You Take a Bite, I Take a Bite

Uchiha Mikoto had never seen such an incredible Fire Style jutsu.

Disregarding her wind-tousled hair and her soaked clothes, she jumped up in excitement.

"Amazing, this Great Fireball is just too amazing!"

"Kurohane-kun is only nine years old! To be able to unleash such an exaggerated Fire Style at such a young age—perhaps you really could become the Hokage in the future!"

Although it was Uchiha Mikoto's own dream to become the Hokage and she was unwilling to yield the position, Uchiha Kurohane's Fire Style was truly too shocking. In this moment, Uchiha Mikoto was convinced.

She did not hesitate to shower Uchiha Kurohane with the highest praise.

[Hime-ya~ Host has shocked Uchiha Mikoto, achieving the milestone "Mikoto is Convinced," and obtained the trait "Mikoto's Craftsmanship S."]

Mikoto's Craftsmanship?

What kind of ridiculous reward is this?

Does this young lady have some kind of special manual skill?

Uchiha Kurohane looked down at Uchiha Mikoto's fair, slender fingers, feeling quite curious.

(Mikoto's Craftsmanship S: Uchiha Mikoto's fingers are incredibly dexterous. Any ability or skill requiring finger manipulation can be learned rapidly and utilized with ease.
This includes combat abilities such as hand seals, kenjutsu, and the use of ninja tools, as well as daily household chores like threading a needle or playing musical instruments.
Host's technique proficiency increased by 1000%.)

Hand seals and ninja tools were understandable, but the inclusion of threading needles and playing instruments left Uchiha Kurohane feeling baffled.

What would a ninja need those skills for?

It wasn't until he saw the final explanation—that technique proficiency was increased by 1000%—that Uchiha Kurohane suddenly realized.

This was a trait that boosted technical ability.

And it increased it by a factor of ten! That was incredible!

One had to realize that there were certain jutsus in the ninja world that required extreme finger dexterity.

For example, the One Thousand Years of Death, or the Third Raikage's Hell Stab.

Both were terrifyingly powerful jutsus.

And the prerequisite for learning these two jutsus was possessing superb manual skill.

Uchiha Kurohane had always wanted to learn these two techniques, as they had unique applications in certain specific situations.

For instance, if he were to combine these two jutsus, he could certainly break through any female ninja's defenses.

Uchiha Kurohane could guarantee that even Kaguya Otsutsuki wouldn't be able to block it!

Clap, clap, clap.

After Uchiha Kurohane finished reading the system notification, Uchiha Mikoto was still clapping excitedly, continuing to heap praise upon him.

Objectively speaking, for a nine-year-old child to release such a terrifying Fire Style was truly inconceivable.

After all, the power of this single strike far exceeded that of most Jonin, such as Sarutobi Asuma's Fire Style.

To be able to release a Fire Style with power surpassing a Jonin at age nine—he was far more impressive than Kakashi, who became a Jonin at twelve!

Uchiha Fugaku listened to the praise coming from Uchiha Mikoto's mouth and felt deeply humiliated.

Damn it, he's only nine!

A Fire Style released by a nine-year-old is several times stronger than mine; how is this even possible?

I hadn't even mastered the Great Fireball when I was nine!

As Uchiha Fugaku recalled this, he felt a sense of despair in his heart.

However, as a genius of the Uchiha clan, he was incredibly prideful. He couldn't bring himself to admit defeat to a dead-last student. He sniffled, stood up in a disheveled state, and tried to explain.

"Wrong! The Great Fireball isn't better just because it's bigger. The power of a Great Fireball is already immense; a diameter of one meter is sufficient. Making it any larger is just a waste of chakra—it's all show and no substance..."

Uchiha Kurohane had no interest in Uchiha Fugaku's nonsense.

He retracted his Shadow Clone, scanned the riverbank for a moment, picked up the largest fish he could find, and tossed it toward Uchiha Mikoto.

"Mikoto-nee, here's a fish for you. Consider it compensation for last time."

