ah, flipping over was fun.

Just as his face was about to hit the ground first, his training with Might Guy came in handy. His Chakra control and reaction speed had improved considerably. At the crucial moment, his Chakra-coated palms hit the ground first as support.

Then he still fell flat on the ground in a thoroughly undignified manner. Thankfully, his face was fine and his body was uninjured.

It was not handsome at all. It was even somewhat ugly.

From the roof, Itachi watched Qingfeng eagerly jump down, never expecting him to end up sprawled on the ground.

Inuzuka Hana quickly helped Qingfeng up.

"How is your body? You aren't hurt, are you?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine. That was just a little accident. I was a bit careless."

Uchiha Qingfeng nonchalantly brushed the dirt from himself and glanced at Itachi. The anger on his face had already vanished, returning to his usual expressionlessness.

Good, good. Although the process had been wrong, the result was the same.

"Qingfeng, there are some flaws in the coordination between your body and Chakra. You need to continue training diligently."

Itachi's brows lifted slightly, probably because he had finally found something he was better at than Qingfeng.

"Alright, we've finished watching the Hokage take office. The rest is beyond our control. I'm going to start training. Make yourselves at home."

He absolutely could not embarrass himself like that a second time!

After saying that, Uchiha Qingfeng immediately began walking on his hands. He set himself a small goal: first, learn how to run on his hands.

Today, as a Special Jonin, Might Guy had a meeting scheduled with the Fourth Hokage. That was why Qingfeng could slack off and watch the Hokage handover ceremony from the roof.

Itachi watched Qingfeng's baffling training method. He could not accept this method of walking upside down, but he still followed along behind him.

"Is your training method useful? Isn't this something Taijutsu ninja use to strengthen their bodies?"

Uchiha Qingfeng would never tell Itachi that he was using this method to train his Chakra control because he was afraid of falling while tree climbing and afraid of drowning in the water.

"Itachi, can you use the Shadow Clone Jutsu?"

Qingfeng intended to take the stance of a pioneer and approach things from the side, letting Itachi understand the difficulty of Shadow Clones and thus the significance of his training.

"Shadow Clones?"

Then Uchiha Itachi formed Hand Seals with both hands and called out, "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Two identical Itachis appeared on Qingfeng's left and right.

This was a B-rank ninjutsu! Was it really that easy? Qingfeng had a stomach full of words that he could not say.

"How did you train?"

"Since childhood, I first practiced Taijutsu and Shuriken. After I gained Chakra, I first learned to control it. Finally, I trained in ninjutsu."

Qingfeng compared that to himself. His former self had hidden at home as a fat shut-in. Even after gaining Chakra, he had not known to train his control. His physical condition had been so poor that a gust of wind could knock him down.

Then, after using medicine to nurse his body back to health, he had begun training directly. He skipped straight ahead to learning ninjutsu, only to now have no choice but to turn back and train Chakra control.

Training without anyone's guidance really made a huge difference.