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

That evening, Xia Zuo arrived at the stream as planned and completed his Wood Release ninjutsu training as usual.

Once his Wood Release chakra was exhausted, he cleaned up the scene and followed the stream home.

But before they had gone far, Xia Zuo keenly sensed a ninja ahead.

A very powerful ninja.

Almost simultaneously, the other party spotted and locked onto him, asking, "Who is it?"

Xia Zuo did not choose to avoid it, but walked over openly.

It's perfectly normal for Konoha ninjas to wander around Konoha Village at night; there's no need to hide.

He walked ten steps away from the other person before answering their question: "I am a Konoha genin, Natsusa."

Then he asked in return, "Who are you?"

Sensing Xia Zuo's composed attitude, the other party stepped out from his hiding place and answered loudly, "I am Uchiha Shisui."

Xia Zuo's heart skipped a beat when he heard the other person give their name.

He steadied himself and asked again, "Shisui of the Body Flicker Technique? Uchiha Jonin, what are you doing here?"

"This is the northeast corner of the village, and your Uchiha clan's territory is in the southwest corner. Are you here to carry out a mission?"

Uchiha Shisui calmly replied, "It's quiet here with few people. I came here to relax. What about you?"

Xia Zuo told the truth: "I am practicing a secret technique here."

Uchiha Shisui was taken aback: "I'm sorry, I'll leave right away."

Xia Zuo shook his head and said, "No need, I've already finished practicing and I'm going home to sleep now."

"Yes, Jonin-sama can come tomorrow, just don't come too early."

After saying that, he walked forward and brushed past Zhishui.

Even after Xia Zuo had completely disappeared, Uchiha Shisui remained standing in the same spot, his eyes fixed on the direction Xia Zuo had left in.

After a long while, Zhishui said to himself almost silently, "The way he looked at me was neither fearful nor hostile, but merely distant because of unfamiliarity."

"Is there even a shred of pity?"

"I must be seeing things. When did a genin start taking pity on a jonin like me from the Uchiha clan?"

"Even the Third Hokage wouldn't look at me with pity. I am Shisui of the Body Flicker Technique."

After a long silence, Uchiha Shisui sighed softly, "If all Konoha ninjas were like Ninja Sasuke, the clansmen probably wouldn't be so anxious."

After Xia Zuo walked away, he suddenly stopped and looked back at the place where he had met Shi Shui.

"How did we encounter still water?"

"Is it a coincidence, or is someone orchestrating this?"

"Or is it the attraction caused by my sudden increase in strength altering the trajectory of my destiny?"

"Let's see tomorrow."

On the fifth day, Xia Zuo, just like before, came to the stream to practice the Wood Release technique.

Today he made a significant achievement, successfully unleashing his newly developed [Wood Release: Advent of the Tree World].

This is the iconic Wood Release technique, a testament to the power of the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, in pacifying a chaotic world.

Of course, Xia Zuo's Wood Release technique, developed based on cultivation theory, was not yet fully mature.

This secret technique is small in scale, with an effect range of less than 30 meters, similar to the First Hokage resurrected using the Impure World Reincarnation technique in the Konoha Crush plan.

Moreover, the tree that was forced to grow was not big enough, and there was a noticeable feeling of sluggishness when trying to control the branches to attack, which was far from the standard of the First Hokage.

Perhaps it would be more appropriate to call it "Wood Release: Advent of the Tree World - Pseudo".

But Xia Zuo was still very happy because this was progress from 0 to 1, solving the problem of whether it was possible or not.

With more practice and corrections, the scale of ninjutsu can be continuously expanded, and the power of the Wood Release secret technique can be increased.

Excited, Xia Zuo intensified his practice, accelerating the development of the secret technique [Wood Release: Advent of a World of Trees], expanding its influence range, and increasing its casting speed.

The sense of accomplishment from his rapid progress in the secret technique made Xia Zuo very satisfied. He couldn't help but practice for another half hour until he ran out of Wood Release chakra before leaving satisfied.

As expected, he ran into Uchiha Shisui again.

Xia Zuo noticed that Uchiha Shisui had activated his Sharingan, and when he saw himself, the three tomoe were spinning rapidly.

Before Shisui could speak, Xia Zuo apologized, "I'm sorry, I made quite a bit of progress today, so I couldn't control myself and practiced for an extra half hour."

I hope this hasn't bothered you.

Uchiha Shisui's Sharingan had already been deactivated. He waved his hand and said, "It's alright."

Xia Zuo nodded again to express his apology, and then left.

Uchiha Shisui turned to face the stream, his gaze unfocused on the water, unlike yesterday when he stared at Xia Zuo's departing figure.

But once Xia Zuo was out of sight, he gathered his scattered thoughts and muttered to himself, "As expected, Xia Zuo, the genin, showed no hostility or fear towards me, and even the distance that came with unfamiliarity disappeared."

"When he looked at me, it was like he was looking at a familiar ninja from the same village, someone he needed to greet politely."

"So normal it's not normal at all."

Suddenly, Uchiha Shisui frowned: "Besides, Xia Zuo is a genin, but his strength is not that of a genin."

The power gained from sharing was enormous; in five days, Xia Zuo could only readjust, but could not master it naturally.

Today, Uchiha Shisui deliberately activated his Sharingan to observe Xia Zuo. His keen observation not only confirmed Xia Zuo's attitude but also revealed the flaws exposed by Xia Zuo's uncoordinated movements.

Shisui thus discovered that Xia Zuo's strength was extremely powerful, even exceeding the level of Chunin and reaching the level of Jonin.

This puzzled Uchiha Shisui greatly. How could a Konoha ninja with the strength of a Jonin be willing to be a Genin?

As is well known, a ninja's rank and income are directly linked.

The income of ninjas is low, barely enough to support their families.

Their status in the village was only slightly higher than that of the villagers, and even lower than that of particularly wealthy businessmen.

Even the villagers of Konoha dared to look down on a genin like Might Guy, who was over 40 years old and had been a perennial genin, openly mocking him for his loud training.

Konoha Village only had one exception: Maruboshi Kosuke, a genin. But that was because of his exceptional seniority.

Maruboshi Kosuke received education from the Second Hokage, the Third Hokage acknowledged his will, and the Fourth Hokage respected his spirit.

Maruboshi Kosuke, a perennial genin, is usually treated as a jonin, and he is even allowed to speak at jonin meetings.

Therefore, it is highly unusual for Xia Zuo to have the strength of a Jonin but still be a Genin.

It's impossible for him to become this powerful overnight, right?

There must be a special reason behind the ninja's unusual behavior.

As a member of Konoha and a former member of the Anbu, Uchiha Shisui felt it was his responsibility to investigate any anomalies and confirm that Natsumi Sasuke posed no threat to Konoha.

But it would be very impolite to break into someone's house for that reason.

Shisui decided to come back here to wait again tomorrow. He wanted to ask Xia Zuo in person what was going on with him.