Starting with Naruto, I'll become stronger through my own efforts.

Naruto ran the exercise several more times, feeling the surging life force within his body eliminating various defects caused by poor development since childhood.

Especially during infancy, there may be hidden injuries caused by food poisoning.

Naruto Uzumaki clenched his fists, feeling even more confident that he would completely defeat Sasuke Uchiha.

Overjoyed, Naruto couldn't help but ask, "Brother Natsuzo, when will I be able to learn real ninjutsu?"

Xia Zuo countered, "Shouldn't second-year students start learning the Three Body Techniques?"

Naruto Uzumaki replied with dissatisfaction, "We just learned the Transformation Jutsu at school, but can that even be considered a ninjutsu?"

"Compared to the [Mind and Body Splitting Spell] that Brother Xia Zuo taught me, the Transformation Spell is not magical at all. I learned it in no time."

Xia Zuo patted his head: "Naruto, don't underestimate the Three Body Techniques. Although they are only the foundation of ninjutsu, even Jonin and Hokage use them in battle."

"If you think it's too simple, then you can study the Three Bodies Technique yourself and personally transform it into an even more powerful technique."

He thought to himself: Especially the Transformation Technique, I hope Naruto can also develop the Sexy Technique and the Harem Technique.

That's a god-level ninjutsu! Its achievements include defeating Chunin Iruka, Special Jonin Ebisu, the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, and Jiraiya, one of the Legendary Sannin of Konoha...

And the Goddess of Rabbit, the Mother of the Six Paths, the Progenitor of Chakra, and the ultimate boss, Kaguya Otsutsuki.

Naruto Uzumaki sensed Xia Zuo's earnest expectations and his unwavering confidence in himself.

Encouraged, Naruto's eyes sparkled, and he answered loudly, "Yes, Brother Natsume, I'll do my best!"

……

The next day, before dawn.

Fully armed, Uchiha Izumi rushed into Xia Zuo's bedroom and said, "Brother, I have received orders from the clan leader to go to the Uchiha clan compound immediately."

Xia Zuo instantly snapped out of his daze and asked, "No specific mission? Is there any buffer time?"

Quan shook his head and said, "They only asked us to assemble, but there was no mission information, and the timeframe was very tight."

Xia Zuo let out a long sigh and said, "It's finally about to explode."

Quan's face instantly drained of color, and he murmured repeatedly, "It's finally about to erupt."

"Thankfully, my parents have been picked up, and they are safe."

Xia Zuo got off the bed, not caring that he was still shirtless, and hugged the trembling Uchiha Izumi into his arms, gently comforting her, "Izumi, don't be afraid, your brother will come to save you tonight."

"You have to believe in your brother. With me here, no one can hurt you."

Uchiha Izumi's trembling gradually stopped, then started trembling again. Her pale cheeks quickly flushed red, and after letting out a soft "hmm," she lowered her head and left Xia Zuo's bedroom.

Xia Zuo was puzzled for about a second.

Then he simulated the action he had just taken, looked down to recall the location of the spring's head, and immediately understood.

Xia Zuo smiled and said, "Little girl, you're so young, but you know quite a lot."

Uchiha Izumi leaped and ran rapidly across the rooftop, her face as red as a ripe tomato, and suspicious steam emanating from her head.

As the girl ran, she muttered to herself, "Stupid brother, how did you grow so tall all of a sudden? You made me see things I shouldn't have seen."

"Oh no! I'm going to get a sty."

"Hehe, I saw it, it was just through a layer of cloth..."

"Oh dear, how embarrassing!"

"That's strange, my brother's seems to be much bigger than what my sisters said..."

With a bang, steam erupted from Uchiha Izumi's head, creating a mushroom cloud that quickly dissipated into the air.

The girl ran even faster, and her murmur could be faintly heard in the air: "Oh, I forgot to touch it..."

……

The atmosphere in Konoha Village has changed.

Not only ninjas, but even ordinary civilians felt an unusually tense atmosphere.

Early in the morning, many ordinary people crowded in front of the grain merchants' shops, and people coming and going on the street were carrying large bags.

By noon, the bustling crowds suddenly disappeared, and the streets became as quiet as a ghost town, with only ninjas coming and going.

At 2 PM, the ninja school dismissed students early.

Parents from ninja clans arrived at the school early to pick up their children, while students from ordinary families were organized by teachers of Chunin level to send them home.

Only Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki were kept after school in the entire ninja academy. Although they had not made any mistakes that day, they were punished by being given a lot of homework, and each of them was supervised by a Chunin teacher while doing their homework.

At this time, there were still more than four hours until dark. The shops in Konoha Village had already closed early, and the streets and alleys were completely deserted. Even the ninjas could no longer be seen.

Xia Zuo couldn't help but complain, "That's it?"

"Is this the level of scheming Danzo Shimura possessed?"

"We haven't done anything yet, but the Uchiha found out a day early, and now the whole village knows about it."

"That's hilarious! The Third Hokage actually has the nerve to say he didn't know. I bet only children under ten in the entire Hidden Leaf Village are unaware that something big is about to happen?"

"I originally thought that if I stopped the Uchiha clan from being massacred, the Konoha ninjas might not be disappointed in Hiruzen Sarutobi. Now it seems that I was overthinking it."

"Konoha Village is the home of the Konoha ninja. Hiruzen Sarutobi, as the Hokage, actually condoned Danzo Shimura's instigation of such a massive internal conflict. Does he even want any other ninja to live?"

"Without wiping out the Uchiha clan, as long as enough people die, the Konoha ninja will be completely disappointed and then abandon Hiruzen Sarutobi."

"I estimate that Hiruzen Sarutobi was able to live for another five years, perhaps only because Orochimaru's whereabouts were mysterious and the Konoha ninjas couldn't find him easily."

"Well, not necessarily. Maybe Orochimaru needs time to prepare for the Impure World Reincarnation, to put on a respectable show for his teacher."

Xia Zuo always believed that Orochimaru's defection was a hoax. Apart from the Third Hokage and Jiraiya, none of the other Konoha ninja thought he was a rogue ninja.

From Danzo Shimura of Root to other ninja clans, large and small, they were all likely maintaining contact with Orochimaru.

Orochimaru's knowledge of Konoha Village is so detailed, which is highly unusual.

It's normal for people like Jiraiya and Tsunade, who left their villages, to be in situations where they lacked information.

Moreover, Orochimaru's ability to return to Konoha unscathed after the Fourth Shinobi World War was a hundred times more difficult than leading an army to invade Konoha.

Look at the commotion Nagato caused when he tried to enter Konoha; he even blew Konoha up.

Thinking this, Xia Zuo smiled knowingly and said, "I wonder if playing the Uchiha Shisui card will cause the Third Hokage to leave the game prematurely?"

"Tsk, that seems unlikely."

Xia Zuo went home.

He had confirmed that neither Fugaku Uchiha nor Danzo Shimura would launch their attack at dawn.

Now it's time to go home, have dinner with Aunt Miko and Uncle Heishiro, reassure them, and prepare for tonight's battle.

At the very least, he had to bring the coffin containing Uchiha Shisui from the basement.