Qiyu was slightly surprised.
Because of his presence, Itachi’s childhood had changed somewhat and no longer followed the path shown in the original story.
At such a young age, Itachi had yet to begin contemplating the meaning of life, so naturally, he had never met Izumi.
The first time they encountered her was on the night of the Nine-Tails’ attack, when Qiyu had been at home with Itachi.
It was also the first true crisis Qiyu had faced since arriving in this world.
A thunderous roar had echoed across Konoha as buildings shook and the earth trembled.
Qiyu and Itachi had rushed out of the house, only to see an enormous orange fox rampaging through the village.
Its terrifying presence had made Qiyu, once an ordinary person from Blue Star, understand for the first time just how frightening this world truly was.
It was then that they encountered Izumi, who had just been separated from her family.
After learning what had happened, Qiyu led the three of them toward the evacuating crowds.
Throughout the journey, he displayed the maturity and composure of an adult.
With the help of the advantage he had brought with him into this world, he also rescued several children and women trapped along the way.
Thus, although Qiyu was only six years old, he already possessed considerable prestige among the Uchiha clan’s civilian families.
Qiyu had always been fond of Izumi, a gentle and considerate girl.
Thinking of this, he smiled brightly and waved at her.
The young girl looked slightly embarrassed as she nodded back, then shyly turned her gaze away.
Qiyu did not linger.
He walked toward Izumi—not because he had any particular intentions, but because hers was the only seat in the classroom with an empty space beside it.
Children’s thoughts were simple and innocent, but that very innocence also made them highly susceptible to the influence of adults.
When left with no other choice, children would inevitably choose their friends according to their families’ circumstances.
Qiyu quietly sat down beside Izumi and turned toward her.
Aside from a trace of embarrassment, there was no exaggerated shyness on her face.
Instead, she met his gaze openly.
“Izumi, what a coincidence.”
“Qiyu-kun, I’m very happy we were assigned to the same class.
Please take care of me from now on.”
“Izumi, you’re as adorable as ever.”
Qiyu smiled faintly.
“Qiyu-kun…”
Izumi did not know how to respond.
Her cheeks suddenly turned rosy, and she quickly looked away, appearing exceptionally cute.
“Qiyu-kun, is Itachi doing well?”
To conceal her embarrassment, Izumi hurriedly changed the subject.
“Him?
He’s started spending every day lost in strange thoughts.”
Qiyu’s voice carried a trace of helplessness.
“Pfft!
Qiyu-kun, you’re still as amusing as ever.”
Izumi covered her mouth and giggled.
“Qiyu-kun, after school, would you like to bring Itachi along for dango?”
“Oh?
Is Izumi treating us today?”
Qiyu deliberately widened his eyes in exaggerated surprise.
Seeing his expression, Izumi could not help laughing again.
“That’s right.
I still haven’t properly thanked you and Itachi for what happened last time.”
“Mm-hmm.
All right.
We’ll go find Itachi after school.
He spends all day looking so gloomy, so we’ll make sure to add plenty of sugar to his order.”
Qiyu did not reject the girl’s goodwill.
He knew Izumi was a grateful child.
If he refused her too abruptly, she might start overthinking the matter.
They would simply eat a little less when the time came.
Qiyu knew that Izumi came from an ordinary Uchiha household and that her family was not particularly wealthy.
She had likely saved her allowance for a long time to afford this treat.
Besides, the sincere gratitude she had shown him last time had brought Qiyu considerable benefits.
That brought the matter back to the advantage he possessed as a transmigrator.
Like most transmigrators, Qiyu had a system of his own.
His system came from a cultivation game he had played in his previous life.
Perhaps because of the transmigration, its current functions were extremely simple.
Aside from the game’s basic Qi Refinement cultivation method, it could record certain ninjutsu and transform suitable techniques into Daoist arts.
For example, the Uchiha clan’s ninjutsu archive contained techniques of the five elemental attributes: wind, lightning, water, fire, and earth.
All of them had been transformed into the Five-Element Dao Arts of Daoist cultivation.
Unlike a shinobi’s five elemental ninjutsu, which required hand seals to perform, the Daoist Five-Element Dao Arts represented ultimate control over the five natural elements.
Take Water Escape, for instance.
At present, Water Escape was one of Qiyu’s weakest arts and had only reached the Entry level.
He could control water wherever it already existed, but he could not create it from nothing.
Furthermore, his effective range was very small.
He could only manipulate water sources within roughly ten meters of himself.
But this was merely the Entry level of the Water Dao Art.
Once it reached Proficient, the range of his control would increase by hundreds of times.
With a deeper comprehension of the Great Dao of Water, creating water from his own spiritual energy would become effortless.
Above Entry were the Intermediate, Proficient, Perfect, Minute, and Transcendent levels.
Each advancement represented a qualitative transformation.
As his level rose and his comprehension of the Great Dao of Water deepened, his command over water’s many forms would continue to improve.
He could compress water and fire high-pressure streams, freeze water into ice, or transform it into mist.
In time, he would be able to manipulate every form water could take with ease.
As long as his imagination was broad enough and the result conformed to the Great Dao of Water, almost anything would be possible.
Most importantly, as his mastery of a Daoist art deepened, damage from the corresponding element would become increasingly ineffective against him.
Even transforming his own body into an elemental form might not be impossible.
At present, among Qiyu’s Five-Element Dao Arts, Fire had reached Proficient, as had Lightning.
Wind was at Intermediate, while Water and Earth remained at Entry.
To raise the levels of these Daoist arts, Qiyu could train diligently and pursue enlightenment on his own.
However, he also possessed two other methods.
The first was to continuously collect different ninjutsu of the same elemental category.
The second was to obtain gratitude points from others—including feelings of appreciation, emotional resonance, and acknowledgment.
Alternatively, he could gather malice from others, including hatred, disgust, and dislike.
It resembled the legendary process of collecting the power of faith.
Whether gratitude or malice, both were forms of mental energy.
However, the two forms of mental energy served different purposes.
Gratitude points could raise both the grade of his cultivation method and the level of his skills.
Malice, on the other hand, could only improve his skills.
Qiyu suspected this limitation was connected to his starting cultivation method.
When he had played the game in his previous life, he had chosen the path of an orthodox righteous sect rather than the demonic path.
As a result, improving his current cultivation method required a constant investment of gratitude points—a comparatively positive form of mental energy.
Skills, however, were ultimately nothing more than methods of applying power.
They possessed no inherent distinction between good and evil.
Qiyu’s current introductory cultivation technique was the Azure Nether Art.
Its cultivation emphasized a tranquil mind, inner peace, and freedom from worldly distractions.
Once his thoughts became restless, his cultivation speed would slow.
Moreover, as the technique advanced, his temperament grew increasingly calm, balanced, and upright.
That was precisely what worried Qiyu most.
At this point in the timeline, he had still been unable to awaken the Sharingan.
Yet Qiyu knew that his younger brother had already awakened his during the Nine-Tails’ attack.
The Sharingan’s awakening was related to spiritual power, but Daoist cultivation emphasized the balanced advancement of essence, energy, and spirit.
After Qiyu reached the stage of Refining Essence into Qi, his spiritual power had continued to rise rapidly.
And yet his eyes had shown no reaction whatsoever.
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