The old Uchiha residence was originally located in a large area in a corner of Konoha, which was part of the Uchiha sphere of influence. The wall separating the original Uchiha family from the village had been demolished. Except for the main house belonging to Uchiha Fugaku and the Nanga Shrine, which was a place of worship, which had been returned to Uchiha Sasuke, all other assets were taken back by the village as ownerless property.

Even so, in this seemingly forgotten corner, even on the festive days of the New Year, it was as deserted as a ghost cave. The village leaders had tried to make use of this place, but almost no one was willing to come here, and no one bought the exquisite and well-arranged houses. Not only because the Uchiha family offended too many people when they were in charge of the Konoha Guard, but also because of the bloody night of the genocide, which made everyone feel that this place was very ominous and they would unconsciously stay away from it.

While other people's homes were full of joy, Uchiha Sasuke spent the New Year alone. It had been several years since his entire clan was killed, and Sasuke had gradually gotten used to living alone. His desire for hatred was not reduced, but hidden deeper. His weakness of blaming others had been abandoned, and his pursuit of strength was more urging him to make progress. Even on this day, Sasuke did not stop his routine training courses.

The occasional electric sparks and crackling sounds on the training ground were particularly clear in this open area covered with snow. After a long time, the tired Sasuke found a relatively dry and refreshing place, took out the frozen dry food in his backpack, and slowly replenished his consumed energy with the warm water in the thermos.

At this moment, the sound of feet stepping on the snow came from far away and soon stopped not far in front of Sasuke.

"What are you doing here?" The person who came was Shan Zhongfeng, a temporary teammate of Class 7.

Sasuke didn't have a good impression of this friendly senior, but he didn't have a bad impression of him either. He was just an acquaintance with whom he had little friendship, and they only had some exchanges during missions. What was strange was that when he came here at this time, there was no one around, and it was obvious that he was here for him!

"You don't give up practicing even on your rest days. You're really working hard!" Shan Zhongfeng said in a kind tone.

Sasuke looked at the smiling blond boy with some caution. Yamanaka Feng, who always had a weak presence, rarely attracted his attention. He rarely spoke in front of him and Sakura, but of course he didn't seem aloof and unapproachable. It seemed that this was the first time that he came to his house alone.

Seeing that Sasuke did not respond, Yamanaka Feng had already expected this.

"It looks like you're in great need of strength, Sasuke. Maybe I can provide some help!"

"Help?" Sasuke sneered, "It seems that you are also a spokesperson for some important person. Unfortunately, from the look on your face, I can tell that you and the people behind you are not worth my effort."

"Judging people by appearance is wrong, Sasuke." Squinting his eyes, Shan Zhongfeng did not show any dissatisfaction of being looked down upon. "My strength is not as simple as it seems. Is the big man behind me no less powerful than the Hokage?"

"Not inferior to the Hokage? You're so arrogant..." Sasuke slowly put away his water cup and food, patted the snow water on his body, then stood up and walked in front of Shan Zhongfeng, "Since you are so confident, let's fight and see if you are as good as you boast!"

Shan Zhongfeng waved his hand and said, "Don't be so anxious. There will be plenty of opportunities in the future. Soon, you will understand what level of strength you have. I came here just to prepare you mentally. If you are interested, you can tell me at any time."

Shan Zhongfeng knew that there would be the Chunin Exam in less than a month, and there was no need to conflict with Uchiha Sasuke now. Whether he won or lost, the gain would not outweigh the loss.

"Really?" Seeing that the fight could not start, Sasuke stopped pestering and turned away without saying a word.

Yamanaka Feng, who just wanted to find an opportunity to plant a seed in Sasuke's heart, did not care about Uchiha Sasuke's rudeness, and then shouted behind him: "The one standing behind me is a real big shot, Orochimaru, who was once one of the three ninjas. Your teacher Hatake Kakashi is a subordinate who obeys his orders. Moreover, there is a person here that you definitely care about!"

Sasuke, who was walking away in the distance, stopped.

Seeing that Sasuke finally seemed to care, Yamanaka Feng continued, "Uchiha Itachi was once one of us."

What Yamanaka Feng did not explain is that, whether it was Hatake Kakashi or Uchiha Itachi, although they took orders from Danzo Shimura, they were all Anbu directly under the Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen, and were not members trained by the "Root".

"There is such a powerful person in the village, why didn't he become Hokage?"

"You will understand after you join us!" Regardless of whether it was persuasion or misleading, at least Yamanaka Feng's goal was achieved today. The next step is to wait until after the Chunin Exam and make a decision based on the situation.

"You are not as harmless as you appear to be, you are playing tricks on me! Whatever your purpose is, don't bother me again!"

Uchiha Sasuke finished speaking and left without looking back.

Shan Zhongfeng didn't breathe a sigh of relief until the figure disappeared. Ever since the secret technique of the mind failed to influence Uchiha Sasuke, Shan Zhongfeng knew that he was in trouble. Some things can't be done one after another, otherwise it would be too obvious and would only arouse suspicion and resentment. In this case, it is better to make the purpose clear directly. As long as one day Sasuke is dissatisfied with his own strength and always thinks of what he said today, then he will not be considered a complete failure.

…

Shuimu and Xiaochun's small home, without family affairs to worry about and without many relatives to visit, is a little lonely, but they live a relatively easy life.

Unfortunately, the holidays always pass quickly, and in the blink of an eye, it is time to be busy again. Since the heavy snowfall at the beginning of the year, the weather has gradually warmed up, the snow has melted quickly, and the south wind with a hint of warmth has begun to blow. It seems that spring is coming very quickly.

On the first day back to work after a long vacation, everyone seemed to be in low spirits. As a ninja who fights for a living, he naturally won't follow the routine like some non-combat personnel.

Tsunade is actually a rather lazy Hokage. She is not as respected as the Third Hokage, nor does she put on a show to win people's hearts. Her work so far has been so-so.

It's just that he is too stingy. Not only is there no bonus at the end of the year, but there is no red envelope now. It's really disappointing.