"I never expected Aotian's family to be so loaded. They just casually handed over a house, and in the most prosperous part of the Uchiha Clan's district, too."
But Lihuo had no intention of moving in.
"Choosing a side isn't that easy..."
Right now, he was just a fledgling Uchiha prodigy, and the Uchiha had no shortage of prodigies.
Enjoying treatment he hadn't earned could easily make him a target for other people's schemes.
Besides, Lihuo knew better than to choose a side too early. He had held back very little in his earlier performances.
Apart from his trump cards, he had revealed nearly all of his strength, hoping to attract resources from various factions.
But if Lihuo chose a side from the start, the factions opposed to his chosen one would no longer be willing to spare any resources for him.
"Keeping the house doesn't burn my hands, but actually living there would at least burn my butt," Lihuo grumbled to himself.
Over the next few days, Lihuo went to school as usual.
To give himself more leverage when it came to securing resources, Lihuo doubled down on training with Guy and Kakashi, doing his best to improve his strength.
During this time, Lihuo visited Hatake Sakumo several times and asked him for advice on combat techniques.
After training for a while, Lihuo could now last more than ten exchanges with Sakumo, as long as Sakumo didn't use a killing move.
"Little Lihuo, you're improving so fast. Keep this up for a few more years, and us old-timers might be out of a job," Hatake Sakumo said with a sigh.
"Uncle Sakumo, you're still in your prime. Konoha White Fang's reputation is well deserved."
This wasn't flattery. Lihuo meant every word.
After all, people might be given the wrong name, but no one got the wrong nickname. The name Konoha White Fang had been forged on battlefields drenched in blood and fire.
Every time he sparred with Sakumo, Lihuo felt an overwhelming pressure—a helplessness that came from knowing that even if he used every trick at his disposal, he still couldn't be sure he'd escape Sakumo.
"Uncle Sakumo, where is that Jonin you mentioned—the one developing hand-sign-free ninjutsu, Minato Namikaze?"
"I have a few questions about developing ninjutsu, and I'd like to ask him for advice."
Lihuo asked as if it were an idle question, but he had a purpose.
After all, Minato was the famous Yellow Flash. If Lihuo could get his hands on the famous Flying Raijin Jutsu through him, he'd be making a fortune.
Lihuo had already mastered the Five Basic Nature Transformations, but they were still just "starter gear."
The Flying Raijin Jutsu, on the other hand, could be considered one of the few "endgame items" among Space-Time Ninjutsu.
It was a technique he could use all the way to the end of the story! Besides, Minato had probably already learned the Flying Raijin Jutsu by now. How could Lihuo not covet it?
Sakumo didn't suspect a thing. He patted Lihuo's head and patiently explained,
"He's currently out on an A-rank mission. He's the only one who can complete it, so he can't give you any guidance yet."
"Got it. When he's free, you'll have to introduce me to him," Lihuo replied with a smile, though he was thinking,
I can't wait to learn the Flying Raijin Jutsu!
After saying goodbye to Sakumo, Lihuo immediately headed to the training ground to work out with Guy and Kakashi.
Watching Lihuo's retreating figure, Sakumo couldn't help but marvel. "That kid's already close to Chunin level. The young really do surpass their elders."
As the days passed, Lu Miao told Lihuo that the Nara family would soon invite him over for a banquet to thank him for saving her life.
Lihuo readily accepted. What's more, he picked up on a hint of something beneath Lu Miao's words.
"The Nara Clan seems to have spent an awful lot of time preparing for this family banquet. Uchiha Ting invited me over not long after I beat Aotian, but the Nara Clan's taking so long. That's suspicious."
"Besides, the Nara Clan has always been a staunch supporter of the Hokage faction. It's quite possible this banquet is also the Third Hokage extending an olive branch to me."
I can't wait to see what kind of gifts they'll give me...
Lihuo didn't dwell on it. Instead, during school, he took the chance to pat Kurenai Yuhi on the head.
It wasn't that Lihuo had never thought about patting the little girl's head before. Kurenai's genjutsu wasn't all that strong, but it was better than nothing. For an Uchiha like Lihuo, who hadn't awakened his Sharingan yet, it was good enough.
Unfortunately, Asuma was always keeping an eye on her, and Lihuo hadn't had a good chance to get close to Kurenai.
This time, though, Lihuo had clearly seized his opportunity.
"Mm, it really does feel nice."
After patting her head, Lihuo immediately took off running, successfully avoiding Asuma's shrill yelping.
"Ding! Head pat: D-rank ninja Kurenai Yuhi. Choose one of the following rewards." "10,000 yen" "An authentic young girl's teddy bear" "Slight increase to genjutsu talent"
Lihuo looked at the rewards and couldn't help giving a bitter laugh.
"I knew a little kid like her wouldn't give me anything good."
The second option in particular held absolutely no appeal for him.
"Something like that might fool Asuma, but I have no use for it."
Without a moment's hesitation, Lihuo chose "Slight increase to genjutsu talent."
"System, what exactly does 'Slight increase to genjutsu talent' do?"
"Host, as the name suggests, this talent improves your genjutsu aptitude and slightly increases your resistance to genjutsu."
With the mindset that something was better than nothing, Lihuo chose "Slight increase to genjutsu talent."
This time, the system's upgrade came and went quickly. Lihuo didn't even feel the usual agonizing pain, but he soon realized how much the talent had benefited him.
Thanks to this talent, Lihuo could actually disrupt other people's chakra to a small extent!
In the world of Naruto, the basic principle of genjutsu was to disrupt, obstruct, or even control an opponent's chakra in various ways, making them lose the ability to move or even inflicting serious damage on their minds.
With this talent, Lihuo could already control other people's chakra to a small degree. That meant learning and using genjutsu would be much easier for him in the future.
"It's better than nothing." He still needed to focus on improving his actual combat strength.
Only by becoming stronger could he meet more powerful people and pat more powerful heads, Lihuo told himself encouragingly. Then he returned to training.
Meanwhile, in an undisclosed location in Konoha—the Root underground base, inside a laboratory.
Bang!
With a deafening crash, the laboratory door was thrown open. More than a dozen Root members filed inside, filling the room with a murderous air.
Danzo entered behind them, his face dark with anger.
"Orochimaru! Have you forgotten all about the rules?"
"If you chose to work with me, then you need to follow Root's rules. Instead of conducting research in the lab, you obeyed Hiruzen's orders and went to investigate an Uchiha brat!"
"I'll give you just two choices: cooperate, or we both go down. With what you've been doing in secret, I can make sure your name is dragged through the mud in Konoha."
Unlike Danzo, who was acting so high and mighty, the person in the laboratory hadn't said a word from the very beginning.
But that silence put immense pressure on everyone present. Every Root member had entered on full alert.
That's right. There was only one person who could make Danzo, the Darkness of Konoha, take him so seriously: the renowned Sannin, "Cold Lord" Orochimaru.
"Heh, Mr. Danzo, don't get so worked up. Otherwise, my pets might get scared."
Orochimaru had been silent until now, and these were his first words. As soon as he spoke, a white snake silently appeared around the neck of every Root member.
"What..."
"When did..."
Even the Root members, renowned for their cold indifference, couldn't hold back their shock. After all, no one wanted someone else holding their life in their hands.
Without giving them much time to react, Orochimaru continued.
"Mr. Danzo, I'll finish the research I promised you on time."
"But for now, it seems I've discovered an interesting little fellow."
Before you continue