Leaving Konoha

"What happened?"

Seeing the strange silence in the classroom, Naruto looked a little bewildered.

When he saw Yun Xi at his desk, Naruto hurried over and asked, "Big brother, what happened?"

Looking at Naruto's confused expression, Yun Xi could only say helplessly, "Ahem, there was a little accident."

"Huh?"

Obviously, Naruto's simple-mindedness kept him from understanding what Yun Xi meant.

Just as Naruto was about to ask again, Iruka entered the classroom, so Naruto had no choice but to return to his seat.

"Hello, everyone. This is your first class. Make sure you study hard..."

Iruka was clearly unaware of what had happened earlier.

His face was full of excitement and nerves. After all, this was his first time teaching a new class.

"Hello, sensei..."

When Iruka came into the classroom, the whole class stood up to greet him.

Yun Xi stood up as well, and Iruka motioned for everyone to sit down.

Then he opened a book that seemed to be full of information and began, "Being a ninja is a dangerous profession..."

"More indoctrination?"

When Iruka launched into a long lecture, Yun Xi started to feel restless.

His time was precious.

It definitely wasn't a coincidence that Itachi had suddenly shown up at the Academy. If Yun Xi remembered correctly, this should be the last time Itachi taught Uchiha Sasuke how to use shuriken.

The Uchiha Clan Downfall Incident would happen soon after, and Sasuke would awaken his Sharingan...

That meant Yun Xi had, at most, a week to get stronger!

"Have the Jonin from Root Division who were watching me left too?"

Yun Xi realized that only the two Anbu Chunin were still following him.

The two Jonin from Root Division who had been there earlier had already disappeared...

That only made Yun Xi more certain that the Uchiha Clan Downfall Incident would happen soon.

Yun Xi knew that Itachi had met with Danzo before the clan was wiped out.

Afterward, all the members of Root returned to Danzo's side, to make sure the plan went off without a hitch.

"I can't waste any more time. I have to leave the village!"

Realizing he didn't have much time, Yun Xi immediately decided to leave the village and earn some money!

"Iruka-sensei, can I interrupt you for a moment?"

Having made up his mind, Yun Xi sprang into action, standing up and interrupting Iruka-sensei.

"Uh, Yun Xi, is something the matter?"

When Yun Xi suddenly stood up, Iruka paused his lecture.

"Oh, Iruka-sensei, I need to use the restroom."

Yun Xi planned to use the trip to the restroom as cover to perform the Multi-Shadow Clone Technique.

Then his real body could slip out of the village!

"Oh, I see. Go ahead."

Iruka clearly didn't realize this was an excuse for Yun Xi to leave Konoha, and agreed without hesitation.

It wasn't really Iruka's fault. Yun Xi was only six years old, after all.

Although children in the Naruto world tended to mature early, Yun Xi was still too young.

"Thanks, sensei. I'll be right back."

After Iruka agreed, Yun Xi left the classroom and strolled toward the restroom.

On the way, he kept an eye on the two Chunin following him.

Once he was sure the two Anbu Chunin weren't following him, and that there was no one in the restroom, Yun Xi used the Multi-Shadow Clone Technique to create a solid clone of himself.

Then he told the clone, "Stay here at the Ninja Academy and attend class. After school, take Naruto to get something to eat."

"Don't worry, original. I'll be careful," Yun Xi's clone replied with a grin.

"Go to class. I'll leave in a bit."

Once he was satisfied that the clone would be fine, Yun Xi sent it back to the classroom first.

"Okay."

The clone exchanged a look with Yun Xi, then left ahead of him, leaving Yun Xi alone in the restroom.

"It's time to go."

Once he was sure his clone had returned to the classroom and drawn the attention of the two Anbu Chunin, Yun Xi prepared to leave.

"Transformation Technique!"

After making sure no one was nearby, Yun Xi used the Transformation Technique to make himself look like an ordinary Konoha Genin.

Then he left the Academy and headed for the gates of Konoha.

Fortunately, there weren't many people on the way. With his convincing Transformation Technique, he slipped out of the village without any trouble.

"Orochimaru should have established Otogakure by now..."

"Karin should still be wandering around. She probably hasn't even gone to the Land of Grass to become a ninja yet. In that case, I'll head straight to the Land of Whirlpools!"

After leaving Konoha, Yun Xi didn't go looking for money first.

Instead, he planned to find Karin, who was still wandering.

According to the original story, Karin first appeared during the Chunin Ninja Exams, when Sasuke saved her.

But Sasuke had only just started at the Academy.

So Yun Xi figured Karin was probably still in her homeland, the Land of Whirlpools.

The reason Yun Xi cared so much about Karin was that he had always liked the loyal girl in the original story.

Her bright red hair, gentle nature, and loyalty made her an ideal companion.

Besides, Yun Xi had realized that going it alone in the world of Naruto was a foolish choice.

Wouldn't it be better to gather some people before the story began?

And Yun Xi had another major reason for wanting to recruit Karin.

That was her Kekkei Genkai!

The original story described it like this.

Karin Uzumaki was the only uninjured girl to survive the war that wiped out the Uzumaki Clan.

Sasuke had saved her when she was young, and she developed feelings for him.

After Sasuke devoured Orochimaru, she willingly followed him and joined his "Snake" team.

Later, she became the most outstanding support ninja in Taka.

She also possessed incredibly powerful sensory and healing abilities.

As long as an injured person bit her skin, they would recover their chakra and heal their wounds.

How could Yun Xi possibly pass up a healer like that?

If he could train Karin, then combine her abilities with his own powerful fighting skills, they would make the perfect team!

"Sasuke, Sakura's all yours. I'll gladly take Karin!"

Once he had worked out where Karin was, Yun Xi didn't hesitate any longer.

He sprinted toward the ruins of the Land of Whirlpools at full speed.

To save time, Yun Xi stopped hiding his abilities and raced onward.

The Shadow Clone Technique had its limits. Even with plenty of chakra, a clone generally lasted only about three days.

More importantly, after finding Karin, Yun Xi still needed to go to the Land of Waves, where Gato was.

So time was the most important thing to Yun Xi right now!

"Stop right there, brat!"

Even so, Yun Xi was stopped by a group of people...

"You brought this on yourselves..."

Yun Xi glanced around and spotted three rogue ninja a short distance ahead.

One was at Chunin level, while the other two were only as strong as Genin.

"Hey, big brother, that kid seems to have stopped?"

As Yun Xi assessed their strength, the three rogue ninja slowly approached.

They seemed to be planning to test him...