First Meeting with Mito Uzumaki

A month passed quickly. With many of Konoha's strongest carrying heavy burdens on the battlefield, Konoha still enjoyed peace.

During these peaceful days, Kirito packed every day full.

Cultivating Natural Energy, Chakra, Chakra control, the Three Basic Ninjutsu Techniques, the Stone Throwing Technique, taijutsu—these were all daily tasks he had to complete. Considering his physical development, he only spent six hours a day on them, using the rest of his time to relax and read.

Even so, Kirito's strength had improved tremendously compared to a month ago, and he had successfully mastered the Three Basic Ninjutsu Techniques.

Moreover, with an excellent Chakra cultivation method, his Chakra reserves had skyrocketed. As his Chakra increased, he could resist the erosion of external Natural Energy for longer, indirectly improving the efficiency of his Natural Energy cultivation and accelerating the improvement of his physical abilities.

Now, his Attribute Panel looked like this:

Ninjutsu 1, Taijutsu 0, Genjutsu 0, Wisdom 3, Strength 3, Speed 3, Stamina 2, Hand Seals 0

(Ninjutsu: mastery and proficiency of ninjutsu; Taijutsu: mastery and proficiency of taijutsu; Genjutsu: mastery and proficiency of genjutsu; Wisdom: breadth of knowledge and IQ; Strength: muscular strength throughout the body, including arm and leg strength; Speed: agility of movement and reactions; Stamina: amount of Chakra; Hand Seals: mastery and proficiency of hand seals)

Physique: Sage Transformation

Chakra Affinity: Lightning, Yin, Yang

Chakra Nature: Wind 0, Fire 0, Water 0, Earth 0, Lightning 0, Yin 0, Yang 0

Ninjutsu: Substitution Technique 1, Transformation Jutsu 1, Clone Technique 1

Enhancement Points: 0

Although the Strength and Speed on the Attribute Panel had not changed, Kirito's actual strength and speed had continuously increased. Combined with the growing amount of Natural Energy he could use, he could unleash strength and speed twice as great as before in an instant. Relying on that, he had successfully killed huge tigers and bears in the forest bare-handed.

Not long ago, when he dragged a huge tiger and bear into the village, he had left many people staring in shock.

He had also defeated Chizuru Uchiha again yesterday with this strength.

Chizuru Uchiha's Challenge Letter had called for another battle in a month, and yesterday marked exactly one month.

Over the past month, Chizuru had changed quite a bit, but her rate of improvement was clearly inferior to his, since he could absorb Natural Energy to strengthen his body.

In the early stages, physical ability often determined a ninja's strength. Members of the Uchiha Clan were generally ninjutsu- or genjutsu-type ninja, so facing a taijutsu-type ninja like Kirito early on put them at a severe disadvantage.

Today was the opening day of the Ninja Academy.

Kirito brought his two underlings, Heizo Yamazaki and Taiga Noda, to gather early at the entrance of the Ninja Academy, then found an inconspicuous spot to stand.

"Yo, good morning, Kirito."

Suddenly, a familiar voice came from nearby.

Kirito followed the voice and saw Nawaki running quickly toward them.

During his relaxation time, he played Ninja Game and got into mischief everywhere with the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, Nawaki, and the others every day. Since he was strong and generous, he had already become familiar with Nawaki and the rest.

"Good morning, Nawaki. Did you come alone?"

Seeing Nawaki approach by himself, Kirito asked in confusion.

Most new students came with their parents or other family members. Only orphans with no one to rely on, like him, came alone.

As far as he knew, Nawaki still had family.

That was thanks to Nawaki often complaining to him about how his grandmother kept forcing him to learn Sealing Jutsu he could never master.

"No, I came with my grandmother, but she walks too slowly, so I came ahead first."

Nawaki wiped the bridge of his nose with a finger and replied with a grin.

"She walks too slowly?"

Kirito was immediately confused.

Although Mito Uzumaki was already quite old, she had mastered the Yin Seal. As long as she was not dead or completely out of Chakra, maintaining eternal youth and keeping her body at peak condition with the Yin Seal's power should not have been a problem at all.

The Yin Seal really was a wonderful thing.

So, he did not understand what Nawaki meant.

Could Mito Uzumaki already be an old woman who could barely walk?

Impossible. Women were creatures who loved beauty. Until the very last moment, they would never give up on staying young and beautiful.

Soon, he understood what Nawaki meant.

"Mito-sama."

"Mito-sama, it's been a long time."

"Mito-sama, it's wonderful to see that you're safe."

Voices filled with respect and admiration came from the direction of the entrance. Surrounded by the crowd, a beautiful red-haired woman with twin buns slowly entered the Ninja Academy. She warmly responded to everyone greeting her and accurately called each of them by name.

After being called by name, many elderly people were so moved that tears filled their eyes.

No wonder she walked so slowly. Mito Uzumaki's popularity and prestige among Konoha's villagers were simply too great.

Watching Mito Uzumaki being treated like a celebrity surrounded by adoring crowds, Kirito sighed inwardly.

Then, displaying the superb acting skills he had developed from pretending to be a child every day, he widened his eyes and said to Nawaki in surprise, "Nawaki, is this young and beautiful big sister really your grandmother? You're not lying to me, are you?"

The next second, Nawaki bravely said, "Of course it's fake. She might look young, but she's already an old woman in her eighties. She just likes pretending to be young."

The moment those words left his mouth, an icy, bone-chilling chill appeared.

Nawaki and everyone present felt a chill run through their hearts, and the scene instantly fell silent.

"Nawaki, what did you just say?"

Mito suddenly appeared behind Nawaki and looked at him with a smile.

Nawaki immediately stood at attention. Then, as if his body had stiffened, he turned around bit by bit and gave Mito a smile uglier than crying. Feeling extremely guilty, he said, "Grandma, I didn't say anything just now."

Lying was clearly wrong.

As Nawaki's grandmother, Mito had to correct him. First, she needed to punish him.

With a casual wave of her hand, Nawaki's entire body shot rapidly into the air, followed by his terrified scream.

Soon, Nawaki fell back down, but just as he was about to hit the ground, Mito lightly waved her hand again, sending him flying upward once more.

This repeated several times.

At last, Nawaki safely returned to the ground. His eyes rolled back, foam dripped from his mouth, and he said in a daze, "I was wrong, Grandma."

"That's wonderful, Nawaki. Knowing your mistakes and correcting them is a good thing. Remember not to speak badly about others behind their backs in the future."

Mito smiled gently, then looked at Kirito and asked, "Isn't that right?"

"Yes, you are absolutely right."

Kirito immediately stood at attention and nodded repeatedly like a pecking chicken.

Absolutely, absolutely, absolutely do not provoke this black-bellied old girl.

That was the only thought in Kirito's mind at that moment.

Seeing how obedient Kirito was, Mito crouched down and met his eyes. Then she reached out and patted his little head, saying gently, "What a good child. You're Kirito, right? I'm Nawaki's grandmother. Nawaki often mentions you to me, saying that you're a very capable and intelligent child. It's wonderful that Nawaki has a friend like you. You two should continue getting along well in the future."

"Yes, I understand, Mito-sama."

Kirito continued nodding like a pecking chicken.

Mito smiled in satisfaction and stood up again. Just as she turned to leave while dragging Nawaki away, she suddenly said to Kirito, "Little Kirito, if you want to learn Sealing Jutsu, you can come find me anytime. I'm rather good at Sealing Jutsu."

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