Enrollment

The three of them quickly arrived at the Ninja Academy. After all, the Uchiha Clan had not yet moved away from central Konoha.

By the time they reached the academy, many parents had already brought their children to enroll.

When everyone saw Fugaku and the two boys, their reactions varied. Some looked upon them with awe, others with disgust, but most were indifferent. Compared to civilians, most of those enrolling at the Ninja Academy were ninja.

Civilians could hate the Uchiha Clan without restraint, but ninja, more or less, still held some awe toward Konoha's foremost clan.

Hane ignored them and followed Fugaku through the crowd to the registration desk. Under the tense gaze of the ninja instructor there, Hane and Itachi quickly filled out their personal information.

Then, under the teacher's solemn manner, they accepted the class assignment information he handed over. Hane then saw Itachi looking at him unhappily.

Hane helplessly glanced at the assignment sheet and immediately understood why Itachi was upset. The two of them had not been assigned to the same class.

Fugaku did not say much when he saw this. He merely reminded them to study hard and never disgrace the Uchiha Clan at school, then hurried off to the Military Police Force. There were still many clan matters that required his attention.

After saying goodbye to Fugaku, Hane gently comforted Itachi and promised that he would wait for him after school so they could go home together. Only then did Itachi look a little better.

Holding his slip of paper, Hane bid Itachi farewell and headed toward his own classroom.

After turning left and right for a while, he found that it was already getting late. Many students had arrived in their classrooms.

Hane found his classroom, and when he pushed open the door, he saw that it was already full.

The moment he entered, everyone in the classroom turned to look at him.

"Wow! Another handsome boy!" a girl said in a suppressed voice.

"He's from the Uchiha Clan. That cool expression is so awesome. I love it."

Hearing the girls' hushed voices, Hane's calm expression softened into a gentle smile. As expected, children really are pure-hearted. They don't have the adults' ulterior motives.

"Wow! He looks so good when he smiles too! So gentle!" A girl immediately squealed.

The Uchiha genes really are amazing. Hane followed the sound with his gaze and saw two ordinary-looking civilian ninja girls staring at him with stars in their eyes. He held no prejudice against them for not being clan ninja, nor did he care whether they were pretty little girls.

Instead, he gently nodded at the two girls. Instantly, both of them flushed shyly.

As he surveyed the class, Hane noticed that there were very few clan ninja in it. Even among the handful whose style seemed rather out of place, he did not recognize any of them.

Just as Hane was about to withdraw his gaze, his eyes suddenly fixed. He had thought there would be no ninja he knew in this class, yet he had unexpectedly run into an acquaintance.

By the window sat a delicate-looking girl from the main family, watching him with excited eyes.

She had long black hair, a purple high-collared short shirt, and a black tear mole beneath her large eyes.

"Izumi!" Hane was slightly surprised. Because of his presence, Itachi's childhood had changed somewhat. Unlike in the manga, Itachi had not begun pondering the meaning of life at such a young age, and naturally had not met Izumi.

He had met Izumi on the night of the Nine-Tails Rebellion. At the time, he had been at home with Itachi, looking after the still-infant Sasuke. It was also the first crisis Hane had encountered since coming into this world. Amid roars that echoed through all of Konoha and houses shaking with the earth, Hane and Itachi had rushed out of the house with baby Sasuke in tow.

They had seen a gigantic orange fox wantonly destroying Konoha. Its terrifying presence had made Hane, an ordinary man who had lived on Blue Star, understand for the first time how frightening this world was. It was then that he encountered Izumi, who had just become separated from her family.

After learning what had happened, Hane led the three of them toward the evacuating crowds.

During that time, Hane displayed an adult's maturity and calmness. Relying on the cheat he had brought with him, he had also saved quite a few children and women in danger along the way.

So despite being only six years old, Hane had quite a reputation among the civilian members of the Uchiha Clan.

Hane had always liked this gentle and considerate girl. Thinking of that, he cheerfully waved at Izumi. The little girl shyly nodded at him before awkwardly looking away.

Hane did not linger. He lightly walked toward Izumi, not because he had any particular intentions, but because the only empty seat in the entire classroom was beside her. Though children were simple-minded, adults also had a great influence on them precisely because of that.

When they had no other choice, children would choose their friends based on their families' circumstances.

Hane gently sat beside Izumi and turned to look at her. Apart from seeming a little embarrassed, she was not particularly bashful. Instead, she looked back at him openly.

"Izumi, what a coincidence!"

"Hane-kun, I'm very happy to be assigned to the same class as you. Please take care of me from now on."

"Izumi, you're still as cute as ever," Hane said with a slight smile.

