"The Hokage wouldn't rob villagers of their food. What you're doing is robbery—it's a crime." Higashino Makoto said, then deliberately turned back and asked his little companion, "Hayate, where should criminals be sent?"
"They should be sent to the Konohagakure Police Force. I remember it's full of Uchiha Clan members. They're very unforgiving—once you go in, you get hung up and beaten first."
Uzuki Yugao followed up with another jab. "That's right, that's right. They're really fierce. They eat four children a day, especially little girls—the one squatting over there is the tastiest."
"Ah!" Hearing this, the girl jumped to her feet, screamed, abandoned her companions, and ran off.
The dark, burly boy was also terrified. Enduring the pain, he mustered his strength and dragged his two lackeys as he fled. "I don't want to go to the Police Force!"
As he ran, he let out the wail of a defeated cur.
Higashino Makoto did not stop them. They were just bear kids—beating them once was enough. Next time he met them, if they were still that arrogant, he would beat them again.
When they returned to the campfire, the food was already done. Gekkō Hayate picked up a grilled fish, blew away the heat, took a bite, and nodded. "It's ready to eat."
Hearing this, Uzuki Yugao reached out, grabbed one, and started devouring it—she was starving.
Higashino Makoto also took one, but did not start eating. Instead, he turned toward the trees on the other side and called out, "Have you watched enough? If you have, come down and eat with us."
The two companions looked curiously toward where Higashino Makoto was calling, and then saw a little kid about their age nimbly jump down from the tree.
He was wearing a blue short-sleeved shirt with a stand collar. He had slightly naturally wavy black hair, and his features were delicate and cute. His eyes—large and bright—were especially striking. His nose was a bit larger than that of a typical child, but it wasn't ugly—just distinctive.
Somewhat shy, he confirmed, "Is it really okay?"
"It is. We're not bad kids. Dad often says that helping others is a good virtue. Besides, the fish that Brother Makoto makes tastes really good," Uzuki Yugao said as she picked up a grilled fish and handed it to him. Then she asked, "What's your name?"
"Shisui. My name is Uchiha Shisui."
"Huh? Haha… hahaha!" The little girl froze with her hand stuck in midair. After all, she had just spread rumors about his clan, and she hadn't expected to run into the real deal so quickly.
"Thank you for the food." Uchiha Shisui took the grilled fish and explained weakly to the three of them, "Um, our clan may look serious, but we really don't eat children."
Hayate, Yugao: "…"
From his clothing, Higashino Makoto had already roughly guessed that he was from the Uchiha, but he hadn't expected him to be the future, widely renowned Shisui of the Body Flicker. There was none of the legendary, supposedly inherited Uchiha aloofness about him; instead, he was unexpectedly shy and easygoing.
They were all children—at least one of them was, on the surface—and it was easy for them to hit it off. They exchanged names, chatted for a bit, and then the matter of the Police Force eating children was brushed aside.
Curious, Higashino Makoto asked, "Uchiha Shisui, right? How old are you this year?"
"Just call me Shisui. I'm four this year."
Uzuki Yugao: "Eh, the same age as us. It's just that you look like you enjoy pretending to be an adult, just like Brother Makoto."
Gekkō Hayate: "Don't include me. I'm one year older than you."
Higashino Makoto was a little surprised. He hadn't expected that he and Uchiha Shisui were actually the same age—that meant everyone would be enrolling in school in the same year later on?
He hoped they wouldn't end up in the same class then; even if they did, he hoped they wouldn't be assigned to the same squad after graduation.
As everyone knows, that easily turns into material for awakening the Sharingan.
Kakashi sacrificed one eye at the start; Obito got a pair of tomoe—that was still acceptable.
The pitiful ones were Teacher Minazuki, and classmates Tenma and Shinko, who became three randomly sacrificed teammates; Uchiha Itachi likewise obtained a pair of tomoe.
The worst was classmate Sasuke, who directly sacrificed his entire clan, thereby opening a single tomoe—and yet not fully opening it, opening it as if opened.
...
