Big Brother's Joy Was Back-He Hadn't Even Learned Any Jutsu?!

Ten minutes later, the two arrived by the river.

The river was a full thirty meters wide, white waves rolling as the water roared.

Yehuo walked to the bank, then turned and gave Ye a look that said, "Watch carefully and learn properly."

This time, he did not bother with any buildup. Without a word, he headed straight for the river.

Chakra surged beneath his feet, and he stepped steadily onto the flowing water.

Rising and falling with the waves, Yehuo walked all the way to the middle of the river.

The rushing current washed over his feet, yet he remained as steady as a rock. He even slowly crouched down.

The river water was crystal clear, and several plump grass carp swam around his feet.

Yehuo pointed at the fish in the water, waved toward the bank, and shouted at the top of his lungs:

"Little Ye! Look! This is the pinnacle of Chakra control—water walking!"

"Water is constantly flowing, so the required Chakra frequency changes at every moment!"

"Actually, none of that matters. I mainly wanted you to see how fat and delicious these fish are!"

The more Yehuo spoke, the more excited he became, vividly imagining Ye anxiously begging him to teach him.

"Want to learn? Just call me Big Brother, and I'll teach you hand over—"

"They do look pretty plump."

A voice drifted up beside his left ear, close enough for him to feel the speaker's breath.

"Brother Yehuo, should we grill the biggest one in the middle for dinner?"

Every hair on Yehuo's body stood on end in that instant.

Still crouching, he mechanically turned his stiff neck ninety degrees.

At some point, Ye had silently stepped onto the rushing surface of the river.

He was casually crouching beside Yehuo, hands resting on his knees, feet as steady as Mount Tai.

He even reached out a fair finger to tease the large grass carp beneath the water.

Time seemed to stop at that moment.

Yehuo's lofty smile, ready to bask in admiration, shattered like glass struck by a hammer.

Even most Chunin needed months of hard practice to maintain their balance in rapids. It was an incredibly difficult fine-control exercise.

This kid had learned it after watching it once again?

What Yehuo did not know was that Ye had secretly taught himself water walking before even enrolling in the academy.

Yehuo looked at Ye, then lowered his head to look at the water beneath them.

His final shred of desire to teach, his dignity as an elder, and the prestige of an Elite Jonin were all ruthlessly ground into the water by this little brat.

[Ding! Guard-Break Points from Uchiha Yehuo, +999!]

[Ding! Guard-Break Points from Uchiha Yehuo, +999!]

"Big Brother, why aren't you saying anything?"

Ye blinked, his face full of concern.

Yehuo said nothing.

With both hands clutching his head, he crouched on the river surface like a wooden statue, staring blankly at the flowing waves in the distance.

The morning breeze swept over the river, scattering his bangs.

He suddenly felt that his more than twenty years of cultivation had been nothing but an endlessly updating, long-running joke.

"What the hell is wrong with this world..." Yehuo muttered, completely shutting down as he questioned his entire life.

Yehuo crouched in the middle of the rushing river and questioned his life for a full three minutes.

During that time, Ye tried calling him twice, but Yehuo's eyes did not move at all.

Ye wisely shut his mouth.

Another half minute passed before Yehuo's pupils finally refocused. He forcibly rebooted from his profound state of despair.

He coughed twice, his gaze landing rather unnaturally on the fat grass carp beneath the water.

Then he suddenly stood up straight and put on a stern, grim expression.

"Little Ye, when you're out in the field, conditions on the battlefield can change in an instant. You could face the desperate situation of running out of food at any time!"

Yehuo's voice regained the tone of a battle-hardened veteran.

"The fish in this water are nature's most precious gift!"

"As a shinobi, you must cherish every bit of food before you."

"Today, Big Brother will teach you your first practical lesson!"

With that, Yehuo swept out a hand. Chakra adhered to his palm as he slapped the water's surface apart.

His hand shot precisely underwater and clamped tightly around the fat grass carp's gills.

The entire fish was flung into the air. Holding the wildly thrashing carp in one hand, Yehuo strode toward the shore.

All to hide the unbearable frustration in his heart.