"Hane-kun..." Izumi did not know how to respond. Her face suddenly flushed, and she cutely looked away.

"Hane-kun, how are Itachi and Sasuke?" To hide her shyness, Izumi hurriedly changed the subject.

"Them? One has become a chubby little boy, while the other spends every day overthinking things." Hane's tone carried a hint of helplessness.

"Pfft! Hane-kun, you're still so funny." Izumi suddenly covered her mouth and laughed. "Hane-kun, after school, do you want to take Itachi out for dumplings?"

"Oh? Does Izumi plan to treat us today?" Hane asked with exaggerated surprise.

Seeing Hane's exaggerated expression, Izumi could not help laughing again. "Yes. I still haven't properly thanked Hane-kun and Itachi for what happened last time."

"Mm, all right. After school, we'll go find Itachi. He's been frowning all day, so we'll add a little extra sugar to his dumplings then."

Hane did not refuse the girl's kind offer. He knew Izumi was a grateful girl. If he abruptly refused, who knew what she might start overthinking.

"Just eat a little less then." Hane knew Izumi came from an ordinary Uchiha household that was not particularly well-off. She had probably saved her allowance for a long time to pay for this treat.

And the girl's sincere gratitude from last time had brought Hane considerable benefits as well.

That brought up the cheat Hane had gained as a transmigrator. Like most transmigrators, Hane had a Golden Finger.

His Golden Finger was a cultivation game he had played in his previous life. Perhaps because of the transmigration, it had now become very simple.

Aside from the game's basic Qi Refining cultivation method, it could record and transform certain Ninjutsu suitable for being converted into Dao Arts.

For instance, the wind, lightning, water, fire, and earth Ninjutsu he had seen in the clan's Ninjutsu archive had all been converted into the Five Elements Ninjutsu of Dao Arts. Unlike a ninja's Five Elements Ninjutsu, which required hand seals to cast each technique, the Five Elements Ninjutsu of Dao Arts represented ultimate control over the five natural attributes.

Taking Water Release as an example, water was currently one of Hane's weakest elements. At the beginner level, Water Release could only allow him to control water where water already existed. He could not create water out of thin air, and its range was small, limited to water sources within roughly ten meters.

But that was only beginner-level Water Release Dao Art. Once it reached proficiency, not only would the range of his water control increase by hundreds of times, but through his understanding of the Water Dao, creating water from nothing with his own spiritual energy would be effortless.

Beyond that were the five levels of ordinary, proficient, perfect, subtle, and transcendent.

Every level would bring a qualitative transformation. As the level advanced and his understanding of the Water Dao deepened, his mastery over water's various transformations would continue to improve. He could compress water pressure and fire high-pressure water streams, condense water into ice, turn water into mist—in short, he would wield every form of water with ease.

As long as his imagination was rich enough and aligned with the Water Dao, anything could be achieved. Most importantly, as his Dao Arts improved, damage from elements of the same affinity would be reduced to the minimum. Turning his body into an element was not impossible either.

At present, Hane's Five Elements Ninjutsu consisted of proficient fire, proficient lightning, ordinary wind, beginner water, and beginner earth.

To raise the levels of these Dao Arts, aside from diligent training and personal comprehension, Hane had two other methods. The first was to continuously collect different types of Ninjutsu from the same element.

The second was obtaining other people's Gratitude Points [including being moved, gratitude, and recognition].

Or receiving malice from others [including hatred, disgust, and dislike].

It was somewhat like gathering the power of wishes from legend. Whether gratitude or malice, both were forms of mental power.

However, these two kinds of mental power served different purposes.

Gratitude Points could not only improve the rank of his cultivation method, but also upgrade his skills. Malice, however, could only raise skill levels.

Hane guessed that this was probably related to his starting cultivation method. After all, when he had played that game, he had chosen the righteous path of a prestigious sect.

Rather than the demonic path. That meant that if he wanted to improve his current cultivation method, he had no choice but to continuously invest Gratitude Points, this relatively positive form of mental power.

As for skills, they were ultimately only a means of using power. They did not distinguish between good and evil.

The key to cultivating his basic guidance technique, the Azure Nether Art, was to remain calm and tranquil.

Once his thoughts became restless, his cultivation would slow. Moreover, as his cultivation method advanced, his temperament became increasingly peaceful and impartial. This worried Hane immensely.

Because at this point in time, he still could not awaken his eyes, while Hane knew that his younger brother had already awakened his eyes during the Nine-Tails Rebellion.

It was said that awakening the eyes was related to spiritual power, but Daoist cultivation methods emphasized balanced improvement of essence, qi, and spirit. As his cultivation reached Refining Essence into Qi, his spiritual power had been rapidly growing, yet his eyes showed no response at all.