Chapter 18: After all, they're Uchiha

「Shisui Uchiha! 」

「Shisui Uchiha! 」

After a brief shock, the whole venue cheered, his name echoed throughout the camp.

No ninja fails to admire the strong, especially when they are from the same faction; this is their reliance for survival! After a long while, the cheers subsided.

Hui Uchiha had quietly withdrawn at some point.

The firelight illuminated Shisui's face, his expression as he raised his cup gradually softened.

"Drinking alcohol is prohibited in the army; today we can only substitute water for wine, everyone please don't overindulge~"

Everyone tacitly understood, and they all responded in unison: "Cheers!"

The banquet proceeded in an orderly manner, both on and off stage gradually becoming lively.

"The teacher really, he secretly went up there, looking at him so pleased, his grin stretched to his ears!"

Sima Yi sipped the tea in his cup, quietly listening to several children nearby chatting loudly.

"How great, I'm so envious, I also want to go to Lord Shisui's side; Lord Shisui is really handsome!"

"Tch~ I'm also handsome, alright, though I'm still a bit lacking compared to Lord Shisui."

"Lord Shisui is already formidable with just Fire Release, and he's from the Uchiha clan; if he used the Copy Wheel Eye, wouldn't he be even stronger?"

"Of course!"

"Then which is stronger, the Hokage or Lord Shisui?"

"Of course it's the Hokage, the Third Hokage is the strongest Hokage!"

"I think Lord Shisui is a bit stronger!"

The youths' vigor also put Sima Yi in a good mood, but he focused more on a silent Uchiha clansman in the corner of the field, Jin Huo of the Uchiha.

He was also a thirteen- or fourteen-year-old boy, sitting in a corner, his posture straight and expression solemn, appearing quite deep and somewhat out of place among the others.

Hearing everyone discuss Shisui, his gaze shifted several times as if he wanted to speak, yet he remained silent throughout.

This clan really has a lot of problems!

Sima Yi felt inwardly, this person had been specially selected by him as someone relatively talkative.

"This young man is also from the Uchiha clan, right? Are you Uchiha all this strong?"

Sima Yi usually keeps a low profile, and he hadn't even worn the clothes with the clan crest that Shisui provided; when he spoke, everyone finally noticed him.

Following his gesture, they turned their gaze to the nearby Jin Huo of the Uchiha.

Seeing eyes gather on him, Jin Huo's expression grew more solemn, his posture more upright.

He gave a slight nod, speaking in a calm tone: "Hmm, after all, we are Uchiha."

All around were youths; hearing this, they all froze, then looked at each other, unsure how to respond.

"Well, hehehe, that's true, after all we're Uchiha," someone gave an embarrassed laugh and replied softly.

Sima Yi's hand holding the cup paused, his eye twitched; he clearly remembered Hui telling him that this person was usually quite talkative.

He considers this talkative?

Fortunately he had prepared in advance! Seeing the awkward silence, he spoke again: "Really great, if we could have a Uchiha on our team, it would perhaps make things much easier."

Speaking, Sima Yi's tone light and teasing, he asked: "If I team up with this young man, you won't look down on me as a genin, will you?"

Jin Huo's solemn expression paused, his mind racing; the familiar question seemed to remind him of something, a flash of surprise crossed his eyes as he looked at Sima Yi.

"Of course not, whether we team up or not, we are all members of Konoha; you are all my comrades, I, Jin Huo of the Uchiha, will surely protect you!"

He said this loudly, and with his solemn expression it instantly infected everyone.

"What is this? Unexpectedly super reliable!"

"As expected of an Uchiha!"

"Then, Senior Jin Huo, may I spar with you? I've always wanted to try fighting an Uchiha once—please!" "Hey! No way, we can't give Senior Jin Huo trouble."

However, unexpectedly, facing the challenge, Jin Huo readily agreed.

"No problem, as long as you're willing, anytime works!"

"Really? That's awesome!"

Seeing that the Uchiha boy before them was not as unapproachable as they had imagined, everyone's curiosity about the Uchiha grew hard to contain, and they threw out all kinds of questions.

"Senior Jin Huo, how old are you this year?"

"Me? I just turned fourteen last month."

"Fourteen and already a chunin? That's amazing!"

Faced with the praise thrown at the Uchiha, Jin Huo seemed a bit uncomfortable: "Well, well, it's not that impressive."

In fact, he had already become a chunin at twelve, but ahead of him there was a twelve-year-old jonin, making this achievement unremarkable in comparison.

"Senior Jin Huo, do you have a girlfriend?"

"Huh? Not yet."

Jin Huo's face flushed, his preparations hadn't covered this kind of question! "Damn, don't ask such boring questions; Senior Jin Huo, could you tell us about your Uchiha combat experiences?"

"Here it comes!"

"Finally, it's here!"

Jin Huo's eyes lit up, he blurted out: "No problem, then let's start from the last time Lord Shisui led a team to rescue the rear camp."

As Jin Huo told the story, his eyebrows danced with excitement; the names and power of various ninjutsu rolled off his tongue, making the audience gasp repeatedly.

After finishing talking about Shisui, he also interspersed the tale of him wiping out the Mist ninja and the squad leader being ambushed while using the toilet, then him saving the day.

The listeners were at times indignant, at times exhilarated, and at times burst into laughter.

"That little brat!"

Meanwhile, a figure on the stage stared fixedly at Jin Huo's back, his eyes blazing, the tomoe in his eyes spinning wildly; he wished he could jump down and stuff his mouth.

Sima Yi then silently withdrew the doubt he had just raised; this is indeed someone who is good at talking.

After an unknown period, amidst the crowd's laughter, the stage suddenly fell silent, and the audience below also quieted down for no reason, all looking up.

"It's started, it's started!"

One could see someone step onto the stage and announce something; then four ninja from the Uchiha clan appeared at the four corners, one of them being Hui, who was looking down at the audience with a lifeless expression.

Someone, seeing this, asked aloud: "Senior Jin Huo, did you enter the Chunin group's match?"

No, I only just became a Chunin not long ago; I still need to continue training.

Jin Huo gave a stiff excuse; in fact, he very much wanted to participate, but was strictly forbidden.

Here they come, it's the Genin group, the match is about to start!

Fortunately, everyone's attention was on the stage, so no one noticed Jin Huo's oddness.

Two genin walked to the center, formed the opposition seal, and at a command the battle began.

Without fancy ninjutsu, the two merely wielded kunai and hacked at each other for several rounds until one side revealed an opening.

The other side seized the opportunity, but their strength control was poor, nearly stabbing in; fortunately, Hui's keen eyes and quick hands instantly restrained them.

Such a match was rather boring in Hui's eyes, yet even so, the audience below burst into astonishing cheers.

Amid the cheers, the two formed the reconciliation seal; the victor excitedly raised both hands, looking toward a familiar person.

They were all cheering.

(End of chapter)