It's normal to get a kaleidoscope as a first deposit of six yuan, right?

"Ah, I'm not a child anymore at my age, am I?" Zhi Xue touched her smooth chin. According to the precocious worldview of the Naruto world, even in peacetime, many 14-year-olds are already completing missions independently.

"Ah, if Sister Zhixue is really too busy, then come and watch my performance. I have mastered the Phoenix Flower Technique to perfection, and I believe that the genin of Konoha will soon be no match for me."

Sasuke gave a confident smile and thumped his chest with apparent self-assurance.

Seeing Erzhuzi's confident demeanor, Zhixue became interested. If she were to leave Konoha later, Erzhuzi would probably be the only Uchiha left in the village. Teaching him some ninjutsu would save him from being tortured by Itachi, which would be her farewell gift. Anyway, she was quite bored right now.

"Konoha's genin... forget it, they'll be beaten to a pulp. But if you want to get stronger, I can teach you something." Zhi Xue said, snapping her fingers with one hand on her hip.

……

As evening fell, a gentle breeze blew, causing the leaves to dance in the air. In a clearing in the grove, Zhixue and Erzhuzi stood together by the pond.

Looking at the familiar surroundings, Zhixue sighed. She first learned the Body Flicker Technique from Shisui here, and today she was going to teach Sasuke. Is this what they call inheritance?

"Fire Release: Phoenix Flower Technique!" Sasuke skillfully formed hand seals and spat out five or six fireballs, each about the size of a rice bowl, which landed on the pool of water, producing wisps of white steam.

Bang bang bang!

Zhi Xue clapped her hands in satisfaction. Although her Phoenix Flame technique was still quite immature, it had indeed been released completely.

"How about that? I spent a lot of time practicing to get this right." Erzhuzi said with an expression that said, "I'm so awesome, praise me!"

"Ah, it's not bad. It's enough for long-range attrition, but it lacks chakra control."

"Chakra control ability?" Sasuke looked puzzled. He was only a first-year student at the Ninja Academy and didn't quite understand this concept.

"It's about reducing the utilization rate of chakra converted into fire jutsu. For example, if you use 0.2 chakra to release a Great Fireball and someone else releases a Great Fireball with 0.1 chakra, you're at a disadvantage with the same chakra reserves."

Erzhuzi looked at Zhixue with a blank expression.

do not understand at all.

“That’s it.” Zhi Xue took a few steps forward and stood steadily in the pool without falling in.

"Wow, this feels amazing! Is this what chakra control is like?"

"Try attaching chakra to the soles of your feet, slowly adjusting the amount of chakra used, and stand steadily on the water."

"Oh."

Zhi Xue began training Er Zhu Zi, and at the same time, she also had a wonderful experience of being a teacher.

Evening arrived quickly, and Itachi had just returned home when he noticed something amiss.

Sasuke would usually be waiting for him at the door by this time, but he wasn't. It was so late, where could he have gone?

Itachi changed his Anbu uniform into a regular Uchiha long-sleeved shirt and prepared to go out and look around.

"No need. Some clansmen have already seen Sasuke being taken by Shiyu to the woods behind Konoha to practice ninjutsu."

Fugaku opened the wooden door to the side and spoke to Itachi.

"Snow stop?"

For some reason, after learning that Sasuke had run away with Shisue, Itachi felt a strong sense of frustration and loss.

At this moment, Shisui, who had just returned home, was in the same situation, unable to find Shisui anywhere in the house.

"Spiritual communication!"

Gaa gaa gaa!

Ten minutes later, a glossy black crow flew in through the window and landed on Shisui's shoulder, chattering away at him.

Upon hearing about Zhixue's current situation, Zhishui smiled helplessly.

"It's already so late. But if they like training, let them go first. Just remember to come home." Shisui took off his mask. Although the root had been rebuilt, he estimated that he wouldn't do anything to Shiyuki anytime soon.

If he really discovers that the root still intends to harm Zhixue, he really wants to turn against him.

In Zhishui's heart, Zhixue is the only living family member in his world, second only to his clan and village in status, and this has remained unshaken for so many years.

Chapter 68, Shisui's Birthday

Eating, going to work, clocking in, slacking off, getting off work, and training and educating Erzhuzi—this has become Zhixue's entire daily routine, and she enjoys it immensely.

A huge fireball scorched the surface of the pool, and four wooden kunai flew out from outside the fireball, carrying wisps of flame as they stuck into a straw target in the distance.

"Sister Zhixue, did you see that? I did it!" One quiet night, under a sky full of dark clouds, Erzhuzi excitedly ran to Zhixue, who was resting under a folding chair, and said.

"Um?"

Hearing the commotion, Zhixue lazily stretched, took off her sunglasses, and looked at the straw target in the distance. It was indeed hit. It seems that Erzhuzi is indeed talented; he can achieve this level even in the ninja academy.

"Well done. Mid-range combat training is over. Next up is close combat training." Zhi Xue stood up from the folding chair, and a white light emanated from the ring on her hand, revealing a wooden longsword in her grasp.

Seeing the katana appear, Erzhuzi seemed quite interested, but he was even more curious about the ring on Zhixue's slender finger. It looked so magical, just like a space scroll.

Zhi Xue's own swordsmanship and physical skills weren't particularly strong, but they were sufficient for basic education. At least, teaching Er Zhu Zi swordsmanship had saved him several years of trial and error.

She tossed the wooden sword into Erzhuzi's hand, and Zhixue pulled a wooden kunai from her ninja tool bag on the ground.

