Blackmail

Yato was startled by Itachi's words but then supported his body with one hand and resumed his push-ups.

"I've been here for almost a year, and I've never heard that this place belongs to the Uchiha clan!" Yato said.

Sasuke's anger grew at Yato's remark, and he immediately replied in an arrogant tone, "There's a limit to ignorance, freak. Our Uchiha clan's land is the largest in the entire Konoha."

'It's also the most remote!' Itachi thought, shaking his head.

Unlike Sasuke, Itachi's thinking was mature. While it was true that the Uchiha clan's land was the largest in Konoha, it was also the most poorly situated, making them feel excluded from the rest of the village.

This issue couldn't be blamed solely on Konoha's leaders, and the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama. The Uchiha clan was partly responsible due to their greed for power and control over the Konoha security Department, the organization responsible for the village's security.

On the surface, the Uchiha clan appeared powerful, having control over Konoha's security. No family dared to openly oppose them. However, this dominance also isolated the Uchiha, creating a deep-rooted negative impression of them among the villagers and ninjas of Konoha.

"What route did you take to get here? Have you tried walking on the main street?" Itachi asked.

Yato paused, falling silent. He was very familiar with the streets and alleys of Konoha and always avoided the main roads whenever possible. How could he take the main road when those ignorant villagers pointed fingers at him?

Seeing his silence, Itachi already had the answer in his mind. "This is our Uchiha clan's land. There are only two ways here. One is to go directly through our land, and the other requires a long detour, like walking through a maze to bypass our land."

'There was another way, which was to go directly through the forest, like that freaky Might Guy! It's just that it's easier to get lost, and only wild animals can find their way here by smell.' Riku couldn't help but complain, obviously thinking of Konoha's rare beast.

"Let's go, Sasuke. Mom will be worried if you get back late."

"But brother, you promised to practice with me," Sasuke protested.

"Tomorrow."

Seeing Yato silently watching them, Itachi looked at the sky, turned around, and pulled his brother, intending to go home.

"Stop!"

Suddenly, Yato spoke, turning around to look directly at Itachi. Sasuke, already unhappy, became even angrier at Yato's seemingly commanding tone.

"What do you want?"

"You ate my rice ball."

Ignoring Uchiha Sasuke, Yato continued to stare at Itachi without blinking.

"Didn't you agree to that?"

"I don't remember promising you!" 

Itachi was speechless at Yato's serious expression. If he wasn't happy, he should have refused directly. Silence implies tacit consent.

Rubbing his head, Itachi asked helplessly, "Okay, then what compensation do you want?"

Yato didn't hesitate. "Shadow Clone Technique!"

"Hey, brat, don't go too far."

Before Itachi could speak, Sasuke was already furious. Though he didn't know the Shadow Clone Technique, he knew it was a B-level ninjutsu created by the Second Hokage. It was one of the forbidden techniques in the Book of Seals because any damage suffered by a shadow clone was returned to the caster, making it dangerous for those without strong physical abilities or special physiques.

Uzumaki Naruto was an exception due to his Uzumaki blood and his status as the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, which granted him incredible recovery abilities, which allowed him to use the technique extensively. Despite its drawbacks, the Shadow Clone Technique remained a B-level forbidden technique.

To put it in perspective, the "Great Fireball" that the Uchiha clan often used was only a C-level ninjutsu, while the large-scale fire technique "Great Fire Annihilation" used by Uchiha Madara in the Fourth Ninja World War was on the same level as the Shadow Clone Technique. The value of the Shadow Clone Technique was immense!

Moreover, ninjutsu was the foundation of many families in the ninja world. Yato's asking for a B-level forbidden technique was akin to robbery. Even Itachi thought the request was outrageous.

"Do you think the value of a rice ball matches that of a B-level ninjutsu?"

"Yes!" Yato nodded directly, his expression extremely serious and solemn. "This rice ball was made by the heir of the Hyuga clan. You can't get it anywhere else in the entire world. It's unique and in limited supply."

Even so, no one would buy it!

A rice ball for a B-level ninjutsu was outrageous! This was robbery!

Even as steady as Itachi was, he couldn't help but complain inwardly. He had never encountered such a brazen demand in all his years in this world!

"If you really don't want to give me the Shadow Clone Technique, I can lower my requirements."

"Tell me about it."

Hearing this, Itachi's face relaxed, thinking the high demand was just a bargaining tactic.

At the negotiation table, starting with a sky-high price can make the subsequent request seem more reasonable by comparison.

However, Yato's next words made Itachi feel outright blackmailed, more outrageous than simple robbery.

"I have a fire attribute chakra, but I don't have any suitable fire jutsu right now. The Uchiha clan's Great Fireball Jutsu would be perfect for me."

Hearing this, Sasuke's face nearly turned red. The Great Fireball Jutsu is their clan's signature technique. What does it matter if it suits you?

Itachi shook his head immediately. "I won't give you the Great Fireball Technique."

"Then there's no room for negotiation." Yato took out a kunai and slashed his hand, causing scarlet blood to flow.

"What are you doing?"

Yato seemed not to hear and said to himself, "The eldest son of the Uchiha clan leader has a crush on the second daughter of the Hyuga clan. For a rice ball, he did not hesitate to seriously injure an orphan of Konoha."

"Stop, stop, stop! Don't say anymore!"

Itachi was dumbfounded. He finally understood that this guy was robbing him. The key issue was that he was genuinely afraid Yato would spread such a rumor, especially considering Hyuga Hanabi's age. If this gossip reached the streets, it would be catastrophic.

