Divine Sense Cultivation

"Hane, you're more outstanding than I am!"

Fugaku was that kind of person. Though he cared about appearances, he could readily admit when someone else was better than him.

"What should we do next?" Fugaku no longer treated Hane like a child. He adopted a serious attitude and asked for his opinion.

"Heh." A faint smile curled at Hane's lips. "Father, respond to all changes by remaining unchanged. Do you know why I had you get the Hokage's written order regarding the relocation of our clan grounds?" A profound glint appeared in Hane's eyes.

Fugaku was no fool and instantly understood what Hane meant. "Hane, are you saying the Third and the others will go back on their word?" Fugaku's eyes widened.

"Father, do you think the village still has the resources to pay for relocating our Uchiha clan grounds when the fighting at the border is so intense?" Hane said calmly.

Fugaku fell into thought. After considering it, he shook his head. He had lived through the Second and Third Shinobi World Wars. War was ultimately a battle of economies. But why had the village demanded that the Uchiha relocate at a time like this? Could it be...

A shudder instantly ran through Fugaku's entire body.

"From the very beginning, the village wanted our Uchiha to move out of the clan grounds without paying anything."

"Ding-dong! Looks like Father isn't completely foolish after all." Hane teased.

Fugaku's face stiffened. "Watch your manners. Be careful, or I'll tell your mother later."

Hane's expression froze before he reacted. "Heh, I never thought Father was the kind of person who tattled. How embarrassing!"

"Hmph! Mikoto is my wife. Since you refuse to behave, it's only reasonable for me to have your mother teach you a lesson."

Hane was rendered speechless again. He had never expected his normally solemn father to joke about his own wife. And how could he still say it with such a straight face?

But there was nothing he could do. One thing always restrained another, and the greatest weapon against the Uchiha was gentleness. His mother's gentleness was equally fatal to Hane.

Seeing Hane standing there dumbfounded, Fugaku felt secretly delighted. You little brat are always so disrespectful to me, your father. Now you know how formidable I can be. No matter how outstanding you are, I'm still your father.

"Alright, Father. I don't need to explain what comes next, do I? If the higher-ups choose to do this, then we must be firm. At least for now, the village won't completely fall out with us. Maintaining conflict with the higher-ups without letting it break apart—that is our current situation." Hane's expression turned serious.

Fugaku nodded silently.

"If there's nothing else, I'm going upstairs to rest." Without waiting for Fugaku's reply, Hane jogged upstairs. His cheap father had actually gotten the better of him today. It was utterly humiliating.

Watching Hane hurry upstairs, Fugaku's lips curved into a gratified smile. He was now extremely satisfied with his eldest son. Hane was both brave and resourceful. With a son like this, what more could he ask for? With that thought, Fugaku strolled toward the kitchen.

Mikoto was busy when she saw her husband walk in, and for a moment, she did not understand what was going on—especially when Fugaku picked up a plate nearby and began helping her clean up.

Mikoto's beautiful eyes widened even further. She blankly raised her fair hand and pressed it against Fugaku's forehead. "Fugaku, are you feeling alright today?"

The concern on Mikoto's face left Fugaku helpless. "Mikoto, I think Hane is sometimes right. Maybe I am a little chauvinistic. You've worked hard for this family all these years."

Mikoto was deeply moved. She gently stroked Fugaku's cheek. "You are my husband. You have to face all the storms outside on your own. The pressure from the clan these past years must have been difficult for you. How can a little housework of mine compare? As for chauvinism, Hane was only showing concern for me. You shouldn't take it to heart."

At that moment, Fugaku quietly looked at Mikoto, the woman who had never once complained about him, and said nothing more.

Fugaku stepped forward and gently embraced Mikoto. The husband and wife quietly enjoyed this brief moment of peace.

However, upstairs, Itachi wore a pained expression. He had not intended to eavesdrop on his brother and father's conversation, but his curiosity had made him press himself against the floor and listen to everything they said.

Pain filled his heart. He felt that both his brother and father were too narrow-minded, that they had not tried to understand things from the village's perspective at all. Yet they were also the brother and father he loved most.