"Sister Zhixue, I feel like you've changed a lot. Is it because you joined the Dark Division like Nisan?" Erzhuzi scratched his head and said, watching Zhixue's actions.

Zhi Xue was taken aback upon hearing this.

She was indeed no longer the Zhixue of the past, but she would do what "Zhixue" should do in her place. Zhixue recalled Zhishui's gentle face, and a warm current flowed through her heart. She would not let tragedy happen.

"Alright, enough with the nonsense. Close combat training is different from ranged training; it's easy to get injured in close combat."

"Hehe, don't worry, just bring it on!" Erzhuzi replied confidently, completely confident in his talent.

Itachi hid in a small tree in the distance, watching Shiki and Sasuke training together, and felt a sense of loss.

It seems like Sass hasn't come to see him for a long time.

"Don't be so down. Isn't training hard a good thing?" Shisui patted Itachi's shoulder and comforted him.

Actually, he was also a little sad, because due to training, he had less and less time to spend with his cute little sister Zhixue each day.

"That makes sense," Itachi said in a deep voice, letting out a breath of stale air.

"Sigh, being an older brother isn't easy. Besides, it's getting late, we should be going." Zhi Shui sighed and then disappeared from the spot, leaving two crows standing in the grove, constantly observing the surroundings.

After taking one last look at Sasuke, Itachi hurriedly left.

I need to hurry and go shopping with Shisui while the shops in Konoha are still open. Plus, I have a mission tomorrow. What a busy life!

After the two left, a light drizzle began to fall from the night sky over Konoha.

Near the surveillance point surrounding the Uchiha clan's territory, Kakashi looked at the figure slowly walking towards him in the light rain, his expression somewhat surprised.

Is it a sky burial?

"Ah, it's been a long time, Kakashi." Tenzang said to the white-haired ninja who was waiting there with some warmth.

He and Kakashi... were friends, I suppose, but even as friends, Tenzang still remembered the orders Danzo had given him.

He recruited Kakashi into Root and made him work for him.

This is a very complicated issue. After sensing the situation outside, Tenzang realized that Root was not a good place. The dirty, hard, and inhumane work was all done by Root. Kakashi would definitely not have a good future if he went there. However, Tenzang also seemed to be looking forward to Kakashi joining Root so that they could work together.

"Oh, I didn't expect it to be you from Root who took over the surveillance mission. Come to think of it, even though we're both in Konoha, we hardly ever see each other," Kakashi said with a smile, scratching his head.

"Ah, cough cough, yes." Tianzang responded somewhat awkwardly.

"Are you alone? It takes at least three people to manage a surveillance point," Kakashi said, looking behind Tenzang with a puzzled expression.

"Ah, the Root ninjas are usually very busy, so it takes some time to free up manpower. I'm here mainly to scout out the work in advance, hahaha."

"Is that so?" Kakashi didn't think too much about it and led Tenzang through the secret passage into the testing point, where he began to introduce a series of machine operation procedures and video recording functions.

On the large monitoring screen, you could even see Shisui and Itachi, who had just returned to the clan's territory. However, Tenzang didn't care much about these things. Taking over the Anbu's monitoring of the Uchiha clan was just a superficial task; his core mission was to bring Kakashi into the Root.

But just a while ago they were trying to gouge out someone's eyes, and now they're trying to pull him into the inner circle and make him one of their own. This kind of maneuver is truly something else.

…………

Around 10 p.m., Erzhuzi and Zhixue, having finished practicing in the grove, returned home.

"I am back."

As soon as Zhixue stepped into the house, he smelled the aroma of food. He had left his leather boots outside.

"Huh? Is Nii-san still cooking?" Zhi Xue put on her slippers, ran to the kitchen, and opened the door a crack, just in time to see Zhi Shui cooking while wearing an apron.

Oh, that makes sense. She's been so busy training Sassa these past few days that she hasn't been home cooking. It seems like Shisui has been cooking for her all along.

Thinking of this, Zhixue's cheeks flushed.

"Ah, Zhixue's back. Let me heat up the food, it'll be ready soon," Zhishui said to Zhixue, turning the heat down a bit.

"okay."

After waiting at the table for a while, Zhishui brought over a dozen plates of stir-fried dishes and soup ingredients to the table.

Seeing so many dishes, Zhixue was still somewhat surprised.

What a special day it is today! There are so many dishes!

After Zhishui placed all the food on the table, he patted Zhixue's head.

"The dishes are all served, hurry up and eat. If you go to bed early, you might grow a little taller."

"Height and such, you'll grow eventually. But Nii-san, why did you cook so many dishes today?" Zhi Xue asked Zhi Shui with a puzzled look on her chin.

"Because it's my birthday today, hahaha..." Shisui said, scratching his head.

Stop Snow: !!?

Nani?

Zhi Xue looked at the calendar hanging on the wall where it had been. October 19th. She tried to search through the original owner's memories again. Holy crap, it really was October 19th!? She had actually forgotten such an important thing.

"Wait a minute, I'll go out and buy you a gift," Zhixue said, taking a deep breath.

Just as Zhixue got up from her seat, Zhishui pressed her back down.

"At this time of year, the shops in Konoha are already closed, and isn't the best gift right in front of me? I have a lovely and sensible little sister, don't I?" Shisui gently touched Shisui's forehead with his finger and said tenderly.

"But the cake..."

Zhi Xue wanted to say a few more words, but suddenly felt a sweet dumpling stuffed into her mouth.

"We were late at the cake shop, so let's have dumplings instead. But they're all your favorites, aren't they?" Zhishui scratched his head awkwardly, which made Zhixue feel even more guilty.