"Father!"
Might Kai sprinted from the Ninja Academy, his face calm and breathing steady. His stamina had been honed over time by none other than his father, Might Duy!
"Eh? Fenghuo, you're here too!"
Kai's eyes widened with both joy and curiosity.
Might Duy looked between the two boys and laughed heartily. "Haha! You two are in the same class, right? Starting today, Fenghuo will train with us!"
"Really?!"
Kai was shocked. Fenghuo was from the Uchiha clan—renowned across the ninja world for their Kekkei Genkai, the Sharingan. For such a prodigious clan member to train under his "eternally Genin" father was unbelievable.
Kai brightened. "Let's do our best together!"
Fenghuo extended his hand politely. "Please guide me well, Kai."
Kai grinned, eyebrows thick and twitching with excitement as he clasped Fenghuo's hand. "Fenghuo! Let's give each other everything! Let's set our youth ablaze!"
"Uh…" Fenghuo gave an awkward smile. This was a little much.
"Alright! Time for warm-up!" Might Duy declared. "Run ten laps around the grove!"
Kai immediately shouted in response and took off.
Fenghuo had no choice but to chase after him.
"Ten laps around the grove. If you can't finish, then it's 10,000 jump ropes! If you can't do that, three laps around the entire village! If you still can't—" Kai's muttering carried back, and what little Fenghuo could hear made his blood run cold.
Their training regimen was absolutely insane. Even most adults wouldn't survive it—let alone a six-year-old like Fenghuo.
Good thing he had the mind of an adult reincarnate. Otherwise, this father-son combo might have killed him with good intentions.
Ten 1,000-meter laps weren't easy, but Fenghuo had spent his break training hard. His chakra had already reached genin level, so he barely managed to finish. Kai, on the other hand, was so enthusiastic he drained himself and collapsed two laps from the end.
At some point, Might Duy reappeared before them with an unusually serious expression. "Kai. You didn't finish your laps. You know what that means."
"Yes, Father!" Kai gasped between breaths. "If you can't finish running… skip rope 10,000 times!"
"Begin!" Duy tossed over two ropes. One for Kai… and one for Fenghuo.
Fenghuo blinked. "Eh? Uncle Duy, I already finished my laps, didn't I?"
"Hmph? You finished, but your teammate didn't!" Duy said righteously. "As comrades, you advance and retreat together! So as punishment—you'll do 20,000 jumps!"
Fenghuo's hands trembled. He almost lost control of his chakra and cast a Fireball Jutsu on the spot.
This was bullying. Absolute bullying!
"This… this is the spirit of youth!" Kai shouted passionately, starting to jump as though he hadn't just collapsed minutes ago.
Fenghuo sighed. What choice did he have? He picked up the rope and began jumping.
Might Duy narrowed his eyes. "Fenghuo, don't look like you're starving! This is training! You must give it your all!"
Startled, Fenghuo turned to look at Kai.
In the manga, Kai started off as a joke character—no flashy ninjutsu, no genjutsu. Just taijutsu. But later… he would stand against monsters like the Akatsuki, even Madara Uchiha, and hold his own. No, more than that—he would overwhelm them with sheer will.
How did someone like that come to be?
Fenghuo gritted his teeth and jumped harder, rope snapping through the air faster.
Might Duy nodded approvingly. "If you mess up, start over!"
"Ah!" Fenghuo tripped and fell forward.
"Recount!" Duy declared.
"…No problem," Fenghuo said through clenched teeth.
Around 9 p.m., Fenghuo dragged his exhausted body into the Uchiha district. The roadside stalls had mostly closed. Only the dim orange of the streetlights remained. The silence felt almost eerie.
He walked down the street, but something felt… off.
'Didn't I already pass this streetlamp? Why is it here again?'
'How long have I been walking? Why haven't I gotten home yet?'
Despite his fatigue, Fenghuo's mind was clear. He came to a full stop, scanning the area. There were light poles on either side, a dark crossroad ahead, and silent houses like shadows looming around him.
He walked on and reached the crossroad. Another one appeared ahead—identical to the last. So were the lamp posts.
A looping road?
No—this was a Genjutsu!
Fūin no jutsu? No—something simpler.
The Fox Heart Illusion Technique was a basic Genjutsu that caused the victim to unconsciously walk in circles. Easy to cast. Easy to break—if you had control.
Fenghuo disrupted his chakra flow three times—pulse, slow, pulse—but the scenery didn't change.
His eyes narrowed. This wasn't a basic Genjutsu.
A Sharingan-based illusion?
Could it be… Uchiha Fugaku?
No. Fugaku had praised him after his check-up at the hospital. He had no reason to trap him here.
Could it be Danzō's Root?
The Uchiha clan wasn't a monolith. Just because some members upheld honor didn't mean others weren't involved in Danzō's covert operations.
The question was—was this a test? Or a prelude to assassination?
Fenghuo shivered. He had chakra, sure—but no real battle experience or advanced jutsu. If someone wanted him dead, he wouldn't last long.
He was tempted to awaken his Sharingan then and there. It would let him pierce through Genjutsu, but the consequences of triggering it too early were dangerous.
Then—a breeze passed him.
Wind?
His body froze.
Where had that come from?
He glanced around. The light poles were warping slightly, flickering—and then returning to normal.
A few pedestrians suddenly walked by, glancing back at him with odd expressions.
Fenghuo's back broke out in a cold sweat.
He had been walking in place this whole time.
He didn't wait another moment. He took off toward home, heart pounding.