Daily Life

Ever since Orochimaru rejected Danzō, his "Anbu Training Class" in the entire village was left with only a few insignificant stragglers, unable to stir up any real trouble.

Unable to accomplish anything alone, he could only quietly lie low and wait for an opportunity in the shadows.

Orochimaru's experiments had hit a bottleneck, so he accepted an S-rank intelligence-gathering mission from the village and left.

As for his true purpose, who could possibly know?

This was Konoha's most peaceful period. The Hokage had the people's support, the Third Great Ninja War had just ended, and no large-scale war would break out anytime soon. It was the perfect time to have children.

Uchiha Qingfeng trained in peace, steadily improving his strength. Time was growing more and more pressing.

Without counting the Sharingan or the Eight Inner Gates Formation, he had already completely caught up to Itachi's training pace. If he used them, Itachi would not be able to withstand even a single exchange with Qingfeng.

"Inuzuka Hana, stop playing around beside us all the time. You should train a little too."

"Our Inuzuka Clan only needs to refine Chakra. The rest is about building a bond with our Ninja Hounds."

Today, Inuzuka Hana was not riding Black Maru. Instead, she had brought Hai Maru, the one Qingfeng had treated before.

This was Inuzuka Hana's personal Ninja Hound.

Half of the Inuzuka Clan's strength relied on coordination with Ninja Hounds, and all their clan secret techniques were related to dogs. Their lower limit was fairly low, but their upper limit was not particularly high either. For a clan like this to have survived until now, they must have a few exceptionally powerful Ninja Hounds.

"Qingfeng, attack me."

Faced with Shisui's invitation to spar, Qingfeng immediately activated his Three-Tomoe Sharingan.

"Binding Technique."

Whether it worked or not, he immediately followed up with another technique.

"Fire Style—Great Fireball Jutsu."

Because Shadow Clone No. 1 had been constantly practicing Hand Seals, the seal speed for a simple C-rank ninjutsu like this was now as fast as saying its name.

But Shisui was simply too fast. Not only was the Binding Technique ineffective against him, even a Great Fireball Jutsu that ordinary people could dodge was easily evaded as Shisui used the Body Flicker Technique to appear beside Qingfeng.

The Short Sword in his hand was already at Qingfeng's neck. Without the slightest hesitation, he slashed down.

After so many days of sparring, Shisui had already gained a rough understanding of Qingfeng's strength.

The "Qingfeng" beside him turned into a wooden log upon being struck.

"Not bad. That was the Substitution Jutsu this time. There should still be one Shadow Clone."

No one answered Shisui. Itachi and Inuzuka Hana watched their sparring match from afar.

If Inuzuka Hana had not realized that Qingfeng's strength was already close to that of a Chunin, she would never have brought Hai Maru out to train. She would have simply ridden Black Maru and watched the show.

Several Shuriken flew at Shisui from both sides.

To Shisui's Sharingan, they were far too slow. He could easily evade them all.

Another Qingfeng suddenly appeared from a different direction.

"Fire Style—Phoenix Sage Fire."

The attacks came from three directions, sealing off Shisui's room to evade.

"You can already make two Shadow Clones? You've improved quite a bit, but it still isn't enough."

Shisui vanished from where he stood. In an instant, he had determined that the one using ninjutsu was the original body.

After throwing their Shuriken, the two Qingfengs charged toward the Qingfeng using ninjutsu from both sides. Unable to see Shisui's movements, they could only predict his next move.

The instant Shisui appeared, two Kunai stabbed directly toward him.

The Qingfeng using ninjutsu turned into white smoke and dispersed. He had only been a Shadow Clone.

Shisui's body was also struck and turned into a flock of Crows.

"That was a clone too?"

Unfortunately, Qingfeng was given no time to react. A Kunai was pressed against the neck of each Qingfeng.

"I'm done. I can't see your Body Flicker Technique at all."

Shisui also put away his weapon. "I've already taught you the Body Flicker Technique. Train diligently, and you can reach this level too."

