The need for deeper study

After this incident, Bieshu Feifan had effectively locked horns with the Uchiha, and there would certainly be no shortage of trouble ahead.

But Bieshu Feifan had no regrets.

The Uchiha were just like that. Neither a soft approach nor a hard one worked on them, they were arrogant, and every last one lived in his own world.

If he did not fight back, they would only stop once they had had their fill of bullying him.

And Bieshu Feifan did not want to be at anyone's mercy. His dignity as a transmigrator was at stake.

Bieshu Feifan urgently needed to improve his strength.

Although the ocular power he had absorbed earlier had also increased his own chakra,

it had mainly been ocular power, with little feeding back into his body.

But his most pressing task was to rebuild his house.

When Might Duy looked at the burned-down house again, he suddenly understood a little of why Bieshu Feifan had wanted to kill the Uchiha so badly earlier.

"Feifan, why don't you move next door to me? It's safer there."

Bieshu Feifan smiled.

"No need, Brother Duy. This time, I plan to build a bigger house, with three times the previous footprint and three stories."

Might Duy was startled by Bieshu Feifan's request. He had not expected the Uchiha to pay so much in compensation.

But looking at Bieshu Feifan's blackened right hand in its sling, he was still a little worried.

"But Feifan, what will you do if the Uchiha come again?"

"Don't worry. Lord Hokage is my big brother."

Silence...

"Gasp..."

Might Duy sucked in a breath. He had never imagined that Bieshu Feifan, who seemed utterly ordinary to him, was actually a relative of Lord Hokage.

More seriously, the Uchiha had actually dared to attack Lord Hokage's relative.

Only after Bieshu Feifan closed his mouth for him did Might Duy recover and murmur,

"So the rumors that the Uchiha want to rebel and become Hokage are true."

Might Duy took up construction work once again.

Although he knew nothing about construction, and neither did Bieshu Feifan.

Still, both knew that brute force could work wonders. As long as the timbers were thick enough, the house would surely be sturdy.

And there was plenty of thick timber outside Konoha.

A few days later, Might Duy left happily with three hundred thousand ryo in labor fees.

Bieshu Feifan had paid a very generous price.

First, he wanted to build a good relationship with Might Duy and his son, so he could deal with any possible madness from the Uchiha.

Second, he was also recruiting supporters for when he became Hokage in the future.

Indeed, although Bieshu Feifan had no talent, possessing only the aptitude of an ordinary Genin,

as a transmigrator with a cheat, he was confident that, with proper planning, he could contend for the position of Fifth Hokage after the night of the Uchiha Clan Massacre.

A few days later, a rumor circulated quietly through Konoha:

The Uchiha's probing attempt at a coup had gone unpunished. The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, was suspected of lacking the ability to handle the Uchiha.

Hearing this, Bieshu Feifan shook his head to himself.

Needless to say, it had to be the work of Shimura Danzō, who could never let go of the Hokage position.

Other than him, no one in Konoha would stir up trouble with no regard for the village's unity and stability.

That day, Might Duy came looking for Bieshu Feifan, still flashing his gleaming front teeth.

"Yo, Feifan! Want to set our youth ablaze together? Let's run five hundred laps around Konoha!"

Bieshu Feifan smiled.

"Let's go. Just what I had in mind."

Seeing Bieshu Feifan readily agree, Might Duy, who had been rejected countless times, froze briefly before his eyes brimmed with tears.

"This is youth! Boo-hoo, Feifan, you're more youthful than anyone I've ever met."

As he spoke, Might Duy took out an entirely green outfit and handed it to Bieshu Feifan.

"This is my specially made training bodysuit. Put it on. It absorbs sweat, resists wear, and stretches wonderfully. It's the perfect companion for setting your youth ablaze."

Looking at Might Duy's bodysuit, Bieshu Feifan felt no embarrassment, only inward delight. By the looks of it, he had already built a good relationship with Might Duy.

Bieshu Feifan did not look down on this kind of bodysuit in the slightest, either.

He had seen plenty of Jiahaos in his previous life.

Some Jiahaos who sang and danced in public in pouring rain were far more embarrassing than wearing a green bodysuit.

Besides, Might Duy's bodysuit was new.

It really was very stretchy, too, without riding up into his crotch or pinching his junk.

Looking at Bieshu Feifan, the first person to wear one of his bodysuits, Might Duy ran laps around Konoha with tears streaming down his face, shouting, "Youth!"

While Bieshu Feifan trained his body,

an Anbu was reporting to Hiruzen Sarutobi in the Hokage's Office.

"Lord Hokage, the rumor didn't come from that Bieshu Feifan. These past few days, he's either been training at home or going out to eat.

