Kunai Throwing (Please Bookmark)

Uchiha Kiyoshi dragged his utterly exhausted body home, shuffling forward step by step.

After laboriously preparing a bucket, boiling water, and soaking the Medicinal Bath packet issued by the clan in it, Uchiha Kiyoshi stripped off his sweat-soaked clothes and climbed into the tub.

The moment he sat down, Uchiha Kiyoshi felt a wave of comfort wash over him.

"Sure enough, nothing feels better than a hot bath after exercising!"

Uchiha Kiyoshi closed his eyes and began to enjoy himself. At the same time, the various nutrients in the Medicinal Bath began repairing the damage to his body, continuously being absorbed and improving his physical condition.

Before he knew it, Uchiha Kiyoshi had fallen asleep.

Uchiha Kiyoshi soaked in the tub and slept for about two hours before waking up.

He had no strength left anywhere in his body, but feeling the hunger gnawing at him, Uchiha Kiyoshi rubbed his eyes, painstakingly climbed out of the tub, changed into clean clothes, and started cooking.

"Looks like I'll need to make more food in the mornings over the next few days. I can keep it warm until I get back at night, soak in the Medicinal Bath, and eat right away."

Feeling as though his body had been completely drained, Uchiha Kiyoshi adjusted his plans for the coming days.

The Medicinal Bath packet could soak overnight, so after dinner, Uchiha Kiyoshi replaced the water in his bucket, added more Medicinal Bath, and soaked in it again.

Early the next morning, Uchiha Kiyoshi woke up in the Medicinal Bath tub.

Rubbing his eyes and feeling that his body had grown somewhat stronger, Uchiha Kiyoshi was very satisfied with the results of yesterday's training.

"The Medicinal Bath works pretty well too. Too bad it's so expensive.

"I need to find a way to make some money when I have time. Then I can take a Medicinal Bath every day and won't have to worry about my Taijutsu stagnating."

Yesterday's training intensity had been unprecedented for Uchiha Kiyoshi. He had only barely endured it through sheer willpower. The overnight Medicinal Bath had worked well; at the very least, he now felt exceptionally healthy, and he could clearly sense his own progress.

Of course, Uchiha Kiyoshi knew that this was his first time breaking through his limits, and his physical condition had not been particularly strong to begin with. Naturally, his improvement had been relatively great. As his physique improved in the future, even breaking through his limits would yield less and less progress.

That was why there were so few Taijutsu-focused ninja. Although results came quickly in the early stages, the further one advanced, the smaller the gains became. In the end, one could only persevere through sheer determination, training day after day for the slightest bit of progress.

It was the same in the original story. Only the Might father and son, along with Rock Lee, achieved anything in Taijutsu. Their behavior might have been pretty funny, but Uchiha Kiyoshi deeply admired their resolve to endure loneliness and train day after day.

For that reason, the quick-results Taijutsu was also the primary means for Genin to improve in the early stages. After advancing to Chunin, as their Chakra reserves grew, ninja gradually shifted their focus to Ninjutsu.

When people said someone's Taijutsu had reached Jonin level, they were usually referring to their combat skills being at a Jonin standard. A true Jonin-level Taijutsu ninja was one who could rely solely on Taijutsu to fight evenly against a Jonin capable of using all kinds of Ninjutsu. In the original story, only Might Guy achieved that. Even his father, Might Duy, had not truly reached Jonin strength while in a normal state—or rather, while opening the Eight Inner Gates without damaging his body.

Putting aside the difficulty of Taijutsu for now, Uchiha Kiyoshi felt quite content as he sensed his stronger body. At this rate, if he gave his all every day for these three months, he might possess Genin-level Taijutsu before the Ninja Academy opened.

Ever since coming to the Ninja World and awakening his memories, Uchiha Kiyoshi had always felt an inexplicable sense of urgency pushing him to improve constantly. Only growing strength could make him feel at ease.

