While the Uchiha household was enjoying an unusually peaceful family evening, the Hokage’s Office was anything but quiet.
At least, it certainly had no shortage of people.
A delicate fox-shaped Disaster-Repelling Mask lay quietly on Hiruzen Sarutobi’s desk.
“Lord Hokage, the Sealing Corps has inspected it several times.” Kakashi, his face hidden behind an ANBU mask, reported, “It’s just an ordinary mask.
There’s nothing suspicious about it.
Before coming here, I also tracked down the craftsman who made it.
He said the child named Uchiha Tōru commissioned it for his family.
There are five masks in total, all fox-themed, and the order was placed three days ago.” Hiruzen puffed on the mouthpiece of his pipe, then picked up the mask with his right hand and waved it toward the three elders sitting on the sofa.
“My deduction was correct.
Naruto’s sudden burst of abnormal strength was simply an accident.
The Uchiha child happened to encounter Naruto, and the fox design on this mask was merely a coincidence.” His shadowed gaze moved across the three men before finally settling on the bandaged old man sitting with his eyes closed in contemplation.
“Besides, even if Fugaku wanted to approach and control the jinchūriki, he wouldn’t send a child who doesn’t even possess chakra.
Wouldn’t it be much more convenient to simply send Shisui and have him use genjutsu?” “You’re becoming far too suspicious whenever the Uchiha are involved.
You want to blame them for everything.” “It’s unhealthy to be this distrustful of your own comrades.” “Danzo, when you have time, perhaps you should come out of your underground hideout and get some sunlight.” The implication was obvious: Stop assuming everyone else is as sinister and twisted as you are.
Kakashi’s eye twitched faintly beneath his mask.
“Hiruzen, I don’t have the luxury of being as idle as you.
And I certainly don’t have time to sit around in the sun.” “Don’t forget what our teacher told us repeatedly.
When dealing with that clan, no amount of caution is excessive.” Danzo’s cane struck the floor with a series of dull thuds.
“Every time something happens involving the jinchūriki or the Nine-Tails, someone from the Uchiha clan is nearby.
I absolutely refuse to believe all of this can be explained by coincidence.” “Don’t forget what happened five years ago.
We still haven’t determined the cause, but the Sharingan in the Nine-Tails’ eyes is evidence enough!” “You seem to have the order of events backward.” Hiruzen sighed.
“According to the shinobi responsible for watching Naruto, Naruto threw the stones at those three Academy students first.
Fugaku’s youngest son appeared afterward.” “Furthermore, Naruto’s strength only surged because Hinata was injured in front of him.
He exploded with power because he wanted to protect his fellow villager.
It had nothing to do with seeing the mask and becoming enraged…” “Speaking of Hiashi’s daughter…” Danzo interrupted him.
“It’s precisely because there was a Hyūga shinobi nearby that the ANBU assigned to monitor the situation was actually quite far away.
He only saw the general outline of what happened, didn’t he?” “…You’re really determined to twist every little detail to suit your argument!” Hiruzen frowned impatiently.
He had already guessed what Danzo was really trying to accomplish by exaggerating this incident.
“What exactly do you want from me today?” The ensuing conversation was lengthy.
Here, only the key points will be summarized.
Danzo: Jinchūriki.
Root.
Training.
Security.
Hiruzen: No.
Darkness.
Outburst.
Minato.
Entrusted to me.
Danzo: Hiruzen, you’ll regret this.
Hiruzen: Danzo, I am the Hokage.
Danzo slammed the door and left.
The other two Hokage advisors remained seated on the sofa, staring intently at the Third Hokage.
“His thinking may be dark, but some of what he said makes sense.” “Hiruzen, you need to come up with some countermeasures.
At the very least, we need to find out exactly what the Uchiha clan is doing and what they intend to do.” “Relying solely on the telescopes ANBU uses for surveillance is nowhere near enough.” Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane reached an agreement.
They too believed that precautions were necessary in case the Uchiha attempted to act against the jinchūriki.
Over the past five years, the reputation of the Uchiha and their Konoha Military Police Force had grown increasingly poor.
The powder keg between Konoha and the clan was always one spark away from exploding.
Hiruzen sighed.
“Since you insist…
Kakashi.” “Yes.” “Starting tomorrow, you will be responsible for monitoring and protecting Naruto.
As for the position of captain of the Hokage’s personal ANBU, Shisui will take over for now.” Hiruzen looked toward the two advisors.
