Starting with the Uchiha clan, they began cultivating demonic arts.

Chapter 4 White Fang's Mission

In the Hatake family's courtyard, Uchiha Touyu was meticulously practicing his taijutsu.

Although it's called taijutsu (body techniques), Uchiha Hiu still held two kunai in his hands, so it could be considered swordsmanship if you wanted to.

Before one's physical skills reach a certain level, whether or not one has a weapon is a completely different matter. Even in the Naruto world, very few people can break through steel with their bare hands.

Sakumo Hatake stood to the side like a javelin, pointing out Uchiha Tou's training movements.

It's impossible to expect this White Fang of Konoha to teach me ninjutsu and swordsmanship, since I'm not White Fang's apprentice. But getting him to correct my training methods isn't too difficult.

"Raise your right arm a little higher to protect your head!"

"Slightly extending your left leg back will make your base more stable!"

"This kunai thrust should be delivered with a little force saved, so that you can launch a faster counterattack after the opponent dodges!"

Even though Hatake Sakumo wasn't in good condition, he was more than capable of giving Uchiha Tou some pointers. And it's true, under Hatake Sakumo's guidance, Uchiha Tou could feel his own progress. After just two hours of instruction, he felt like he had been reborn.

If he were to fight Kakashi again now, the outcome would be uncertain. If the fight dragged on, Uchiha Touyu would have a better chance of winning.

"You bastard, didn't you say you didn't want to be a ninja? I see you've been training quite diligently!"

Kakashi Hatake, who was also training, looked at Touyu Uchiha and said something mocking. Touyu Uchiha rolled his eyes and retorted directly:

"I'm not stupid! Becoming a ninja is already a done deal, and with the situation so tense lately, a ninja war could break out any day now. For the sake of my own life, I have to train hard!"

Uchiha Touyu wouldn't gamble his life on those incompetent Konoha higher-ups. After all, regardless of his relationship with the Uchiha, Touyu is now an Uchiha!

You must take control of your own destiny. To control your own destiny in this world, you need to have strength. How can you have strength?

The only way is through spiritual practice!

So it's true that he didn't want to be a ninja, and it's also true that he trained hard; there's no contradiction between the two.

However, when Kakashi Hatake heard Uchiha Tou casually mention the Fourth Shinobi World War, he was taken aback for a moment:

"The Fourth Shinobi World War? Really? The Second Shinobi World War only ended a few years ago! Where did you hear such unreliable news?"

The timeline of Naruto in the original work is a mess, but roughly speaking, there was a pause of 7 to 8 years between the Second Shinobi World War and the Third Shinobi World War.

This short period of time was simply not enough for several ninja villages to recover from the last war, which was precisely why Kakashi was surprised.

Even though the atmosphere in the ninja world is somewhat tense right now, Kakashi still thinks that at most it's just some minor friction between ninja villages. In the end, it might just escalate into some local wars, and it's unlikely to turn into a full-scale war.

However, Sakumo Hatake, the White Fang of Konoha, paused for a moment, his face growing even more somber and weary, and he spoke with a hint of self-reproach:

"A Fourth Shinobi World War? It's really hard to say... Kakashi, you should learn from Tou and train hard! A Fourth Shinobi World War isn't impossible."

Uchiha Touya was taken aback, knowing that the Third Shinobi World War had been somewhat unexpected.

The five great ninja villages have not fully recovered yet, and in theory they could maintain peace for at least another three to five years. However, the sudden disappearance of the Third Kazekage and the suicide of Konoha's White Fang have completely ignited the conflict between the villages.

But whether it's the disappearance of the Third Kazekage or the suicide of Konoha's White Fang, these are both low-probability events. Under these circumstances, why is Sakumo Hatake so certain about the outbreak of war?

Could it be because his mission is related to the Third Shinobi World War?

Thinking about it carefully, ordinary missions don't require a ninja of Konoha's White Fang's caliber to take action. The mission that would require Konoha's White Fang to take action, and even need the assistance of his companions... could it be an investigation into the situation in Sunagakure?

After the Third Kazekage went missing, Sunagakure immediately set its sights on Konoha. While this might seem like a way of shifting blame and mudslinging, they certainly needed to find some connection.

There are probably fewer than five ninjas in the entire ninja world who could silently kill the Third Kazekage in Sunagakure. If the White Fang of Konoha, who had a deep grudge against Sunagakure, were discovered in the Land of Wind at this time, the blame might really fall on Konoha.

After saying that, Hatake Sakumo was in a daze and didn't expect that Uchiha Touyu would analyze a whole bunch of problems after hearing his words.

"Father...is a Shinobi World War really going to happen?! It's only been seven years since the last war!"

"It's hard to say, Kakashi, but do your best!"

Although Kakashi was young, he was slightly startled when he saw the obvious change in his father's expression.

He didn't know what had happened in Sunagakure, but he knew that his father had experienced the Second Shinobi World War and was definitely not someone who would make things up.

He said that the Ninja World War is very likely to break out, and the probability of the Ninja World War happening after that is more than 50%!

After the topic of war was brought up, the atmosphere became serious. Under this serious atmosphere, Uchiha Touyu quickly bid farewell to Kakashi and Hatake Sakumo.

However, before leaving, Uchiha Touyu, under the guise of curiosity, asked Hatake Sakumo for the White Fang short sword and played with it for a while.

Fortunately, although Hatake Sakumo was always described as having the demeanor of a samurai, he was still a ninja at heart and did not have any obsession with his weapon. He gave the weapon to Uchiha Tou without much hesitation.

On the surface, Uchiha Hiyu examined the White Fang Short Sword over and over, praising its chakra conductivity and sharpness. In reality, however, he used his ability to control spirits to leave a mark on the White Fang Short Sword.

There was no way around it. Even though he knew that Hatake Sakumo wouldn't live much longer, in this world, the souls of the dead would only remain on the corpse for a dozen minutes at most before heading to the Pure Land. Uchiha Touyu didn't think he could arrive exactly within ten minutes of Hatake Sakumo's death.

After being marked with the Spirit Binding Technique, this White Fang Short Sword can temporarily trap Hatake Sakumo's soul, giving Uchiha Touya ample time to summon his spirit.

It can be said that the most important thing for Uchiha Tou's visit to Hatake Sakumo was to leave a mark on the White Fang short sword. As for Hatake Sakumo's guidance, it was an unexpected bonus.

(End of this chapter)