"Come on! We're making a fire and grilling fish. Big Brother will teach you wilderness survival!"

Ye followed behind him, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly.

Fine, that was a pretty forced change of subject.

Still, he did not call him out on it.

After all, they still needed this Three-Tomoe Jonin to escort them over the next two days. Letting Big Brother save some face was a strategic investment.

By the riverbank, a bonfire rose.

Yehuo's wilderness fire-making skills were genuinely solid. He arranged three dry branches into a tripod and used a small Fire Release to ignite the dead leaves beneath them.

In less than two minutes, golden-red flames were licking at the grass carp.

Fish fat dripped onto the charcoal with a sizzling sound, filling the air with fragrance.

The two sat facing each other.

Ye quietly and calmly ate the tenderest meat from the fish's belly.

Yehuo took a savage bite from the browned fish back, but his eyes kept darting sideways as calculations clattered through his mind.

Tree climbing—instantly surpassed.

Water walking—instantly surpassed again.

Those had been the fine-control specialties he had once been proud of.

Yet before this little monster, they had seemed like child's play. Big Brother's dignity as team leader had completely hit the floor today.

No.

He had to win back some face.

He had to bring out some real combat skills and let this kid see what an Elite Jonin was truly made of!

If he could not compete with talent in basic fine control, then he would compete with the depth of his practical jutsu experience.

He was only a seven-year-old student.

No matter how monstrous he was, without anyone teaching him the Chakra transformations and hand-sign system for advanced jutsu, there was no way he could learn them through self-study alone!

At that thought, Yehuo's confidence instantly returned.

He cleared his throat experimentally and asked in an offhand manner.

"By the way, Little Ye, what practical jutsu have you mastered so far?"

Ye paused mid-chew and shook his head with complete honesty. "Not a single one."

Yehuo froze at those words, his eyes widening like bronze bells. "What did you say?"

"Jutsu. I haven't learned any."

Ye tossed a fish bone into the fire.

"I've never gone to claim the free slots the clan provides."

In truth, the Uchiha Clan was wealthy and powerful. Ordinary clan members could freely choose three C-Rank or lower jutsu scrolls to study on their own.

For example, Ye had not selected the Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu that every Uchiha knew.

The memories of watching more than seven hundred episodes in his previous life were still vivid. That Great Fireball was practically the Shinobi World's kindest jutsu.

It had maintained an exceptionally stable record of zero kills for years.

But when Yehuo heard that Ye had not even learned basic jutsu, his eyes lit up instantly.

Finally!

He had finally found this peerless monster's blind spot!

No matter how absurd this kid was, his understanding of the jutsu system was completely blank.

And he, Uchiha Yehuo, had mastered two hundred and twenty-three Fire Release techniques alone over more than twenty years on the battlefield!

At last, it was time for Big Brother to shine!

Yehuo sprang to his feet, slapped the remaining half of the fish onto a rock, and solemnly raised one finger to lay down the rules.

"Since that's the case, Big Brother will personally teach you today!"

"But we need to agree on three rules. Trying to learn too much at once gets you nowhere; jutsu are about mastery!"

"You'll learn one before I teach you the next. I'll absolutely teach you hands-on until you become a jutsu master!"

Ye's eyes lit up. He stood and brushed the dust from his pants. "Thank you, Brother Yehuo!"

His gratitude was entirely sincere.

Yehuo was a Three-Tomoe Elite Jonin who had fought on the battlefield and killed people.

The jutsu stored in him were the greatest treasure of this journey.

That "thank you" made Yehuo feel wonderful all over. He wiped his hands with satisfaction.

He strode into an open stretch of riverbank, turned to face Ye, and decided to start with something powerful.

"The foundation of the Uchiha Clan—Fire Release! We'll start with the basics!"

He raised both hands, his ten fingers flying.

Snake—Ram—Monkey—Boar—Horse—Tiger!

The six hand signs flowed together in one breath, so fast that ordinary people could see only afterimages.

Yehuo took a deep breath, his chest swelling high.

The Chakra stored in his lungs instantly transformed into scorching fire-nature energy, which he violently expelled forward.

"Fire Release: Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu!"