#19 - Block the fountain where Itachi was born
"Have you thought about which ninjutsu you'd like to learn, after being here for so long?" Fugaku asked.
"I just entered the academy, I'm afraid I'm not ready to learn ninjutsu yet," Kiyoshi said hesitantly.
"You can learn later. Choosing ninjutsu is a privilege every Uchiha has," Fugaku said, his gaze fixed on Kiyoshi.
His stern, square face exuded an imposing presence.
Every Uchiha ninja has this right.
The ninjutsu library is a collection contributed by clan members throughout generations.
"Then... I'm very grateful, Lord Fugaku," Kiyoshi said, feigning gratitude.
Fugaku nodded in satisfaction at Kiyoshi's attitude.
Trading some ninjutsu for Kiyoshi's recognition of the Uchiha was a worthwhile deal.
He heard from the Chunin teachers at the ninja academy that Kiyoshi seemed to have great talent.
This made it even more necessary to establish bonds between Kiyoshi and the clan.
If bonds couldn't be established, then he would have to be marginalized.
The Uchiha clan needs loyal Uchiha.
"Which nature transformation ninjutsu would you like to learn?" Fugaku asked.
The five basic nature transformations are widely known in the ninja world:
Water Release, Fire Release, Wind Release, Lightning Release, and Earth Release.
Anything beyond these falls into the realm of secret techniques or bloodline limits.
"Lightning Release, I think. I used chakra paper before and it reacted to 'Lightning'," Kiyoshi said after pretending to think for a moment.
Lightning Release.
The Yotsuki clan has a strong affinity for Lightning Release Ninjutsu.
For Kiyoshi, acquiring it would be like adding wings to a tiger.
Among the five basic nature transformation attributes, any of them has great potential.
It's just that the ninja world is too traditional and reliant on chakra; success and failure both stem from chakra.
Many technologies simply have a chakra core, ignoring other physical laws.
For example, Lightning Release can generate "magnetism," that is, electromagnetism, allowing one to control magnetic field forces.
One could even use this magnetic force to distort gravity, control electron orbits with electric fields, and so on.
There are too many directions to choose from.
This is precisely the unique perspective that Kiyoshi, as a transmigrator, possesses.
Simply using Lightning Release to strengthen the body or harness natural lightning is too crude.
Even Fire Release can be used in creative ways.
The development of Fire Release ninjutsu essentially boils down to two aspects:
Plasma creation and temperature control.
One can shift towards molecular motion control or energy flow control; accelerating molecular motion increases temperature, and slowing it down decreases temperature. One can also develop things like high-frequency waves.
In terms of developing technology, it is actually the seemingly most brutish Cloud Village that has gone the furthest.
Orochimaru is only skilled in biological science and genetic engineering.
In the last movie of Naruto Shippuden, *THE LAST*, only a few years after the Fourth Shinobi World War, the Cloud Village had already developed chakra cannons.
Their power was great enough to destroy the moon with a single shot, making them the most powerful weapons in the ninja world.
"Alright," Fugaku nodded.
The Uchiha clan's ninjutsu library has quite a few Lightning Release ninjutsu scrolls.
"I'll have someone take you to get your preferred scroll later. Remember not to be overly ambitious; a D-rank will do."
"Yes, thank you very much, Lord Fugaku," Kiyoshi said, feigning gratitude.
"Alright, alright, let's eat," Mikoto said, looking at the dishes.
"They'll get cold if we don't eat them soon."
"Okay."
Kiyoshi filled his bowl with rice.
Sufficient nutrition is essential for growth.
Then, Fugaku brought up other topics, chatting with Mikoto from time to time.
Occasionally, the stern Fugaku would tell a few anecdotes that made Mikoto happy.
Kiyoshi ate silently.
...
About half an hour later, Mikoto took Kiyoshi back from Fugaku's house.
The two walked back along the same path they had come.
"Sister Mikoto, what is the typical retirement age for ninjas?" Kiyoshi asked.
Ninjas don't seem to have a mandatory retirement age.
And he hadn't heard of any retirement pensions after retirement.
"Retirement? Hmm..."
Mikoto thought for a moment.
"Most ninjas don't live to see retirement, but if you want to retire, you can apply. After approval, you can retire and leave the ninja profession."
Mikoto hadn't seen many old ninjas living to be eighty or ninety, but she had seen many Genin who graduated from the ninja academy.
Unable to withstand the harsh ninja world, they chose to retire.
"I see," Kiyoshi nodded.
That was also true.
In *Itachi Shinden*, Itachi's "Team Two" had a female ninja named Shinko who felt despair at the cruel ninja world and gave up her ninja status.
She later worked in a tea shop in the village.
Ninjas are tools.
Does one consider the wear and tear of a tool when using it?
Keep in mind, this is a world where even children go to the battlefield.
Carrying a kunai means going to the battlefield to kill people.
There is also no psychological counseling for these ninjas.
Looking at it this way, it's no wonder there are extremists and mentally ill people everywhere in the ninja world.
They have long been quietly twisted under the ninja system.
"But in my case, I might be able to retire soon," Mikoto said, her voice noticeably softer.
"Then congratulations, Sister Mikoto," Kiyoshi congratulated, a smile on his face, but his heart was ice-cold.
Itachi is about to be born?
This made Kiyoshi's heart very heavy.
"You can retire when Kiyoshi doesn't want to be a ninja anymore," Mikoto smiled slightly.
Kiyoshi continued to walk with Mikoto, one in front of the other.
He looked up at the woman walking in front.
Is there a way to prevent Itachi's birth, to avoid Itachi's descent?
The Sharingan in Kiyoshi's left eye faintly showed a hint of red.
Pupil power rippled.
Kiyoshi closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, they turned black once more.
As for Fugaku, Kiyoshi only felt he was a weak hypocrite.
It was indeed a pity that Mikoto was with him, meeting such a death.
Fugaku giving him ninjutsu was also to gain his recognition of the Uchiha clan, essentially the same as the Cloud Village's attempts to win him over.
In the future, Kiyoshi would naturally have to do things for the Uchiha and contribute.
It was like a transaction.
If that were the case, Kiyoshi would accept it.
But... Fugaku never treated Uchiha members outside his own family as clan members.
Fugaku Uchiha cannot escape responsibility for the destruction of the Uchiha clan.
When Itachi betrayed the Uchiha, he massacred countless innocent clan members.
And he killed all the way to his home. As the clan leader, could Fugaku have been completely unaware?
In the anime version, he also possessed the Mangekyo Sharingan.
But he never mentioned Itachi's killing of clan members.
On the contrary, he was satisfied that Itachi could make up his mind to do what he did, and he encouraged and praised him.
In *Itachi Shinden*, he said to Itachi: "Even if our ideas are different, you are still our pride..."
He willingly let himself and Mikoto die at Itachi's hands.
The only one he mentioned was his other son, Sasuke.
And outside the gate were countless clan members whose corpses were not yet cold...
The majority of the Uchiha clan were ordinary people.
Not everyone is qualified to be a ninja, just as awakening the Sharingan is rare.
Unfortunately, the clan leader chosen by the Uchiha clan chose to abandon them.
Kiyoshi didn't want to be buried along with this distorted ideology.
