The Uchiha compound wasn't particularly close to the Konoha Ninja Academy, but Uchiha Aozora and his older brother Uchiha Shisui made good time and soon returned to their family home.
Uchiha Kagami had once been a Jonin of Konoha and a member of the Second's elite guard unit. He hadn't left many possessions to his descendants, but what remained was still considerable. Although their parents had squandered much of the inheritance, they'd still left Uchiha Aozora and his brother a spacious mansion.
As they entered the house, Uchiha Shisui suddenly remembered his younger brother had graduated today and quickly said, "Let's eat out! You can have anything you want."
Uchiha Aozora shot back with a glance before heading toward the kitchen.
Uchiha Aozora had lost his parents on a mission shortly after he was born and had been raised by his older brother Shisui. However, once he entered the Ninja Academy, Shisui became increasingly busy with missions, often staying away for three or five days at a time. Since then, Uchiha Aozora had mostly lived alone and become very proficient at cooking and doing laundry.
Shisui followed him into the kitchen, asking, "Need any help?"
Thinking for a moment, Aozora replied, "There's frozen beef in the fridge. Just cut it thin."
After giving instructions to Shisui, Uchiha Aozora began selecting vegetables and washing them.
Shisui took out the frozen beef and placed it on the cutting board, frowning as if facing a formidable opponent.
A moment later, he slapped the cutting board hard, sending the beef flying into the air. He yanked the sword from his back and slashed — swish, swish, swish!
Thin slices of beef, each as delicate as cicada wings, landed neatly on the cutting board as he asked, "How's this?"
"Uh, I guess that works!" Uchiha Aozora wasn't quite sure what else to say.
Considering it, thinner wasn't necessarily bad since it would all be edible anyway. They just needed to blanch it quicker.
Thanks to this pro-level knife work, the hotpot prep was done in no time.
Placing the iron pot filled with broth onto the small stove, Uchiha Aozora announced, "Time to dig in!"
The broth had already been heating, and steam soon began rising.
The fragrance from the soup base wafted upward with the steam, stimulating Shisui's taste buds.
"The water's boiling. Let's eat! Meat first, then vegetables. Dip it quick—two seconds is enough, or it'll get tough."
So saying, he picked up a slice of thinly cut beef and dipped it into the pot. After two seconds, he retrieved it, dipped it into homemade sauce, and popped it into his mouth.
The aroma of the sauce combined instantly with the tender texture of the meat, enveloping his senses.
Enjoying the tenderness of this meat slice, Uchiha Aozora gave his brother a thumb-up through a mouthful of food and mumbled, "Your knife skills aren't bad."
"Really? I should try some too!"
His younger brother's compliment filled Shisui with delight, prompting him to give it a go immediately.
"It smells amazing!"
"Hey Aozora, when did your cooking get this good? This broth is really fresh!"
"Heh, the beef slices you cut are pretty soft!"
"I think so too. Another slice please!"
"..."
The meat slices melted away fast, and the veggies got polished off too. When even the last slivers of ginger at the bottom of the pot disappeared into Shisui's stomach, the feast finally came to an end.
Leaving the fire burning gently beneath the clear broth, the brothers lay on the floor with hands resting comfortably over their full bellies.
"Aozora," Shisui suddenly asked, "What's your dream?"
Aozora Uchiha thought for a moment and replied, "I'll master every ninjutsu in the ninja world!"
He wanted to figure out how the world's ninjutsu connected with the Heavenly Book. Would the Heavenly Book even change if he mastered every ninjutsu skill in the ninja world?
"What?"
Shisui Uchiha stood up in shock upon hearing this. He had considered the possibility of his younger brother wanting to become a jonin, even dreaming of becoming the Hokage. But never in his wildest dreams did he imagine his brother harboring such an ambition.
Someone else had once declared the same words. However, that person possessed a ninjutsu talent once-in-a-century. And as for his little brother...
His elder brother's surprise was exactly as expected. Aozora continued, "This is my dream, and I'm not joking."
