Chapter 19

He also wanted Mikoto to start helping him scout the map sooner, but she was only nine. At most, she was an ordinary Genin.

Pirate World was far too dangerous. It was not suitable for her to act alone yet.

She should obediently train with him and improve her strength first.

There would be plenty of places where he could use her in the future.

Mikoto froze again and turned to look at Uchiha Chisato.

Only after seeing the other woman nod in agreement did she say to Xunjing, "All right, then I'll trouble you. But I still have school. I'm only free after school and at night. Is that okay?"

Xunjing waved a hand and asked, "Have you mastered the Shadow Clone Technique?"

Mikoto nodded. "Of course."

As the second elder's granddaughter, and with her considerable talent, she had mastered the technique at a very young age.

"Good. When you have classes during the day, have a clone attend in your place. Your real body can come with me to Pirate World to train."

Xunjing settled the matter on the spot.

Mikoto paused. "You can do that?"

After thinking for two seconds, she said, "Fine. Other than combat classes, I'll have a clone attend everything else."

She naturally would not turn down the chance to train in another world and improve her strength.

Since Aunt Jiri had nodded in approval, it would definitely benefit her.

There was nothing to hesitate over.

"Then it's settled. After dinner, I'll take you over to familiarize yourself with the place and meet someone."

"After that, you can go there on your own whenever you have time."

Xunjing said this with satisfaction, then lowered his head and continued eating.

After dinner, he brought Mikoto to Drum Island in Pirate World and found Dr. Kureha.

He introduced them to each other. "Dr. Kureha, this is my cousin, Uchiha Mikoto. She'll be coming here often to train from now on, so I brought her over to get acquainted."

"Big Sis Mikoto, Dr. Kureha is a top-tier doctor. She's incredibly capable."

"Oh?" Dr. Kureha raised her head and gave Mikoto a glance. "Another Uchiha, huh? I'm Kureha. Just make yourself at home, little girl."

Mikoto hurriedly bowed respectfully. "Hello, Dr. Kureha."

"Haha, you've got good manners. Don't be so stiff. I don't have that many rules here."

"Look at your cousin. He treats this place like his own home. He's practically made a nest here."

Seeing how proper Mikoto was, Dr. Kureha smiled and teased her. She had always been an easygoing person.

"Yes." Mikoto bowed again, clearly not fully relaxed yet.

Next, Xunjing gave her a rough tour of the surrounding area.

Finally, he led her into a room specially cleared out as a training room and said, "Today, I'll first teach you a Life-Nourishing Art."

"This technique can regulate your body, dispel fatigue, heal old injuries, strengthen your muscles and bones, and prolong your life."

"It can also help you refine Sea King meat faster. It'll be very useful for your training going forward."

"Come on, follow me."

Xunjing taught her hand in hand, and after more than half an hour, he finally got Mikoto started.

That speed was already considered fast.

But compared to Uchiha Chisato, the gap was obvious.

And that was with Mikoto's Sharingan activated.

One had to know that nine-year-old Mikoto already possessed the Two-Tomoe Sharingan. She was a well-known little genius within the clan.

Mikoto was five years older than Chisato and was already fourteen this year, yet she only had Three-Tomoe. Anyone with eyes could see just how strong Mikoto's talent was.

"No wonder she could give birth to geniuses on Itachi and Sasuke's level in the original story. It was probably mostly thanks to Mikoto's bloodline, right?"

A mischievous thought crossed Xunjing's mind.

He felt that Mikoto in the original timeline had married and had children too early, without seriously cultivating or going through enough battles to temper herself. Otherwise, her strength would never have stopped at Three-Tomoe.

The little girl before him was astonishingly talented. Xunjing handed her a Sea King Essence and said, "Swallow it and try it together with the Life-Nourishing Art."

Mikoto accepted it and swallowed it without hesitation.

Very quickly, she felt a warm power dissolve within her body and flow along her meridians. Even her breathing became deeper and stronger.