After lunch, they finished tidying up.
Higashino Makoto clapped his hands together. "All right. Now that we've eaten and drunk our fill, let's begin."
Uchiha Shisui: "Excuse me—are you going to play some kind of game? If possible, please let me join as well."
It wasn't that he was greedy for fun. Rather, he felt that making more friends outside the clan grounds was a good choice—this was also why he often ran outside.
As for why he thought so, he was still too young right now; even he didn't know. He simply instinctively wanted to blend into a group of children who had no companions from his own clan.
Unfortunately, after trying a few times, those children would show an unwelcoming attitude the moment they saw the Uchiha clan crest on his back. Up to now, only Higashino Makoto's little group seemed not to be afraid of him.
Uzuki Yugao held up her little finger and wagged it. "Nope. Brother Makoto is going to teach us how to control chakra."
"So that's how it is. Then I'd better go home."
Higashino Makoto asked, "As expected of a great clan's descendant—have you already trained to this level at such a young age?"
"No, I haven't yet. But I think this kind of training should involve each clan's secrets. To learn it without permission would be very rude."
"How is this any secret? It's just some personal insights of mine. It's fine—come along."
Hearing that, Shisui immediately dismissed his concerns and happily joined in.
It could only be said that the descendants of great clans really did follow the rules, because they were the greatest beneficiaries of those rules.
Next, the four of them began an intense chakra control training session.
Tree-climbing and water-walking sounded simple—in essence, it was just attaching a layer of chakra to the soles of the feet. On a solid surface, you had to make it generate a pulling force; on fluids like water, you had to control it to generate a tensile force to support your body.
But the problem was controlling that force. You had to constantly sense the situation under your feet and adjust the distribution of chakra in time—too much would damage what you were attached to, and too little meant you wouldn't be able to stand steady.
In battle, you wouldn't have the time to carefully distinguish that, so just like the Chakra Extraction Technique, it was easy to learn, but its basic requirement was the same: you had to train it until it became your body's instinct.
Just like breathing—there's no need to consciously control the expansion and contraction of the lungs; the body's instincts will complete it.
This was a type of training that required quite a lot of time.
Over the course of an afternoon, the fastest progress belonged to Shisui. His talent was extremely high; he quickly got the hang of it. Perhaps with a few more days, he would be able to reach Higashino Makoto's level.
One had to know that Higashino Makoto's control over chakra was becoming increasingly effortless due to the nourishment and optimization of his body by white natural energy.
Shisui, on the other hand, relied purely on exceptional talent, plus the Uchiha bloodline's innate affinity for chakra.
After all, no matter how you put it, they were orthodox descendants of the Ōtsutsuki, and chakra itself was something the Ōtsutsuki clan originally brought to the ninja world.
Second in progress was Gekkō Hayate. He was one year older, which gave him quite a few advantages.
The most miserable was Uzuki Yugao. She took an entire afternoon of hits for nothing. The poor child puffed up her bun-like cheeks from start to finish.
After the four of them had once again wreaked havoc on a few fish in the evening, they ended the day's training and each went home.
Before parting, Uchiha Shisui asked with an expectant look, "In the future, can we also train together like this?"
Uzuki Yugao happily agreed. "Of course, Shisui. Haven't we already learned each other's addresses? If you get bored staying at home, you're welcome to come find us anytime."
Higashino Makoto and Gekkō Hayate didn't say anything. They just smiled and gave Shisui a thumbs-up.
Uchiha Shisui's usually precocious face rarely showed such a bright, open smile. He returned the gesture with a thumbs-up of his own.
Fortunately, the three of them weren't wearing green jumpsuits, and their teeth weren't gleaming; otherwise, Konohagakure would have gained three more fools from that day on.
On the way back, Uchiha Shisui felt extremely cheerful. He didn't know why—he just felt happy and relaxed. It was a completely different experience from being with members of his own clan.
At that moment, his young mind even wondered whether his clan was a bit too closed off. They should, like him, come out more often and interact with everyone in the village, instead of spending all day guarding that broken Police Force.
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