I'm Not Ready Yet

"The village belongs to everyone. Trying to fight the entire village with the strength of a single clan can only lead to self-destruction."

The moment Uchiha Qingfeng spoke, Fugaku froze on the spot. This answer was far beyond Fugaku's expectations.

He had just accepted the clan's One Million Ryo without changing expression, only to turn around and talk about self-destruction. Fugaku suddenly felt some heartache over that One Million Ryo.

A child who had not even attended the Ninja Academy and had grown up within the clan was not blindly on the side of his "own clan," but rather on the village's side.

"Why do you say that?"

"I believe Clan Head understands this very well. Even a powerful clan like the Senju Clan vanished without a trace. Konoha has only one major clan left, the Uchiha, and it will inevitably draw hostility from all sides."

"Some clansmen are blindly arrogant without realizing it. They throw their weight around, refuse to restrain themselves, and when they face suppression, they actually consider seizing the Hokage position by force. Every one of these things is a path to death."

Though it was the truth, hearing it from a six-year-old child made Fugaku find it difficult to believe.

"Is there a solution?"

"The Akimichi, Inuzuka, Nara, Hyuga, and Yamanaka clans are right before Clan Head's eyes. That is the solution."

Fugaku's expression shifted unpredictably. He had already made many efforts over the years for peaceful coexistence, doing his best to restrain the clansmen. But the radicals could not be underestimated. At times, they obeyed him in public while defying him in private, and even he, the Clan Head, could do nothing about it.

"Do you know that this would mean at least half of the Uchiha clan would die?"

"Wouldn't half still remain? That's better than everyone dying."

Qingfeng's indifferent tone angered Fugaku somewhat. Everyone knew that the Uchiha valued their clansmen and their feelings deeply. Saying something like that was practically no different from betraying the clan.

Fugaku raised his hand, but it did not strike Qingfeng or slam onto the table. It slowly lowered instead.

"Just for those words, I could drive you out of the Uchiha and even reclaim your eyes."

"Maintaining peaceful coexistence with everyone in Konoha is the Uchiha's only way out."

Fugaku fell silent.

Uchiha Itachi entered. "Father, dinner is ready."

"Qingfeng, stay and have dinner with us!"

Uchiha Qingfeng breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, Fugaku had not done anything extreme. He had even invited him to stay for dinner, which showed that Clan Head Fugaku was not rejecting Qingfeng's proposal.

Sitting at the dinner table, Qingfeng saw Mikoto for the second time.

Holy crap, Fugaku works fast. Mikoto's belly is already swelling. Looks like Uchiha Sasuke will be born soon.

Itachi, whom he saw often, had never mentioned this. Once Uchiha Sasuke was born, Naruto would not be far behind. Yet Qingfeng was still just a nobody, unable to stir up any waves.

He had not even met the Fourth Hokage, aside from catching a distant glimpse of him during the Hokage succession ceremony.

Qingfeng completely panicked. He casually ate a little, then took his leave.

Itachi, who saw Qingfeng out, noticed that something seemed off about him.

"Qingfeng, why have you seemed so absent-minded ever since dinner?"

"Huh? Have I? Maybe training has exhausted me too much lately. I'll be fine after resting for a night."

After saying goodbye to Itachi, Qingfeng still decided to return to the Pharmacy.

He could no longer stay at his old home in the clan. His cheap older brother Obito might return to take a look at the place where he had once lived. If he discovered that Qingfeng's personality had changed drastically, who knew what he might do.

What exactly should I do? I'm completely unprepared.

Qingfeng returned to the Pharmacy, weighed down by his thoughts.

"Ding. The System has issued a new mission. Please check it."

The System, which had been silent for so long, had finally issued its second mission.

Qingfeng sat on the bed and entered the System to check it.

"Warrior, survive the Nine-Tails' Rampage. Mission reward: 100,000 Gold Coins."

