Itachi Uchiha Is My Disciple

Half a month passed.

Goenji seemed to have been forgotten by Konoha. He had spent half a month in the Uchiha clan's library.

Aside from his daily training, he stayed in the library the entire time.

The old man was dumbfounded. He had never seen an Uchiha who loved studying this much.

He saw him there in the morning, at noon, and again at night.

He practically treated the library as his home.

Didn't most people start training eagerly to improve their strength as soon as they learned a ninjutsu?

It was as if Goenji had come here not for ninjutsu, but to learn knowledge.

Yet many of those things were taught uniformly within the clan.

Most of the basics were covered.

It was simply outrageous. An Uchiha who loved studying was such a rare sight.

The old man thought he loved learning enough already. He never expected to meet someone who loved it even more.

"I'm saying, you spend all day reading these books. Aren't you going to train and improve your strength?

"You should know that this is wartime. Improving your strength is what matters most."

The old man could not hold back any longer and asked Goenji.

"Knowledge is power. As long as I master enough knowledge, I'll become stronger and stronger." Goenji continued flipping through the book, reading page after page.

And he did so quickly, as if he were speed-reading.

It could not be helped. His brain would not allow him to study at a snail's pace; that would be far too inefficient.

Now that he had such a powerful brain, he naturally had to make good use of it.

As for the old man's words, he no longer took them to heart.

It was not as if he did not train outside. He completed his daily training every day.

He had even finished developing his new ninjutsu, Fire Body Flicker.

Fire Release: Rocket Propulsion.

A straightforward Body Flicker Technique. Just like its name implied, it allowed his body to propel itself forward at high speed.

It was much faster than an ordinary Body Flicker Technique.

It also possessed a certain degree of offensive power, much like a skill called Nine Heavens Thunderclap Double-Foot Kick.

When Rocket Propulsion was activated, a powerful propulsive force erupted beneath his feet.

With the right manipulation, he could turn that force into an explosion.

And it would not injure him in the process.

After more than ten days of development, aided by the knowledge in the Uchiha library, he had finally completed the Body Flicker Technique.

For Goenji, it was a major step forward.

His brain really was incredibly useful.

And as his knowledge grew and his wisdom accumulated, his development speed would only become faster and faster.

The old man said, "...Knowledge can increase your strength, but that is an invisible kind of strength. You still need to train your tangible strength."

He had once been an outstanding ninja himself. He knew knowledge was useful, but training was what truly mattered—integrating what one learned into one's own system.

Knowledge alone was useless.

The Uchiha clan grounds.

"That guy Goenji has been holed up in the library with Tenten lately. It's ridiculous. I was even thinking of asking him to train with me."

Tekka Uchiha sat in a chair and spoke to Inabi beside him.

Inabi said, "He's far more hardworking than you are. You've had enough fun in the red-light district these past few days, haven't you? Keep degenerating like this, and you'll die on the battlefield sooner or later."

To avoid losing to Goenji, he had trained extremely hard these past few days.

Unlike Tekka, he had not wandered around the red-light district.

Tekka had even spent more than half the money he earned from missions.

That money could have gone toward ninja tools or training equipment. He simply did not take his own life seriously.

Tekka said, "Hey, I'm an adult now. Of course I should do things I enjoy and relieve some stress while I'm at it. Don't tell me you don't feel stressed?"

He felt no shame over it.

He did not particularly want Goenji's kind of life.

Training with Tenten and soaking in the library with Tenten—it was boring.

Inabi said, "Sigh, serves you right for getting surpassed by Goenji. You can't even beat him."

"Cut the crap. Are you asking to fight me? I might not lose to you."

"Come on, then."

"Dad, I heard Brother Goenji studies a lot. Can I study with him?"

Itachi Uchiha raised his head and looked at Fugaku Uchiha.

These past few days, the mature-minded boy had begun thinking about what Goenji had said when they first met.

Following what he had read in books, he used ninja intelligence-gathering knowledge to quickly investigate Goenji's background.

Then he discovered that Goenji studied every day. He felt that he liked studying too.

Perhaps he could learn something from Brother Goenji.

He wanted to become stronger as well.

Fugaku Uchiha said, "That works. I'm heading to the battlefield tomorrow and won't have time to look after you. Stay by Goenji's side for a while and study properly."

Considering Konoha's current circumstances, Fugaku decided to let Goenji guide Itachi for a while.

Itachi was very intelligent. According to his intelligence, the village was already preparing to promote Goenji to Jonin, so Goenji was more than qualified to teach Itachi at this stage.

"Thank you, Dad."

Itachi Uchiha happily jumped up.

"What? You want me to teach Itachi Uchiha now?"

Goenji had just left the library, thoroughly satisfied with what he had gained, when he received Fugaku's message.

Only after arriving did he learn from Fugaku that he was being asked to guide Itachi.

He looked at Itachi beside Fugaku and saw the eager anticipation on his face.

Fugaku Uchiha said, "Yes. I'm going to the battlefield tomorrow and won't have time for him. It'll give him something to do. Even though he's still young, he cannot waste his time."

"That's fine. I happen to have gained some insight lately and need to train more. Leave him to me." Goenji was eager to give it a try.

That was Itachi Uchiha.

Itachi God.

Starting today, he would be his student. Hehehehe.

Goenji was a little curious about what he would develop Itachi Uchiha into.

Itachi was Kishimoto's son, after all. His tricks were endless.

How could he train Itachi so that he would stray from the original story's path without becoming weaker? That truly was an excellent subject of study.

In the original work, there were many reasons why Itachi Uchiha had become so powerful.

If those key events changed, would Itachi still be Itachi?

Would his Sharingan still awaken at such a young age?

Would he still advance to the Mangekyō Sharingan?

Perhaps not.

Without tragedy, Itachi could not possibly awaken the Mangekyō.

"Thank you, Brother Goenji." Itachi Uchiha was very well-behaved.

Goenji was greatly pleased by this.

"Don't worry. Follow me, and you'll learn more than you would from the clan head—Zetsu more." Goenji patted his chest.

He did not care about Fugaku's gaze in the slightest.

He was simply that confident.

Both Goenji and Itachi Uchiha possessed outstanding talent. At the same age, Goenji was Zetsu stronger than Itachi.

So he was not worried at all that he would be unable to teach him.

Teaching was also a method of learning.

During the teaching process, one had to think about how to explain ninjutsu thoroughly yet concisely. That was a field of study in itself.

If he could do that, it meant his Fire Release was improving.

And the improvement would be Zetsu greater than that of ordinary studying.

"Mhm, mhm."

Itachi Uchiha hurriedly nodded.

He was so excited!