At Fugaku's words, the corners of Ning Feng's mouth lifted slightly, but inwardly, he was a little startled.
Judging by Uchiha Itachi's appearance, he was only eight or nine years old. Had he already joined the Anbu at this age?
Going by the original storyline, there were probably only three or four years left before the Uchiha Clan's massacre.
He needed to grow at an extremely fast pace within those three or four years!
At that thought, Ning Feng hurriedly said, "Big brother Itachi, stop dawdling! Hurry up and take me to train!"
The baby in Mikoto's arms beside them seemed to sense something too and actually began squirming restlessly, as though he also wanted to practice ninjutsu.
"Sasuke, stop fussing..."
Uchiha Mikoto immediately blushed, looking sheepishly at Uchiha Itachi and Fugaku.
Everyone instantly doubled over with laughter at baby Sasuke's antics, and even Ning Feng broke into a broad smile.
In his previous life, Ning Feng had been an orphan and had never experienced such a warm atmosphere.
"Silly Sasuke, once I've taught your big brother Feng, I'll teach you ninjutsu too. How about that?"
As Uchiha Itachi spoke, he gently tapped baby Sasuke's tiny nose, then took Ning Feng along toward the rear courtyard of the Uchiha residence.
Throughout it all, Uchiha Fugaku, the head of the Uchiha Clan, quietly observed Ning Feng.
For some reason, Uchiha Fugaku suddenly felt as though the future of the entire Uchiha Clan rested on Ning Feng!
The moment they reached the rear courtyard, Ning Feng noticed that the players who had arrived in the Uchiha Clan alongside him were all wiping tables and sweeping the floor.
The Uchiha steward overseeing them kept hurrying them along.
"Although you've now reached the age to practice ninjutsu, learning ninjutsu as a member of the Uchiha Clan isn't that easy."
"You first have to endure strenuous physical activity. Wiping tables and sweeping floors are all intended to improve your physique..."
As the Uchiha steward spoke, he gestured for the players to scrub the area before them spotless.
Meanwhile, when the players wiping tables and sweeping floors saw Ning Feng actually following behind none other than the Uchiha Clan's young master, Uchiha Itachi-and apparently about to receive ninjutsu training-they were all indescribably envious and jealous.
Ignoring those pitiful players, Ning Feng simply followed Uchiha Itachi.
Although the original storyline had not featured much internal clan infighting, in the world of Naruto, internal struggles and power plays within clans were actually extremely fierce.
Branch family members, in particular, had to put in a terrifying amount of effort to learn truly powerful ninjutsu and the clan's essential techniques.
In fact, this was also why most Uchiha Clan members who awakened the Sharingan and possessed the Three-Tomoe Sharingan or Mangekyō Sharingan belonged to the main family.
The main family kept a tight grip on the clan's resources, making it far too difficult for the branch families to obtain them.
Hadn't their neighbors, the Hyuga Clan, gone so far as to create something like the Caged Bird Seal? Yet the other clans took it all in stride.
"Feng, we're here!"
Just as Ning Feng was pondering this, Uchiha Itachi's voice slowly rang out.
Before the two of them was an enormous hot spring, with billowing steam rising from it.
The hot spring looked quite nice, and Ning Feng could actually detect faint traces of a medicinal scent coming from it.
"This is our Uchiha Clan's secret medicinal hot spring. Only talented clan members are allowed to soak in it. Feng, give it a try!"
Uchiha Itachi smiled.
Ning Feng stood on no ceremony. He stripped off his clothes and jumped into the hot spring with a splash. The billowing heat immediately felt as though it were melting through his limbs, his entire body, and the hundred and eighty acupuncture points throughout it.
"Congratulations! All your attributes have increased by 2%! Your chakra limit has increased by 34 points!" "Congratulations! All your attributes have increased by 2%! Your chakra limit has increased by 45 points!"
Suddenly, several crisp, pleasant notifications sounded in succession. Ning Feng was astonished to discover that after soaking in the hot spring for less than a few minutes, his chakra limit had already risen to 2,200 points!
And his physique was stronger than before by who knew how much.
"As expected of a spring containing the Uchiha Clan's secret medicine!"
Ning Feng could not help exclaiming in admiration.
Now he finally understood why the ninja of every clan in Naruto could pass on their legacies so perfectly.
Secret medicines like this alone could ensure that a clan's legacy would never be broken.
As long as they had a systematic series of training methods, they could ensure in no time that the clan's ninjutsu would never be lost and its transmission would never be interrupted.
This was probably also one of the reasons Jiraiya often took Naruto Uzumaki to train while soaking in hot springs in the original story.
Those hot springs must have contained many secret clan medicines capable of completely transforming Naruto Uzumaki's physique and strength.
As he continued soaking, Ning Feng suddenly felt an itch in his eyes, as though his eyesight had abruptly improved considerably.
Uchiha Itachi said nothing beside him, merely observing Ning Feng in silence.
With his keen Sharingan, he was astonished to discover that the secret medicine's medicinal power was surging madly into Ning Feng's body, rapidly making him stronger.
Although he and Sasuke had soaked in the clan's secret medicine quite a few times before, their absorption of its medicinal power had fallen far short of Ning Feng's.
Ning Feng's genius was somewhat beyond what they had imagined!
Just then, a powerful chakra aura suddenly erupted outward from Ning Feng, spreading fiercely in every direction and making even the hot spring tremble faintly.
"This-this chakra density!"
"Feng, you've already reached a Genin's chakra reserves this quickly?"
Before you continue