"Also, he seems... to really have some intellectual problems. He actually put on that eternal Genin's Kappa Bodysuit.

"As for the rumors that appeared this time..."

"No need to investigate further."

Hiruzen Sarutobi had long since known that his old friend was behind it again.

Taking a deep drag on his pipe, Hiruzen Sarutobi let out a long breath.

"Issue a notice explaining that the Uchiha did not rebel, and that everything the Hokage has done has been for Konoha. Then let this matter end here."

"Yes."

The Anbu acknowledged the order and instantly vanished from the office.

Root was still housed in that same building in a remote corner.

Looking over the news from the past few days, Danzo was not in a good mood.

He had found few shinobi suitable for joining Root, and the rumors had not caused so much as a ripple.

The only happy thing was that the Uchiha had paid out another considerable sum.

But that also made him a little unhappy, because none of that money had ended up in his hands.

Another few days passed. Bieshu Feifan's injuries had long since healed, but he still kept his right hand in a sling.

Bieshu Feifan knew that he would most likely be transferred to the front again. It was only a matter of time.

For the past few days, Bieshu Feifan had been uneasy, with a gut feeling that he would soon be sent to the battlefield.

Unable to settle down no matter how he tossed and turned, Bieshu Feifan simply went to the Hokage Building.

"What business do you have?"

Just as Bieshu Feifan was about to head to the second floor, a shinobi stopped him.

Bieshu Feifan frowned. The one stopping him was a shinobi he had met before.

His name was Jianyi or something.

"The Third Hokage is my big brother. You dare stop me?"

Bieshu Feifan tossed the words out without hesitation.

But Jianyi did not fall for that.

"Tell me your business first. I'll report it to Lord Hokage."

Seeing that he absolutely refused to let him upstairs, Bieshu Feifan's face darkened. He leaned toward Jianyi's ear and whispered,

"I've found evidence of the Uchiha's rebellion. I need to present it to Lord Hokage in person."

Jianyi froze. Although he thought the brat was probably lying, these were the Uchiha.

The earlier rebellion rumors had spread like wildfire, and he felt a little uneasy himself.

What if it was true?

Bieshu Feifan finally met Hiruzen Sarutobi once again. He still looked exhausted, with all kinds of documents piled on his desk.

"Child, I hear you've found evidence of the Uchiha's rebellion? That isn't something you can say casually. Can you take responsibility for your words?"

Although Hiruzen Sarutobi did not believe the Uchiha would rebel either, these were the Uchiha.

What if?

Bieshu Feifan, however, froze at his words.

"What rebellion? Who said that? I only came to see you, big brother."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's face darkened. He should never have taken an idiot seriously.

"What do you want?"

"Here's the thing, big brother. I was able to graduate before because you had me write an excellent Will of Fire Exposition.

"But when I went to the battlefield, I discovered that the enemy wouldn't listen to the Will of Fire.

"When I told them about it, they actually tried to cut me down."

The more Hiruzen Sarutobi listened, the darker his expression became, but Bieshu Feifan seemed not to notice.

"So, I've spent all this time thinking about that situation, and I finally came up with two possibilities.

"First, the enemy's level of education was too low. They couldn't understand my Will of Fire, so they flew into a humiliated rage and tried to cut me down.

"Second, my exposition of the Will of Fire wasn't clear enough or good enough.

"So, I want to go back to school and study the Will of Fire in greater depth, to avoid getting cut down again on the battlefield."

Only when Hiruzen Sarutobi's face had turned as dark as an African's did Bieshu Feifan give a surprised "Huh?"

"Big brother, are you sick? Your complexion doesn't look very good."

"I'm fine."

Hiruzen Sarutobi took a drag on his pipe. He somewhat regretted meeting this Bieshu Feifan.

"Good to hear, haha. Big brother, I think you're just tired.

"How about this? I'll help you mark the homework, and you go get some rest."

Seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi's face darken again, Bieshu Feifan walked over and patted his shoulder.

"Don't be polite. We're buddies. If I don't help you, who will?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi abruptly stood up, putting some distance between himself and Bieshu Feifan.

"Child..."

"You're being too polite. Just call me brother."

Hiruzen Sarutobi instantly fell silent. Only after a long while did he continue.

"Forget returning to school. Konoha has no rule allowing Genin to return to school."

"Then what about my Will of Fire? The enemy wants to cut me down!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi took a drag on his pipe and continued,

"I have a book here summarizing the Will of Fire. I'll let you read it first."

He accepted a book Hiruzen Sarutobi had dug out.

"The Third Hokage's Will of Fire: Deluxe Edition."

The corner of Bieshu Feifan's mouth twitched.

"Big brother, you actually understand the Will of Fire too. Impressive.

"But what if the enemy still wants to cut me down after I read this?"