Breaking the Eagle or Breaking Me?

At nightfall, Katsuo swayed the half-bottle of medicinal wine Old Duy had given him, silently marveling at its miraculous effects. This stuff was practically a super-enhanced version of the muscle-relaxing medicinal wine from his previous life!

Not only was it dozens of times more effective, but according to Old Duy, it seemed to have no side effects either!

Its only drawback was that the ingredients were somewhat expensive, but that was no issue for Katsuo. After all, he had a financial backer!

He quietly waited for Uchiha Izumi to arrive.

That night, Uchiha Izumi brought a small animal with him—a slightly plump little Ninja Hawk!

Unlike ordinary hawks, this Ninja Hawk was not only fiercer, but its hawk eyes were also far sharper!

It was tiny, yet brimming with ferocity!

"Izumi-sensei? What is this?"

Seeing Katsuo's baffled expression, Uchiha Izumi said with a soft chuckle,

"This is a treasured Ninja Beast specially used by the Uchiha Clan to train eyesight. It is also a good companion that can help us gather intelligence—an exclusive Ninja Beast of the Uchiha Clan!"

"Oh, right. When necessary, it can also be used for transportation, of course, once it grows up!"

Thinking back to Sasuke in the Original Work, he really had summoned a Ninja Hawk—or perhaps an eagle. Katsuo had wondered at the time, Wasn't that guy's Summoning Beast a giant snake from Ryūchi Cave? How could he summon a Ninja Hawk too?

He now took the chance to ask the question that had puzzled him back then.

The answer he received made Katsuo visibly freeze.

"Who told you that you can only form a contract with one kind of Summoning Beast?"

After Katsuo stood there awkwardly for a moment, Uchiha Izumi chuckled and began explaining some basic knowledge about Summoning Beasts.

"Not every wild beast can become a Summoning Beast. It must possess Chakra, be tamable, understand human speech, and have a certain degree of intelligence for communication. Only with all of those conditions can it have the foundation to become a Summoning Beast. Some smarter Summoning Beasts even have civilizations of their own. Communicating and conversing with humans is nothing unusual to them."

Katsuo nodded at that. The three great sacred training grounds in the ninja world were all controlled by these Summoning Beasts!

Mount Myōboku, Shikkotsu Forest, and Ryūchi Cave—each of the three sacred lands was filled with incomparably dense Natural Energy, yet their masters were three races of Summoning Beasts.

At present, Katsuo knew more secrets about Summoning Beasts than Uchiha Izumi did.

For example, the senjutsu controlled by the three sacred lands, and the messy affair from a thousand years ago where the Summoning Beast Gamamaru drove a wedge between the Sage of Six Paths and his mother...

Although he knew more than Uchiha Izumi, he knew none of the specific details. So, he silently committed the knowledge Uchiha Izumi taught him to memory.

Pointing to the palm-sized Ninja Hawk before Katsuo, Uchiha Izumi introduced it.

"Don't let its small size fool you. This little thing is extremely wild. What you need to do now isn't form a contract with it, but wear it down, fight it, and tame it!"

"Wear down an eagle?" Katsuo tilted his head in confusion.

"Not in the traditional sense. You are not keeping it from sleeping. Everyone knows how difficult it is to tame an eagle's pride, which is why people use sleep deprivation to wear down an eagle's arrogance and will until they can control and tame it..."

"What you need to do is make this young eagle submit while ensuring its physical and mental health. As for how, start by giving it a pat from up close..."

"..."

What kind of request is that... Does he want me to tame it with force?

Katsuo froze for a moment, then looked at the cute, dopey little fat chick and slapped it on the head!

"Shriek!"

The innocent chick let out a cry. Its eyes went wide, its feathers puffed up all over, and it looked like a fluffy little fighting rooster, making Katsuo want to laugh!

"Hehe... Hehehe!!!"

Looking at the ball-shaped chick, Katsuo wickedly poked its belly and shamelessly plucked out one of its down feathers.

The back of his hand was pecked several times by its beak and scratched several times by its claws.

