The Advantage of Being a Child

This...

I don't want to!

I want to stay in Konoha and be with Mikoto!

But it was too late to realize that now. Uchiha Fugaku had already said in front of everyone that he would go to the Land of Rain. He couldn't go back on his word.

Looking at Uchiha Kurohane's smile, he grew angrier the more he thought about it.

Damn it!

How dared a mere dead last set me up? Did you take me for an idiot? Did you think I'd just let this go?

You should come with me too!

Uchiha Fugaku's eyes shifted as he thought of a way to strike back.

"It's fine for me to go to the Land of Rain, but Kurohane, as the main culprit, you'll be going too, right?"

Uchiha Fugaku looked at Uchiha Kurohane with malicious eyes, waiting for his answer with a sinister smile.

He intended to pressure Uchiha Kurohane into going to the Land of Rain.

And Uchiha Fugaku believed that, since he had the Sharingan, he could escape if he encountered danger. He wouldn't be in any danger.

On the other hand, Uchiha Kurohane didn't have the Sharingan. He could only wait to die!

Seeing Uchiha Fugaku's scheming grin, Uchiha Kurohane felt that he was far too naive.

He looked Fugaku straight in the eye and answered seriously.

"I'm not going."

Uchiha Fugaku nodded with a wicked grin.

"That's right, you definitely have to go... Hm, no, what did you say?"

Uchiha Fugaku believed that under these circumstances, Uchiha Kurohane couldn't possibly think of backing down. He thought he had misheard.

"I said I'm not going."

Uchiha Fugaku froze in shock, unable to understand Uchiha Kurohane's way of thinking.

"What are you talking about? You caused this mess. You're the main culprit! As a man, you have to take responsibility and go to the Land of Rain!"

How could you be so shameless? Are you even a man?

Uchiha Fugaku was a man who cared about appearances. Though he was furious inside, he maintained his elegance and swallowed the insults he was about to hurl at Uchiha Kurohane.

Faced with Uchiha Fugaku's agitated questioning, Uchiha Kurohane answered calmly.

"I'm only nine years old. I'm just a Ninja Academy student. I won't be going to the battlefield."

There was actually a move like that?

Uchiha Fugaku's eyes widened in astonishment.

He was deeply unconvinced and immediately wanted to argue, but he couldn't think of a rebuttal. His mouth opened, yet no sound came out.

Seeing Fugaku's disapproval, Uchiha Mikoto spoke up.

"Fugaku, what are you thinking? Kurohane is just a child. How can you make him go to war?"

Seeing Mikoto speak up for Uchiha Kurohane made Uchiha Fugaku even angrier.

I'm only fourteen too. I'm also a child!

Why do I have to go to war?

You can't have double standards!

And why was Mikoto defending him?

She's my childhood sweetheart!

Uchiha Fugaku felt that Mikoto had betrayed him. He bit his lips until they bled, and his face faintly turned green with rage.

Uchiha Kurohane continued from Mikoto's words.

"I won't evade responsibility. Once I become a Genin, I'll go to the battlefield."

This was the final year of the Second Shinobi World War. The war would end soon.

And Uchiha Kurohane was only nine years old. At the earliest, he would not graduate for another two years. By the time he became a Genin, the war would have long since ended!

Since Uchiha Kurohane's words made sense, the Uchiha Clan members all nodded.

Though the Uchiha Clan was extreme, they weren't brainless.

This was no longer the dark era of the Warring States Period. No matter how difficult things became, they would not send a nine-year-old child to the battlefield.

Besides, this was a campaign in the Land of Rain, outside Konoha.

At its core, it was a war in which Konoha invaded the Land of Rain. It wasn't righteous to begin with.

If the Uchiha Clan sent people to fight, Sarutobi Hiruzen, sitting in Konoha's office, would get the credit if they won. If they lost, the Uchiha Clan would take the blame.

That was why the Uchiha Clan was unwilling to send people to the Land of Rain.