After doing some simple warm-up exercises, Uchiha Kiyoshi took a bath, washing away the medicinal smell from his body before changing into cleaner clothes. Then he went to the kitchen and began preparing today's meals.

Over the past four years, Uchiha Kiyoshi had developed decent cooking skills. In only twenty minutes, he finished cooking, leaving the dinner portion in the pot with the lid on to keep it warm. Smelling the fragrance of the food in his bowl, Uchiha Kiyoshi felt deeply satisfied.

"Mmm, smells so good. This is what life is all about!"

Taking a deep breath, Uchiha Kiyoshi savored this rare moment of enjoyment.

Good times were always short. After breakfast, Uchiha Kiyoshi had no choice but to compose himself and prepare what he needed for today's training. Thinking of the cruelty of this world, he silently encouraged himself and strengthened his resolve even further.

Yesterday had merely been an adjustment. Today was the official start of the special training.

For every day afterward, Uchiha Ryu would guide their Chakra cultivation and kunai throwing practice in the mornings, while Uchiha Shin would train them in Taijutsu during the afternoons.

Early that morning, a group of six-year-old children had already arrived at the training ground.

Although yesterday's training had been exhausting, and quite a few of them had even fainted, they were still energetic six-year-olds. When they woke up in the morning, their bodies no longer ached and instead felt extremely comfortable. Naturally, they had thrown yesterday's events to the back of their minds and arrived at the training ground early.

During the special training, the children had no extra energy to cultivate Chakra after returning home each day due to the huge amount of physical training they had to undergo. Therefore, for these three months, Uchiha Kiyoshi and the others had their Chakra extraction time arranged during the morning sessions.

Moreover, with Uchiha Ryu present, they could receive better guidance for their Chakra cultivation.

Uchiha Ryu arrived at the training ground on time as well. Looking at all the junior clan members gathered below, he nodded in satisfaction.

"According to the clan's arrangements, you should have some time every morning to cultivate Chakra.

"However, only with strong bodies and willpower can you properly sense Physical Energy and Spiritual Energy. So during the first week, I'll only explain some precautions for Chakra cultivation. Most of our time will be spent training kunai throwing.

"I believe that after completing a week of training arranged by Uchiha Shin, you'll see notable improvements in both your physical condition and willpower. Extracting Chakra then will yield twice the results with half the effort."

Uchiha Ryu roughly explained the recent arrangements to the younger generation, then began today's lesson.

To be honest, Uchiha Ryu was fairly gentle. He explained everything to Uchiha Kiyoshi and the others. If they had encountered a ninja with a bad personality, that person probably would not have bothered explaining anything and would have simply started instructing them.

Still, it was no surprise. This was special training the clan had prepared for its younger generation, so the clan elders had naturally conducted a round of selection when choosing the instructors.

It was also a time of peace. None of the major clans were under such intense pressure, so training for their younger generations was mainly gentler in nature. If this had been wartime, the ninja selected by the clan and their methods of instruction would probably have been entirely different.

"Alright, I've just explained some precautions to keep in mind during Chakra cultivation. Next, I'll teach you the Uchiha Clan's Shurikenjutsu.

"You could say that throughout the entire Ninja World, the Uchiha Clan's Shurikenjutsu is unquestionably the strongest.

"So you must train hard as well and strive to master the Uchiha Clan's Shurikenjutsu as soon as possible. That way, you'll have an advantage during your future days as Genin."

Uchiha Ryu did not immediately begin teaching them kunai throwing techniques.

He took out a scroll and formed hand seals with both hands.

"Poof!"

After a cloud of white smoke dissipated, more than a hundred standard-issue kunai came into view.

Uchiha Ryu instructed each of the junior clan members below to take ten kunai.

Uchiha Kiyoshi sighed inwardly. No wonder they say they're a major clan. This is just special training, yet they hand out ten kunai to everyone right away.

Even the cheapest standard-issue kunai are military supplies. One costs a thousand ryo!

Ten kunai means ten thousand ryo!

