"Yeah, it worked! Thank you so much, Izumi-neesan!"
Seeing Izumi's cheerful grin, Uchiha Izumi's cousin, Izumi Uchiha (泉美), felt a little awkward. Even she hadn't mastered the Great Fireball Technique yet. She couldn't help but wonder—was being close to Itachi enough to turn someone into a prodigy? Otherwise, how could this little kid, Izumi, have such talent?
Ding! Side quest completed. Jutsu learned: Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique. Jutsu Exchange System unlocked. All ninjutsu within the host's body capacity are now available for exchange. Ninjutsu Achievement System unlocked. Ninjutsu Mastery System unlocked.
A string of system notifications echoed in Izumi's mind, leaving him momentarily dazed. Up until now, every option in the system had been greyed out and inaccessible. He hadn't expected that mastering the Great Fireball would unlock such benefits.
Ding! Side quest complete. New quest unlocked: Learn Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu. Time limit: three days.
The continuation of missions made Izumi tense. Learning the Phoenix Flower Jutsu within three days? That was troublesome—he didn't even have the scroll or instructions for that technique. How was he supposed to figure it out?
"Izumi, you're amazing. To master the Great Fireball in less than a single day…" Izumi Uchiha's cousin looked at him with genuine admiration.
"It's not that great. Itachi-nii only had to see it once before he could use it. I'm still far behind him."
The two continued chatting. Perhaps because their names were so similar, they shared an easy rapport. With Izumi's encouragement, his cousin finally gathered the courage to decide—she would confess her feelings to Itachi. Izumi, of course, couldn't help but wonder: would Itachi actually accept her?
Since she still had class in the afternoon, she eventually left Training Ground Seven.
"Who's there?!" she snapped suddenly, sensing someone nearby. Her body immediately shifted into an attacking stance, but when she saw who stepped out from behind the tree, her confidence faltered.
From the shadows emerged a small, timid figure—Hyūga Hinata. Startled by Izumi Uchiha's sharp voice, the little girl looked completely overwhelmed. Her pale eyes welled up with tears, as if she might cry at any second.
"Those eyes… You're from the Hyūga clan, aren't you? What are you doing here? Did you get lost?" Uchiha territory was located on the outskirts of Konoha, a place the Hyūga, who lived closer to the village center, rarely had reason to visit.
"I-I… no, I…" Hinata's tiny voice was barely a whisper. Izumi Uchiha could only catch the first few words; the rest trailed off into nothing. But what she did notice was Hinata's gaze, constantly darting toward Training Ground Seven.
"…You're here to see Izumi, aren't you?" Training Ground Seven was essentially Itachi and Shisui's personal domain. There was no way this Hyūga child had anything to do with them—so the only possibility was Izumi.
At the mention of his name, Hinata's face flushed crimson. She panicked, tried to turn and run—only to smack straight into the trunk of the tree behind her. With a dull thunk, she knocked herself out cold.
Izumi Uchiha hadn't expected things to unfold like that. She hurried over to check the girl's condition, relieved when she found no serious injury. Soon enough, Hinata stirred awake again. Flustered, the little Hyūga tried to flee immediately, but Izumi blocked her path. The two ended up talking for a while before parting ways.
Three days passed in the blink of an eye. During that time, Izumi not only refined his control of the Great Fireball Technique but also made noticeable progress in shurikenjutsu. What he didn't realize, however, was that every morning during those three days, a small figure had been quietly watching him from afar.
"Itachi-nii! Shisui-nii! You're back! I've already mastered the Great Fireball Technique!"
The moment he saw them, Izumi ran forward proudly, eager to show off his achievement.