“Also, have Fugaku’s eldest son—the boy named Uchiha Itachi—participate in next month’s Chūnin Exams.” “With his abilities, passing the examination will be effortless.” “Afterward, we’ll find a reason to bring him into ANBU as well.” “In this way, both Shisui and Itachi, the two young geniuses of the Uchiha clan, can experience the Will of Fire firsthand while also giving us an opportunity to evaluate them.” “Would that satisfy you?” The two old men nodded.
Now that they had achieved their objective, they stood and prepared to leave.
Kakashi was about to follow them when Hiruzen called out.
“You stay.” Hiruzen continued, “Pass down the order.
From now on, no civilian or shinobi with ties to Root is permitted to approach Naruto.” “That includes the Academy students who attacked Naruto today.
Expel all of them.” “As for everything else, let Root deal with the consequences.” “Yes.” Kakashi wasn’t surprised.
If nobody had given them instructions, what children would dare attack Naruto despite knowing that everyone called him the “Demon Fox”?
It was obvious that Root had deliberately incited those students to beat and provoke Naruto, attempting to make the Nine-Tails’ power erupt through hatred and resentment.
If those students had been killed by Naruto, that would have been even better.
Because once something like that happened, Danzo could prove to the elders and the village’s jōnin that Hiruzen’s approach to raising Naruto was fundamentally flawed.
Then Danzo could justifiably seize control of the jinchūriki.
[Absolutely not.
I can’t let that happen!] “And one more thing.
Have whoever is on duty tonight take this mask back.” Hiruzen used his pipe to push the mask toward Kakashi.
“I heard Naruto placed this mask beside his pillow before going to sleep.
For him, it’s a rare gift.” “But this incident also proves that even an Uchiha child is capable of extending a helping hand to a stranger.” “I hear Fugaku’s youngest son doesn’t want to become a shinobi.
Perhaps that gentleness in his heart is precisely why he doesn’t want to hurt others.” “He reminds me of that boy, Obito.
I imagine the two of them must have quite a lot in common.” [No.
Not even remotely, Lord Third.] Kakashi froze for a moment.
The words of his ninken from earlier that afternoon once again echoed in his mind.
[“That kid is extremely dangerous.”] “Kakashi?” Seeing that he wasn’t responding, the Third Hokage spoke apologetically.
“I’m sorry.
I shouldn’t have brought up your painful memories.” He had also intended to test Kakashi’s mental state, but the result had been somewhat unexpected.
“If there’s nothing else, Lord Hokage…” Kakashi decided it would be better to keep his opinion of Uchiha Tōru to himself for now.
“I’ll return to my post.” “Mm.
Go ahead.” Hiruzen turned away.
“Judging by how absent-minded you look, perhaps you should spend less time reading Jiraiya’s books.” Kakashi’s Body Flicker Technique failed.
He slipped and crashed onto the roof of the Hokage Building.
The following morning.
The instant Tōru opened his eyes, he once again heard the mysterious notification.
[After spending eight hours in close proximity to Uchiha Sasuke, Flame Breathing analysis progress +0.04%.
Thunder Breathing analysis progress +0.04%.] Tōru sat up somewhat puzzled and looked at Sasuke, who was sharing his futon.
Sasuke was sleeping soundly.
Even while smacking his lips in his dreams, he absentmindedly scratched his belly like a plump white pig.
If Tōru remembered correctly, before he fainted yesterday, he had heard that spending one hour in “close proximity” to Itachi had increased his Flame Breathing analysis progress by 0.02%.
Then Fugaku had used a single small ninjutsu, increasing it by 0.04%.
Yet after spending the entire eight-hour night sleeping practically on top of Sasuke, both Flame Breathing and Thunder Breathing had increased by 0.04%.
That worked out to 0.01% per hour for each.
So there was a question.
Why did Sasuke provide Thunder Breathing analysis progress in addition to Flame Breathing, while his father and Itachi had only provided Flame Breathing?
And exactly how close did “close proximity” have to be?
[Within two meters of someone with whom you have a high level of affinity, you can analyze the corresponding Breathing Style through that person’s chakra nature.
The amount of analysis progress depends on how proficient that person is at changing the nature of that chakra attribute.] [That person is speaking again.] Tōru narrowed his eyes and immediately entered the Transparent World, scanning his surroundings.
There was no living creature anywhere nearby.
Thinking carefully, the voice seemed to appear directly inside his mind.
Several seconds passed.
Nothing else happened.
At least his question had been answered.
