"Have you thought about which ninjutsu you'd like to learn?" Fugaku asked.
"I have just entered ninja school. 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 Uchiha clan members throughout generations.
"Then... I'm very grateful, Fugaku-sama." Kiyoshi said, feigning gratitude.
Fugaku nodded in satisfaction at Kiyoshi's attitude.
Trading some ninjutsu to strengthen Kiyoshi's belonging to the Uchiha was a worthwhile deal.
He had heard from the Chunin teachers at ninja school 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 Uchihas.
"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 Kekkei genkais.
"Lightning Release, I think. I had used a chakra paper before and it showed that I had Lightning Chakra nature." Kiyoshi said after pretending to think for a moment.
Lightning Release.
The Yotsuki clan has a strong talent for Lightning Release Ninjutsu.
For Kiyoshi, acquiring it would be like giving a Senzu bean to a saiyan.
Among the five basic nature transformations, all of them have 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.
Electromagnetism can allow 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 many 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 technology, it is actually the seemingly most brutish Kumogakure that has gone the furthest.
Orochimaru is only skilled in biological science and genetic engineering.
In Naruto: The Last, only a few years after the Fourth Great Ninja War, Kumogakure had already developed chakra cannons.
Their power was very great, 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, Fugaku-sama." 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.
Meanwhile, Kiyoshi ate silently, ignoring the fact that he was essentially thirdwheeling.
...
About half an hour later
Mikoto took Kiyoshi back from Fugaku's house. The two walked back along the same path they had come from.
"Mikoto-nee, 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 either.
"Retirement? Hmm..."
Mikoto thought for a moment and said, "Most ninjas don't live to see retirement, but if you want to retire, you can apply. After approval, you are free to retire."
Mikoto hadn't seen many old ninjas living to be eighty or ninety.
But she had seen many Genins who had graduated from ninja school, choose to retire after being unable to withstand the harsh ninja world.
"I see." Kiyoshi nodded.
That was also true.
In Itachi's Short Story, a female ninja named Shinko was shown.
She 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 essentially just 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 becoming noticeably softer.
"Then congratulations, Mikoto-nee."
Kiyoshi congratulated, a smile forming on his face, but his heart turned ice-cold.
Itachi is about to be born?
This made Kiyoshi's heart very heavy.
"You can retire when you don't want to be a ninja anymore, Kiyoshi." 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?
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 that he was a weak hypocrite.
It was a pity that Mikoto was with him, meeting such a death.
Fugaku had given him ninjutsu to tie him to the Uchiha clan.
It was essentially the same as Kumogakure'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 Uchihas outside his own family as clan members.
Fugaku can't shirk the responsibility for the destruction of the Uchiha clan.
When Itachi had betrayed the Uchiha, he had massacred countless innocent clan members.
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, and he encouraged and praised him.
He even 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 else he cared about was his other son, Sasuke.
And outside the gate were countless clan members whose corpses had not yet become 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.