Are You a Demon?

It was late, and Uchiha Yu personally escorted Uchiha Shisui home to prevent any accidents.

Along the way, he reminded Shisui, "You can tell the clan head and a few elders about the Cat Sage's training method, but don't tell anyone else. Let the clan head and elders make the decision."

"Yes."

"Also, this training method is extremely effective, but it can't completely replace physical training. You can't stop the exercises you should be doing. Only by advancing on both fronts can you achieve the greatest growth."

"So that's how it is? I understand. I'll keep up my physical training."

The two chatted about training as they walked, and soon arrived at Shisui's home. It was a large three-courtyard residence, with even ninja guards stationed outside the gate.

"Wow, your home is pretty nice." Uchiha Yu smiled and teased, "All right then, don't be late tomorrow."

Uchiha Shisui suddenly laughed happily. Uchiha Yu truly was different. When he saw Shisui's front gate, he had merely made an offhand remark without caring in the slightest.

Unlike the friends Shisui had made before, who would immediately become timid and reserved as soon as they learned about his circumstances, making it impossible for them to remain friends.

Knowledgeable, worldly, gentle in temperament, incredibly popular, and immensely strong—Uchiha Yu truly deserved to be the only contractor chosen by the Cat Sage. He really was an extraordinary and outstanding person.

"Big Brother Yu!"

"Mm, what is it?"

"Thank you very much for your hospitality and instruction. I gained so much today."

"You and I both carry Uchiha blood. Since fate allowed us to meet, we're family."

"Family doesn't stand on ceremony."

"Yes!! I won't be late tomorrow!"

"All right, see you tomorrow."

Whenever everything was proceeding normally, time always passed quickly.

In the blink of an eye, two days had gone by.

Over those two days, Rin and Shinichi completed their water-walking training one after another. Aside from weighted water-walking, Uchiha Yu began teaching them some combat techniques and correcting some unnecessary movements that could prove fatal.

As for genuine battlefield survival skills, he definitely would not teach those. After all, the things Uchiha Yu himself knew were unsuitable for the upcoming large-scale war.

Though he had seen a great number of records in the Archive Room, they mainly contained techniques from the Warring States Era, which were likely unsuited to modern warfare.

If he taught such untested things to three genin, wouldn't that just be leading them to their deaths?

Splash

"#$%@!@#%@@!"

Amid Uchiha Obito's pathetic howls of defeat, Uchiha Yu helplessly turned toward the river. "Which time is this?"

Shisui covered his mouth, barely holding back his laughter. "The fourteenth time."

"We started at eight-thirty, and it isn't even nine yet..."

"This brat Obito... it's not that his Heart Monkey is hard to subdue. He's a monkey sent to torment me!"

Uchiha Yu abruptly stood up and flashed onto the river's surface. He fished Obito out of the water with one hand and, before Obito could let out his usual foolish laugh, tossed him onto the bank.

Uchiha Yu's actions made Obito scream, "Aah—! I'll succeed next time, I don't want to—"

"No, you do. Weighted physical training!"

He mercilessly cut off Obito's cries, strapped forty kilograms of weights onto him, then thoughtfully whispered, "If you dare disobey, I'll have to punish the entire team together."

"Obito, you wouldn't want Rin to run with weights because of you, would you? Her body is so delicate..."

"Y-you... are you a demon?"

"No, no, no. Between being driven mad by you and working you stupid, I chose to let you suffer a little."

Uchiha Obito shut his mouth. Fire burned in his eyes, but he did not dare curse aloud, afraid Uchiha Yu would use his mistakes as an excuse to punish Rin again.

Seeing Obito's indignant yet silent expression, Uchiha Yu felt much better. "One lap around Konoha's walls. Go!"

Watching Obito angrily run out of the training ground, Shisui could not help worrying. "Big Brother Obito seems really angry. Won't he get hurt running like that?"

Uchiha Yu took one glance and stopped worrying about it. "Don't worry. That speed is still within his limits."

"Huh?"

"Shisui, you mustn't underestimate Obito. From a certain perspective, his talent surpasses even yours."

"It's just that his mind is too restless to display that talent."

"Really?" Shisui was utterly astonished and could not help looking toward Obito.

Even after Uchiha Obito disappeared into the forest, Shisui could not see where the talent lay in that stumbling figure.

"Stop looking. Practice the movements I taught you again, and let me see what else needs adjusting."

"Yes."

"Focus. Stop thinking about Obito. Once he runs back, anyone paying attention will be able to see it at a glance."

"Yes!!"

It had to be said that Uchiha Shisui's talent was truly visible to the naked eye. This round of movements was more practiced and fluid than the last, and his rate of improvement was astonishingly obvious.

Even Uchiha Yu could not help praising him. "It wasn't perfect, but at your current level, I don't think there's anything else that needs adjustment."

"Don't get happy yet. Next, I need to see how you perform in extracting and retaining chakra."

"Yes!"

This was Uchiha Yu's attitude toward chakra, and it was completely different from that of other ninja.

Ordinary ninja extracted chakra as needed. Only when they needed to use it did they squeeze their cells, combine the result with spiritual energy, and then use it in battle.

But Uchiha Yu believed that was too slow. Moreover, suddenly extracting chakra so violently was terrible for the body and could easily cause damage.

Ninja who frequently fought on the front lines suffered all manner of chronic injuries even with careful maintenance, such as Tsuchikage Ōnoki.

Ninja who stayed safely in the rear remained healthy even if they never put down their cigarettes, such as the Third Hokage.

Uchiha Yu believed chakra should be extracted in an orderly fashion, stored over the long term, used to nourish the body in everyday life, and unleashed explosively in battle. That was a complete system. Relying solely on explosive output in battle was a shortsighted heretical path.

Well, the Ninja World was steeped in Japanese-style hustle culture, so such short-sightedness was hardly surprising.

Moreover, the name of the ninja profession itself was quite persuasive. A ninja was someone who could endure everything. To use chakra, one first had to endure the unavoidable pain within the body as chakra circulated.

If trained from childhood, the body would adapt as time passed. The pain would lessen, and one might even grow accustomed to it, feeling uncomfortable all over when it was absent.

But Uchiha Yu simply could not accept it, even though that pain was not as bad as Sichuan cuisine's assault on one's backside.

Why did Uchiha Yu still risk absorbing Natural Energy when he knew it was dangerous?

First, in the worldview of his previous life, cultivating immortality was the loftiest supernatural path. If he had the opportunity but did not try it, could he still be considered one of the Yanhuang People?

But what allowed him to persist until he discovered that the fire attribute was harmless was that even a small amount of Natural Energy could relieve that dull ache spread throughout his body, like rheumatoid arthritis.

Every technique Uchiha Yu guided Shisui to adjust was a key point for eliminating pain. They could also eliminate chakra's harmful side effects, allow chakra to remain in the body for long periods, let the body adapt to chakra to the greatest extent possible, and enhance chakra's output and controllability.

In the Ninja World's traditional understanding, chakra was a supernatural power for killing. Even medical ninjutsu consumed one's lifespan in exchange for healing injuries.

But Uchiha Yu believed that was not absolute.

Because Kaguya Otsutsuki, the ancestor of chakra, was truly immortal and indestructible.