The moment the hand seals were completed, Satoshi's chest suddenly swelled.
Blazing flames erupted from his mouth, instantly turning into a sea of fire on the river surface.
The river water vaporized upon contact with the sea of fire, rising as steaming white mist.
Inaho stared dumbfounded at everything before him. "What the hell!"
He couldn't believe that Satoshi had mastered Great Fire Annihilation to such an extent in such a short time.
Indeed, a genius is a genius.
After a long while, the flames slowly dissipated. Inaho even felt the water level had dropped a bit.
Besides 'awesome,' Inaho couldn't think of any other words to express his feelings.
Clatter!
The crisp sound of metal hitting the ground broke the silence.
A dozen meters away, Sasuke's ninja tool pouch fell to the ground.
Sasuke's pupils trembled violently, reflecting the still-smoking scorched earth.
Itachi stood behind him. His expression wasn't very good. He didn't know if it was because he hadn't fully recovered, or if he was shocked by the power of Satoshi's Ninjutsu.
Sasuke heard Itachi's suppressed cough.
Just now, Sasuke had once again asked Itachi to teach him the techniques for using shuriken. As a brocon, Itachi naturally agreed.
So they came to the river, and after walking a bit further from here, they would reach their secret training base.
But who could have imagined that Itachi would encounter Satoshi here?
Itachi was in a bit of a bad mood. The last time they met, he was beaten half to death by Satoshi. That experience gave him a whole new understanding of the term 'genius.'
This time, he once again experienced the power of Satoshi's Fire Release.
He had originally thought Satoshi won by exploiting a Ninjutsu weakness. Now it seemed that even in a head-on Fire Release clash, he wouldn't gain any advantage.
Satoshi and Itachi just stood there quietly, looking at each other, neither speaking.
Itachi asked, "Back then, you weren't using your full strength, were you?"
Satoshi brushed aside the stray hair on his forehead and said, "It was just an exam."
Sasuke looked at Itachi, then at Satoshi.
He remembered Satoshi, the white-haired guy who had put his brother in the hospital.
"It's you! You hurt my brother!"
Sasuke charged at Satoshi with a kunai, only to be picked up by Itachi.
"Let's go, home."
Itachi's voice was unusually calm, but his knuckles were white from gripping too tightly.
"Huh?" Sasuke, suspended in the air, was startled.
"You said you'd practice shuriken with me, brother."
"Another day, I suddenly remembered I have a mission to complete."
"Alright then."
When the two brothers' figures disappeared from sight, Satoshi was bending down to pick up the scroll on the ground.
"Inaho-senpai, did that fishing gear shop owner confess?"
Inaho shook his head, thought carefully, and then remembered who Satoshi was talking about.
"No, he just said you were enforcing the law violently and threatening excellent merchants. He denied all the charges you mentioned."
Satoshi stroked his chin, this ruffian was quite stubborn.
Inaho leaned closer and whispered, "Why don't we just let him go? We still have to feed him at the Konoha Military Police Force."
He counted on his fingers and said, "In a few months, the heating will come on, and this brat alone will cost a lot of money every day."
A hint of surprise flashed in Satoshi's eyes. "Free food?"
Inaho retorted, "Otherwise?"
Satoshi slapped his thigh. "Foolish, simply foolish."
No wonder these ruffians were becoming more and more rampant. They had food and drink inside, couldn't be beaten, weren't cold in winter, weren't hot in summer—who the hell would be scared of that?
Forget it, let's just leave it at that.
If a 'Fishing Gear Shop Theft Case' occurred tonight, the Konoha Military Police Force would break even.
"I'm going to work at the Konoha Military Police Force, Satoshi."
"Okay."
Satoshi rested under a tree for a while, then picked up the scroll and began to study it seriously.
"Tobirama's sword techniques are very powerful, and Uchiha's taijutsu is also suitable for actual combat. Is the combination of these two feasible?"
While Satoshi was studying, Itachi and Sasuke had already returned home.
Sasuke noticed that his brother was a bit different today. He locked himself in his room as soon as he got home.
He thought for a moment and decided to tell his father about it.
After Fugaku heard the whole story, he had a general idea.
He went to Itachi's room door and, after getting permission, walked in.
Itachi saw his father enter and immediately sat up straight.
"Father."
Fugaku nodded and sat down in front of Itachi. "You don't have to be upset about the previous failure. Satoshi is, after all, a year older than you."
"That one year, for a ninja, might be the critical period for getting stronger."
"Itachi, you are a very rare genius in the clan. As long as you train hard, you can definitely surpass Satoshi."
Fugaku made no secret of his encouragement for Itachi. He had always held great hope for his son, Itachi.
Fugaku believed that Itachi was the one who could restore the Uchiha's glory in the future. And indeed, Itachi's performance had always surpassed ninety-nine percent of the clan members.
Until he met Satoshi in the recent Chunin Exams...
However!
None of that mattered.
Fugaku still believed that Itachi had great potential yet to be unleashed.
What he needed to do next was to formulate a more comprehensive plan to help Itachi reach his peak.
While Fugaku was deep in thought, Itachi looked up.
"Father, I just met Satoshi, he was practicing Fire Release."
This piqued Fugaku's interest. "How was it?"
"Very strong, stronger than me."
Upon hearing this, Fugaku's brows furrowed slightly.
At the same time, he had a new evaluation of Satoshi.
Itachi was trained by him personally, so Fugaku naturally knew the extent of Itachi's Fire Release.
But who would have thought that Satoshi was even stronger than him?
After a brief moment of distraction, Fugaku comforted his son again.
"Itachi..."
At this moment, Itachi suddenly stood up and said, "Father, I'm going to ask Shisui to help me train."
"Ah, okay, come back early tonight. Sasuke said it's been a long time since he had dinner with you."
"Understood, father."
With a creak, Itachi pushed the door open and left.
Only when Itachi's footsteps faded did Fugaku sigh.
Satoshi's figure, a white-haired boy skilled in Water Release, appeared in his mind.
Fugaku felt a bit of a headache. Satoshi's appearance had disrupted some of his plans.
In his original plan, Itachi would display great abilities, drawing the attention of the Hokage leadership to him. However, given the current situation, they seemed to be more focused on Satoshi.
Moreover, Satoshi had also caused some trouble for the clan because of Naruto's matter.
Fugaku rubbed his face in frustration, wondering why he had taken on the position of clan head in the first place.
Regret, immense regret!
While Fugaku was regretting, Itachi had already found Shisui.
To Itachi, Shisui was not only his best friend but also his mentor.
Shisui was wearing a black tight-fitting combat suit, with a green Jonin mesh armor over it.
The Uchiha clan crest was embroidered on both shoulders.
Upon hearing that Itachi was greatly affected by Satoshi, he merely patted Itachi's shoulder gently.
"Don't dwell on temporary victories or losses. You young ones still have a long future ahead."
"Itachi, you and Satoshi both possess powerful Kekkei Genkai. You should train together and jointly protect the future of Konoha."
Itachi always listened to Shisui's guidance.
"Yes."
Wait a moment. Itachi felt something was a bit off.
Did Satoshi truly want to protect the Uchiha, protect Konoha?
(End of Chapter)
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