No Pain, No Gain!

This kind of basic training was the most tedious. At the age of five, very few children could endure it. Though his body was five years old, Hiko was not a five-year-old child. He knew what he needed to do.

Other children might be playing, but he could not. The hardship he endured now was for his future achievements.

Without effort, where would harvest come from?

There was no such thing as a free lunch in this world. Even if there were, how many times could you eat it?

Push-ups, sit-ups, frog jumps—Hiko went through a series of the most basic exercises before gradually moving on to other areas. Basic Taijutsu simply did not contain much.

An ordinary child would surely be full of reluctance if brought here for this sort of basic training, but Hiko became immersed in it. Again and again, he kicked, side-kicked, and punched. The wooden posts were practically Hiko's training partners.

That Uchiha kid sure is hardworking.

Gradually, Hiko's diligence drew the attention of many people. Most of them had already become official ninja. None of them neglected training, yet even they were shocked by Hiko's persistence.

At first, everyone thought that a child Hiko's age would give up after a short while. But ever since Hiko entered the Training Ground, he had kept working hard and persevering, no matter how boring the training was.

Ordinary children naturally trained at the Training Ground within the Uchiha Clan Grounds, but Hiko had chosen the public Training Ground in the village instead of one within the Uchiha Clan.

The Uchiha did not have a very good reputation in Konoha. Hardly anyone liked them, whether they were children from the various clans or ordinary people. Of course, that did not include the lovestruck girls obsessed with handsome Uchiha men.

The Uchiha Clan rarely paid attention to outsiders. Unless they knew you, they might not even acknowledge fellow clan members. Hiko did not want to be met with cold looks, so he chose the public Training Ground in the village. It was free anyway, so he could train however he liked.

"Phew... I really don't know how Guy kept this up."

As night gradually fell, Hiko felt as though his entire body was about to fall apart. Do not underestimate these basic exercises. As long as you put your heart into them and persisted, they could exhaust you half to death.

That was exactly how Hiko felt now. He was tired as a dog and only wanted to hurry home, eat something, refine Chakra, and sleep.

Dragging his exhausted body home, Hiko returned to the only property his parents had left him. There was also a small amount of money, but that was all.

As for Ninjutsu and the like, there was basically no hope of inheriting any. Hiko could only strive to obtain everything himself, but he was already satisfied enough.

Phew...

After casually wolfing down some food and taking a cold shower, Hiko was exhausted to death and wanted nothing more than to lie down and rest. Still, he forced himself to sit up and began refining Chakra.

Slowly, Hiko entered the proper state. He maintained that posture until he could no longer hold on and fell asleep.

Refining Chakra consumed a great deal of physical energy, and he was already exhausted from training. With both factors combined, Hiko fell into a deep sleep. At this point, even thunder probably would not wake him.

Whether because he was too exhausted or because he had drunk the God-tier Evolution Potion, Hiko refined Chakra incredibly quickly, and in great quantities—far beyond anyone else his age.

Even Tsunade might not have been able to refine Chakra faster than Hiko at this point. The Senju Clan and the Uzumaki Clan were famous for their vast Chakra reserves. Although the Uchiha Clan was not far behind, they still fell somewhat short compared to those two great clans. More importantly, their Chakra reserves were overshadowed by the overwhelming power of the Sharingan.

When people mentioned the Uchiha Clan, most thought of the Sharingan rather than the Uchiha Clan's Chakra reserves. Though they could not compare to special clans like the Senju and Uzumaki, the Uchiha still possessed far more Chakra than ordinary people. Unfortunately, what everyone noticed about the Uchiha had always been the Sharingan.

The biggest reason children still attending the academy found it difficult to use Ninjutsu was the limitation of their Chakra. With only that tiny amount of Chakra, what advanced Ninjutsu did they think they could use?

For most people, being proficient in the three basic Ninjutsu by graduation was already good enough. As for high-level Ninjutsu, forget it. Never mind how they would obtain it—did they even have enough Chakra to cast it?

Hiko slept very comfortably. By the time he woke up, dawn had already arrived the next day.

"Haah..."

After yawning, Hiko stretched his arms, then froze the next second.

Yesterday, after making that bet with Tsunade, he had gone to the Training Ground and worked himself until he was exhausted as a dog. Logically, when he woke up the next day, there should have been some aftereffects, such as soreness throughout his body. Unless enough time had passed for his body to adapt, such aftereffects were unavoidable.

Yet Hiko discovered in astonishment that his body felt incredibly lively. There was not the slightest trace of soreness, and he was in excellent condition.

"Could it be because..."

Hiko could only attribute it all to the God-tier Evolution Potion. "The thing I got for more than half a month's salary really is good."

Hiko clenched his fists, deeply excited.

What did ninja fear most during training? Nothing more than their bodies being unable to withstand the resulting aftereffects, or even Hidden Injuries. If one night's sleep could restore him completely, Hiko could continuously intensify his training and make himself stronger.

Looking at himself in the mirror, the blood-red Sharingan was exceptionally eye-catching. Combined with Hiko's still youthful but handsome face, he would definitely draw the attention of many girls if he went out like this.

Taking a deep breath, Hiko deactivated his Sharingan. He did not know when his Sharingan would become Two-Tomoe.