Of course, Shisui didn’t fully uand.

  The words Kyoichi said were beyond what Shisui could currently grasp, but he uood ohing—this teacher didn’t dislike him, a student from the Uchiha .

  On the trary, Kyoichi was more than willing to unicate and share with him.

  That alone was enough to make Shisui feel a sense of joy.

  There was ohing Kyoichi left unsaid:

  The Ninja Academy was one of the few pces where the Uchiha could i with the rest of Konoha.

  Graduating early would make it much harder to ect with Konoha’s on folk again.

  The Uchiha appeared to have special privileges, but iy, they were isoted from the rest of the vilge.

  Kyoichi didn’t agree with this arra, but he cked the power to ge it.

  When he said those things to Shisui, it wasn’t with the iion of ging anything—he simply spoke on a whim.

  Yet before long, the system prompted him:

  [You have gained initial reition from Uchiha Shisui.]

  [Reward: Genjutsu Fuals.]

  Genjutsu?

  That was definitely a blind spot in his expertise.

  A wealth of knowledge filled Kyoichi’s mind. After carefully refleg on it for a while, he was quite satisfied.

  He had no pns to bee a genjutsu master, but having a solid foundation isu came with additional bes—such as improving his chakra trol.

  “Sensei, I e to you with more questions iure?”

  “Of course.”

  Kyoichi’s smile was genuine.

  He wasn’t just being polite; he was genuinely happy.

  Shisui was such a good kid!

  He was like a sheep delivered to his doorstep, plete with wool and scissors.

  “Thank you, Sensei!”

  Shisui bowed deeply.

  He had no idea that in Kyoichi’s eyes, his image had shifted from being a promising student to being a big, fluffy sheep ready to be sheared.

  “e o’s grab some food. My treat.”

  Kyōichi smiled warmly.

  “Ah? There’s no need for that…”

  Shisui felt a little embarrassed but was quickly dragged along.

  In the distance, Kyoichi’s shadow e watched with a face full of rese as its inal form and Shisui walked away.

  Good grief!

  What was this nonsense about teag students?

  It was all an excuse to skip out on training and leave the e doing all the hard work.

  The e was about ready to snap.

  Kyoichi had tasked his e with practig taijutsu teiques.

  As for physical ditioning, that was something he’d have to train himself.

  That would have to wait, though. For now, his injuries were “still healing.”

  Besides…

  You need a full stomach to train properly.

  At the Ichiraku Ramen shop:

  “Boss, two bowls of ramen, please.”

  “Alright, sir, take a seat and wait a moment.”

  At this time, Teuchi, the owner, was only in his twenties, looking quite young, and his daughter Ayame had just retly been born.

  Shisui curiously gnced around.

  He’d heard of this shop before—apparently, Obito really liked eating here—but he’d ried it himself.

  Before long…

  “Rin, I swear it was an act earlier. If I get another o, once I awaken my Sharingan, I’ll definitely beat Sensei into the ground!”

  Obito’s voice rang out loudly from outside, apanied by animated gestures.

  Shisui facepalmed.

  He had just been thinking about this fellow sman, and the moment, Obito appeared—making quite the entrano less.

  Beat Sensei into the ground?

  Yeah, right.

  Even if Obito had multiple Sharingan, Shisui doubted he could take down Kyoichi—especially after witnessing their teacher’s water-style jutsu.

  Shisui knew full well that Kyoichi hadn’t even gone all out during their lessons.

  Kyoichi, oher hand, wasn’t surprised at all.

  Obito had earhe niame “Dead Last” from Kakashi for a reason.

  The kid wasn’t weak—far from it—but his bat sense was g.

  Tactics? Coordination? Fet it!

  And he was so full of himself, stantly boasting about his “Sharingan” like it was a magic cheat code.

  The moment Obito stepped through the door and saw Kyoichi, his entire demeanor ged. He froze, visibly panicked.

  His first instinct?

  Turn around and walk out.

  But…

  That wouldn’t work. Tomorrow was still a school day. If he ran now, it would t as fleeing, and he’d probably face even worse punishment ter.

  Obito’s face turned pale.

  Damn it…

  All he could do was muster an awkward smile, bow deeply, and say:

  “Sumimasen!”

  “Obito, you’re impressive—the speed at whiake mistakes is only matched by the speed of your apologies.”

  “Yes, Sensei, I’m very sorry!”

  Obito’s face turned red with embarrassment.

  “Alright, sit down. Tomorrow we’ll have a biest on Transformation and e teiques. You go first as a demonstration for the css.”

  “Ah?!”

  “Pfft…”

  Rin couldn’t hold back her ughter.

  Obito had been bragging just moments ago, and now he was pletely defted. The trast was too funny.

  “Sensei, I… I’m terrible at chakra trol. I’ll mess it up!”

  Obito’s voice grew smaller and smaller. Just moments ago, he’d been boasting about beating Kyoichi, and now he couldn’t even bring himself tue. The situation was utterly humiliating.

  “Reizing your own shortings is a good start. Take this opportunity to improve before you end up otlefield. As for the Sharingan… bloodline limits are just tools. True strength es from within.”

  “Don’t you agree, Shisui?”

  It was always good to have self-awareness.

  Kyoichi’s casual lecture flowed smoothly. Who knows, maybe he’d trigger another reward?

  It was all about pying the role of the mentor. Keep trying, and the rewards would e eventually.

  After all, wasn’t it vehat there happeo be another Uchiha here?

  Shisui pondered for a long moment before nodding slowly.

  No Uchiha could deny their desire for the Sharingan, but after refleg on Kyoichi’s words, he realized they had merit.

  There were many renowned shinobi in the world without bloodline limits, yet they were still immensely powerful.

  For example, the Third Hokage and the Third Raikage.

  Both were legends who had made their mark without any special bloodlines.

  “…Fair enough,” Obito muttered begrudgingly, though he couldn’t quite refute the logic.

  At that moment, the ramen was served.

  “Enjoy your meal.”

  “Thank you!”

  Kyoichi adjusted his mood, followed local etiquette, and started eating.

  Oe in—delicious!

  The fvors were rich, and the ingredients were generous. No wohis pce had stood the test of time in Konoha.

  Shisui felt a mix of emotions.

  He was nervous yet happy—it was his first time eating outside the Uchiha pound.

  But…

  It wasn’t bad at all.

  Meanwhile, Obito’s earlier gloom vahe moment the food arrived. He instantly transformed into a dedicated eater.

  “I’m digging in!”

  As they ate, Teuchi’s wife briefly came out holding their baby daughter to help with the busy shop.

  The pce was bustling.

  Kyoichi and Shisui had e early and fous, but those arriving ter had to queue. And this was during wartime—imagihe crowds duriime.

  Good craftsmanship could make a living anywhere, even in the ninja world.

  After finishing their meal, Kyoichi paid the bill, said goodbye to Shisui, Obito, and Rin, and headed home.

  He g his system log—no new rewards.

  But…

  That was fine.

  For now, he was just “cultivating fish.” One day, they’d take the bait.

  The crops would only grow stronger over time.

  Whe home, his shadow e’s chakra had run out, dispelling it.

  A wave of fatigue washed over him.

  The sensation was…

  Intense.

  But the results were undeniable.

  While physical ditioning didn’t carry over from the e, the practice of taijutsu teiques did. It gave Kyoichi a rough idea of his physical capabilities.

  By his estimate, his taijutsu was strong enough to rank him among the upper echelons of Jōnin.

  Of course…

  That didn’t mean much.

  At best, it meant he now had some ability to protect himself otlefield.

  Gcell