After completing one cycle of the technique, she could not help crying out, "This thing is incredible! I can feel that my digestion and absorption speed has increased by more than double!"

Not only that, she could clearly sense slight increases in her physical strength, vitality, and Chakra.

At this rate, she did not even dare imagine what heights she might reach in the future. Her rate of growth was terrifyingly fast.

And all of it came from the boy before her.

Mikoto looked up at Xunjing, her eyes shining as her voice softened. "Little Xunjing, thank you so much."

"Don't mention it."

Xunjing smiled and waved his hand. "You were able to form a contract because your favorability toward me met the requirement. Otherwise, there was nothing I could do."

Upon hearing the words "favorability," Mikoto's gaze darted away, and a blush spread across her fair cheeks.

A little embarrassed, she turned her head aside and muttered softly, "Don't talk nonsense... What favorability? We're family."

"Oh?"

Seeing her evasive appearance, Xunjing's lips curled into an amused smile. "What did I misunderstand? That you like me?"

"Xunjing!!"

Mikoto instantly bristled. She stamped her foot, her face flushing crimson, shot him a fierce glare, then turned and rushed out of the training room.

She ran outside in one breath, only to freeze at the sight of a world covered in snow.

Snowflakes drifted through the air, and heaven and earth were blanketed in pure white.

Xunjing followed her out unhurriedly. Seeing her rub her hands while taking in the snowy view, an idea struck him. He took a thick cloak from the space gate and gently draped it over Mikoto's shoulders.

Mikoto froze for a moment, looked down at the cloak, and even the tips of her ears turned red.

But Xunjing acted as though he had not noticed her shyness. Looking at the distant snow, he said casually, "Beautiful, isn't it? I don't think Konoha's winters have snow like this."

"Mm."

Mikoto rubbed her hands together and exhaled a puff of white breath, gradually calming down. She nodded. "Yeah. Konoha is warmer. In winter, there's only a thin layer of snow, and it melts quickly."

After a pause, she added, "And Konoha is still in summer right now, while it's winter here..."

She raised her head to look at Xunjing. "Are the seasons of the two worlds out of sync?"

"Not entirely."

Xunjing shook his head, a hint of mystery in his voice. "It's even more exaggerated than you think. The island we're on is called Drum Island—it's a Winter Island."

"Winter lasts all year round. You can tell from the name alone. This place is winter throughout the year, with no other seasons."

"Huh?"

Uchiha Mikoto was stunned and blinked. "A place like that really exists? It's winter all year long? That must be so cold. Life there must be incredibly monotonous."

"Are the other places in Pirate World this strange too?"

Everything she had experienced today left her mind full of disbelief.

She had only gone to her aunt's house for a meal, yet she had stumbled into a string of bizarre events.

Her distant cousin's body had suddenly recovered, and she herself had been pulled into another world.

No wonder Aunt Jiri and Xunjing had been acting so mysteriously lately. They were probably busy with things here.

For Xunjing to awaken such a talent was simply terrifying.

"Uh... Looks like you haven't fully digested the information I gave you. There's actually quite a lot about this in there."

Xunjing shook his head helplessly.

"Huh? Really? Let me take another look!"

Mikoto froze, then hurriedly turned her attention inward to sort through the extra memories in her mind.

Only after quite a while did she react. Somewhat embarrassed, she stuck out her tongue at Xunjing. "Sorry, it really is in there!"

"It's mainly because all that information was stuffed into my head at once, so I didn't have time to examine it carefully."

"I'll definitely study it properly later."

"I never expected there to be not only Winter Islands here, but also Spring Islands, Summer Islands, Autumn Islands, and Thunder Islands."

"There's even the Calm Belt, the Red Line, Sky Island... all kinds of strange climates and scenery. It's much more interesting than the Ninja World."

"And this world is just too huge."

"If the Ninja World were placed here, it would be completely insignificant."