Once These Words Are Put Together, I Don't Recognize Them Anymore!

Along the way, Uchiha Shisui recounted stories of the Uchiha Clan, and his vast knowledge deeply impressed the young boy. However, the stories weren't very engaging, as Beiyuan fell asleep while Shisui was talking…

Uchiha Itachi, holding the crow that was about to fall, suddenly said, "Shisui, can you tell me about your missions?"

"Itachi, a ninja's missions are confidential!" The young man held up a finger, shaking his head mysteriously. However, seeing the disappointment in the little boy's eyes, Shisui couldn't help but laugh, "But I've discovered many interesting things and some ninja trivia during my missions. Would you like to hear about them?"

"Can I?"

"Of course!" Uchiha Shisui thought for a moment and nodded, "Those are unrelated to the missions. But if you want to be a ninja in the future, Itachi, you need to pay attention to one thing: sometimes, even if something isn't directly related to a mission, it can still leave clues…"

Uchiha Itachi's young face immediately showed some distress, "Then, I'd rather not listen…"

"Hahahaha…" Shisui turned his head, saw the little boy's expression, and chuckled, "You're very sensible, Itachi!"

"Caw!"

The crow's cry suddenly rang out, and the young man's teasing voice woke him up… Beiyuan's chakra instantly formed a shadow clone, charging at Uchiha Shisui with a resolute aura at high speed…

The young man's figure turned into smoke under the impact, and a few black feathers drifted down with the wind… That was Uchiha Shisui's crow clone!

It was really fast!

Red eyes looked towards a tree not far away… There stood a young man making hand seals, the Three Tomoe Sharingan in his eyes extremely striking. It was Uchiha Shisui, who had just escaped.

Demonic Illusion: Gagging Technique!

Sharingan: Release!

Uchiha Shisui shook his head, muttering to himself, "A Sharingan genjutsu… how was it completely reflected?"

After being attacked by Beiyuan's chakra-filled clone, he had tried to subdue the ninja crow with genjutsu. He chose the Gagging Technique because he was afraid of hurting Itachi… As a result, he fell into the genjutsu himself. It wasn't a reversal of the world, but pure mental power…

"Be quiet, Beiyuan…" Uchiha Itachi hugged the crow's wings tightly. Feeling that it was no longer struggling, he shouted loudly towards Shisui, "It's okay now, Shisui!"

"Caw…"

He felt like he had discovered a new use for his shadow clone…

"Hoo…"

He felt like this crow's mental strength was a bit too strong…

Naka Shrine.

Beiyuan stood on Uchiha Itachi's shoulder, his red eyes watching the dense crowd of Uchiha clansmen climbing the mountain steps… Beside him, Uchiha Shisui looked at the crow with an indescribable expression.

"Mom!"

The little boy immediately spotted his mother below the eaves. Uchiha Mikoto stood smiling under the eaves, holding a wooden ladle, with several wooden buckets placed beside her.

Every passing clan member dipped their fingers in the wooden bucket and then knelt before Mikoto, who sprinkled a few drops of water on them as a purification ritual.

Although she looked like she had some status… there were at least a thousand Uchiha clansmen, including ninja and ordinary civilians. This meant she had to stand there for several hours… Fortunately, Mikoto was also a ninja, and her body was very strong…

When it was Itachi's turn, Mikoto picked up a few drops of water and sprinkled them evenly on Beiyuan and Itachi. Even though the crow's body was strong, it couldn't help but be sobered by the cold water.

"Caw!"

It's a crow, its body is covered in feathers, not clothes…

"Here, Beiyuan needs purification too!"

Mikoto's loving smile was truly irresistible, and Beiyuan could only let out a weak cry, "...Caw..."

"This is interesting…" Shisui said, covering his mouth slightly beside them.

After the purification with water, the stone path leading to the main hall was divided into two lanes by the Uchiha clansmen. People lined up on the left to enter, and those who had finished worshipping came out in twos and threes on the right, discussing the fortune slips in their hands.