Doesn't really hurt...

The chick's resistance only made Katsuo want to play even more!

He pressed its head down, and no matter how it struggled, Katsuo wanted it to experience the darkness of the world—to teach it what it meant for one hand to cover the sky...

"This kind of Ninja Hawk holds grudges," Uchiha Izumi said with a grin.

"Hehe!"

Katsuo chuckled, as if asking,

So what? This little thing? Can't you see I've got it pinned to the ground, just short of rubbing it against the floor?

The little thing struggled desperately, trying to pull its restrained head back. Katsuo chuckled and released it. He had not used any real force, only soft force. Afraid of crushing the little thing to death, he let it go.

After yanking its head free, the little fellow rolled twice across the ground from using too much force. Its furious expression made Katsuo snicker wickedly!

"Having fun?" Uchiha Izumi asked, his face full of malicious amusement.

Unfortunately, Katsuo did not see his expression. He continued teasing the little thing without turning around and answered directly.

"Yep, it's fun!"

"Since it's fun, it'll be yours from now on. For the next while, it'll help train your eyesight."

"Mm! Hm???"

Once Katsuo processed those words, his face filled with question marks. He even suspected he had misheard.

"You heard correctly. It will supervise your training for the next period of time."

Without waiting for Katsuo to ask further, Uchiha Izumi continued,

"I told you already, this is an exclusive Ninja Beast of the Uchiha Clan. It has some remarkable abilities. It holds grudges. Every person or animal that bullies it, it remembers firmly. It will watch you with sharp eyes and hostility. If you retreat, it advances. If you show weakness, it attacks. What you need to do is..."

"Stare into its eyes from close range. Use your eyesight to force it to back down, and use your will to make it submit. You may not use the Sharingan during this process, and you must ensure the little fellow remains healthy. Do not let it go hungry, do not let it get sleepy, and do not abuse it again!"

"..."

Katsuo stared blankly for a moment before asking seriously,

"Izumi-sensei... are we wearing down the eagle... or wearing me down???"

Katsuo felt that this inexplicable training was utterly meaningless...

"Do not think this is child's play. This is one of several methods the Uchiha Clan uses to train our eyes, improve eyesight, and temper our will. It is also an extremely important secret technique. Most clan members do not even have the authority to learn of this special training method, much less be assigned a Ninja Hawk like this."

"In the ninja world, methods for cultivating the eyes—such as pupil power—are exceedingly rare. This was developed through the wisdom and exploration of our ancestors. These Ninja Beasts have also been continuously domesticated over hundreds of years and specifically bred to develop the eyesight of our clan..."

Uchiha Izumi spoke against his conscience. In truth, he only knew that this kind of Ninja Hawk held grudges. Someone had taught him to say everything else...

"If you complete this stage of eyesight development training, not only your eyes, but your eyesight, concentration, and even observation skills will undergo a clear and comprehensive improvement."

"There has always been a common understanding in the ninja world: when fighting the Uchiha Clan, it is best not to look into our eyes. One reason is our Sharingan, because they fear falling under our genjutsu. But in truth, they fear the eyesight of our clan even more!"

"It is said that decades ago, Uchiha Madara developed his eyesight to the utmost extreme. Enemies who met his gaze would lose seventy percent of their courage before battle even began. Knowing Uchiha Madara's strength was one reason, but more than that, it was his terrifying eyesight!"

Hearing this, Katsuo was shocked!

Thinking back to the Original Work, tens of thousands of Allied Shinobi Forces had faced a resurrected dead man—Uchiha Madara. Before they had even exchanged blows, fear had already spread through and infected everyone. Almost no one dared underestimate him. Even those ninjas who were normally the proudest and most arrogant were drenched in sweat. If not for the imposing momentum of tens of thousands of troops, who bolstered their courage with angry roars, it could be said that very few would have dared charge at him!

