The Crisis of Ban and Izuna

"Mistress, the food you make is truly delicious!"

"Mistress, the clothes you sew are truly beautiful!"

"Mistress..."

It took White Bone Momotao two days to go from blushing furiously to happily accepting the praise.

As for Uchiha Kei, he was completely at his wit's end with these four little brats.

Scolding them was meaningless, as their skin had grown thicker by the day.

Beating them was even worse; bolstered by their bloodline enhancements, the more he thrashed them, the faster their strength improved.

In fact, this was a significant reason why they provoked Uchiha Kei so frequently.

"Get lost!"

With a roar, four figures scrambled out of the wooden house like a gust of wind.

Each of them was bruised and battered, yet strangely, their faces were beaming with joyful smiles.

"Hashirama, my chakra has already reached the Chunin level!"

Uchiha Madara, his left eye blackened and swollen, said excitedly.

"Tch, I'm at the Chunin level too, what's there to brag about?"

Senju Hashirama, his right eye similarly bruised, replied dismissively.

"Brother, I've reached Chunin level too! And my Sharingan has awakened!"

Uchiha Izuna, a little brat with blood streaming from his nose, hopped about excitedly, a single tomoe spinning eerily within his eye socket.

"Even if you've awakened it, you still can't beat me, hmph!"

The most miserable of the four was Senju Tobirama; not only was he bruised and swollen, but his clothes were shredded into strips, making him look like a beggar.

"You! You brat! How do you know if you haven't fought me? Take this!"

Uchiha Izuna let out a loud shout and, catching him off guard, launched a "monkey steals the peach" move, aiming straight for Senju Tobirama's crotch.

"Agh! I'm going to kill you today!"

Listening to the playful commotion outside, Uchiha Kei shook his head helplessly.

It had been half a month since he arrived at the White Bone Clan. During these two weeks, under the dual influence of Yin-Yang Release and bloodline enhancement, the strength of Hashirama and the others had advanced by leaps and bounds.

"There's half a month left; it's time to take them out for some real-world experience."

Uchiha Kei muttered to himself.

Beside him, White Bone Momotao was startled. "Benefactor, you... are you leaving?"

"It's time to go. No other clans have come in all these days, so I assume you won't be in any danger."

Uchiha Kei smiled as he looked at White Bone Momotao. "Besides, you now possess the strength of a Jonin; that's enough to serve as a deterrent."

"Benefactor..."

White Bone Momotao's body trembled slightly, her eyes welling up with tears.

Over the past half-month, the gentle and refined Uchiha Kei had completely captured the young girl's heart.

If she had started out wanting to repay a debt of gratitude, she was now truly, from the bottom of her heart, reluctant to see Uchiha Kei leave.

"Alright now, perhaps we'll have a chance to meet again in the future."

Uchiha Kei ruffled her hair, stood up, and walked out of the wooden house.

"Remember my words: the White Bone Clan must not participate in the conflicts of the Shinobi World, and you must not let the outside world know of the White Bone Clan's existence."

White Bone Momotao stared blankly at Uchiha Kei's departing back, tears streaming down her face.

"Teacher, where are we going?"

On the road, Madara asked curiously.

"We're going to look around. Although your chakra has reached the Chunin level, your practical combat experience is far too lacking."

"A ninja cannot rely on chakra alone."

The gap between a Genin and a Chunin can be bridged by the amount of chakra, but the gap between a Chunin and a Jonin involves many other factors.

The acquisition of intelligence.

The style of combat.

All of these require the support of extensive combat experience.

The reason Uchiha Kei brought them out was precisely to hone their combat experience.

Of course, the most important goal was to ensure Madara awakened his Sharingan!

"Starting now, I expect to see your prey in three hours to verify the results of your training. Do you understand?"

"Understood!"

The four of them responded solemnly, then darted off in different directions to hunt for prey.

Uchiha Kei sat lazily on the ground, plucking a blade of grass to chew on.

Half the mission time had already passed, and both Senju and Madara had become Chunin, nearing the level of Jonin.

"Once the space-time mission is complete, I'll possess the Rinnegan. Combined with Yin-Yang Release, I'll be able to accomplish so much."

Uchiha Kei had been transmigrated into the Naruto World for two years now.

For those two years, due to his own lack of talent, he had been forced to play the slacker, clinging to Naruto's coattails.

Even after obtaining the Shock System and achieving exponential growth in his strength, his slacker mentality remained unchanged.

The fifteen days he spent in the Warring States period served as the turning point for his mindset.

Having witnessed so much bloodshed and experienced firsthand that the weak are destined to be beaten, a seed of ambition to grow stronger was planted in his heart.

Ten years—only ten years remained before the ninja world would undergo a cataclysmic change.

Even if he successfully survived the Fourth Shinobi World War, what about when the Boruto Era arrived?

Could someone with Six Paths-level strength truly navigate the Boruto Era unscathed?

The answer was likely no.

With the brutal invasion of the Otsutsuki Clan and the encroaching threat of the Kara, even those at the Six Paths level had to tread carefully.

To survive, he had no choice but to continuously strengthen himself.

Strength was the only foundation for confidence!

"Chirp! Chirp! Chirp!"

An incredibly sharp, piercing cry rang out abruptly.

Uchiha Kei's expression turned stern, his face darkening.

"This chakra..."

Uchiha Kei's figure shot forward, sprinting toward the source of the cry.

In the forest.

"Brother, run! I'll hold it off!"

Uchiha Izuna gripped a shimmering ninja blade, his breathing ragged.

"Bullshit! I'm your brother; if anyone is leaving, it's you!"

Madara's eyes turned blood-red, his entire demeanor becoming violently agitated.

"I have the Sharingan; I can stall it for a while! Go!"

Uchiha Izuna roared, his single-tomoe Sharingan spinning rapidly.

Ahead, a gargantuan beast hovering dozens of meters in the air let out a sharp cry and dove downward.

"Clang!"

Uchiha Izuna swung his blade, colliding with the top of the beast's head.

"Bang!"

The sheer disparity in power caused Uchiha Izuna's blade to fly from his hand, and his body was sent hurtling backward.

"Izuna!"

Madara roared, his hands moving in a blur of seals. A thin line of fire erupted from his mouth, expanding abruptly as it neared the beast to form a massive fireball five meters in diameter.

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"

"Chirp."

The massive fireball engulfed the beast's head. With a cry, the creature shook its head violently.

It was completely unscathed!

After the strike, Madara immediately shifted his position, his hands weaving seals as he ran.

"Fire Style: Majestic Destroyer Flame!"

As the seals were completed, Madara skidded to a halt, took a deep breath, and puffed out his chest, exhaling a vast, solid sheet of flame that flowed like water.

The flames instantly enveloped the beast, and the chirping sounds became incessant.

"Boom!"

A massive cloud of steam billowed up, shrouding the surrounding hundred meters.

Madara didn't dare linger, sprinting at top speed toward where Izuna had been thrown.

"Cough, cough... Brother."

Blood trickled from the corner of Uchiha Izuna's mouth as he stumbled toward Madara.

"Let's go!"

Knowing this was no time for talk, Madara grabbed Uchiha Izuna and fled.

Just as Madara was about to grab Uchiha Izuna, countless glowing particles enveloped him.

"Boom!"

The particles collided, expanding in an instant.

The moment Madara's pupils dilated, the particles detonated.

Firelight engulfed Uchiha Izuna.

"Izuna!"

Despair and rage surged, and Madara's blood-red eyes shifted as three tomoe appeared within his sockets.

Three-Tomoe Sharingan...

Awakened!