Training Begins

"How about it? Do you acknowledge my strength now?"

Ryosuke patted Mihawa on the shoulder. The other boy's expression shifted uncertainly, and he remained silent.

Ryosuke suddenly spun around, a kunai appearing in his hand. He and Mihawa, who had suddenly appeared behind him, found themselves with their blades pressed against each other's throats.

"A chain of Substitution Techniques? Interesting." Ryosuke looked at Mihawa.

At that moment, Mihawa's eyes had shifted into the Three-Tomoe Sharingan.

This meant that Uchiha Mihawa could be considered a top-tier talent even within the Uchiha clan.

He was only twelve years old this year; although he was three years older than Itachi, he was still undeniably a genius.

To think the Uchiha clan possessed so many geniuses—it was no wonder they were unwilling to be marginalized by Konoha.

"A Two-Tomoe Sharingan was enough to see through my ninjutsu. You're quite good; I acknowledge you." Mihawa was the first to retract his kunai.

Ryosuke withdrew his own blade as well and asked, "You've already awakened the Three-Tomoe Sharingan. You're more than qualified to join the Anbu or the Police Force. Why are you content with remaining a Genin?"

"That is not your concern. We both have our secrets, don't we? I hope you won't tell Shisui-sensei about this."

After saying this, Mihawa vanished from the spot with a soft whoosh.

Ryosuke used Pesquisa and confirmed that the other boy was indeed no longer within his range of perception.

Doubts began to sprout in his heart. If even a background character of the Uchiha clan had already awakened the Three-Tomoe Sharingan, he no longer found it strange that someone might have already awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan.

If that were truly the case, it was unlikely that thirteen-year-old Itachi could have wiped out the entire clan alone four years from now; Obito and the members of Root were likely involved as well.

Although he had long anticipated this, now that concrete clues were laid out before him, Ryosuke still found it difficult to accept.

Given the personalities of Danzo and Obito, I doubt they would tolerate any Uchiha other than Itachi and Sasuke remaining alive in this world.

Thinking of this, he lost all desire to wander. He returned home and began packing his ninja gear.

The people of the Uchiha clan are all so cold and aloof. Will tomorrow really go smoothly?

Ryosuke lay on his bed pondering this question, and soon fell asleep.

Early the next morning, he was once again woken up by little Sasuke.

"Ryosuke-nii, Father wants you to come over for breakfast. After school, you can move into our house."

Little Sasuke said happily.

Ryosuke had almost forgotten about it.

"Sorry, Sasuke, I've graduated. I won't be able to go to school with you anymore."

Ryosuke patted little Sasuke's head and pointed to the ninja headband on his nightstand.

"Really? Ryosuke-nii is so amazing, just like Itachi-nii. But now I have to go to school alone again."

As Sasuke spoke, he lowered his head, his voice growing much quieter.

Ryosuke understood his feelings, but there was truly nothing he could do to help.

"Sasuke, as long as I'm in the village, I'll walk you to school from now on. How about that?"

Ryosuke leaned down and said.

"Really?" Sasuke looked up, eyes bright with excitement.

Ryosuke nodded.

After washing up, Ryosuke walked little Sasuke to school, grabbed a quick bite to eat, and headed to the training ground outside the village.

This was a dedicated space for novice ninja training, capable of accommodating over a dozen teams.

He quickly found the location for Team One. Mihawa was absent, and Miyuki was squatting on a wooden post, eating a lollipop?

She had let her hair down and changed into casual clothes.

As a light breeze blew, she seemed to sense something and cast a fleeting, sharp glance in Ryosuke's direction.

The biting killing intent didn't make Ryosuke feel afraid; instead, it sparked a strange sense of beauty.

Seeing it was Ryosuke, Miyuki immediately put on her habitual smile, performed a back-handspring, and landed steadily in front of him.

"Oh, it's Ryosuke-kun. You're here so early; how diligent."

As she spoke, she reached out to pat Ryosuke's head.

Ryosuke quickly dodged to the side.

"I'm still trying to grow taller, don't touch my head."

Miyuki froze for a moment, then burst into laughter.

"Ryosuke-kun is so cute. Do you want some of big sister's candy? Remember to live a long life, okay? That's the only way things stay interesting."

Miyuki held out a lollipop and uttered a chilling remark.

Ryosuke rolled his eyes at her and walked toward the three wooden posts.

The posts were two meters high and as thick as a man's embrace.

Don't tell me it's the old bell-stealing routine again?

Just as Ryosuke was speculating about the content of this training, Uchiha Mihawa walked over while rubbing his neck.

"You're all here, but where is Shisui-sensei? Shouldn't he be the first one to arrive? Hey, what do you think we'll be training today? Whatever it is, don't you two dare drag me down."

"Ahem, you shouldn't say things like that to your teammates, Mihawa."

Shisui's voice came from behind him, one hand already resting on Mihawa's neck.

"Sensei."

"Bear with it, the pain will be gone soon."

A crisp crack echoed through the air, followed immediately by a miserable shriek from Mihawa.

"Huh? It really doesn't hurt anymore! You're amazing, Sensei."

Mihawa flexed his neck, saying this with pleasant surprise.

Shisui ignored him, turning his gaze toward Ryosuke and Miyuki instead.

"Today is the first training session for Team One. The objective is unity and cooperation. The method is simple: you may use any means necessary to take these bells from me. Naturally, the best approach is for the three of you to work together. Do you understand?"

Shisui held up three bells as he spoke to the trio.

Ryosuke twitched the corner of his mouth; just as he had expected.

"What is this? It's such a boring game. I'm enough on my own. Shisui-sensei, if I manage to snatch all three bells, does that mean they can quit Team One?"

Mihawa spoke up first.

Shisui tapped him on the head. "What are you thinking?"

Mihawa chuckled, his hand darting out toward the hand Shisui was using to hold the bells.

His movements were swift, clearly attempting to succeed through a surprise attack.

"Mihawa-kun, you're so cunning. But that won't work on Sensei," Miyuki said with a smile.

As expected, just as Mihawa's hand came within a centimeter of the bells, his body suddenly froze.

It turned out that Shisui had lifted him right off the ground.

"I haven't said 'start' yet. What's the rush?"

"A ninja must use any means necessary to complete their mission."

As soon as Mihawa finished speaking, he formed hand seals, instantly creating three Shadow Clones. One of them lunged to grab Shisui from behind, while the other two went straight for the bells in his hand.

"Your seals are fast, but still not fast enough."

Shisui offered this critique before vanishing from his spot in an instant.

When he reappeared, he was already standing atop the wooden post in the center.