Naruto: From Novice to Grave

"The Hokage wouldn't steal villagers' food. This is robbery, a crime!" Higashino Makoto said, turning to his friend and deliberately asking, "Hayate, where do you send criminals?"

"They should be sent to the Konoha Police Department. I remember it's full of Uchiha clan members. They're very ruthless. They'd hang you up and beat you up as soon as you got in."

Xiao Xiyan added, "Yes, yes, they're very fierce. They eat four children a day, especially little girls, the one squatting down is the most delicious."

"Ah!" Upon hearing this, the girl stood up, screamed, and abandoned her companion, running away.

The burly, dark-skinned boy, also filled with fear, endured the pain and mustered his strength to drag his two henchmen away, saying, "I don't want to go to the police department."

As it ran, it let out a pitiful howl, like a defeated dog.

Higashino didn't stop them. They were just brats; a beating would be enough. If they were still so arrogant next time he saw them, he would beat them up again.

Back by the fire, the food was cooked. Moonlight Gale picked up a grilled fish, blew on it to cool it down, took a bite, and nodded: "It's ready to eat."

Upon hearing this, Uzuki Yugao reached out and grabbed a piece of food, showing it off immediately; she was starving.

Higashino Shinya took one, but didn't start eating. Instead, he turned to the tree on the other side and shouted, "Have you seen enough? Come down and eat with us!"

The two friends looked curiously in the direction where Higashino Makoto had shouted, and saw a kid about their age nimbly jump down from the tree.

The person was wearing a blue stand-up collar short-sleeved shirt, had slightly curly black hair, and was pretty and cute, especially with a pair of large, beautiful eyes. The only problem was that the nose was slightly larger than that of a normal child, but it wasn't ugly; it was just very distinctive.

He asked somewhat shyly, "Is it really okay?"

"Sure, we're not bad kids. Dad always says helping others is a good virtue. Besides, the fish that Zhen-nii makes tastes really good." Uzuki Yugao said, picking up a grilled fish and handing it to the other person, then casually asking, "What's your name?"

"Shisui, my name is Uchiha Shisui."

"Huh? Haha... Hahaha!" The little girl's hand froze in mid-air. After all, she had just spread rumors about someone's clan, and she didn't expect to run into the real person so soon.

"Thank you for the treat." Uchiha Shisui accepted the grilled fish and weakly explained to the three of them, "Um, although our clan members look serious, we really don't eat children."

Hayate, Evening Glory: "..."

From his clothes, Higashino Makoto could roughly guess that he was a member of the Uchiha clan, but he never expected that he would become the famous Shisui of the Body Flicker Technique. He did not have the aloofness that was said to be inherited by the Uchiha clan. On the contrary, he was surprisingly shy and easy-going.

Everyone was a child, or at least someone appeared to be, so it was easy for them to get along. They exchanged names, chatted for a few minutes, and then the topic of the police department eating children was dropped.

Higashino asked curiously, "Uchiha Shisui, right? How old are you this year?"

"Just call me Shisui, I'm four years old this year."

Uzuki Yugao: "Huh, she's the same age as us, but she likes to act like an adult, just like her older brother."

Moonlight Gale: "Don't drag me into this. I'm a year older than you."

Higashino was somewhat surprised. He hadn't expected that he and Uchiha Shisui were the same age, which meant that they would be enrolling in the same year.

I hope we won't be in the same class, and even if we are, I hope we won't be in the same team after graduation.

As is well known, this can easily become a consumable for awakening the Sharingan.

Kakashi sacrificed one of his eyes at the start, and Kenji happily gained two tomoe, which is still considered good.

The unfortunate ones were Teacher Minazuki, Tenma, and Kokoro, who became the three team members randomly sacrificed, while Itachi Uchiha also received two tomoe.

The most tragic case is Sasuke, who sacrificed his entire clan to unlock the first tomoe, but it wasn't fully unlocked yet.

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After lunch, everything was tidied up.

Higashino clapped his hands: "Alright, now that we're full, let's begin."

Uchiha Shisui: "Excuse me, what game are you going to play? If possible, please let me join in."

He wasn't just being playful; he felt that making more friends outside the clan's territory was a good option, which is why he often went out.

As for why he thinks this way, he is still too young to know for sure. He just instinctively wants to fit in with the group of children who don't have any of his own kind.

Unfortunately, after several attempts, the children showed no welcome when they saw the Uchiha clan crest on his back, and so far only Higashino Makoto's small group seems unafraid of him.

Uzuki Yugao held up her delicate little finger and shook it: "No, it's Shin-nii who plans to teach us how to control chakra."

"Is that so? Then I'd better go home."

Higashino asked, "As expected of a scion of a great clan, you've already reached this level of cultivation so early?"

"No, I haven't yet, but I think this kind of cultivation must involve the secrets of each family. It would be very impolite to try to learn it without permission."

"What's so secret about this? It's just some personal insight I've gained. It's okay, let's come together."

Upon hearing this, Shisui immediately dispelled his concerns and happily joined in.

It can only be said that the children of large families are rule-abiding, because they are the biggest beneficiaries of these rules.

Next, the four of them began an intense chakra control training session.

Climbing trees and wading through water sounds simple; it's nothing more than attaching a layer of chakra to the soles of your feet. When on a solid surface, you need to create a suction force, and when on a fluid like water, you need to control the tension to lift yourself up.

The problem is controlling the force. You have to constantly feel the situation under your feet and adjust the distribution of chakra accordingly. Too much chakra will damage the attached object, and too little chakra will make it impossible to stand.

During a battle, there's no time for you to carefully discern details, so like the Chakra Extraction Technique, it's easy to learn, but the basic requirement is to train it until it becomes an instinct of the body.

Just like breathing, you don't need to control the expansion and contraction of your lungs; your body will do it instinctively.

This is a training program that requires a significant amount of time.

Of all the participants that afternoon, Shisui made the fastest progress. He was extremely talented and quickly mastered the skills. Perhaps if given a few more days, he could reach the level of Higashino Makoto.

It is important to know that because of the nourishing and optimizing effects of the white natural energy on his body, Higashino Makoto's control over chakra has become increasingly effortless.

Shisui's talent was purely due to his natural gift and the Uchiha bloodline's innate affinity for chakra.

After all, they are the legitimate descendants of the Otsutsuki clan, and chakra was something that the Otsutsuki clan brought to the ninja world.

The second-place finisher is Moonlight Gale, who is a year older and has several advantages.

The worst off was Uzuki Yugao, who suffered a whole afternoon of blows for nothing. The poor child had her chubby cheeks puffed out the entire time.

After harming a few more fish in the evening, the four ended their day's practice and went home.

Before parting, Uchiha Shisui asked with a hopeful look, "Can we train together like this from now on?"

Uzuki Yugao happily agreed: "Sure, Shisui. We already know each other's addresses, right? If you get bored at home, you're welcome to come visit us anytime."

Higashino Makoto and Gekko Hayate didn't say anything, but just smiled and gave Shisui a thumbs up.

Uchiha Shisui's usually precocious face broke into a rare, hearty smile, and he returned the gesture with a thumbs-up.

Fortunately, the three weren't wearing green jumpsuits and their teeth weren't reflective, otherwise Konoha would have had three more idiots from then on.

On the way back, Uchiha Shisui felt extremely happy. He didn't know why, but he just felt happy and relaxed, a feeling completely different from when he was with his clansmen.

At this time, the young boy even thought that his own clansmen were perhaps too closed off. They should be like him and come out more often to interact with everyone in the village, instead of always staying in that shabby police station.