"Yay, I did it! Thank you, Sister Izumi Me!"
Seeing Izumi so happy, Izumi Me felt a bit awkward. Even she hadn't mastered the Great Fireball Technique. It made her wonder—was being close to Itachi some kind of genius contagion? Otherwise, how could this little kid have such talent?
Ding!
Side mission complete — Great Fireball Technique learned.
Ninjutsu Exchange System unlocked — all ninjutsu within the host's physical limits are now available.
Ninjutsu Achievement System unlocked.
Ninjutsu Mastery System unlocked.
A barrage of system notifications left Izumi feeling a little overwhelmed. He had checked the system before, but everything had been grayed out and inaccessible. He hadn't expected that mastering the Great Fireball would bring such benefits.
Ding!
Follow-up mission unlocked — Learn Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Flower Nail Crimson, time limit: three days.
Izumi frowned slightly. He didn't have any materials or scrolls for that jutsu—how was he supposed to learn it?
"Izumi, you're really amazing. You learned the Great Fireball in less than a day!"
"It's nothing. Itachi-nii could use it after seeing it just once. I'm still far behind him."
The two of them chatted casually. Maybe because their names sounded alike, they had a natural rapport. Thanks to Izumi's encouragement, Izumi Me had even resolved to confess her feelings to Itachi. Izumi couldn't help but be curious—would Itachi accept her?
Since she still had afternoon classes, Izumi Me soon left Training Ground Seven.
"Who's there!" She suddenly sensed someone nearby and instantly prepared to attack. But when she saw who stepped out from behind a tree, she felt as if she'd made some sort of mistake.
From behind the trunk emerged Hyūga Hinata. Maybe she'd been startled by Izumi Me's tone, but the little girl looked completely at a loss, her eyes brimming with tears as if she'd start crying any second.
"Those eyes… you're from the Hyūga clan? Did you get lost?" The Uchiha compound was on the edge of Konoha—ordinary villagers rarely came here, much less a child from the Hyūga clan, who lived closer to the center.
"I… I'm not—" Hinata's voice was barely a whisper. Izumi Me only caught the first few words; the rest was too quiet to make out. Still, she noticed that although Hinata looked flustered, her gaze kept flicking toward Training Ground Seven.
"You're here for Izumi, aren't you?" Training Ground Seven was basically reserved for Shisui and Itachi. Izumi Me couldn't imagine a Hyūga child having anything to do with them—so the only possibility was the little brat, Izumi.
"That…" The moment she heard Izumi's name, Hinata's face turned beet red. She spun around to leave—but in her panic, she ran straight into the tree behind her, knocking herself out cold.
Izumi Me hadn't expected that outcome. She hurried to check Hinata's condition and only relaxed once she confirmed the girl was fine. Before long, Hinata came to. She tried to slip away quickly, but Izumi Me blocked her path, and the two ended up talking for a while.
In the blink of an eye, three days passed. During that time, Izumi not only mastered the Great Fireball Technique but also made significant progress with his shuriken skills. What he didn't know was that every morning during those three days, a small figure had been watching him from afar.
"Itachi-nii, Shisui-nii, you're here! I've already mastered the Great Fireball Technique!" The moment he saw them, Izumi ran forward like a child showing off to older brothers.