But when he thought about how the Medicinal Bath provided by the clan alone cost each person four hundred and fifty thousand ryo, Uchiha Kiyoshi found it easy to accept these ten kunai... my ass! That was ten thousand ryo! It would take Uchiha Kiyoshi a full two months to save that much.

During this time, Uchiha Kiyoshi had also realized that the Uchiha were not as unbearable as they were portrayed in all those novels. At least when it came to caring for their own clan members, they were quite dedicated. At the same time, Uchiha Kiyoshi felt an even stronger sense of approval toward the clan.

After handing out the kunai, Uchiha Ryu picked one up himself and began explaining, starting with its structure.

"There are many types of ninja tools to choose from, such as kunai, shuriken, Senbon, and so on...

"Among them, kunai are the most commonly used.

"Kunai also come in different styles. The ones in your hands are the most common type: standard-issue kunai. Their shape is fixed, and they are mass-produced.

"Many powerful ninja choose specially customized kunai. Not only do they feel better in the hand, but if they're made from special metals, they can also unleash greater power."

Kunai throwing was not as simple as Uchiha Kiyoshi had imagined. Though the knowledge involved was not especially categorized, he had received nine years of compulsory education in his previous life. From Uchiha Ryu's explanation, he could at least pick out plenty of physics concepts, such as momentum and fluid pressure.

With that "foundation," Uchiha Kiyoshi found the theoretical aspects fairly easy to understand. Of course, that was only compared with the other children.

The various complex changes involved in kunai throwing could not be learned in a single morning.

Most of the time, improvement in kunai throwing required constant practice. Theory only played a supporting role.

Sure enough, seeing the blank looks in the eyes of the children below, Uchiha Ryu's explanation became rather awkward.

"Alright, besides learning all this theory, kunai throwing requires plenty of practice.

"Next, we'll begin practicing kunai throwing.

"Alright, follow me."

As he spoke, Uchiha Ryu led the group of children toward the kunai training area.

As they walked, Uchiha Ryu continued teaching them basic knowledge about kunai throwing.

"Kunai throwing practice generally begins with stationary targets, followed by moving targets, and finally the most difficult part: throwing multiple kunai at once.

"For these three months, you'll mainly practice on stationary and moving targets.

"Today, our goal is not to perfect your accuracy, but to learn the basics of throwing kunai.

"When throwing a kunai, holding it like this... is more comfortable and causes the least harm to your opponent. Combined with... this standard motion, it basically won't cause any injury to your hand.

"Watch my demonstration."

Uchiha Ryu picked up a kunai, gripped it according to the method he had just taught them, and performed a set of standard movements.

"Whoosh!"

The kunai shot out, and another kunai appeared in the red dot at the very center of the target opposite them.

The group of six-year-olds cried out in amazement, and even Uchiha Kiyoshi did the same. No matter how mature he was, he was still a newbie. Seeing an expert's demonstration was still shocking.

Next, the fifteen children took turns throwing kunai under Uchiha Ryu's guidance.

An entire morning passed just like that.

After practicing kunai throwing for the whole morning, all the children's wrists were sore to the point of agony. Some of them could no longer feel their wrists at all.

Uchiha Ryu gave them simple treatment, applied the clan's specially made ointment, and handed them over to Uchiha Shin.

With their wrists "crippled," the group of children spent the entire afternoon under Uchiha Shin's training, running and doing frog jumps.

And just like that, their entire bodies were finally "crippled." That made everything complete, didn't it...

Compared to yesterday, Uchiha Kiyoshi had an even harder time shuffling home today.

"Good thing I had the foresight to prepare dinner early. Otherwise, in my condition today, I probably wouldn't even be able to eat."

With a bitter smile, Uchiha Kiyoshi wasted no more time. He poured the boiled water into the bucket and soaked the Medicinal Bath packet in it.

He brought dinner out from the kitchen and set it aside. After climbing into the wooden tub, he rested for an hour before eating dinner directly in the tub.

After finishing his meal, Uchiha Kiyoshi added some hot water and continued "enjoying" his Medicinal Bath.