To obtain Breathing Style analysis progress, the following conditions had to be met.
Be near someone with whom he had a high level of affinity.
Affinity presumably referred to the quality of their relationship.
Family members and friends naturally counted as closer relationships.
In this world, Sasuke, Itachi, his father, and his mother all qualified.
Perhaps Shisui did as well…
Remain within two meters of that person.
In other words, they needed to be in the same room at minimum.
If the other person did not use ninjutsu, analysis progress would be calculated once every hour.
If they used a ninjutsu, the progress would be calculated immediately, just like yesterday when Fugaku produced two lotus-shaped flames.
The specific Breathing Style being analyzed depended on the person’s chakra nature.
Tōru assumed that the “attributes” referred to things like Fire Release and Water Release, corresponding respectively to Flame Breathing and Water Breathing.
According to what he had heard yesterday, once Flame Breathing was completely analyzed and he reached the level of Constant Total Concentration, Flame Hashira Kyojuro Rengoku could be resurrected.
Constant Total Concentration was a stage in the training of Breathing Styles.
Normally, when using Total Concentration Breathing, swordsmen relied on intense breathing to forcibly enhance their physical abilities, causing their bodies to operate beyond their normal limits.
As a result, they could not maintain it indefinitely.
Doing so would cause severe side effects, such as lung cells dying from overexertion.
Once a swordsman completed Constant Total Concentration training, however, they could maintain Breathing throughout all twenty-four hours of the day without burdening their body.
They could even use Breathing to gradually draw upon the power of nature and alter their physique.
In other words, reaching Constant Total Concentration was essentially the threshold for becoming a Hashira.
Tōru had already maintained Constant Total Concentration with Water Breathing for half a year.
What surprised him was that the natural energy in this world was far more abundant than on Earth.
As a result, Water Breathing: Constant Total Concentration strengthened this body’s physical constitution far faster than it had his body on Earth.
Yesterday, helping that blond child had been the first time Tōru had fought since arriving in this world.
Although he hadn’t used his full strength, the power behind that strike was already no weaker than when he had first become a Hashira.
And he hadn’t even used a Nichirin Sword to perform Water Surface Slash—Ripple Thrust.
He had merely used an ordinary stone.
That gave Tōru considerable confidence in his current body.
Although switching to Flame Breathing would be difficult, the Breathing Styles were ultimately related.
With his current physique, he shouldn’t encounter too many problems.
Reaching Constant Total Concentration was merely a matter of time.
As long as he could resurrect Rengoku first—the teammate he had always liked—Tōru was willing to overcome any difficulty.
(According to the official fanbook, Tōru’s attitude toward Rengoku was: “He often initiates conversations with me.
I like him.”) [What about the others?] Tōru tentatively asked in his mind.
[What about Mist Hashira Muichiro Tokito?
How can I resurrect him?] He had died at only fourteen.
It was far too tragic.
And the one who killed Muichiro had been his own ancestor, Upper Rank One, Kokushibo.
Tōru wanted to resurrect Muichiro.
But he had never heard of any ninjutsu called Mist Release.
[Muichiro Tokito can be resurrected once both Water Breathing and Wind Breathing reach Constant Total Concentration.] Tōru blinked.
So this strange voice selectively answered his questions.
The Mist Breathing used by Tokito relied on mist and high-speed movement for guerrilla warfare.
It originated from Wind Breathing but also incorporated aspects of Water Breathing.
That happened to correspond to Wind Release and Water Release as well.
But did that mean he needed to find someone who used Wind Release, become friends with them, and then use them to accumulate analysis progress?
Making friends was undoubtedly the most difficult thing in the world for Tōru.
During the two years after Muzan’s death, he had been unable to communicate with people properly and couldn’t find work.
He had survived entirely on his savings.
His only social activities had been exchanging letters with Tanjiro and his teacher…
Still, this level of difficulty was something Uchiha Tōru could overcome!
As long as he knew what other people liked to eat and carried food around to feed them, surely they would eventually like him.
That was the great truth Tanjiro had taught him.
(Sanemi Shinazugawa: ×#&!) [What about Insect Hashira Shinobu Kocho?] Tōru changed the subject.
[Water Breathing must reach Constant Total Concentration, while Moon Breathing only needs to reach the introductory level.] Tōru was momentarily stunned.
Moon Breathing?
Wasn’t that the Breathing Style used by Upper Rank One?
The problem was that he had never heard his family mention anything related to “Moon Release” or a “Moon nature.” And Moon Breathing had nothing to do with Shinobu’s Insect Breathing.
