Chapter 19

He wanted Mikoto to help him explore sooner, too, but she was only nine, and her strength was at best that of an ordinary Genin.

The Pirate World was too dangerous. It wasn't suitable for her to act alone yet.

She needed to stick with him and train, building up her strength first.

There would be plenty of things he could use her help with later.

Mikoto froze again, then turned to look at Uchiha Chisato.

Only after seeing her nod in approval did she say to Xunjing, "All right, sorry for the trouble. But I still have school. I'm only free after class and in the evenings. 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 a gifted one at that, she had mastered this technique at a very young age.

"Good. From now on, send a clone to your daytime classes. Your real body will come train with me in the Pirate World."

Xunjing settled the matter on the spot.

Mikoto blinked. "You can do that?"

She thought for a couple of seconds. "Okay. I'll send a clone to everything except practical combat classes."

Of course she wasn't going to turn down a chance to train in another world and grow stronger.

If Aunt Jiri approved, it had to be good for her.

There was nothing to hesitate over.

"Then it's settled. After we eat, I'll take you over to show you around and introduce you."

"After that, you can go over yourself whenever you have time."

Satisfied, Xunjing lowered his head and went back to eating.

After the meal, he took Mikoto to Drum Island in the Pirate World and found Dr. Kureha.

He introduced the two of them. "Dr. Kureha, this is my cousin, Uchiha Mikoto. She'll be coming over to train regularly, too, so I brought her to get acquainted."

"Mikoto, Dr. Kureha is a top-notch doctor. She's incredibly skilled."

"Oh?" Dr. Kureha looked up and glanced at Mikoto. "Another Uchiha, huh? I'm Kureha. Make yourself comfortable, little girl."

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

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

"Look at your cousin. He acts like he owns the place. He's practically made it his den."

Seeing how formal Mikoto was, Dr. Kureha teased her with a laugh. She had always been easygoing.

"Yes, ma'am." Mikoto bowed slightly again, clearly not entirely at ease yet.

Next, Xunjing took her on a brief tour of the surroundings.

Finally, he led her into a room that had been specially cleared out for training and said, "Today, I'll start by teaching you the Life-Nourishing Art."

"This art can regulate your body, relieve fatigue, heal old injuries, strengthen your muscles and bones, and extend your life."

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

"Come on, follow my movements."

Xunjing guided her step by step, finally getting Mikoto through the basics after a little over half an hour.

That was actually quite fast.

But compared with Uchiha Chisato, the difference was obvious.

And that was with Mikoto using her Sharingan.

At just nine years old, Mikoto already possessed the Two-Tomoe Sharingan and was a well-known young prodigy in the clan.

Mikoto was five years older than her, already fourteen this year, yet she only had three tomoe. Anyone with eyes could see how talented Mikoto was.

No wonder she gave birth to geniuses like Itachi and Sasuke in the original story. Most of that probably came from Mikoto's bloodline, huh?

A mischievous thought crossed Xunjing's mind.

He felt that Mikoto in the original timeline had married and had children too early, without putting much effort into training or undergoing enough tempering through battle. Otherwise, her strength would never have stopped at three tomoe.

The little girl before him was astonishingly gifted. Xunjing handed her a pellet of sea king essence and said, "Swallow this and try it with the Life-Nourishing Art."

Mikoto took it and swallowed without hesitation.

Soon, she felt a warm power spread through her body and circulate along her meridians. Even her breathing grew deeper and stronger.

After completing one cycle of the art, she couldn't help exclaiming, "This stuff is amazing! I feel like my digestion and absorption are more than twice as fast!"

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

At this rate, she couldn't even imagine how far she might go. The speed at which she was growing stronger was frightening.

And all of it came from the boy standing before her.

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

"Don't mention it."

Xunjing smiled and waved a hand. "You could form the contract because your affection for me met the requirement. Otherwise, I couldn't have done anything."

At the word "affection," Mikoto's eyes darted away, and a blush spread across her fair cheeks.

Embarrassed, she turned her head aside and muttered softly, "Don't say things like that... What affection? We're family."

"Oh?"

Seeing her evasive manner, Xunjing's lips curled into a teasing smile. "What did I misunderstand? That you like me?"

"Xunjing!!"

Mikoto instantly bristled. She stamped her foot, her face blazing red, shot him a fierce glare, and rushed out of the training room.

She ran all the way outside, then froze at the sight of snow covering the world around her.

Snowflakes fluttered through the air, leaving heaven and earth a pure, unbroken white.

Xunjing followed at a leisurely pace. Seeing her rub her hands together as she surveyed the snowy landscape, he summoned a thick cloak from the spatial gate with a thought and gently draped it over her shoulders.

Mikoto paused, then looked down at the cloak. Even the tips of her ears turned red.

As though he hadn't noticed her embarrassment, Xunjing gazed at the distant snow and said casually, "Beautiful, isn't it? I don't think I've ever seen snow like this during winter in Konoha."

"Mm."

Mikoto rubbed her hands together and breathed out a puff of white mist, slowly calming down. She nodded. "Yes. It's warmer in Konoha. We only get a thin layer of snow in winter, and it melts quickly."

After a pause, she added, "Besides, it's still summer in Konoha, but it's winter here..."

She raised her head to look at Xunjing. "Do the seasons in the two worlds not match?"

"That's not quite it."

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

"Winter all year round. As the name suggests, this place has nothing but winter. There are no other seasons."

"Huh?"

Uchiha Mikoto froze and blinked. "Places like that really exist? Winter all year? That sounds so cold. Life must be terribly monotonous."

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

Everything she had experienced today had filled her head with disbelief.

She had only meant to visit her aunt for a meal, only to stumble into one bizarre event after another.

Her distant cousin had suddenly recovered his health, and she had been pulled into another world.

No wonder her aunt and Xunjing had been acting so secretive lately. They had probably been busy with things here.

It was downright frightening that Xunjing could awaken a talent like this.

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

Xunjing shook his head helplessly.

"Huh? Really? Let me check!"

Mikoto blinked, then hurriedly sifted through the extra memories in her mind.

Only after quite a while did she realize it was true. She stuck her tongue out at Xunjing sheepishly. "Sorry, you're right!"

"It's just that all the information came flooding in at once, and I didn't have time to look through it carefully."

"I'll definitely study it properly later."

"I never imagined there'd be not only winter islands, but spring islands, summer islands, autumn islands, and Thunder Island, too."

"And there's the Calm Belt, the Red Line, Sky Island... All sorts of strange climates and scenery. It's much more interesting than the Ninja World."

"Besides, this world is enormous."

"The Ninja World would barely stand out here."