Extremist

After a while, at Yakiniku Q.

With Kurenai Yuhi treating them, Kurenai Yuhi's team held their first group meal.

When Uchiha Hazuki learned that Kurenai Yuhi had "voluntarily" handed over decision-making authority after losing a match to Xiu, she could not help sighing.

"Xiu has always been far too opinionated since he was little. He must have caused you plenty of trouble, right?"

"No, no, not at all."

Kurenai Yuhi waved her hands repeatedly. "Although I was a little unwilling to accept it at first, his raw strength really has surpassed mine. The only thing he lacks is combat experience. Being a ninja is ultimately about strength. Teaming up with such a genius is also a safeguard for me."

Kurenai's attitude seemed perfectly natural. There were certain ideas she wanted to verify, so she had no time to stay angry for now.

"Well said. Here, a reward for you~"

Xiu casually picked up a piece of grilled meat and dropped it onto Kurenai's plate.

His casual manner left Kurenai unable to tell whether the brat meant well or was humiliating her like a dog.

"Honestly, you... I was just being polite to Senior Hazuki. You nearly killed me just now!" Kurenai pursed her lips, looking displeased.

"At the end of the day, it was only a B-rank Ninjutsu. No matter how wide its range was, one Water Wall would have been enough to protect yourself. Besides, I didn't cast it right in your face. Don't tell me you can't use even one Water Release technique."

Uchiha Shu spoke with complete confidence, as though there was nothing wrong with what he had said.

And in truth, there was nothing wrong with it.

It was hard to say about other parts of the Shinobi World, but at least in Konoha, ordinary Ninjutsu was actually easy to acquire. It was not like people claimed online in his previous life, where ordinary people could exhaust every effort and still fail to obtain even a C-rank Ninjutsu.

For starters, school textbooks recorded quite a few D-rank and E-rank Ninjutsu, along with some common C-rank techniques. Water Wall, Hiding in Mole Technique, and Great Breakthrough were all included specifically to deal with large-scale Ninjutsu like that.

Ninjutsu above B-rank was relatively harder to obtain, but it was no great difficulty for a second-generation ninja like Kurenai Yuhi, someone with proper roots and pedigree.

They could be found through clan inheritances, master-disciple inheritances, and even in the library. The Mystical Palm Technique, for example, was available in the library, though whether one could learn it depended on individual ability.

That technique was practically a hot commodity. The higher-ups wanted you to learn it even more than you did. The moment you mastered it, the head of the hospital would come sniffing around.

As for the most basic Chakra Refinement Technique, it was even more commonplace. After all, whose family did not have a ninja relative?

So if Kurenai had really been killed by one Great Fire Annihilation from him, death might have been a release for her.

"She's a Special Jonin, at least. If she doesn't even have that much ability, she might as well die. Only those who survive are worthy of being my teammates!"

At that, Kurenai gritted her teeth in secret.

The reasoning made sense, but in those circumstances, an ordinary Chunin would probably have been so frightened by that spectacle that they would have forgotten how to form hand seals.

Kurenai was about to complain a little more when she suddenly felt a burning gaze upon her. She glanced sideways and saw a glistening trace at the corner of Uchiha Izumi's mouth, her big eyes fixed intently on the grilled meat on Kurenai's plate.

What was with you now?!

Kurenai's mouth twitched. She picked up the meat and dipped it in sauce, only to find Izumi's gaze moving along with it.

There was another seriously obsessed little-sister type here!

Did the Uchiha have any normal people at all?

In the end, under Izumi's despairing stare, Kurenai swallowed the grilled meat in one bite.

Honestly, with Izumi's pitiful little eyes watching her, the meat somehow tasted especially delicious.

Seeing this, Izumi held up her plate and looked at Xiu with pleading eyes. "Xiu—~"

Uchiha Shu had no choice but to pick up another piece of grilled meat and place it on Izumi's plate. Only then did Izumi reveal a happy smile.

The scene before her once again confirmed one of Kurenai Yuhi's earlier suspicions.

So that was it...

Just as I thought!

These Uchiha... were tsundere!!!

Though it sounded somewhat absurd, the more she thought about it, the more it seemed to make perfect sense.

Xiu had initially struck her as arrogant, but from his perspective, her strength truly was not worth mentioning. Perhaps those arrogant remarks were merely statements of fact in his eyes.

Uchiha Izumi looked entirely normal, gentle and gracious, but that was actually a typical social mask.

The little-sister-obsessed girl before her was her true self!

Kurenai recalled the Uchiha she had known. Obito during their student days seemed to have been like that too. Though lively and cheerful, he would become clumsy and say the opposite of what he meant whenever it involved Rin.

Come to think of it, that clan also seemed obsessed with cats, didn't it?

They really were tsundere!

She had heard that some ninja cats would not even agree to fight unless they were paid... What kind of decent ninja clan would form contracts with summoned beasts like ninja cats, weak and difficult to serve as they were?

Were these idiots really willing to give up strength just to pet cats?

This was bad!

Kurenai slapped her forehead. She suddenly realized that once she accepted this premise, there was no going back.

As a Special Jonin, drawing conclusions based on only a few people was far too immature.

Kurenai Yuhi reflected on herself, then turned and saw Uchiha Izumi holding a piece of grilled meat to Xiu's mouth. "Say ah~"

Uchiha Shu rolled his eyes, but he still opened his mouth and ate the meat.

The instant he opened his mouth, Kurenai felt as though a pair of cat ears had suddenly appeared atop both their heads.

This was bad. Why were they looking cuter and cuter the more she watched?

Kurenai stared blankly at the scene.

Uchiha Shu...

What kind of person was this brat, really?

"A typical extremist!"

While the group was dining, Itachi Uchiha calmly gave his assessment of Xiu in the Hokage's office.

"Oh? Is that what you think?" Hiruzen Sarutobi was somewhat surprised by Itachi's opinion of Xiu.

"Yes. I asked Sasuke. That child's temperament appears exceptionally unruly, and the way he acts is very similar to the radicals within the clan." Itachi Uchiha nodded.

"Is that so..." Hiruzen Sarutobi held a pipe in his mouth. "I understand. You may leave now."

"Yes!" Itachi Uchiha nodded, and his figure quietly vanished.

Just moments ago, Kakashi had reported every detail of what had happened at the Third Training Ground.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was not surprised to learn that Uchiha Shu and Kurenai had fought another match.

He could see that Xiu did not approve of Kurenai Yuhi, and likewise, Kurenai remained bitter about losing to Xiu. So conflict was bound to arise between them again.

But that was not necessarily a bad thing.

Young people's minds were fickle. They might not get along today, only to become good friends tomorrow.

Uchiha Shu was filial and sensible, Uchiha Izumi was gentle and considerate, Kurenai Yuhi was mature and dependable, and they also had an elder like Uchiha Hazuki watching over them. In his view, the team's compatibility was quite good.

He simply had not expected Xiu's affinity for elemental techniques to be so astonishing as well. He had actually unleashed a Fire Release of that scale, nearly setting the entire sky ablaze...

Interestingly, judging from Kakashi's report, Kakashi seemed to have a fairly favorable impression of the child.

He had intended to hear Itachi's thoughts on this younger clansman, but the assessment had unexpectedly been terrible.

And this was the first time he had heard Itachi speak so negatively of someone.

"Honestly... why are all the Uchiha so extreme?"