Another 100,000 Gold Coins. It was only enough for one draw. Qingfeng already had nearly Two Million Ryo on him now. Still, something was better than nothing, so he clicked "Accept Mission."

No, no. The System said "survive" the Nine-Tails' Rampage. That means there'll be danger during this period.

Holy crap, isn't this screwing me over? I can barely protect myself, yet I'm still worrying about everyone else.

Calm down. I have to calm down. Analyze this carefully.

The fact that he had awakened the Three-Tomoe Sharingan was basically known to everyone. Someone might target him because of those eyes.

That research maniac Orochimaru should not be in the village right now, so he could be temporarily ruled out.

That left Danzō, who was desperate to increase his strength. Could Danzō really make a move against him during the chaos?

Obito was the most dangerous of all. If Qingfeng fell into Danzō's hands, at worst he would receive a Tongue-Cutting Seal; at least his life would be safe. But Obito might think that this younger brother knew far too much about him. Now that he traveled the Ninja World under the identity of Uchiha Madara, leaving Qingfeng alive was an unstable factor. He might simply decide to get rid of him.

Most importantly, Qingfeng's eyes were something no one could resist once they became the Eternal Mangekyo.

He should keep a low profile for now. Everyone else could only pray for their own luck. He still needed to increase his strength as quickly as possible.

He recharged the One Million Ryo Fugaku had given him and started drawing.

The first draw was still the familiar "Thank You for Participating."

"Congratulations, Warrior, you have obtained Master Potion x2."

"Congratulations, Warrior, you have obtained Xuzhu Royal Body Strengthening Secret Medicine."

"Congratulations, Warrior, you have obtained the potion Shining World Instrument."

"Congratulations, Warrior, you have obtained Mental Stimulant Potion."

"Congratulations, Warrior, you have obtained the Sword Skill *Forward Slash*."

"Congratulations, Warrior, you have obtained the Sword Skill *Draw Slash*."

"Congratulations, Warrior, you have obtained the Sword Skill *Forward Slash*."

"*Forward Slash*."

"*Forward Slash*."

It was not like they were completely useless, but weren't those sparkling golden lights supposed to mean something good?

He already had two bottles of Mental Stimulant Potion, but he did not dare try them casually. As for the Remidia Cake he had drawn last time, he would leave the food alone for now and save it for emergencies later.

Draw Slash was level two, Forward Slash was level five, while the advanced skill Instant Slash was still only level one.

Since the System's items came through draws, he could only draw slowly and save up slowly. As long as he recharged enough, there would eventually come a day when they reached max level.

He checked the description of level five Forward Slash.

"Step over the enemy's body and advance. Do not forget the road you came from."

If he could not understand it, he would pretend it did not exist. He took out the Katana that had been gathering dust for a long time. The night was perfect tonight, so he might as well go out and try it.

He barely managed to draw the blade completely. Last time, he had only dared test it on a tree, and this time he would likewise use a large tree for practice first.

"Forward Slash!"

This time, he could feel the wind howling past him. At this speed, it was probably on the level of a Body Flicker Technique where one could still make out a human silhouette.

The distance was a little farther than last time, but the mark on the tree was exactly the same. The damage was completely unchanged.

Huh, it only increases distance and not damage? That feels completely useless.

He should still test it against a living target. What if the damage was explosive?

He used his Sharingan to scan the surroundings and spotted an animal that looked like a duck not far away.

"You, then. Don't blame me if you die. After you're dead, I'll make sure to cook you properly."

The creature that could, for now, be called a duck seemed to sense danger after being locked onto by Forward Slash. It spread its legs and began to run.

"Too late. Be a good little duck and become the first boiled duck beneath my blade."

Qingfeng had already used Forward Slash and charged forward. As the duck sensed the danger drawing closer and closer, it actually spread its wings and flew into the air.

Qingfeng could not stop at all, and he followed the duck into the sky.

"Why can a duck fly? Huh? Can someone explain this???"