As for where the fortune slips came from…

Uchiha Fugaku stood in the main hall next to a large, round fortune slip container, looking quite like a fortune teller… Seeing his son enter, Uchiha Fugaku couldn't help but put on a serious expression, maintaining his image as a steadfast father.

Uchiha Itachi worshipped the river god in a proper manner, which was quite adorable.

Then he stood before his father, bowed, and extended his hands to ask for a fortune slip… Beiyuan curiously watched Fugaku expressionlessly draw two fortune slips from the container… The way he took the slips was not professional at all, lacking any sense of mystery.

After all, it was a part-time job, which could be understood.

One fortune slip was placed in Uchiha Itachi's hand, and another was tucked into the crow's wing…

Beiyuan: "……"

After leaving the main hall, the little boy took out his fortune slip and stammered, "Chang… Chang…"

Uchiha Itachi couldn't continue reading. The New Year's fortune slip only had two characters. Five-year-old Uchiha Itachi only recognized one of them… When Shisui came out, Uchiha Itachi handed him his fortune slip.

Chang Di.

Shisui couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat after reading it. Fortunately, he recognized the character.

The Uchiha Clan's fortune slips were passed down from their ancestors. Each slip contained poems, phrases, or other writings, most of which included strange and obscure characters, let alone their meanings.

For instance, Shisui couldn't understand his own fortune slip. The slip he drew this year had three characters: Master of Nurturing Life.

He recognized all the characters, but when they were put together, he felt like he didn't understand them at all.

Among the three fortune slips, the easiest one to understand was Beiyuan's: Yin Yang.

It's just that the meaning of these two words is a bit broad...

"Well, forget it. No one in the clan ever understood these things. Let's go hang them up!" Shisui led Itachi to the sacred tree and hung the fortune slips on it. Before the first shrine visit next year, the fortune slips on the tree would be collected back into the container...

At the highest point of the sacred tree, a fortune slip and a bell swayed back and forth. Only one word was written on it: Azure.

After the first shrine visit, the villagers of Konoha began to move about, exchanging New Year's gifts and distributing New Year's money to the children. The New Year's money would continue to be given until the children became ninja.

Uchiha Itachi and Beiyuan each received a large sum of freely disposable New Year's money, one hundred thousand ryo.

This sum was roughly the reward for a B-rank mission, which, converted into red banknotes, was about sixty-six thousand six hundred and sixty-six yuan... It felt like something was off...

As the head of the clan, Uchiha Fugaku received many New Year's gifts.

Regarding the matter of returning gifts, for some reason, Fugaku decided to let the young boy Uchiha Itachi handle it this year. Shisui would also help, as there were quite a few clan elders in the Uchiha.

This was a completely different change from last year. Since Uchiha Itachi was only five years old this year, Shisui accepted the task with great interest and even went home to change into a kimono.

As for Beiyuan, after returning, he just burrowed into his blanket and went back to sleep... When he woke up, it was already dark...

Ten thousand lights illuminated the night, and Konoha was ablaze with light.

Uchiha Mikoto knocked on the door: "Beiyuan, it's time to eat!"

At the dinner table, Uchiha Fugaku was educating his son, and as expected, it was the usual... Beiyuan's ears quickly picked up Fugaku's concluding remarks: "You did a great job with things today. You truly are my son..."

Usually, when the husband said this, the wife would chime in... Sure enough, Uchiha Mikoto came out of the kitchen with a smile and said, "Itachi is really amazing!"

"...No, it's mainly because Shisui helped..."

After Uchiha Shisui sent Itachi home, he returned to his post. Even during the New Year, Konoha's defense work required ninja on duty. The Hokage inauguration ceremony was approaching...

Meanwhile, the couple was still praising their son...

"You're only five years old this year, and you've done this well."

"Yes! When Mom was five, she only knew how to play with her friends during New Year's!"

...It seemed like they could always find something to praise their son about... Beiyuan felt he had gotten used to this family's way of interacting...

The fortune slips are all Buddhist phrases and poetry... Actually, Zhuangzi's Master of Nurturing Life is very interesting... Chang Di is from the Book of Songs