He thought about it for a long time.
When no further answer came, he stopped worrying about it.
[Can Sabito be resurrected?] Sabito was his senior disciple from their training on Mount Sagiri.
He had ultimately become the only person to die during the Final Selection at Fujikasane Mountain.
Sabito’s talent had been exceptional.
Tōru had always believed that if Sabito had survived, he would have become the Water Hashira even before Tōru himself.
If that had happened, perhaps fewer members of the Corps would have died during the final battle.
[Only Hashira who died fighting demons before or around the final battle can be resurrected.] Only Hashira.
Tōru wasn’t disappointed.
He continued asking.
[What about Sanemi Shinazugawa…?] Tōru had already been in this world for five years.
Sanemi should have died by now too.
[No.
He died after you reincarnated.] What a pity.
(Sanemi was an important supporting character in the author’s previous novel, so he will not be written into this story either.
The same applies below.) Tōru thought to himself.
[What about Shinobu’s older sister, the former Flower Hashira?] [She has already reincarnated and is living a happy life.] Tōru froze.
That was good news.
He went through the conditions for resurrecting each Hashira one by one.
The more he learned, the better his mood became.
[To resurrect Flame Hashira Kyojuro Rengoku: Flame Breathing must reach Constant Total Concentration.] [To resurrect Insect Hashira Shinobu Kocho: Water Breathing must reach Constant Total Concentration, and Moon Breathing must reach the introductory level.] [To resurrect Mist Hashira Muichiro Tokito: Water Breathing and Wind Breathing must both reach Constant Total Concentration.] [To resurrect Love Hashira Mitsuri Kanroji: Flame Breathing must reach Constant Total Concentration, and Sun Breathing must reach the introductory level.] [To resurrect Serpent Hashira Obanai Iguro: Water Breathing and Thunder Breathing must both reach Constant Total Concentration.] [To resurrect Stone Hashira Gyomei Himejima: Stone Breathing must reach Constant Total Concentration.] Wind Hashira Sanemi Shinazugawa and Flower Hashira Kanae Kocho were not available for resurrection.
Sound Hashira Tengen Uzui had never awakened the Demon Slayer Mark, so he was probably living happily with his three wives.
Tōru committed all of these conditions to memory.
Of them, Rengoku was undoubtedly the easiest to resurrect.
His father, Itachi, and Sasuke could all provide Flame Breathing analysis progress.
At long last, Uchiha Tōru had found something that could be called a goal in this shinobi world.
After sorting everything out, Tōru pushed the snoring Sasuke to the side and got out of bed.
Today, he would accompany Itachi and Sasuke to the training ground.
As long as he stayed close enough to them—within two meters—he should be able to learn more about how this mysterious analysis system worked.
He also wanted to find out whether anything like a Moon chakra nature existed…
It wasn’t that he had any particular feelings for Shinobu.
He simply thought it would be easier to start by resurrecting someone who had willingly spoken to him before, such as Shinobu or Rengoku.
They should get along fairly well.
After all, Muichiro and Obanai didn’t seem to like him very much.
Especially the latter.
Obanai often joined Sanemi in making fun of him, which always left Tōru feeling rather sad.
After going downstairs, Tōru noticed that his father Fugaku was sitting in the courtyard talking with Itachi.
Itachi nodded from time to time, apparently accepting some kind of mission.
His mother was in her own room.
As usual, Tōru paid them no attention.
After washing up, he began preparing breakfast.
He reheated the dishes left over from last night and prepared some snacks for them to take along.
Half an hour later, Sasuke arrived rubbing his eyes.
The family sat around the table in the tatami room and ate breakfast.
The meal was silent and dull, precisely the sort of dining atmosphere one would expect from the Uchiha.
Until Tōru suddenly asked, “What are chakra natures?” The entire family froze.
Mikoto excitedly covered her mouth.
Her eyes filled with disbelief.
[Oh my goodness!
Tōru actually started a conversation on his own!] She almost burst into tears.
He hadn’t even asked about a specific person.
But he had finally asked about something unrelated to housework!
It was also exactly the sort of question a child his age should be asking.
[My Tōru has finally grown up!] “Itachi, remember what I told you before?” “Why don’t you explain it to Tōru?” Itachi had actually intended to let Sasuke demonstrate what he had learned recently.
He was worried that Fugaku might decide Tōru’s talent was even greater than Sasuke’s, then favor one child over another and hurt Sasuke’s feelings again.
