Chapter 3 Decision

About ten minutes later, Uchiha Mika came to the living room after finishing her chores. Seeing the serious-looking child sitting on the sofa, she immediately sat beside him and lifted him onto her lap.

Our protagonist showed a "life is meaningless" expression on his face. After all, he was a man with a psychological age of thirty. Being treated like a child by a sixteen or seventeen-year-old girl embarrassed him immensely.

After some futile struggling, he was forced to give up. From the young girl's perspective, though, his dejected look—helpless in the face of being teased—was simply too "cute," especially with his chubby cheeks giving him an adorably chubby appearance.

Resigned to reality, he sat astride Mika's lap and finally spoke the words he had been mulling over for a long time.

"Mika-sis, I've decided to become a ninja."

"Become a ninja?" Uchiha Mika was momentarily taken aback as she looked at the little boy sitting on her lap.

"Yes, to become a ninja!"

Reaffirming his decision with determination, he looked straight into her eyes.

Listening to the boy's certain tone and seeing his black eyes stare back at her, Uchiha Mika put away her teasing demeanor.

Through those bright black eyes, she seemed to sense the seriousness and resolve in the boy sitting on her lap.

"Can you tell me why you want to become a ninja? You should know that the path of a ninja is extremely arduous. Besides, being a ninja means dealing with injuries, bleeding, suffering, and sadness on a regular basis."

"I want to understand why my parents and grandparents all became ninjas in the end. I'm also curious about the supernatural energy called chakra and why it holds such attraction, compelling so many Uchihas to pursue it relentlessly."

"Additionally, I want to become stronger. I want to see what the view is like from higher up!"

Listening to the boy named Uchiha Toshirou speak, Uchiha Mika felt both surprised and somewhat understanding.

She was surprised because his reason wasn't to become Hokage or to protect everyone and the village.

"Parents and relatives are all ninjas, so he wants to become a ninja too. This, along with his curiosity about the power of ninjas and the desire to see higher views, is such an 'Uchiha' answer."

"Didn't expect to hear such an answer from a four-year-old kid!" the young girl silently added in her heart.

"If you want to become a ninja, Toshirou, you'll have to endure a lot of hardships! In another month, the clan's preschool training on chakra refinement and basic shuriken techniques will start, so you won't have to wait long."

Without stopping him, Mika acknowledged that becoming a ninja was also an old tradition among the Uchihas. At four years old, children are ready to start learning chakra refinement.

Feeling a faint sadness in her heart, she murmured, "This might be the Uchiha's destiny."

The word "destiny" is widely acknowledged among ninjas. Many ninjas, through endless missions and killings, experience this helplessness.

Upon realizing his aunt didn't oppose his desire to become a ninja, Uchiha Toshirou pulled out an old paper from his pocket and handed it to her.

Enduring an hour or two of soaking each week, combined with appropriate exercise and stretching, was one of the reasons behind the high rate of successful chakra refinement among Uchiha children.

Nurturing ninjas is a particularly intricate and difficult task. For commoners, maybe only one out of ten or dozens can refine chakra successfully.

Even among the larger clans, only one child out of a few might succeed. The longer a clan's history with chakra use, the higher the success rate among their children.

The prescription in Uchiha Toshirou's hand could increase the success rate of chakra refinement among kids, making it exceptionally valuable.

"If that's the case, Toshirou, come with me." Uchiha Mika put him down and took his small hand, leading him to her bedroom.

Opening the door, they entered the room. She took out a dark wooden box from a drawer under the bedside table.

Upon opening it, she revealed two passbooks and some valuable items like house deeds, taking out one of the passbooks.

"Toshirou, this is an inheritance left by your parents, your sister, and brother-in-law. The other passbook is the village's pension claim slip."

"If you are determined to become a ninja, the necessary preparations must be made. This passbook contains over six million ryo."

"The cost of medicinal herbs for the bath is about fifty thousand ryo per treatment, given market fluctuations. If it's done weekly over three years, the total cost would be around 7.8 million ryo, which is almost sufficient. Getting herbs from the clan offers discounts and subsidies, making it more than enough."

"For living and regular training expenses, the village provides a monthly allowance of three thousand ryo, and the clan gives a thousand ryo as well. This is more than enough to cover the needs of a child like you."

Uchiha Toshirou was astonished, his mouth agape. He knew training as a ninja was expensive, but he didn't expect it to be this costly.

Seeing his surprised expression, Mika couldn't help but laugh.

"Impressive, right?" she said, pinching his chubby cheeks.

Uchiha Toshirou was incredibly grateful that he was born into a relatively affluent ninja family without facing any tragic mistreatment after his parents' deaths.

"Thank you, Mika-sis."

This thank you was not only for her meticulous care over these past few days but also for her honesty.

"Mm, but don't celebrate too early! Whether you succeed in refining chakra remains to be seen."

Accepting his thanks calmly, Mika couldn't help but tease again upon seeing the smile on his face.

Chapter End