Training Begins

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

Ryosuke patted Sanhe on the shoulder. Sanhe's expression shifted between light and dark, but he didn't say a word.

Ryosuke suddenly turned around, a Kunai in his hand. He and Sanhe, who had appeared right behind him, each held a blade to the other's throat.

"Chain Substitution Technique? Interesting." Ryosuke looked at Sanhe.

Sanhe's eyes had already turned into the Three-Tomoe Sharingan.

That meant Uchiha Mihawa was considered one of the best among the Uchiha Clan.

He was only twelve years old. Though he was three years older than Itachi, he could still be called a genius.

Who would have thought the Uchiha Clan had so many geniuses? No wonder they weren't willing to be sidelined by Konoha.

"You could see through my ninjutsu with only the Two-Tomoe Sharingan. You're impressive. I acknowledge you." Sanhe was the first to lower his Kunai.

Ryosuke lowered his Kunai as well, then asked, "You've already awakened the Three-Tomoe Sharingan. You'd easily qualify to join either the Anbu or the Police Force. Why are you willing to become a Genin?"

"That's not something you need to concern yourself with. We both have secrets, don't we? I hope you won't tell Teacher Shisui about this."

After saying that, Sanhe vanished from the spot with a whoosh.

After using Pesquisa, Ryosuke discovered that Sanhe was indeed already outside his field of vision.

He couldn't help but grow suspicious. Even a no-name member of the Uchiha Clan had awakened the Three-Tomoe Sharingan. So even if someone really had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, he wouldn't consider it all that surprising.

If that were true, then thirteen-year-old Itachi alone probably couldn't have wiped out the entire clan four years from now. Obito and the people from Root had likely taken part too.

He had anticipated this possibility long ago, but now that more concrete clues were right in front of him, Ryosuke still found it hard to accept.

"Given Danzo and Obito's personalities, they probably wouldn't tolerate any Uchiha members besides Itachi and Sasuke living in this world."

At the thought, he no longer felt like going out. Instead, he returned home and began packing up his ninja tools.

"The Uchiha Clan members are all so aloof. Will things really go smoothly tomorrow?"

Ryosuke lay in bed, pondering the question, and soon fell asleep.

The next morning, little Sasuke woke him up again.

"Big Brother Ryosuke, Father said you should come to our house for breakfast. After school, you can move in with us."

Little Sasuke said happily.

Ryosuke had almost forgotten about it.

"Sorry, Sasuke. I've already graduated, so I can't go to school with you anymore."

Ryosuke patted little Sasuke's head, then pointed to the Forehead Protector on the bedside table.

"Really? Big Brother Ryosuke is amazing, just like Big Brother Itachi. But now I'll have to go to school by myself again."

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

Ryosuke understood how he felt, but there was nothing he could do to help.

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

Ryosuke bent down and said.

"Really?" Sasuke looked up excitedly.

Ryosuke nodded.

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

This was a training area specifically for rookie ninja, with room for more than a dozen teams at a time.

He quickly found Team One's spot. Sanhe wasn't there, while Miyuki was crouched on a wooden post, eating a lollipop?

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

A breeze passed by. As though sensing something, she shot Ryosuke a fleeting glance.

Her fierce killing intent not only failed to frighten Ryosuke; it somehow gave her a strange kind of beauty?

When Miyuki saw it was Ryosuke, she immediately put on her habitual smile, then did a twisting backflip and landed steadily in front of him.

"Oh, it's Ryosuke. You're here so early. How diligent."

As she spoke, she reached out to pat Ryosuke on the head.

Ryosuke quickly dodged to the side.

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

Miyuki paused, then laughed.

"You're so cute, Ryosuke. Want one of my lollipops? Remember to stay alive as long as possible. It'll be more fun that way."

Miyuki handed him a lollipop, then said something chilling.

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

The posts were two meters tall and thick enough for one person to wrap their arms around.

Was this going to be the old bell-stealing exercise again?

While Ryosuke was guessing what the training would be, Uchiha Mihawa walked over, rubbing his neck.

"You're both here already. Where's Teacher Shisui? Shouldn't he be the first one here? Hey, what do you think we'll be training today? Whatever it is, don't hold me back."

"Ahem. You shouldn't say that to your teammates, Sanhe."

Shisui's voice came from behind him. One hand was resting on Sanhe's neck.

"Teacher."

"Just bear with it. It'll stop hurting soon."

There was a crisp crack, followed by a scream from Sanhe.

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

Sanhe said excitedly, rolling his neck.

Shisui ignored him and looked at Ryosuke and Miyuki.

"Today is Team One's first training session. The exercise is about teamwork. The method is simple: you can use any means to take the bells from me. Of course, the best way is for all three of you to work together. Understood?"

Shisui took out three bells and addressed them.

Ryosuke's mouth twitched. Just as he'd expected.

"What? This is such a boring game. I can handle it alone. Teacher Shisui, if I take all three bells, can they leave Team One?"

Sanhe spoke up first.

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

Sanhe chuckled and reached for the hand Shisui was holding the bells in.

He moved fast, trying to snatch them by surprise.

"Sanhe, you're so sneaky. But that won't work on Teacher," Miyuki said with a smile.

Sure enough, Sanhe's body suddenly froze when his hand was still an inch from the bells.

Shisui had lifted him into the air.

"I haven't even said 'begin' yet. Why are you in such a hurry?"

"A ninja has to do whatever it takes to complete the mission."

After saying that, Sanhe formed Hand Seals and created three Shadow Clones. One of them grabbed Shisui from behind, while the other two tried to snatch the bells from his hand.

"You formed the Hand Seals quickly, but not quickly enough."

Shisui commented, then vanished from the spot.

When he reappeared, he was standing on the middle wooden post.