Sasuke, who had been stuffing fried salmon belly into his mouth, immediately straightened his back.
He was determined to perform well in front of their father.
“Um…
Big Brother said chakra has five basic natures.” “They are Water, Fire, Lightning, Earth, and Wind.” “Every shinobi naturally possesses at least one of them.” Sasuke glanced at Itachi.
When he saw his brother smiling and nodding encouragingly, his tone became more confident.
“For example, we Uchiha naturally have a high affinity for Fire Release.” “So when we use Fire Release and transform the neutral chakra we’ve extracted into Fire-nature chakra, we waste less chakra than other shinobi, making the process more efficient and our ninjutsu more powerful.” “But Big Brother also said that besides their natural affinity, shinobi can develop the nature transformation of other chakra attributes through training and research.” “It just takes a lot of time.” “To become a jōnin, you need to master the nature transformations of at least two or three different chakra attributes.” “That’s broadly correct.” Fugaku nodded with satisfaction.
Then, taking the opportunity, he finally said what he had been holding back since last night.
“As expected of my son.” In truth, he meant all three of his sons.
He simply hadn’t been able to say it last night because Tōru had angered him too much.
Today, however, he said it.
Fugaku thoroughly enjoyed this breakfast.
All three of his sons, Sasuke included, were stronger than he had been at their age.
If everything went smoothly, the Uchiha would soon overcome the uncertainty surrounding Shisui and possess a truly promising younger generation of their own.
But Sasuke was the happiest to hear his father’s praise.
Both of his cheeks turned so red they looked ready to catch fire.
Anyone who didn’t know better might have thought he was preparing a Great Fireball.
Mikoto then voiced the question that had been bothering her.
“But Tōru, why are you suddenly curious about this?” [Did Sasuke tell him something again last night?] “Mm.” Tōru nodded.
“I want to know if there are any chakra attributes related to the moon besides these five.” Sasuke was confused.
His mouth fell open slightly as he shook his head.
“The moon?
Are you talking about Yin Release?” Fugaku took a sip of soup and calmly explained, “Besides the five basic nature transformations, there are also Yin and Yang.” “They are chakra natures that are rarely discussed.” “Among shinobi, very few people truly understand the nature transformation of Yin chakra.” “Most only dabble in it, using it superficially in sealing techniques and genjutsu.” “In Konoha, the clans that genuinely research Yin Release are the Nara, Yamanaka, and Kurama clans, along with a handful of individual genjutsu specialists.” “Mastering Yin Release requires exceptional comprehension and imagination, and it is also extremely time-consuming.” “The only people who can grasp Yin chakra quickly are the Uchiha.” “We don’t even need to deliberately strengthen this power, nor do we need hand seals to cast genjutsu.” His Three-Tomoe Sharingan appeared.
The tomoe slowly rotated in his crimson eyes.
The family members all put down their chopsticks and stared motionlessly at his eyes.
“Tōru, as long as your Sharingan continues to evolve, your Yin chakra—that is, what our clan calls ocular power—will naturally become stronger.” “Your genjutsu will become increasingly powerful as well.” “It can even reach a level where altering reality and reversing life and death are no longer beyond its capabilities.” “You said yesterday that you didn’t want people to ‘hate’ you.” “As long as your genjutsu becomes powerful enough, you can accomplish that as well.” [Now do you finally understand how powerful the Uchiha truly are?] Fugaku stared at Tōru’s face, seemingly hoping to see desire or pride in belonging to the clan.
[The Sharingan is the Eye That Reflects the Heart.
Its power also develops according to the deepest desires within its wielder.] [If Tōru becomes an even more powerful genjutsu shinobi than Shisui, perhaps we could control Konoha’s leadership without anyone ever realizing it.] But Fugaku was disappointed.
Tōru silently stared at those blood-red eyes.
Inside, however, he suddenly understood.
The dark mass of energy he had seen gathered inside the brains of his clan members finally had an explanation.
So that was the Uchiha clan’s unique Yin chakra.
But why did it always give him such an ominous feeling?
It was almost as though something strange had been mixed into this chakra…
Still, Tōru’s greatest discovery that morning was learning about Yin and Yang, two chakra natures that most Academy graduates would at least have heard of.
And they happened to correspond neatly to Moon Breathing and Sun Breathing.
That meant that whether he wanted to resurrect Rengoku or Shinobu, he could simply gather the necessary analysis progress from his family.
For Tōru, this was excellent news.
