Chapter 38: The Inuzuka Clan’s Choice

Uchiha Touhuan led Sasuke to the backyard where he practiced archery and lit the lamps along the corridor.

"What techniques do you know?" Touhuan asked.

"My brother taught me the Three Basic Jutsu, and just a few days ago, I learned the Lightning Style: Lightning Ball," Sasuke said, his spirits lifting at the mention of ninjutsu.

"Lightning Ball, let me see it," Touhuan said.

"Yes!" Sasuke replied. His small hands moved in a blur, forming seals. Shortly after, a golden-yellow ball of electricity over a meter in diameter appeared before them. It flew forward seven or eight meters before exploding, casting a blinding white flash across the dim backyard.

After finishing, little Sasuke looked at Uchiha Touhuan with expectant eyes, hoping for praise from his teacher.

Instead, Uchiha Touhuan slapped Sasuke on the back of the head, leaving the child completely bewildered.

"What are you doing, kid? I asked you to perform a jutsu, not blow up my lawn!"

"I'm sorry..." Sasuke said weakly.

"Watch closely. This is how you use the Lightning Ball," Touhuan said. He snapped his fingers, and a deep blue bolt of electricity, no more than ten centimeters in diameter, appeared out of thin air.

Although the scale of this lightning ball was much smaller than the one he had created, Sasuke could clearly feel that the energy contained within it was far more concentrated.

Then, with a flick of Touhuan's finger, the ball began to orbit the two of them, guided by his movements. Sasuke was mesmerized.

After circling them a few times, Touhuan snapped his fingers again, and the deep blue ball shot into the sky, exploding like a firework.

"That's incredible," Sasuke exclaimed.

"You see? Go back and practice like this. Once you can do it this way, I'll teach you something else," Touhuan said.

"Yes!" Sasuke replied, full of confidence.

Watching Sasuke's confident smile, Touhuan smiled back. This kid wouldn't be pestering him for new techniques for a long time. He knew that his display required an incredibly fine level of chakra control—something many Chunin who specialized in Lightning Style struggled to achieve. For a beginner like Sasuke, mastering this would be quite a challenge.

However, once Sasuke honed his fundamentals through this process, learning other techniques in the future would be twice as effective with half the effort.

Furthermore, the process of refining such precise chakra control would help temper the boy's personality. Touhuan couldn't stand the impulsive, hot-headed Sasuke from the original timeline who would get beaten up at every opportunity.

After Sasuke left, Touhuan changed his clothes, preparing to head to the training grounds for his daily routine.

Before leaving, he instructed, "Keiko, please help me send a formal letter of invitation to the Inuzuka and Aburame clans later."

"Now?" Uchiha Keiko asked. "It's so late."

"It's fine, I don't think they will mind," Touhuan replied.

"Under what name should I send them?" Keiko asked.

"Send the one to the Inuzuka clan under the name of the Military Police Force. As for the Aburame clan, use my personal name," Touhuan said.

"Understood," Keiko nodded.

...

That night, the two clans receiving Uchiha Touhuan's invitations were anything but calm.

The Inuzuka clan held an emergency council meeting immediately upon receiving the letter.

Unlike the Uchiha meetings, where shouting matches erupted within five minutes and ended without resolution, the Inuzuka clan's meetings were highly efficient.

In a modest room within the clan shrine, the clan head, three Jonin, and the Great Elder sat around a table. In the center lay the invitation brought by Uchiha Keiko.

The current clan head, Inuzuka Gaku, scanned the attendees and said, "Speak your minds. What do you think of this invitation?"

"Is this a gesture of goodwill initiated by the Uchiha clan? That’s rare," said Inuzuka Kotsu, the 75-year-old Great Elder.

"This new Uchiha clan head seems very different from their predecessors," Gaku noted. "Fu, you’ve been on missions with him. Can you tell us your impression?"

Inuzuka Fu, the youngest of the four, touched his chin, thought for a moment, and said, "How should I put it? I can't read him at all."

Fu's words made everyone frown.

"However, we shouldn't suffer any losses by cooperating with him," Fu added, briefly recounting what had happened at Orochimaru's base.

"I see. This generation's Uchiha leader is a formidable figure," Kotsu remarked.

"So, should we cooperate with the Uchiha across the board?" asked Inuzuka Retsu, the last Jonin present.

"It hasn't reached that point yet," Gaku said, picking up the letter. "Leader Touhuan sent this in the name of the Military Police Force, giving us room to choose. Retsu, pick twenty of the most capable adult ninja hounds and send them to the police force as a gift."

"That's not enough," Kotsu interrupted. "Beyond that, select a few dog trainers and talented hound users from the clan to join the police force. If possible, ask the Uchiha for a few police force positions annually."

Gaku looked surprised. "Great Elder, if we do that, others will see the Inuzuka clan as having completely sided with the Uchiha."

"Since Leader Touhuan has shown such sincerity, we might as well show our own," Kotsu replied.

"This... Elder, isn't that a bit too hasty?" Gaku hesitated, wondering why the usually cautious Elder was being so bold.

"Gaku, do you know why I’ve always urged caution?" Kotsu looked at him. "Because although the Inuzuka clan has a heritage dating back to the Warring States period, we are ultimately just a small clan with secret techniques for raising ninja hounds. We can't compare to the powerful bloodline clans. Only through caution can we accumulate enough to gamble when an opportunity arises."

"381 years ago, when the Senju clan invited us, our ancestors joined them, creating the Inuzuka clan as it exists today. Now, a new opportunity lies before us."

"You have that much faith in this new Uchiha leader?" Retsu asked.

"Consider it the intuition of an old man who survived the Warring States period," Kotsu chuckled. He then looked at Fu. "What is your opinion?"

"Following this Leader Touhuan? It wouldn't be a bad thing," Fu smiled. "Our clan has been on the periphery of the village for too long. We are a secret technique clan, too; just as the Ino-Shika-Cho trio has their position, we should strive for ours."