The Uchiha Clan was only willing to protect the territory of the Land of Fire and had no desire to participate in the fighting in the Land of Rain. They all sincerely agreed with Uchiha Kurohane's view.

They also tried to persuade Fugaku.

"Forget it, Fugaku. He's so young. How could he go to the battlefield?"

"He's different from you. You're a genius of the Uchiha Clan and you're strong. It would be too dangerous for him to go to the Land of Rain!"

The more those clansmen tried to persuade him, the angrier Uchiha Fugaku became.

Just then, he suddenly thought of the crucial question.

Wait, this guy was only nine years old and the dead last in his class. How did he defeat those three fourteen-year-old Genin?

The Pumpkin Head trio were Uchiha Fugaku's classmates, and Uchiha Fugaku knew how strong they were.

The Shuriken Hell the three of them unleashed together was terrifying. Even Uchiha Fugaku himself wasn't confident he could dodge it.

How could this child possibly have defeated them?

"That doesn't make sense. Those three Genin are my classmates, and they're very strong. How did you beat them?"

The other clansmen also realized the problem, and the hall became noisy once more.

A nine-year-old dead last had defeated three fourteen-year-old Genin?

That was impossible!

In order to avoid going to the battlefield, Uchiha Kurohane had to keep pretending to be weak.

"He looked down on me and let his guard down. He didn't dodge, and I caught him off guard."

"You could only catch one of them off guard. What about the other two? Could you ambush them three times?"

Uchiha Setsuna spoke coldly at that moment.

"He probably awakened the Sharingan."

As soon as he said that, everyone immediately understood.

"So that's it. He awakened the Sharingan. The Sharingan can greatly increase a ninja's strength, so no wonder he won... Wait, he's only nine!"

Awakening the Sharingan at nine was even more unbelievable!

The Sharingan wasn't something one could awaken just by wanting to.

Many members of the Uchiha Clan never awakened the Sharingan in their entire lives.

Even those who did awaken it generally did so after reaching adulthood.

Awakening the Sharingan at nine made him the first since Konoha was founded!

Uchiha Kurohane had transformed from the dead last into the Uchiha Clan's greatest genius!

And Uchiha Kurohane had even awakened the Sharingan earlier than Uchiha Fugaku.

Listening to the clansmen praise Uchiha Kurohane, Uchiha Fugaku's eyes reddened with fury, and his little fists clenched so tightly they nearly broke.

And what Uchiha Fugaku found most unbearable was the admiration and reverence in Uchiha Mikoto's eyes as she looked at Uchiha Kurohane.

That completely shattered Uchiha Fugaku's defenses.

My goddess actually admired that dead last?

Damn it, damn it!

Why did that trash have such good luck that he awakened the Sharingan?

As Uchiha Kurohane basked in the praise of the Uchiha Clan, he heard a shriek in his mind.

[Eek~ The host has gained Uchiha Fugaku's jealousy, achieving the accomplishment "Uchiha Fugaku's Little Fists Clenched Until They Nearly Broke," and has obtained the Entry "Fugaku's Chakra Control Ability A."]

(Fugaku's Chakra Control Ability A: Fugaku was a genius of the Uchiha Clan and possessed powerful Chakra control ability.

The host has gained his Chakra control ability.)

Chakra control ability was extremely important in Naruto.

For example, Naruto possessed immense Chakra in the early stages, but because his Chakra conflicted with the Nine-Tails' Chakra, he couldn't control it and could barely even use the Three Basic Jutsu.

In contrast, Haruno Sakura possessed an exceptional talent for Chakra control. She learned the Strength of a Hundred in just three years and gained the ability to remain eternally youthful.

Without a doubt, the Strength of a Hundred was a powerful Ninjutsu second only to Orochimaru's body-swapping.

After transmigrating, Uchiha Kurohane had resolved that he would definitely learn the Strength of a Hundred.

Because aside from preserving youth, this Ninjutsu had another ability—it activated the cells, keeping the body's functions at their peak.

This ability was especially useful for men...