Izuna's Will to Win

After leaving the Academy, Sosuke immediately rushed to the Training Ground.

The Academy taught various basic knowledge, which he still needed to attend classes for, while the other part of his training could only be done after class.

When he arrived, the teacher, Uchiha Nagahiko, was already in place, and beside him stood a boy who looked very much like Second Pillar.

This person was Madara's own brother, Uchiha Izuna.

"Yoho, finally here." Not only in appearance, but his personality was also quite similar to Sasuke's.

Besides his own elder brother, Izuna probably didn't take any peers seriously.

Even the geniuses who had recently emerged were the same.

Seeing his displeased expression, Sosuke felt too lazy to bother; he had long been eager to learn ninjutsu.

"You're here." Uchiha Nagahiko took out a test paper from his pocket. "Let's first check your chakra affinity."

He infused his chakra into it as instructed and soon got the desired result.

"Not bad, dual Lightning and Fire Affinity. Your talent is indeed excellent."

Seeing the teacher's frequent praise, Izuna's temper flared up.

He could tolerate other things, but now many people were saying that Uchiha Sosuke's talent was even stronger than the Young Clan Head's.

How could Izuna, a devoted brother-complex, tolerate this?

"Talent doesn't represent actual ability." Izuna stepped forward, staring intently at him. "Teacher Nagahiko emphasizes teaching according to aptitude. You need to demonstrate your skills."

With things having reached this point, Sosuke knew he couldn't avoid it.

In fact, Uchiha Nagahiko didn't dare to defy Izuna's will. This scene made him understand the meaning of power even more.

"It seems you're eager to be my sparring partner."

"We're all classmates; we have to help each other when there's something to do."

Let's fight then.

After a slight concentration, Sosuke's eyes suddenly flashed with an eerie light.

Sharingan, activate!

"As expected, it's the Sharingan." Izuna bit his lip, unwilling to admit his jealousy.

But there was no helping it; he still couldn't awaken his eyes, and even his elder brother was still in the exploration stage.

His elder brother had warned him that awakening the Sharingan too early would place a great burden on the body.

But looking again and again, the person opposite him didn't seem to be under much strain.

"Whatever, let's fight first."

Drawing the short sword at his waist, Izuna charged forward rapidly, his movements exceptionally agile and flexible, like a leopard crouching and sprinting.

Uchiha Nagahiko on the side tensed up, ready to intervene at any moment. Both of them were special, and he couldn't bear the responsibility if either of them got hurt.

"So fast." Sosuke's pupils widened subconsciously, and the black tomoe spun wildly in his eyes.

He saw through the opponent's movements.

Based on the subtle tremors of the body's muscles, he could even directly predict Izuna's next move.

Following the knowledge taught at the Academy, Sosuke crossed his hands to block the opponent's wrists, then squatted slightly, leaning his back against him, and used the power of his rise to exert force with his arms.

Poor Izuna was slammed onto the ground with his back throw.

"Stop!"

The teacher called a halt to their spar. In just one round, he could basically judge the new student's level.

Of course, the main reason was that he didn't want to see them continue fighting. Otherwise, Izuna, at a disadvantage, would surely retaliate with Fire Style ninjutsu upon getting up.

At that point, the Sharingan wouldn't hold such a significant advantage.

Under Izuna's unwilling gaze, Uchiha Nagahiko began today's lesson.

First, he standardized Sosuke's movements, pointing out which were unnecessary and which could save his life on the battlefield, guiding him meticulously.

Sosuke also put aside his lofty ambitions and temporarily abandoned the idea of learning ninjutsu, starting his training with the basics under the teacher's guidance.

In the blink of an eye, a week passed. The knowledge he lacked was finally supplemented, and the next step was learning ninjutsu.

To learn ninjutsu, hand seals were an indispensable part. Experts could form multiple seals in a second. Without special dojutsu, ordinary people couldn't even see their movements clearly.

Often, what looked like a simple clap of hands was actually the completion of complex hand seals in an instant.

Knowing the sequence of hand seals wasn't enough; the refinement of chakra and the circulation route within the body also needed to be familiar.

Even though his chakra was sufficient, it still required a long period of practice.

"Ah, I remember how long it took me to learn back then?"

"Right, I mastered it in about half a day. You should work hard too."

Izuna's strange competitive spirit was ignited again.

The ninjutsu he mentioned was the Fire Style technique that every Uchiha possessed.

Snake-Unicorn-Monkey-Dog-Horse-Tiger!

Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!

Properly forming the hand seals, Sosuke opened his mouth and spewed out a fireball the size of a basketball.

"Hah, it's not that impressive," Izuna's mouth twitched twice as he forced a laugh to cover for himself.

He remembered when he first used it, the fireball was only about the size of his fist.

Could it be that this guy's talent is truly this astonishing?!

In fact, his guess was correct. Sosuke had strong control over his chakra, which accelerated his efficiency in practicing ninjutsu.

An hour later, the basketball-sized flame in his mouth had grown to the size of a car tire.

"Still not enough. The control needs to be even more meticulous."

He currently couldn't find a way to earn points, so if he wanted to get stronger, he could only rely on his own hard training.

When the fireball reached the size of a truck tire, Sosuke suddenly felt that he might be able to approach it from other angles.

With his powerful spiritual energy, his control over chakra was improving constantly, so he decided to prioritize enhancing his control ability.

Besides, he needed to give his mouth a break. Practicing Fire Style had left him with a mouth full of blisters, so continuing wouldn't be very meaningful.

After everyone else left, Sosuke went to the large tree in the courtyard and began trying to attach chakra to the soles of his feet.

His training method was tree climbing.

This exercise for control was just right for Sosuke, who was approaching Genin strength.

His first attempt went well. He managed to cover about seven-tenths of the distance, and he'd be able to complete this first task soon.

After tree climbing, the next task was water walking.

"It seems tonight is destined to be a long one."

The next day, when the teacher and Izuna arrived at the Training Ground, they saw Uchiha Sosuke sleeping upside down on a tree branch.

"Did this guy really train all night?!" Izuna's mouth opened wide in disbelief.

The sound of footsteps woke Sosuke, who was resting. He opened his eyes and looked at the two. With a slight exertion, he swung down from the air like a pendulum.

Snake-Unicorn-Monkey-Dog-Horse-Tiger!

As soon as he landed, scorching flames surged from his mouth.

The fireball, over two meters in diameter, condensed and didn't dissipate. The intense heat forced even Izuna to take a couple of steps back.

He was shocked at that moment.