In the end, Might Duy carried Wen Lan on his back all the way back to the Uchiha clan compound.
The moment Duy stepped into the Uchiha district, everyone stared at Wen Lan in utter disbelief.
After all, Might Duy was famous in Konoha— a well-known genin.
Not because he was weak, but because he couldn't use ninjutsu.
A shinobi who couldn't use ninjutsu was extremely rare.
In fact, at this point in time, there was only one—Might Duy.
(Of course, in the future, there would be another: Rock Lee.)
People like them were fundamentally different from civilians.
Civilians couldn't extract chakra at all, while Might Duy's type could extract chakra but couldn't perform ninjutsu.
Might Guy could use ninjutsu, but for his father's sake, he chose to walk the path of taijutsu instead.
This could already be seen from his use of the Summoning Technique.
Because of this, Might Duy was extremely well-known in Konoha.
But seeing one of their own—
and not just anyone, but the son of the Third Elder, being carried back by Might Duy left the Uchiha utterly baffled.
The news quickly reached Uchiha Fugaku.
Fugaku immediately rushed over, with Mikoto following close behind.
This was the child of a close friend— being carried back like this was no small matter.
When they saw Wen Lan looking exhausted but without any visible injuries, both of them finally let out a sigh of relief.
Might Duy immediately stepped forward and bowed deeply.
"Clan Head Fugaku, greetings."
"Greetings," Fugaku replied with a slow nod, clearly uninterested in saying more to a mere genin.
"What happened to Wen Lan?"
"He was training in taijutsu with me!"
Might Duy looked rather proud.
"The training volume was a bit high, so he's a little weak."
"He trained taijutsu with you?!"
Fugaku's eyes widened as if he'd just heard the biggest joke of his life.
Even Mikoto looked at Might Duy in shock.
From Duy's back, Wen Lan weakly spoke, "Yes… I'll explain the details later."
"Very well."
Fugaku took Wen Lan from Duy's back.
"Thank you for bringing him back."
"Not at all, not at all!"
Might Duy was flattered—being thanked by the head of a clan was a rare honor.
After parting ways with Duy, Fugaku carried Wen Lan to the clan head's courtyard.
Wen Lan lay on the tatami, still breathing heavily.
Fugaku crossed his arms and glanced sideways at him.
"Why are you learning taijutsu from him? Are Uchiha taijutsu techniques not strong enough?"
Mikoto shot Fugaku a reproachful look.
"Let the child rest first. Look at him—he can barely breathe. Ask your questions later."
She poured Wen Lan a cup of water, helped him sit up, and brought it to his lips.
Wen Lan drank greedily.
He hadn't had a single drop of water or bite of food since morning.
After resting for a while, his breathing finally steadied.
Only then did he slowly say,
"I was just training with Senior Duy. Their achievements in taijutsu training are simply beyond what Uchiha taijutsu can compare to."
"Nonsense!"
Fugaku snorted coldly.
"A shinobi's cultivation lies in ninjutsu, not taijutsu! Taijutsu is only ever auxiliary!"
"But what if you run out of chakra on the battlefield?"
Wen Lan looked straight at Fugaku.
"When you're surrounded by enemies and your chakra is exhausted, all you can do is fight with your body or try to flee!
And if it comes down to it—
when you don't even have the strength to escape—
you just lie there waiting to be slaughtered and have your Sharingan stolen?"
Fugaku opened his mouth…
then closed it again.
Because the Third Shinobi World War had been the most brutal of them all.
Konoha, Iwagakure, Kumogakure, and Sunagakure— the elite forces of all four great villages were nearly wiped out.
Kirigakure had escaped the war itself, but not the Blood Mist era brought on by Obito…
Although Sunagakure hadn't formally entered the war, they were attacked by Kumogakure while weakened, then struck again by Iwagakure.
If not for Rasa and Chiyo arriving in time, Sunagakure might have been completely destroyed.
This was all evident in the original history.
The Sharingan and the Byakugan were universally acknowledged as the two strongest dōjutsu in the ninja world.
Yet for decades, not a single Sharingan or Byakugan had ever fallen into enemy hands.
Except during the Third Shinobi World War— when Ao of Kirigakure obtained a Byakugan.
And remember—
Because of the Caged Bird Seal, when a branch-family Hyūga died or had their eyes removed, the Byakugan would be destroyed automatically.
Which meant that the Byakugan Ao obtained could only have come from the main family.
That alone was enough to prove just how brutal that war had been— brutal enough that even the Hyūga main family was forced onto the battlefield.
"I know what I'm doing," Wen Lan said, then fell silent.
Mikoto, who had been kneeling quietly, stood up.
"I'll start preparing dinner."
"Dinner?"
Wen Lan froze, then finally noticed the sky outside was already tinged with dusk.
Holy crap…
Does that mean I literally ran all day?!
His mouth twitched.
This kind of training really wasn't meant for humans.
Not long after, a young voice came from outside.
"Father, I'm home."
Wen Lan turned his head slightly and saw Uchiha Itachi, backpack on his shoulders.
At this time, Itachi hadn't yet graduated from the Ninja Academy and had already resumed classes.
"Senior Wen Lan."
Itachi walked over and bowed respectfully.
Seeing this, Wen Lan's mouth twitched.
"Hey, don't bow to me like that…
You're making it feel like my farewell ceremony."
Itachi paused, then a small smile appeared on his face.
To be fair, Itachi really was cute as a child— a shame he'd grow up and grow worse, inheriting his father's deep tear troughs.
"Sit."
Wen Lan patted the tatami beside him.
"You don't need to respect your dad so much. He's just a closet narcissist."
"Pfft—!"
Fugaku, who had been drinking tea, instantly sprayed it everywhere.
He slammed his palm on the table and roared,
"What did you just say?!"
Wen Lan replied casually,
"Am I wrong? I clearly remember when Itachi was just born—you carried him to my house to show off, even lifted him over your head…"
"And then Itachi peed on you—"
Before he could finish, Fugaku clamped a hand over his mouth.
He shot Wen Lan a murderous glare, then turned to Itachi.
"Go train."
Itachi stood there, completely stunned, eyes wide with disbelief.
Father… had… black history?!
After a moment of realization, he snapped out of it and bowed hastily.
"Yes!"
Then he ran off as fast as he could.
Once Itachi was gone, Fugaku finally relaxed slightly, then glared at Wen Lan again.
"You brat—there's really nothing you won't say!"
Wen Lan grinned.
"You got peed on all over your mouth, remember? And just so you wouldn't lose face in front of my dad, you said something like 'a child's urine wards off evil'—"
Snap.
Fugaku's fists clenched so tightly they started shaking.
"Enough!"
He ground his teeth.
"You swallow this secret forever. If you ever say it again, I swear I'll beat you in front of Li's grave!"
Seeing he'd pushed things far enough—and knowing another word would earn him a beating—
Wen Lan immediately nodded in agreement.
Yeah… better stop while I'm ahead.
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