It meant he didn’t have to interact with more people for the time being.
He simply needed to become a little more like Sasuke.
More clingy.
Literally.
But that also meant he couldn’t stay home alone for too long anymore.
[How am I supposed to arrange my schedule?
That’s a problem…] Seeing that Tōru still showed no reaction after hearing his explanation, Fugaku’s lips turned downward slightly.
Speaking of chakra natures, he instructed Itachi, “Go buy some chakra nature testing paper for Sasuke.” “As my son, he should have an affinity for more than just Fire.” “Yes.” Itachi agreed.
Although Sasuke was still a long way from learning nature transformation, knowing his chakra affinities in advance would allow Itachi to collect suitable ninjutsu for him during missions and pave the way for his future development.
Of course, if Tōru was willing to learn how to extract chakra, they could test him too…
The question was how to make him willingly learn.
That wish Tōru had made yesterday— [I don’t want them to hate me.] Itachi still couldn’t figure out who the “they” were.
After breakfast, Fugaku and Mikoto went to work.
Tōru finished preparing the remaining snacks and waited by the entrance with two food containers, each nearly forty centimeters tall.
Shinobi had large appetites.
Even more so when training.
“Tōru, we’re going to train, not camping…” Sasuke said this aloud, trying to present himself as a tough, hardworking adult in front of his younger brother.
But honestly, he didn’t want to survive lunch on rice balls.
He walked over to Tōru and tried to take one of the containers.
But the moment Sasuke lifted it, his face went pale as though he’d seen a ghost.
Then it slowly turned bright red.
Tōru eventually took the container back, freeing Sasuke from his embarrassing predicament.
“This one has soup inside.
It’s heavy.” “I’ll carry it.” Tōru lifted the container with ease, as though it weighed nothing.
Sasuke’s heart sank.
[Why is Tōru so strong when he has never even trained?] [Could he really be a genius even more talented than Big Brother?] A faint sense of dissatisfaction welled up inside Sasuke.
Itachi silently watched the scene.
He remembered the task his father had given him that morning.
[“Find a way to test exactly how strong Tōru’s physical abilities are.”] Itachi knew that carrying out the order would only make their father even more determined to turn Tōru into a shinobi.
But he had no choice.
“Do you have all the shuriken and kunai you need for taijutsu practice, Sasuke?” Itachi asked gently.
“Yep.” Sasuke patted the bulging weapons pouch strapped to his leg.
“And I brought Tōru’s share too.” He was clearly determined to make Tōru train with them.
“I’m only going with you.” Tōru was accompanying them to increase his analysis progress.
He was still not interested in becoming a shinobi.
Even if he wanted to pursue greater strength, the physical enhancement provided by Breathing had nowhere near reached its limit.
To put it bluntly enough to make Sasuke furious: He became stronger simply by breathing.
And his progress was extremely fast.
“Just let Tōru do what he wants.” Seeing that Sasuke was about to say something else, Itachi gently shook his head.
For children who had minds of their own, force was useless.
The key was to guide their thoughts rather than suppress them.
Still, Itachi intended to demonstrate the power of ninjutsu to Tōru.
Perhaps Tōru might become interested in the flashy effects.
There were plenty of shinobi who had started taking training seriously for similar reasons.
Sometimes all it took was wanting something to look “cool” or “impressive.” “By the way.” “To exercise our bodies, why don’t we run there today?” Itachi hadn’t forgotten their father’s instructions.
This would allow him to test Tōru’s endurance and roughly estimate his overall physical abilities.
“But if we run there, we’ll have no strength left for training.” Sasuke wasn’t enthusiastic about the idea.
Their usual training ground was several kilometers away, even farther toward the outskirts of the village than the Uchiha district.
As for the training grounds around the lake behind the clan compound, young clan members who wanted to prove themselves were always trying to pick fights with Itachi.
That was why the brothers chose to train at a practice field outside the clan district.
“But if Sasuke is willing to run there, I’ll carry you home on my back this afternoon.” “Then I’m willing!” Sasuke displayed a level of clinginess that made Tōru envious.
If only he could do that too.
Then everyone could be resurrected sooner.
“What about you, Tōru?” Itachi turned around with a smile.
“I can carry your food containers for you.” “No need.” Tōru refused.
“I can keep up.” He intended to spend the entire day within two meters of Itachi.
He wanted to see whether being near an Uchiha with the Three-Tomoe Sharingan could finally give him some progress toward Moon Breathing.