"Qingfeng, you're not skilled enough with your Sharingan. Keep it activated whenever you train from now on."

"The Body Flicker Technique isn't space-time ninjutsu. It's just extremely fast, fast enough to deceive the eyes. But the Sharingan can see through it. You can't see it because you aren't familiar enough with your Sharingan."

After hearing Shisui's advice, Qingfeng realized that he had indeed neglected his Sharingan too much. Other than copying Ninjutsu Scrolls, he only used it to scare children and dogs. He had never truly brought out the power of his Kekkei Genkai.

During this spar, Shisui had not used genjutsu or ninjutsu. Otherwise, Qingfeng would have been instantly defeated.

Qingfeng had likewise not used the Eight Inner Gates Formation or Sword Skill. The Eight Inner Gates Formation had severe side effects, so he would save it for a life-or-death struggle. As for Sword Skill, he should keep something he supposedly should not know as hidden as possible.

Later, when he left the village to travel, he could make a trip to the Land of Iron and then pretend he had learned Sword Skill there.

In any case, his Sword Skill did not rely on proficiency. Its level could only be raised by drawing it again, so practicing was useless. Better to keep it hidden.

"Qingfeng, you and Itachi come at me together."

Qingfeng and Itachi exchanged a glance, already agreeing on their battle plan.

They would fight guerrilla-style and keep their distance from Shisui as much as possible. The two immediately entered the forest from different directions.

This time, Uchiha Qingfeng kept his Sharingan activated, doing his best to observe Shisui's movements.

Both of them used Shadow Clones and regrouped with each other.

Qingfeng sent his second Shadow Clone alone in another direction.

Shuriken flew directly at Shisui from two directions. Shisui began weaving and dodging between them, and in an instant, the ground was littered with Shuriken and Kunai.

"Working together, and this is all you've got? Far from enough."

Now!

The two Kunai at Shisui's feet suddenly turned into Qingfeng and Itachi.

The Shadow Clones had used the Transformation Jutsu to become Kunai, allowing the originals to throw them out. They had been waiting for the moment Shisui opened his mouth to speak.

The two Shadow Clones grabbed Shisui's ankles, restricting his movement.

Qingfeng took the chance to use a Binding Technique as well.

Qingfeng's second Shadow Clone continued throwing Kunai. The Shadow Clones at Shisui's feet had already been flung away and dispersed, while the two originals had charged right in front of him.

They engaged in close-quarters Taijutsu, denying Shisui the chance to use the Body Flicker Technique. The two-on-one fight instantly became a tangled melee.

Although Shisui still won in the end, he had taken a few hits as well.

As the sun set behind the western mountains, the day's training came to an end.

"Tomorrow, I need to leave the village for a mission. I won't be back for some time, so don't slack off on your training."

During this time, Shisui had helped Qingfeng greatly. Qingfeng had once had no idea where to begin with genjutsu, but now he could use it directly.

Shisui had also taught both Itachi and Qingfeng the Body Flicker Technique without holding anything back.

"What mission?"

"A squad from another country has appeared at the border. Someone needs to stand guard there for a while."

Konoha's High-End Combat Power was truly too scarce now. Among the older generation, there were only Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzō Shimura. Among the new generation, there were only Minato Namikaze, Orochimaru, and Shisui Uchiha.

Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzō both held positions within the village, while Minato Namikaze was the Hokage. Orochimaru had already left the village some time ago and would not return anytime soon.

As for Kakashi, he was not strong enough yet. That left only Shisui, who had the renowned title of Body Flicker Shisui in the Ninja World. As long as he showed himself at the border outpost, he would provide more than enough deterrence.

"Don't worry. It's peacetime now, so there's no real danger. Besides, no one can keep me there."

Shisui was very confident in his own strength. Having already awakened the Mangekyo, he truly had the right to say that.

"Let's relax properly tonight. I'll treat you all to barbecue."

Inuzuka Hana was the first to agree. "Include Black Maru and Hai Maru's portions too!"

"Of course. Eat as much as you want."

Qingfeng also spoke up. "Then let's go now!"

"Let's go."