Shiyu Uchiha wasn't surprised by the outcome. Given his opponent's intelligence, unless he possessed strength surpassing Hashirama Senju, his dream would remain just that—a fantasy—never becoming reality.
In Shiyu Uchiha's eyes, the only redeeming quality of Xuan Uchiha was his marriage into the Sarutobi clan by taking a Sarutobi woman as his wife.
However, fate had other plans. Before he could take his next step, Xuan had already passed away. Compared to him, even Shisui Uchiha fell short, not even reaching his father's level—Xuan had no heir to carry on his legacy.
The more Shiyu thought about it, the more suspicious he became. He even began to suspect that Hiruzen Sarutobi placing that child in their household might have been a well-thought-out setup.
Once Shisui Uchiha entered the Ninja Academy, thanks to their family connections and the Hokage's influence, the Will of Fire could subtly shape his ideology once more.
In the future, they could even have Shisui leverage Shizhi Uchiha's reputation as part of their strategy. This would greatly hamper the Uchiha Clan's development. Compared with the original plan of placing him under a moderate elder, this approach would be far more effective.
After exchanging a few words with his son, Shizhi Uchiha happily announced he would prepare a sumptuous meal for everyone and dragged Mikoto Uchiha into the kitchen to help, leaving only Shiyu Uchiha and Ling Uzumaki alone together.
Shiyu immediately caught on to his mother's intentions. Without hesitation, he pulled out a thoughtfully prepared gift and handed it to Ling. When Ling accepted this precious gift, her cheeks turned red once more.
As the two sat together, they casually chatted. Shiyu enthusiastically shared various amusing and interesting experiences from his travels across the land over the past two years, while Ling recounted some changes within Konoha Village throughout these years, especially regarding the orphanage.
One of the most important topics was the current situation of Might Guy, Shiyu's very first disciple. Back then, before departing, Shiyu had personally entrusted Ling with caring for Might Guy and his father. Thus, Ling frequently used Medical Ninjutsu on Might Guy's training injuries, always attributing it to Shiyu's instructions.
Although Ling was a bit confused as to why Shiyu had chosen Might Guy as his apprentice, she obeyed his instructions faithfully. After all, it was a direct request from Shiyu himself—one she would never dare ignore.
Moreover, Ling couldn't completely suppress her curiosity. She once asked Tsunade about it. Though Tsunade didn't explicitly reveal the reason, she remarked that Shiyu had sharp eyes capable of identifying hidden potential others couldn't perceive.
Even someone as strong as Tsunade, however, hadn't anticipated that Might Guy would achieve such remarkable future accomplishments—she had merely considered him to possess the potential to become a Kage-level ninja.
Yet this response made Ling value Might Guy even more. If someone received treatment like this, there must be something truly unique about him. As a result, Might Guy developed immense gratitude toward both Shiyu Uchiha and Ling Uzumaki, and his affection for them soared.
As Shiyu Uchiha and Ling Uzumaki grew closer with each interaction, the sense of unfamiliarity caused by their separation gradually faded, and their relationship became more intimate. In fact, their bond had grown even stronger than it had been two years ago, as if time hadn't touched it at all.
In addition, they made a plan to visit the Konoha Orphanage together after dinner to see the lovely children there.
Night fell, and Shiyu Uchiha tightly held Ling Uzumaki's small hand as they walked toward the Konoha Orphanage. Over the past two years, Ling had been living near the orphanage and was now very familiar with everything around her home.
When they approached Ling's residence, they happened to see Might Guy performing a one-handed handstand nearby. Ling instantly figured out that Guy had hurt himself again during training and had come to her for help.
She hurried forward in concern and asked, "Guy, did you do something reckless again?" Her voice held a mix of concern and frustration. At the same time, she quickly activated the Mystical Palm Technique to heal Guy's wounds.
After witnessing this, Shiyu instantly recognized Ling's current level—she could now be considered a Tokubetsu Jonin specializing in medical skills. He couldn't help but inwardly marvel—no wonder she was from the Uzumaki clan! He had originally intended to teach her the Kinjutsu he had in mind, but after brief consideration, he felt it was inappropriate. He decided to wait a little longer before making that move.
Might Guy remained tight-lipped, like a student being scolded by his teacher, lowering his head dejectedly.
Then he caught sight of Shiyu Uchiha, and his face lit up with joy instantly. He called out loudly, "Teacher, you're back!" But almost immediately, he seemed to recall something and lowered his head again, his expression turning gloomy once more.
Shiyu naturally understood Guy's thoughts. He smiled slightly and said, "Guy, I'm going to fulfill my promise now. He told you before, as long as you became a ninja, he would officially take you as his student."
Guy's eyes widened in shock, "Really? Teacher, but I can't even learn basic Ninjutsu—I'm such a disgrace; I don't deserve to be your student..." Before he finished speaking, tears already streamed down his face.
Although Might Guy learned how to extract Chakra quite early on, he had always struggled to master the fundamental Trio-body Jutsu. Normally, he wouldn't have passed the graduation exam. The only reason he was allowed to graduate early was because the entire Class A of his year applied for early graduation. When their teacher reported to the Hokage, he included Guy too, so as not to waste resources any further.
After graduating, due to various chaotic reasons, no one wanted to team up with him. Eventually, Might Duy took him along to complete C-rank missions to gain experience, which recently brought much ridicule upon Might Duy.
Because of this, Guy had been feeling extremely down lately. However, encouraged by Duy, he transformed his sorrow into strength and kept practicing Taijutsu intensively, resulting in frequent injuries across his body.
Today, while kicking wooden posts for training, he failed to control his strength properly due to physical exhaustion and accidentally injured his foot.
"It is precisely your talent in Taijutsu that I value most. Lacking talent in Ninjutsu or Genjutsu is actually better—it allows you to focus entirely on one path and ultimately achieve far greater accomplishments."
Shiyu Uchiha said nonchalantly, yet his voice carried a tone of encouragement.
"Really?" Might Guy exclaimed upon hearing Shiyu's words. He immediately sprang up from the ground. His pale face, weakened from injuries, flushed bright red with excitement as he stared at Shiyu, eyes brimming with hope.
He acted as if his wounds were nothing at all. The blood that Ling Uzumaki had just barely managed to stop moments ago began seeping out once more, undoing almost all of her hard-earned treatment.
<><><><><><><><>
Thank you for reading! Your support will keep me updating!
~ Every 50 Powerstones = **4 Bonus Chapters** this weekend!
<><><><><><><><>
Want to read the subsequent content in advance?
Please follow my Patreon:patreon/Tansnovel
Tans Novel - The Fastest-Updating Naruto Fanfiction Account
Read 100+ chapters in advance, with at least 3 new chapters updated every day! More free chapters! 20+ Naruto fanfictions!
Just three steps:
1. Download and open the "Patreon" app
2. Search for "Tans Novel"
3. Click on the collection and enjoy to your heart's content
<><><><><><><><>