Uchiha Yuan was not stupid. After hearing Hyuga Asana's words, he already understood why she lost control of her emotions.
At this moment, Uchiha Yuan felt something indescribable inside. He took a deep breath to calm himself and then asked, "Asana, does your Hyuga clan's main family want you to marry that injured Chunin in the future?"
Hyuga Asana nodded.
"What do you think about it yourself?"
"I don't want to, and I'm unwilling."
"I understand. I will help you!" said Uchiha Yuan.
"Help me? How?"
"I will help you break free from the 'caged bird'."
"That's impossible, the 'caged bird' is unsolvable," said Hyuga Asana.
"If it can't be broken, then I will kill all the main family members of the Hyuga clan, leaving none! So they can never force you again!"
As he spoke, Uchiha Yuan's Sharingan unconsciously activated. The single tomoe in his left pupil slowly blurred, and when the tomoe reappeared, the single tomoe had become a double tomoe.
Looking at Uchiha Yuan's crimson Sharingan, Hyuga Asana recalled what her elder brother told her: "The Uchiha clan's Sharingan evolves when stimulated by intense emotions."
Uchiha Yuan's left eye changed from single tomoe to double tomoe, and Hyuga Asana understood the great determination behind his words.
At that moment, Hyuga Asana suddenly felt her nose sting a bit.
Besides her father and brother, there was someone willing to risk everything for her.
"Yuan, hearing this from you is enough. You absolutely must not do such a thing. The main family of the Hyuga clan has the village's support behind them. You can't fight the whole village alone."
Uchiha Yuan said nothing in response—no typical teenage rebellious talk about destroying Konoha or anything like that.
In fact, before today, Uchiha Yuan hadn't thought about his future goals.
He only knew that he didn't want the Uchiha clan to perish; he wanted the clan to continue.
Now Uchiha Yuan had another goal: not only to continue the Uchiha clan, but also to break the old corrupt rules of Konoha and reshape the village.
Just as Uchiha Yuan was about to share his thoughts with Hyuga Asana, his Byakugan sensed a gaze from the air.
Uchiha Yuan quickly stepped back and whispered in a voice only they could hear, "Asana, someone is watching us."
Hyuga Asana immediately wanted to roll her eyes.
"Don't move. The watcher isn't nearby. Most likely it's the Third Hokage's telescope technique."
"Third Hokage? Then is it safe for us to be together?"
"It should be fine. The Third Hokage has long known about our relationship."
Hyuga Asana thought about it and agreed. If the Third Hokage often used this technique to observe them, their relationship certainly couldn't be hidden.
And since the Third Hokage knew about their relationship and didn't act, it meant he was not displeased.
"So, Asana, relax a little. No need to be so tense. By the way, show me that Shunshin no Jutsu (Body Flicker Technique) again!"
Hyuga Asana nodded and used the technique.
Uchiha Yuan opened his Sharingan to observe her movements clearly.
At that moment, Uchiha Yuan realized something odd about his left eye—it seemed clearer than before.
He quickly checked his status panel.
Chakra: 35
Physique: 30
Eye Power: 70
Life Force: 7
Nature Affinity: 3
Level: lv12 (5/20)
Attribute Points: 0
Eye power had risen to 70; the Sharingan had leveled up!
Uchiha Yuan was extremely excited but suppressed his inner excitement, pretending nothing had happened—after all, the Third Hokage was still watching!
"Sorry, Asana, I didn't quite catch that last time. Could you do it again?" Uchiha Yuan said calmly.
Hyuga Asana performed the Body Flicker Technique again. This time, relying on his double-tomoe left eye, Uchiha Yuan barely caught her movement trajectory.
However, Asana's flicker was too fast. Even though he caught the path, his body couldn't react in time.
It was like in the original Chunin exams, when Second Raikage's subordinate first encountered Rock Lee.
Still, Uchiha Yuan learned something from watching Hyuga Asana's Shunshin no Jutsu.
The next second, Uchiha Yuan also disappeared from his spot—he successfully performed the Body Flicker Technique himself.
"Huh? Yuan, you learned it?"
"Sort of!" Uchiha Yuan then tried a few more times.
Compared to Shunshin no Jutsu, the teleportation technique covered much less distance and was slower. Plus, Uchiha Yuan was still not proficient, so his positioning was often off.
But comparatively, the Body Flicker Technique consumed less chakra than teleportation.
Uchiha Yuan could only use teleportation three times with his chakra reserves, but could use Shunshin no Jutsu about 7 or 8 times.
Also, the Body Flicker Technique didn't have the painful side effects teleportation caused.
Overall, at this stage, the Body Flicker Technique was more practical.
But once Uchiha Yuan's physical condition improved and he could ignore teleportation's pain, Shunshin no Jutsu would lose its value.
Teleportation is a kind of space-time ninjutsu. For example, it can easily pass through Konoha's barriers without alerting anyone.
Shunshin no Jutsu can't do that.
At the Hokage's office, the Third Hokage was watching Uchiha Yuan practicing Shunshin no Jutsu, murmuring, "Looks like Uchiha Yuan learned Shunshin no Jutsu from Hyuga Asana, but Asana's technique feels familiar… somewhat like Orochimaru's style. Could it be that Hyuga Asana knows Orochimaru?"
"Knock knock~ Hokage-sama, front line has a battle report." Hearing this, the Third Hokage immediately closed his telescope technique and let an ANBU ninja who delivered the report enter.
The Third Hokage quickly skimmed the report and frowned.
The report concerned the battlefield in Kumogakure (Land of Bears), the main battlefield between Konoha and Kirigakure.
Kirigakure's ninja had landed by sea to occupy Kumogakure, using it as a springboard to launch attacks on the Land of Fire.
This was much easier than attacking directly from the Land of Fire's territory.
To resist Kirigakure's attacks, Konoha had deployed many troops in Kumogakure.
Thus, Kumogakure became the main battlefield between Konoha and Kirigakure.
Currently, the situation for Konoha in Kumogakure was not optimistic, especially after the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist joined the battle, causing heavy casualties to Konoha's forces.
This battle report was a call for reinforcements.
"The Seven Ninja Swordsmen are really troublesome!" the Third Hokage rubbed his aching head and said.
"Hokage-sama, the Uchiha clan has recently been targeting the Seven Ninja Swordsmen. Should we rely more on the Uchiha clan's strength?" the ANBU messenger tentatively asked.
"The Uchiha clan doesn't have many people in Kumogakure, nor many strong ones. Their main role there, like the Hyuga clan, is reconnaissance. Relying on them to fight the Seven Ninja Swordsmen probably won't work," the Third Hokage said.
(To Be Continued...)