After exchanging a few more bits of household chatter, Fugaku brought their conversation to an end.
After all, it was nothing more than giving the Hokage's son a concussion—two or three remarks were enough.
What truly mattered was that a rare taijutsu talent had emerged within the clan.
That was what Fugaku cared about most.
Uchiha Mai stepped out of the room and immediately ran into Auntie Uchiha Mikoto, who was sitting in the corridor, as well as Shisui, who was teasing little Itachi.
"Mai, Fugaku didn't scold you too harshly, did he?"
Mikoto glanced at him and spoke gently, clearly worried that the young man might misunderstand Fugaku.
"Even if he spoke a bit sternly, I hope you can understand. The Uchiha have never truly stood on the same side as the Hokage. The village has always been wary of us."
This was the classic red-face–white-face routine.
Mai smiled and replied,
"Auntie Mikoto, you're worrying too much. The clan head only said a few words to me and chatted briefly about some trivial matters.
Everything is for the sake of the Uchiha. How could I possibly resent him?"
"I'm glad you understand," Mikoto said with a gentle nod.
The Uchiha clan was much like the mixed-bloods in Dragon Raja—innately powerful, yet ostracized by Konoha's upper ranks. The villagers themselves also held little goodwill toward the Uchiha.
Coupled with their tradition of intra-clan marriage, their population had never been large.
Every single clansman was precious.
Most Uchiha valued family bonds deeply—sometimes to an extreme.
Mikoto suspected that Mai might belong to the radical faction.
After all, he had beaten Asuma into a concussion.
So she didn't want a mere clash of ideas or a single disagreement to push a promising young man further away from Fugaku.
Uchiha Mai took a few steps forward and stopped beside the baby carriage, bending down to look at the infant wrapped in swaddling cloth.
This powerful ninja—who in the original story would be brainwashed by the Will of Fire and wipe out his own clan—
Was now nothing more than a toothless baby, giggling "hee-hee" as Shisui shook a rattle in front of him.
"This is Auntie Mikoto and the clan head's child, right? His name is Itachi?" Mai asked casually, his gaze drifting—ever so subtly—toward the diaper area.
If I flick little Itachi's bean a few times right now, would I get some Fashion Points?
Even if I don't, it'd still make for a great story later.
Uchiha Itachi?
Back in the day, I defeated him with a single finger. Total scrub.
How dare you act arrogant in front of the Second-generation King of Dance—
Looks like you've forgotten how I flicked your little bean back then.
"Yes, that's Itachi—your little brother," Mikoto nodded with a smile.
"You must all get along and care for each other in the future."
Uchiha Mai stared at the baby, dark thoughts quietly brewing.
Just as he raised his hand—
The smiling infant Itachi suddenly burst into tears, wailing loudly. The speed of his expression change rivaled Mai's own.
Uchiha Mai was completely baffled.
I haven't even done anything yet—why is he crying?!
Could it be… I already possess the aura of a supreme expert?
Mikoto only needed one glance to understand the situation. She lifted baby Itachi into her arms and said,
"Oh dear, such a naughty child.
Itachi wet his diaper again. I'll go change him—why don't you two keep him company?"
Wetting diapers and pooping oneself was a stage every baby went through.
After all, newborns possessed no real awareness; the ability to "hold it" only came later.
"Let me do it!" Uchiha Mai raised his hand eagerly.
This was his chance.
"I'll help too," little Shisui chimed in.
Mikoto glanced at the two children and felt deeply comforted by the scene of sibling harmony.
She placed baby Itachi back into the cradle and instructed the two boys on how to change the diaper.
After a flurry of clumsy movements, Mai finally removed the soaked cloth.
The tiny, delicate peanut was exposed to the air.
Fetching a clean towel and dampening it, Mai began wiping Itachi carefully.
During the process, he seized the moment—
And flicked it lightly.
The system interface showed no increase in Fashion Points whatsoever.
Uchiha Mai felt a trace of disappointment.
As expected, this wool wasn't so easy to shear.
Perhaps his original idea of beating up the Konoha kindergarten had been flawed from the start.
The reason he'd gained 200 points from severely injuring Asuma probably wasn't solely because Asuma was a plot-relevant character.
It likely had something to do with the intensity of the confrontation, the number of onlookers, and the genuine emotions involved.
After all, the Third Hokage himself had been watching.
Defeating the Hokage's son head-on in front of him—
That kind of act truly carried the flavor of the word fashionable.
Defeat before the campaign even began—his grand plan of getting rich collapsed halfway through.
As expected, the dog system wouldn't leave such an obvious loophole.
Still, changing the diaper wasn't a total loss.
This was long-term investment.
When Uchiha Itachi grew up in the future, he could stand before him and brag:
What are you acting so arrogant for, brat?
Back then, I was the one who changed your diapers.
I am the man who suppressed Uchiha Itachi with a single finger!
After finishing the diaper change, Uchiha Mai returned to his own courtyard.
He practiced his punches until eleven at night, drank a cup of milk, then went to sleep—never letting fatigue carry over to the next day.
And thus began the repetitive rhythm of student life once more.
Mai's class counted as the "graduating batch."
In about a month, they would face the graduation exam.
Those who passed would become ninjas.
Those who failed would be sent home to sell meat buns.
The difficulty of the exam would not be lowered just because Konoha lacked manpower.
In wartime, ninjas were even more likely to be sent on dangerous missions, deep behind enemy lines.
In team operations, a single unqualified member could drag the entire squad down.
With the graduation exam approaching, the class schedules for Mai's year became far looser than before.
Everyone had different areas they needed to review.
As a result, Mai gained大量 time to train taijutsu.
After playing the harmonica and dancing each day to harvest a round of Fashion Points, he would hide in a corner of the training field, refining his boxing and taijutsu.
Mayweather's boxing techniques were more suited to frontal, ring-style combat.
But most ninja battles were ambushes and sudden encounters.
Modifying taijutsu according to one's body type, needs, and preferences was absolutely necessary—
And required deep understanding.
Fortunately, Uchiha Mai lacked neither insight nor experience.
After several days of work, he finally combined boxing, grappling, and the Five-Strike Whip into a foundation, creating a preliminary taijutsu style uniquely his own.
So far, only a few basic techniques had been finalized.
Yet even so, his strength had taken another step forward.
Because this—
Was taijutsu truly suited to him.
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