A red glint flashed through his eyes. He clenched his fists, slowly returned to his bed, and lay there with his eyes open, not knowing what he was thinking.

The next day, Hane rose early as usual. He did not plan to go to the Ninja Academy today. He had originally enrolled only to obtain a ninja graduation certificate later and integrate into this world. Now that he had the five sword clones, Hane naturally had no reason to return to such a boring place as the Ninja Academy.

With his clones, Hane no longer needed to personally gather Gratitude Points and Malice Points. He only needed to arrange for his clones to do it, since his External Incarnations were connected to his Divine Sense.

As long as the five clones did not exceed the range of his Divine Sense, it was as though he were personally present. Moreover, controlling the clones and dividing his attention six ways greatly benefited the cultivation of his Divine Sense.

With that in mind, Hane began making arrangements. Based on the maximum range of his Divine Sense, he decided to send one clone to the Uchiha's back mountain to identify some herbs.

Hane assigned another clone to accompany Itachi and Izumi to school. After all, he had not forgotten the reliable crop at school. It was harvest time every day.

It could slack off now and then and tease Izumi a little. By the end of the day, it could harvest several thousand Malice Points. Besides, Izumi was his treasure girl. Hane could no longer go a day without her.

As for the other three clones, Hane planned to leave one within the clan grounds and send two into the village to do some good deeds and earn more Gratitude Points.

As for Hane himself? Naturally, he would remain home and cultivate diligently. As the main body, if he did not work hard and relied entirely on his clones while lying flat, that could only happen in dreams. If he did not cultivate for a day, his cultivation would not advance for a day. Besides, he had already reached the stage where his cultivation required the accumulation of time.

The further he advanced, the more essential this personal cultivation became. After all, if he wanted to become an all-rounded cultivator, there were simply too many things he needed to learn.

After arranging his clones, Hane sat cross-legged on his bed and began cultivating diligently.

Early in the morning, Itachi waited for his brother to finish helping their mother with the housework, then sensed that something about his brother was different.

Compared to the calm and natural aura his brother usually possessed, this brother before him had the same tone and demeanor, yet carried an ethereal quality like the wind.

Itachi instantly understood what was going on. Thinking of the five clones his brother had summoned yesterday, one of them had possessed this very aura.

Itachi pursed his lips, wanting to say something. But when he saw his brother's gaze, he did not know why, yet he felt a faint sense of distance. In the end, even when Hane took his hand, he said nothing.

A trace of gloom arose in his heart. Suddenly, he felt that his brother was growing farther and farther away from him.

Time passed quickly. The blazing sun hung high in the sky. Hane emerged from cultivation and sensed the results of his clones' busy half-day. Both Gratitude Points and Malice Points had increased again, filling him with delight.

Of course, Hane's Divine Sense was also being rapidly consumed. During the process of controlling his clones, he discovered that they were not without cost. Controlling one or two did not feel like much, but controlling all five at once meant he had to pause one or two clones and wait until his recovery exceeded his consumption before he could maintain this state of dividing his attention six ways.

Still, the merits outweighed the flaws. Though there was a small drawback, the gains were far greater. Merely through repeatedly using and recovering his Divine Sense, its range had expanded by half a meter from a radius of one thousand meters. And that was only the result of half a day. Over a full day, Hane estimated that this method could increase it by a meter per day.

As long as he had time, then one day, with this method of training, all of Konoha would hold no secrets from him. Even the Book of Seals, which he had always coveted, would no longer be a problem.

Not to mention that in just half a day, he had gained 600 Gratitude Points and 3,000 Malice Points. In a full day, that would be 1,200 Gratitude Points, and if the Malice Points remained unchanged, 6,000 of them.

If nothing unusual happened, he would need one hundred days before he could advance his cultivation into Refining Spirit into Void.

"Heh, the Great Dao is within reach!" Hane's heart surged with joy. Others needed decades or even centuries, yet he only needed one hundred days. And that was assuming nothing major happened. If some major event occurred and he stirred up emotions from within it, the time needed could at least be cut in half.

However, just when Hane thought the day would pass normally, after school, a resolute-looking youth approached with two others and blocked Hane, Itachi, and Izumi.