Seeing the seriousness in Aozora's eyes, Shisui held back the advice he had intended to give. After a pause, he spoke earnestly, "I believe in you!"
With that, he got up and walked toward his room.
Lying down for a while, Aozora Uchiha suddenly sensed something was off.
Looking at the messy dining table, he felt his older brother wasn't being very honest.
"Phew—"
Letting out a long sigh of disappointment, Aozora had no choice but to clean up the mess himself.
Just after finishing the dishes, Shisui Uchiha appeared.
For such a heartlessly indifferent older brother, Aozora gave him a glare.
Completely confused by his younger brother's expression, Shisui Uchiha placed the wooden box he was carrying on the floor.
"Aozora, these scrolls inside are ninjutsu techniques left behind by our father. Over the years, I've also added some scrolls I collected myself."
"Previously, since you couldn't even channel chakra, I kept them for safekeeping. Now that you've graduated from the Ninja Academy, naturally, you're qualified to study them."
As he spoke, Shisui Uchiha opened the cabinet revealing over ten scrolls inside.
Seeing the burning eagerness in his younger brother's eyes, Shisui didn't immediately push the cabinet toward Aozora. Instead, he warned, "Aozora, I support your dream!"
"But don't bite off more than you can chew. I hope you can control your desires and make wise choices."
"I'll regularly check your training progress. If I find you neglecting proper cultivation just to learn techniques, and your abilities stagnating, I will take them back!"
Only then did he push the cabinet toward Aozora.
Eagerly, Aozora grabbed the wooden box intending to carry it back to his room. After taking a couple steps, he suddenly remembered he hadn't thanked his older brother yet.
He quickly turned around, saying, "Thanks, Brother! Oh, and I won't give you any chance to take them back!"
With that, Aozora bounded upstairs with the wooden box under his arm, making a loud thumping sound.
Seeing his younger brother's genuine smile, Shisui Uchiha returned to his room feeling content.
Meanwhile, Aozora reached his bedroom, placed the wooden box on the bed, hastily kicked off his shoes, and climbed onto the bed to examine it closely.
It was like having someone hand you a pillow just when you were about to fall asleep — getting exactly what you needed at the perfect moment!
Gazing at the treasure box, Aozora slowly extended his mischievous little hand!
I open!
[Fire Release - Phoenix Sage Fire Technique]
I open again!
[Fire Release - Great Fireball Technique]
Once more I open!
[Fire Release - Fire Dragon Flame Bullet]
After opening three basic fire release ninjutsu scrolls, Aozora gradually calmed his excitement and quickly flipped through the rest of the scrolls.
Inside the wooden chest lay a total of 23 scrolls. Each contained one to two jutsu techniques along with related growth notes, amounting to 33 techniques in total.
Of these 33 techniques, 18 were jutsu, 9 were genjutsu, 3 were sword techniques, and 3 were Manipulated Shuriken Techniques.
Although there were many, nearly all were D- or C-ranked jutsu. Only three were B-ranked, and there were no A-ranked techniques at all.
"Man, you're really scraping the barrel, bro! Even the legendary 'Shisui the Teleporting Flash' only had this little?"
While he complained out loud, Uchiha Aozora was secretly thrilled inside.
He believed his older brother must have held back for a reason. These techniques alone would keep him busy training for quite some time.
After thinking it over, he selected three scrolls.
The first scroll contained foundational Uchiha fire release techniques—[Great Fireball Technique] and [Hokuto Fire Technique].
[Hellish Gaze Technique] and [Kasumi's Shadow Binding Technique] were inscribed on the second scroll as basic genjutsu.
The third scroll detailed throwing and manipulation methods for shuriken—the [Manipulated Shuriken Technique].
Rather than going for more advanced techniques, Uchiha Aozora chose relatively fundamental ones. He knew even the tallest structures rise from humble foundations.
Once he had picked the beginner-friendly techniques, he no longer felt attached to the remaining scrolls inside the chest.
After stowing the sealed chest away, Uchiha Aozora unfurled one of the chosen scrolls.
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