"What nonsense are you talking about? These are the clan's orders. How could I possibly refuse to fight?" Natsuno Uchiha reached out and ruffled Ye Uchiha's little head with a soft chuckle.
Although Natsuno Uchiha knew his son was precocious by nature, he had never expected him to understand the meaning of war at just four years old. It really was surprising. What can I say? That's my boy.
"Don't worry. I'm the former chief elder's son, after all, and one of the Uchiha's gifted fighters. How could I lose? Don't slack off on your training while I'm away. When I return, I'll teach you a powerful B-rank ninjutsu."
Natsuno Uchiha was the son of the former chief elder, Un Uchiha. Several years earlier, during a battle with the Hagoromo Clan, Un Uchiha had been surrounded and killed by their clan head and several of their elders.
After Un Uchiha's death in battle, his immediate family's standing had plummeted. As the former chief elder's son, Natsuno Uchiha had also been pushed out of the inner circle by the elders, whether deliberately or otherwise, and had become a marginal figure for a time.
But as the former chief elder's son, Natsuno Uchiha's strength was naturally not to be underestimated. He possessed the strength of an elite jonin, only a step away from the quasi-Kage level, and his prestige among the clan's younger generation was second to none.
Precisely because Natsuno Uchiha's current prestige rivaled even that of some senior elders, the clan's leadership had already decided to put him in charge of this dangerous surprise attack. In part, it was because of his reputation within the clan, and in part, because he was Un Uchiha's son.
During Un Uchiha's years as chief elder, his aloof, cold, and arrogant nature had led him to show no deference even to the former clan head. Who knew how many people in the clan he had offended over the years? Had he not been the strongest Uchiha, they would have banded together and removed him from his position long ago.
Although Un Uchiha had died in battle, the resentment of many senior clan members had not faded. Instead, they had turned their hostility toward his immediate family. As his son, Natsuno Uchiha naturally bore the brunt of the elders' deliberate targeting.
Yet Natsuno Uchiha himself offered no response, silently accepting the leadership's arrangements.
Unless the plan changed, he would probably leave on the mission within the next few days.
More than half a month had passed since Natsuno Uchiha's departure.
Not a single word had come back from Natsuno Uchiha in that time. Tsubaki Uchiha wore a worried look all day long and had even burned the food several times while cooking.
Knowing what was troubling his mother, Ye Uchiha did not bother her. Faced with a table full of culinary disasters, he swallowed everything with tears in his eyes, then ran outside to train on his own.
Ye Uchiha stood before the small lake, his fingers constantly crossing and shifting as he formed complex hand seals.
Snake-Ram-Monkey-Boar-Horse-Tiger. Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!
His abdomen swelled, and an enormous fireball erupted from his mouth, shooting straight toward the center of the lake. Scorching flames met the cold water, sending thick clouds of steam rising into the air.
"It's powerful enough, but it uses too much chakra."
Feeling nearly a third of his chakra vanish in an instant, Ye Uchiha frowned in frustration.
Members of the Uchiha Clan generally had relatively low chakra reserves, but an extremely high affinity for fire release. As a result, most Uchiha used fire release ninjutsu. Even the "table tennis paddle" emblem they took such pride in actually represented those who wielded the "fan of flames."
Even so, a single Great Fireball Technique consumed nearly a third of Ye Uchiha's chakra. He could not help despairing at the thought of ninjutsu of other chakra natures. A C-rank technique of any nature besides fire release would probably be enough to drain all his chakra.
Natsuno Uchiha had once tested Ye Uchiha's chakra natures using chakra paper. The result showed that he possessed all five: wind, fire, lightning, water, and earth.
The news had kept Ye Uchiha excited all night. After all, only a handful of ninja in the Naruto World possessed all five chakra natures, such as Hashirama Senju, Tobirama Senju, Madara Uchiha, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Kakashi Hatake, and Orochimaru. Every one of them would become a renowned figure in the shinobi world.
Just as Ye Uchiha began envisioning his glorious future, reality slapped him hard across the face again. Possessing a particular chakra nature merely qualified someone to study techniques of that nature. It did not necessarily mean they could learn them, much less master them.
Thus, from the time he first began training at three until now, a little over a year later, Ye Uchiha could still count the ninjutsu he knew on one hand.
They included the Great Fireball Technique, which never managed to kill anyone, the most basic introductory Three Basic Body Techniques, some lousy taijutsu, and the Uchiha's secret chakra-refining method...
Although Ye Uchiha harbored ambitions of learning other ninjutsu, his chakra reserves simply could not keep up. After practicing these techniques, he was usually left with almost no chakra at all.
Thinking of this, Ye Uchiha rather envied the chakra reserves Naruto Uzumaki would have in the future. Not only would he possess the Uzumaki Clan's enormous chakra reserves, but he would also have the nine-tails chakra sealed within him to draw on. He routinely produced hundreds or thousands of shadow clones without ever worrying about running out of chakra.
Perhaps that was the difference between a cheater and a genius.
Ruffling his messy hair, Ye Uchiha grumbled, "This is so annoying."
"Hey, you little brat over there." An unwelcome voice suddenly came from behind him. A spiky-haired boy in dark blue clothes walked toward Ye Uchiha, looking thoroughly full of himself.
Ye looked the newcomer over. He seemed familiar, as though Ye had seen him somewhere before, but he simply could not remember who he was.
Seeing that the boy was clearly looking for trouble, Ye Uchiha asked tentatively, "Do you need something?"
"This is my personal training spot. What do you think I need?" the spiky-haired boy said irritably.
"Is that so? Then I'm terribly sorry," Ye Uchiha replied. "But I've been training here for almost six months. How come I've never seen you?"
"Isn't it obvious? I've spent the past six months on the battlefield with my father. When would I have had time to come here and train?"
"Then did your family dig this lake? Or has it been your family's territory since ancient times?"
"Of course not. What about it?"
The spiky-haired boy frowned slightly, but still answered.
"There you go, then. If this lake doesn't belong to your family, what's wrong with me training here?"
Ye Uchiha turned away, no longer looking at him, and prepared to continue his training.
"I came here first, so naturally this is my spot. Don't you even understand 'first come, first served'? You're looking for trouble, aren't you?"
Veins bulged on the spiky-haired boy's forehead, and he could not stop himself from shouting at Ye Uchiha.
Looking as though realization had suddenly dawned on him, Ye Uchiha slowly walked over to the spiky-haired boy, bowed slightly, and said with utter sincerity:
"Oh, I'm so sorry. I'm not very good with words. If anything I said just now offended you... then fucking hit me!"
"Eat shit!"
Before he had even finished speaking, he abruptly raised his leg under the spiky-haired boy's stunned gaze and planted a kick in his backside, sending him flying into the lake.
With a splash, the spiky-haired boy plunged headfirst into the water, sending spray flying and bubbles rising.
"Hmph. With unreasonable little brats like you, I always let reason do the talking. I've got a cure for every kind of defiance."
Ye Uchiha said disdainfully, "You really thought I was a pushover? Learned your lesson now, haven't you? I'll let you off today. Behave yourself."
Having delivered his parting words, Ye Uchiha saw signs that the spiky-haired boy was about to surface. Without hesitation, he turned away, leaving his handiwork behind, and promptly took to his heels.
Time to scram~
Before you continue