As the eldest son of the head of the Uchiha clan and a super genius in the ninja school, Itachi now finds himself helpless.

He originally just wanted to learn about his brother's life in school and what his classmates thought of him. By the way, he also wanted to teach the boy in front of him to cherish her and not let down the little girl from the Hyuga clan.

Who would have thought that the thrifty and reserved boy in front of him would be so shameless and terrifying?

If this rumor spread on the street, with the current hatred toward the Uchiha clan in Konoha, it wouldn't be long before Itachi would be labeled as a pervert and a lolicon, right?

Thinking of this, Itachi shuddered.

In the end, he compromised. His dark eyes turned red, and three comma-like appeared in his pupils. This was the Sharingan, the Kekkei Genkai of the Uchiha clan, and one of the three major pupil techniques in the ninja world.

"Look into my eyes!"

Yato complied, staring directly into the Sharingan. Within instant, he was caught in the illusion.

Though the surrounding environment—trees, training grounds, and people remained unchanged, Yato had a special way to distinguish whether he was in an illusion: seeing if Riku was in his field of vision.

This extremely troublesome system's spirit existed solely for him, and no illusionist could replicate it. Moreover, this system ignored all physical and mental damage and could alert him if he was in an illusion.

While Yato was learning the Shadow Clone Technique, Itachi, in reality, retracted his Sharingan and left with his brother.

On the way home, Sasuke's expression remained unhappy.

He wasn't as mature as his brother, but he wasn't stupid. He knew his brother had really passed the Shadow Clone Technique to that freak through the illusion!

This was outrageous!

As the sons of the patriarch of the Uchiha clan, with the best identity and bloodline, they had been robbed.

Where was the justice?

Seeing this, Itachi placed his hand on his brother's head.

"Sasuke."

"Hmph..."

"In the future, don't let your guard down, even in Ninja School. Otherwise, you'll fall further and further behind that kid."

Fall further behind? Does that mean I can't beat that guy?

Hearing this, Sasukes stopped and his face was filled with disdain.

"The guy who only knows taijutsu? I can beat him even without activating my eyes. If I use the Sharingan, he stands no chance!"

The Uchiha clan's Sharingan was known to be the best counter-taijutsu specialists. Once activated, it greatly enhanced dynamic vision, capturing every move of the opponent.

He wasn't afraid of that freak, Yato!

"Don't be careless, Sasuke. That kid will definitely become a powerful ninja in the future."

Gently tapping his brother's forehead, Itachi smiled and squatted down, motioning for his brother to ride on his back.

"Hard work doesn't lie. Even if he only knows taijutsu, one day he will shine in his own right."

He was sharp and perceptive, noticing the marks left on Yato's body from training as well as the inconspicuous weight-bearing ninja tools.

All these indicated that the other party had trained his body to a terrifying degree. Considering his age, he was definitely a monster!

Sasuke seemed to understand, climbed onto his brother's back, and shouted, "Anyway, I won't lose to him and the little girl from the Hyuga family. I will defeat them both. The Uchiha clan is the strongest!"

On the other side, as the Uchiha brothers talked and laughed on their way home, Yato returned to reality from the illusion.

Noticing the change, Riku immediately jumped onto his shoulder and spoke appreciatively, "You're quite audacious, Yato. Aren't you afraid that angering Itachi might lead him to silence you?"

"Since this is the Uchiha clan's territory, he won't act rashly for any reason."

"What's stopping him? He could simply fireball you and scatter your ashes," Riku replied.

"He won't do that. Don't forget, I am Might Guy's disciple. As a ninja from the ANBU, he should know my identity."

Sitting cross-legged, Yato treated his wound with a bandage, answering Riku expressionlessly.

"Konoha has been in turmoil recently, and the Uchiha clan's ninjas who are out are being frequently recalled."

"Are you referring to the Uchiha clan genocide incident? Did he give you the Shadow Clone Technique in the hope that you could take care of Sasuke in the future?" Riku seemed to have figured something out, and he said with emotion, "He's truly a good brother, worthy of admiration."

"Or maybe you could say it's pathetic."

After skillfully tying the bandage, Yato stood up, put his index and middle fingers together, raised them, and crossed them, making a cross.

"Shadow Clone Technique!"

Bang!

With bursts of smoke, three boys identical to Yato magically appeared.

Although the Shadow Clone Technique is classified as a B-level ninjutsu, it's much easier to practice than the C-level Great Fireball Technique.

This technique requires only one seal, and its power depends on the amount of chakra and the strength of the caster.

As seen with Uzumaki Naruto, who was able to learn the Multiple Shadow Clones Technique and, with the help of the Nine-Tails' chakra, could produce nearly a thousand shadow clones to take down the Mizuki,.

With Yato's current chakra, he can split into three shadow clones at most. Including his original body, he can engage in four different kinds of training simultaneously.

If there are more, his chakra won't be enough to sustain the clones for long-term training, which wouldn't be worth the loss.

At this stage, he arranged the training like this:

The shadow clones would practice swordsmanship, Taijutsu moves, and develop devil fruit abilities. Yato's original body would continue to refine chakra and train physically as the primary goal.

After the three shadow clones appeared, they looked at the original body, then dispersed and began their training.

Yato himself walked to the stone with the rice ball, looked at it, and fell silent. Finally, he picked up one of the rice balls, put it in his mouth, and swallowed it.

It was cold, and the taste was average, but he still ate it all.

Riku scratched its little head and grinned.

"You should have been more honest!"

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