In the later stages of the Original Work, Sakura's strength was no weaker than Tsunade's. She was undoubtedly a Shadow-level powerhouse, yet when facing Uchiha Madara after he had regained both eyes, she nearly lacked even the courage to resist. Merely seeing his eyes had shocked her into taking several steps back. At that time, Madara had not even regarded her as worthy of attention. Otherwise, she definitely would not have regained her composure so easily!

Uchiha Madara's eyesight made even a veteran powerhouse like Kakashi's heart pound in fear, and it made him understand Sakura's timid behavior of showing fear before battle.

It was simply because Madara's eyesight was too sharp—too terrifying!

"So, for this period, you will train your eyesight. When staring at this little thing from close range, the minimum duration is ten minutes. During that time, try not to blink or evade, and you absolutely cannot show weakness. That is the key to this training method!"

"Just like when someone charges at you head-on, you instinctively evade and close your eyes. You must overcome that instinct, and you must overcome fear."

"Fear? I'd be afraid of it?" Katsuo scoffed disdainfully.

But soon enough, he would pay for his arrogance!

"Since that is the case, begin. Show some spirit, stare at it, and treat it as an enemy. And remember, do not cheat by activating your Sharingan."

He's really looking down on me... Do I need to activate the Sharingan for this little thing? Does he think I'd cheat?

Katsuo sneered again and pressed his face close to the chick, glaring at it with a sharp, vicious expression.

Uchiha Izumi suddenly pressed down on the back of Katsuo's head and reminded him once more,

"Remember, you cannot evade. The moment you evade, you may not be injured, but you will have lost the confrontation. If this keeps happening, you will never become a qualified powerhouse. A person who harbors fear is destined to fail, destined to be nothing but weak."

"Tch..."

Katsuo grew serious. He felt Uchiha Izumi was underestimating him too much. Did he really think of him as a child?

His face turned fierce as he tried to scare the young eagle into backing down. Yet the little chick still looked like a fighting rooster, showing not the slightest fear of his forced ferocity...

One minute passed, and nothing happened. The little chick's eyes remained just as sharp, fixed on Katsuo with the viciousness of a wild beast. It did not look away, nor did it blink, staring unflinchingly at the human who had bullied and tormented it!

Three minutes passed. Katsuo's eyes began to ache, and he could no longer maintain his fierce expression. Still, he kept glaring at it!

Five minutes passed. Tears began streaming from Katsuo's eyes, and his eyelids started trembling. He was nearly unable to keep his eyes wide open!

Seeing this, the little chick actually assumed an attacking stance. Katsuo clearly saw its black pupils sway slightly before slowly contracting. Since he was staring right into its eyes, he saw it clearly!

A person might be able to keep their eyes open for a long time. Katsuo remembered a Chinese girl who could go two hours without blinking, and had even applied for a Guinness World Records entry because of it. But Katsuo believed she definitely could not maintain a focused glaring contest for over five minutes!

Even he, with eyes enhanced by the Sharingan, was suffering this much. Though he had not activated the Sharingan, his eyes were still far superior to those of ordinary people!

The Uchiha Clan's eyes were their greatest inborn talent!

Seven minutes passed. Katsuo felt utterly miserable. His eyeballs were covered in bloodshot veins, and he felt as though they were about to bulge out. A stabbing pain began to emerge, gradually becoming like a burning fire!

If I can't keep glaring, then I'll just keep staring without blinking...

The instant that thought arose, he suddenly noticed the chick pull its head back sharply, its hawk head tilting slightly backward.

Not good! At this distance, if it pecks me, my eye could be ruined!

Katsuo was horrified and was about to retreat and evade, only to discover that Uchiha Izumi had firmly pinned the back of his head!

At that moment, the little chick no longer seemed so weak and harmless in Katsuo's eyes!

He even began to hallucinate. He felt like prey with nowhere to flee beneath the circling of a giant eagle, like a desperate insect beneath a rooster's beak!

Instinctive terror surged from within him!

"Thunk!"

An extremely soft pecking sound rang out.

"AHHHH!!!!!"

A heart-wrenching scream suddenly erupted as Katsuo clutched his eye and stumbled backward onto the ground.

The more arrogant he had been at first... the more miserable he was now...