Kiyoshi took the scroll and saw it was the Manipulating Shuriken Technique, which dealt with the use of shuriken.
Although it was called shuriken, this technique was often used to throw kunai as well.
The technique involves attaching a highly durable, elastic, specialized rubber cord or wire to a kunai, throwing the kunai to attack the target, and then retrieving it.
Learning this technique also allows the thrown shuriken to curve.
"Yawamaki is skilled in throwing shuriken. You can go to him if you have questions."
"Senior Yawamaki? I will." Kiyoshi nodded.
Yawamaki Uchiha was the Uchiha who had brought him from the Land of Lightning to the Hidden Leaf Village.
"Go on. It's not good for a young man to spend too much time with someone like me who has one foot in the grave." Setsuna Uchiha waved his hand.
Kiyoshi nodded respectfully and walked out, accompanied by Tekka Uchiha.
"Elder Setsuna thinks highly of you, kid." Tekka Uchiha said enviously.
The first time he met Elder Setsuna, he didn't receive anything.
"Is that so?" Kiyoshi smiled faintly.
To be honest, the only people who could save the Uchiha clan were the purely Hawk Faction or the purely Dove Faction.
Leaders like Fugaku, who were Doves in name but were themselves involved in an armed coup, then reverted to the Dove position when the actual coup was imminent.
Such constant switching of sides was one of the reasons for the Uchiha's downfall.
But now, until he grew powerful, it was better to pretend to be a Dove.
Being too outspoken within the Uchiha clan would inevitably draw the attention of the Hidden Leaf Village leadership.
It's important to remember that the Hidden Leaf Anbu were constantly monitoring the Uchiha.
The ultimate irony was that one of Itachi's daily duties after joining the Anbu was to watch the surveillance monitors alongside his colleagues.
These monitors covered most of the Uchiha compound, maintaining a 24-hour, non-stop watch.
The entire Uchiha compound had been infiltrated, and not a single Uchiha, other than Itachi, knew this information.
Itachi never revealed any of this to the Uchiha clan, simply carrying out the Hidden Leaf's orders to monitor them.
Ostensibly, this was a decision made by the Hidden Leaf Village leadership after the Nine-Tails attack. Whether or not someone like Danzō Shimura had conducted partial surveillance on the Uchiha beforehand remained an unknown area.
Kiyoshi did not want to take that risk.
He needed more time to strengthen himself.
Every day that passed, Kiyoshi improved a little more than his yesterday's self, moving closer to being able to control his own destiny.
Kiyoshi chatted briefly with Tekka, and they parted ways at the fork in the road to return home.
"I wonder what Trait I might get."
After quickly preparing and eating a simple meal, Kiyoshi resumed his training.
He still needed to buy the specialized rubber cord and steel wire for the Manipulating Shuriken Technique later. For now, Kiyoshi made do with an ordinary rope.
Whoosh!
The sound of the kunai slicing through the air was heard repeatedly in the courtyard until very late.
In a sushi restaurant located in a secluded part of the Hidden Leaf Village streets.
"Did Kiyoshi Uchiha really graduate?"
Samada put down the intelligence report handed over by his subordinate, stroking his chin in contemplation.
As early as the day after Kiyoshi Uchiha graduated, their excellent spy had gathered the intelligence.
However, it was so unbelievable that Samada sent several more people to investigate.
Yet, all subsequent reports confirmed the initial intelligence: Kiyoshi Uchiha had already graduated!
Yuki Yasukawa saw Samada's tightly furrowed brow and said:
"This may not be a bad thing for us in the Hidden Cloud. It precisely proves his value."
"That's true." Samada let out a sigh of relief.
The more of a genius Kiyoshi Uchiha was, the more potential their seed had.
If he could manage to awaken the Sharingan in both eyes later, he would perfectly satisfy the bloodline requirement.
Because some mixed-blood failures inherit imperfect bloodline limit powers.
The result is that they are inferior to pure-blood bloodline limit users.
The problem was that Kiyoshi graduating so quickly completely disrupted their plans.
They had originally planned to proceed slowly, step by step.
They had opportunities before the Third Great Ninja War truly broke out.
Who knew Kiyoshi Uchiha would graduate in the blink of an eye?
"Has any intelligence come from the Village?" Samada asked.
Since they were spies in the Hidden Leaf Village, they were very far from the Hidden Cloud Village, making communication inconvenient and causing high latency.
It was said that the Village was already researching Ninjutsu or technology to solve this issue.
"The Raikage-sama has issued a new order, raising Kiyoshi's priority level."
Yuki Yasukawa handed a new intelligence report to Samada.
Samada read it, then rubbed his wrinkled brow.
"The Ninja Academy is on break now. After the break ends, there will be a second recruitment round. Tell Samui to hurry up and make sure her younger brother adapts to the Hidden Leaf Village and enrolls quickly."
"Yes."
"Also, Kiyoshi hasn't visited much recently. Tell Samui to increase her efforts to win him over. She can go and visit Kiyoshi at his home."
Another period of time passed in the blink of an eye. The weather in the Hidden Leaf Village seemed to be getting colder and colder.
Shinku Yūhi, returning from a long-term mission, set down the ninja sword on his back.
He habitually glanced at his wife's photograph.
His wife had passed away when Kurenai was very young, and he had raised Kurenai essentially by himself.
"Father, you're back."
Kurenai was wearing snug thermal tights, making her look a bit thinly dressed. On top, she wore a rather heavy coat with a sweater underneath.
She had just washed her face and was drying it with a cloth.
"Aren't you cold?" Shinku scanned his daughter's outfit.
His face was thin and angular, exuding a stern and formal demeanor.
He had just seen the Hokage's son, Asuma Sarutobi, near the house.
As Kurenai's father, he knew his daughter was on a team with Asuma Sarutobi and another Uchiha.
Shinku had never met that Uchiha, only hearing that he was from the distant Land of Lightning.
He wondered if he was all bad or all good.
"I... I'm wearing two layers underneath." Kurenai whispered.
"Are you going out?"
Shinku, who had just returned from a long-term mission, noticed that his daughter seemed to have grown a little taller.
Children at this age seemed to develop very quickly.
"Yes, I made plans with a friend." Kurenai nodded.
Shinku looked at his daughter, his gaze seeming somewhat lost in thought.
He felt that the Kurenai in front of him resembled his wife when she was younger.
He vaguely remembered her being exactly this way back then.
However, Kurenai's face lacked some of the maturity and resilience of that time, appearing more tender.
"Are you going to see Asuma Sarutobi?"
"No, it's Kiyoshi."
Kurenai shook her head, her eyes flickering.
She subtly watched her father's reaction.
The Uchiha clan's position in the village was quite delicate, and her father inevitably had some concerns.
Furthermore, Kiyoshi came from the Land of Lightning, and his identity and background were subtly different from those of the Hidden Leaf Village ninjas.
Kurenai wasn't sure what her father's reaction would be to her befriending an Uchiha.