Education Sasuke

Shield Breaking continued. One person after another in the queue climbed onto the Arena, but no one managed to deal much damage.

[Mini Chakra Fruit]

[Host received a critical bonus: Giant Chakra Fruit]

[1,000 Ryo]

[Host received a critical bonus: 10,000 Ryo]

[One C-rank Lightning Release Ninjutsu]

[Host received a critical bonus: Learned all C-rank Lightning Release Ninjutsu]

About an hour later.

At last, it was Sasuke's turn.

He was so excited. He could get another reward!

After opening a Sharingan from a White Blind Box, he'd thought he could get something else good from another one.

"Hi, big brother! I'm back!"

Sasuke flashed Zhou Cheng and Bao'er a grin. Even at his young age, he knew how important it was to build good relationships, calling Zhou Cheng "big brother" at every opportunity.

Zhou Cheng smiled faintly. I'm not expecting much from you right now. Go back and train for a few more months.

"Do your best!"

Sasuke nodded firmly, then his eyes transformed into a One-Tomoe Sharingan.

He formed Hand Seals rapidly.

"Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"

A massive torrent of flames erupted from his mouth and surged toward Zhou Cheng.

The flames engulfed Zhou Cheng in an instant. This time, no one thought he'd be burned to death.

They'd been proven wrong too many times already. They'd learned their lesson!

Sure enough, when the flames dissipated, Zhou Cheng stood there unharmed, without even a change in his expression.

-435.

[Damage dealt: 435]

[Shield HP remaining: 9,999,999,928,127]

[Damage rank: White]

[Reward: White Blind Box]

Sasuke's excitement immediately dimmed. Why had he dealt so little damage?

It wasn't even enough to reach Green rank.

"That's so low!"

Seeing Sasuke's disappointment, Zhou Cheng smiled faintly and reassured him, "You're already very strong, you know?"

If you could deal Purple-rank damage now, what chance would anyone else have?

"Your damage has doubled since the first time. That's a huge improvement!"

"You awakened the Sharingan and ate a Chakra Fruit."

"Getting stronger takes time, step by step!"

"If your strength suddenly skyrockets without time to settle in, it can lead to serious trouble!"

Itachi's face filled with gratitude. Was this senior teaching Sasuke?

"Here, this is your reward!"

A White Blind Box appeared in Zhou Cheng's hand. He tossed it to Sasuke.

The moment he saw it, Sasuke's face lit up.

He caught it and opened it at once.

A little fruit lay inside.

[Mini Chakra Fruit]

[Increases chakra reserves when consumed]

[Host received a critical bonus: Giant Chakra Fruit]

[Increases chakra reserves by a certain amount when consumed]

"A Chakra Fruit!"

"That's great!"

Sasuke was still easy to please.

His clan was intact, he held no grudges, and his parents and big brother loved him. He had an easy life.

Without a second thought, he popped the fruit into his mouth, chewed a few times, and swallowed it.

In moments, his chakra reserves had increased a little.

"That's like a month and a half of training!"

"I'm stronger again!"

Sasuke clenched his little fists, a smile spreading across his face.

Two days' worth of growth equaled three months of chakra training. Anyone would be thrilled.

Itachi and Shisui were happy for Sasuke, too.

The stronger he was, the more likely he'd survive if conflict broke out.

Still, the two of them wouldn't let this affect Sasuke.

"Congratulations on getting stronger again. Now, use the power you've gained to attack me!"

"The more damage you deal, the better the reward!"

Zhou Cheng smiled as he tried to Captivate Sasuke, though he wasn't getting his hopes up.

Without hatred driving him, and without a Three Tomoe Sharingan, Sasuke would probably only get Blue Blind Boxes.

Sasuke's smile faded. He'd already made up his mind.

After finishing his Hand Seals, he spat a torrent of flames from his mouth.

"Fire Style: Dragon Fire Technique!"

The flames shot toward Zhou Cheng in a straight line, moving at incredible speed.

Boom!

Zhou Cheng was instantly swallowed by the flames.

No one thought flames of that rank would hurt him.

He'd emerged unharmed from even stronger flames before.

When the flames dissipated, Zhou Cheng stood where he'd been, still smiling faintly.

-543

[Damage dealt: 543]

[Shield HP remaining: 9,999,999,927,584]

[Damage rank: White]

[Reward: White Blind Box]

Sasuke scrunched up his face, clearly unhappy with how little damage he'd dealt.

"Why is my damage so low? It's not even a fraction of my big brother's!"

Everyone laughed at that.

How old were you? How strong could you possibly be?

If you could already match the two geniuses everyone in the Uchiha Clan acknowledged, you'd be the greatest prodigy in Ninja World history.

After all, Shisui Uchiha was widely recognized as the strongest in the Uchiha Clan.

"Don't worry!"

"You're still young. Your big brother and Shisui both started out just like you and grew stronger over time!"

"With your talent, you've got a bright future ahead!"

Zhou Cheng was reassuring Sasuke, but inwardly, he was mulling things over.

Itachi knew how things would unfold in the future. Would he still choose to wipe out his clan?

If the Uchiha Clan survived and Sasuke had no hatred to fuel him, would he still grow as quickly as he had before?

But that's not my problem!

Itachi can't kill me, but you'll let everyone in the Uchiha Clan die. That'll make my Shield Breaking progress plummet.

"Here, this is your reward!"

A White Blind Box appeared in Zhou Cheng's hand. He tossed it to Sasuke.

Sasuke happily caught it and eagerly opened the box.

Inside was a Rice Ball.

[Ordinary Rice Ball x1]

[Restores physical stamina and satisfies hunger when eaten]

[Host received a critical bonus: Chakra Rice Ball x1]

[Restores all chakra when used]

Zhou Cheng's eye twitched. Is your beginner's protection period over?

Still, at least I hadn't lost anything!

"It's a Rice Ball!"

"I like Rice Balls a lot, but I didn't want one from a Blind Box!"

Sasuke's face fell, his disappointment plain to see.

He'd thought he might get another great reward.

He hadn't expected this.

"Big brother, could you give me one more chance?"

Sasuke put on a pitiful expression, hoping it would sway Zhou Cheng.

Zhou Cheng smiled faintly. As if!

"Impossible!"

"Everyone gets only two chances a day!"

"You're just upset because you didn't get two good rewards, aren't you?"

"Setbacks are part of life. No one gets to have everything go their way!"

"Once you graduate from the Ninja Academy, you'll have to follow a Jonin teacher on missions."

"When you run into an enemy, can you ask them to give you another chance?"

"And even if I gave you another chance, what if you still didn't get the reward you wanted? Would you ask me to give you yet another one?"

Sasuke lowered his head as Zhou Cheng spoke, as though he were facing his own stern father.

"I'm sorry. I know I was wrong!"

Holding the Rice Ball, Sasuke headed toward Itachi and Shisui below the Arena.

"Sasuke, remember what Senior Zhou Cheng said!"

"Every word of it was right!"

Sasuke kept his head down, afraid to look at his big brother.

"Big brother, I'm going to class!"

With that, he ran off without looking back.

Zhou Cheng glanced at the sky. It was nearly noon!