Without waiting for Mikoto to reply, Uchiha Kurohane stylishly shoved his hands into his pockets and walked away.

A fat, one-meter-long fish flew toward Uchiha Mikoto.

Uchiha Mikoto caught it, stunned for a moment, before breaking into a light jog to catch up with him.

"Wait! I can't finish a fish this big by myself. Let's eat it together..."

Uchiha Fugaku felt deeply frustrated as he watched them ignore his analysis.

What is this? I am a genius of the Uchiha clan!

I'm kindly offering them guidance, and they won't even listen?

It's one thing for Mikoto to ignore me, but what right does that dead-last student have to ignore me?

Did he really think he was something special just because he could cast a Fire Style jutsu?

A ninja's battle is about comprehensive ability; you don't win just by being good at casting ninjutsu!

Fugaku watched their retreating backs, his anger mounting the more he thought about it.

Wait, the two of them running off to eat grilled fish together—this was a date, wasn't it?

No, how could I let the goddess go on a date with a loser!

Fugaku hurriedly moved to chase after them.

He had barely taken his first step when he heard someone calling his name from a distance.

"Fugaku, it really is you!"

Fugaku turned to look and saw three brats, around twelve years old, walking toward him quickly.

He recognized them as members of the Uchiha clan.

The one with brown hair and slanted eyes was Uchiha Tekka.

The one with long black hair and small eyes was Uchiha Inabi.

The one with spiky gray hair and squinting eyes was Uchiha Yashiro.

The three of them were known as the Uchiha Trio, whose fame rivaled that of the Uchiha Four.

Uchiha Tekka said excitedly, "That Fire Style just now was amazing! We saw the night sky light up from across the woods and heard a huge explosion; we were truly stunned!"

"I said such a powerful Fire Style must have been yours, but Inabi didn't believe it. Tell him the truth and shut him up."

Uchiha Inabi immediately explained, "It's not that I didn't believe it; I just thought it was more likely that Clan Leader Setsuna cast it."

Fugaku had intended to explain that the Fire Style wasn't cast by him, nor by Uchiha Setsuna, but by Uchiha Kurohane.

However, seeing the shock and admiration in the eyes of the three, he couldn't bring himself to say it.

Uchiha Yashiro asked at this moment, "Fugaku, was it really you who cast it?"

Fugaku hesitated for a moment, but finding it impossible to deny, he couldn't help but nod slightly.

The Uchiha Trio immediately cheered with excitement.

"Amazing, Fugaku! People called you a genius, but I never bought it. I didn't realize I was the stupid one. You're not just an ordinary genius; you're a genius who can surpass Madara!"

"How big was that Great Fireball you just cast? Why was it so bright? It was practically like the sun. Even Madara couldn't have done that when he was a kid, right?"

"Holy crap, was that grilled fish on the ground blasted by your fireball? To be able to blast fish with Fire Style—you really have surpassed Madara!"

"No wonder you dared to go to the Land of Rain. If you spray a Great Fireball like that, that so-called God of Shinobi, Hanzo of the Salamander, would instantly turn into a charred piece of grilled fish!"

"Big Brother Fugaku, once you burn the God of Shinobi to death and become a hero of Konoha, don't forget us three little brothers..."

Burn the God of Shinobi to death?

Me?!

Listening to the Uchiha Trio's flattery, Fugaku felt a surge of intense vanity.

He felt incredibly satisfied.

The frustration of having his goddess snatched away right in front of him vanished instantly.

Being a simp for a goddess was nowhere near as satisfying as receiving the praise of his peers.

Fugaku abandoned the idea of chasing after Mikoto and Kurohane, and began to analyze for his three friends just how powerful the massive fireball he had "sprayed" was.

Because he had seen it with his own eyes, he described it with vivid detail.

The Uchiha Trio listened, completely enthralled, and secretly made up their minds to become Fugaku's lackeys...

On the other side, Mikoto went to Kurohane's house, sprinkled some salt on the charred fish, and cut it into small pieces with a knife.

She and Kurohane began to taste it, one bite for her and one bite for him.