Battle at the Training Ground

Several days later, at the Ninja Academy.

In class, Sarutobi Retsu was explaining the 360 major acupoints throughout the human body, as well as the refined pores spread across it, and how these acupoints and pores were connected to the circulation of Chakra.

Uchiha Yuan listened attentively. This systematic knowledge corroborated the insights he had gained through his own training, giving him a deeper understanding of Chakra extraction and circulation.

After some time, Sarutobi Retsu finished the lesson and announced the end of class.

Amid cheers and clamor, the students swarmed out of the classroom and gathered in small groups around the campus to play and roughhouse.

Uchiha Yuan remained seated, a thoughtful look in his eyes as he continued reflecting on the lesson.

This class had given him a better understanding of how ninjutsu was performed.

As everyone knew, most people in the Ninja World performed ninjutsu by expelling Chakra through their mouths.

That was because the mouth was an acupoint, and the largest one at that. Moreover, the mouth was naturally unobstructed, unlike other acupoints, which required the meridians to be opened before Chakra could flow through them.

If I want to learn the Fourth Hokage's Rasengan, I'll probably first need to open several acupoints in my hands.

Assistant's Chidori Stream, as well as Kumogakure's Nintaijutsu, probably require even more acupoints to be opened.

Uchiha Yuan thought to himself.

A moment later, Uchiha Yuan came back to his senses, stood up, and prepared to leave the classroom.

Then he noticed that there was still one other person in the empty classroom, sitting with his head turned toward the window.

It was Hatake Harukaze.

"Hatake, why are you here alone?"

Uchiha Yuan walked over to Hatake Harukaze's desk and asked.

Hatake Harukaze turned to look at Uchiha Yuan, his eyelids drooping as he softly replied, "I like being alone in quiet places."

With that, he turned back to continue gazing out the window.

Seeing this, Uchiha Yuan merely curled his lips slightly before turning and leaving the classroom.

After Uchiha Yuan left, Hatake Harukaze looked toward the direction he had gone, a trace of conflict appearing on his face as though he wanted to call out and stop him.

But in the end, Hatake Harukaze simply turned back and continued looking out the window.

At the Training Ground, upperclassmen were either practicing throwing Shuriken and kunai at targets in the throwing area or training in basic ninjutsu such as the Clone Technique and Transformation Technique.

Some students from Ninja Clans were even showing off their clans' secret techniques to those around them.

A group of younger students watched nearby, their eyes filled with longing and envy as they occasionally let out cries of surprise.

"Punch! Hurry up and punch back!"

"Good, that kick was great!"

"Nice one! Hit him harder!"

"Careful! Dodge!"

When Uchiha Yuan arrived at the Training Ground, the shouts coming from one corner caught his attention.

He looked over and spotted several familiar figures among the crowd of spectators.

Hyuga Kagami stood together with several boys from the Hyuga Clan. Not far from them stood several others wearing the Uchiha fan crest on their clothes, and Uchiha Yuan saw Uchiha Eiji among them.

At the center of the crowd, two figures were fighting in a Taijutsu match.

One of them wore clothes marked with the Uchiha fan crest and was an Uchiha. The boy fighting him bore the clan crest of the Shiranui Clan on his clothing.

With one glance at the two fighters, Uchiha Yuan could tell that the boy from the Shiranui Clan had already fallen into a disadvantage.

Sure enough, after several exchanges, he was kicked in the chest and sent flying, crashing to the ground in a sorry state.

"Haha, I only used seventy percent of my strength. You couldn't even force me to go all out, yet you think you're qualified to challenge the Uchiha Clan?"

The victorious Uchiha boy spoke with an arrogant expression.

The boy from the Shiranui Clan flushed red, then got up in humiliation and unwillingness before retreating.

Such sparring matches were a common sight at the Training Ground.

Students had simple, straightforward minds. Great clans, elite families, geniuses—whether those titles were real or not, one only knew after a fight.

The Uchiha Clan's students were arrogant, conceited, and overbearing, so they were often challenged by other students.

At that moment, a figure leaped out from the crowd and formed the Seal of Confrontation toward the victorious Uchiha boy. "Hello, Senju Gen. Please teach me."

A small commotion broke out among the spectators. To everyone in Konoha, the surname Senju carried a special meaning.

"Senju?"

"He's actually from the Senju Clan."

"Senju against Uchiha? This is really something to look forward to. Who's stronger?"

"So you're that Senju from Class Nine."

The victorious Uchiha boy showed a surprised expression. Then he also formed the Seal of Confrontation and said seriously, "Uchiha Shinsuke. Please teach me."

When Senju Gen stepped forward, Uchiha Yuan could not help showing an interested look.

Senju Gen was warm and humble, deeply liked by his classmates. He never argued with anyone and went straight back to the Senju compound after school.

Thus, aside from practice during training classes, Uchiha Yuan had never seen Senju Gen make a move.

In the past, Senju Gen had always watched others challenge the Uchiha Clan's students. Uchiha Yuan had not expected him to suddenly issue a challenge today.

Every Ninja Clan had a different Taijutsu style. Perhaps because of the Sharingan, the Uchiha Clan's style emphasized sharpness and speed, with concise and nimble moves.

The Akimichi Clan's Taijutsu, on the other hand, was broad and powerful, its techniques fierce and unstoppable.

Among the crowd, when they heard that the boy who had appeared was from the Senju Clan, Uchiha Eiji and the others all grew solemn. They widened their eyes and stared intently at the two about to fight.

To the Uchiha, Senju was different.

"Begin!"

At a boy's loud shout, Senju Gen and Uchiha Shinsuke moved.

They rushed forward at the same time, charging toward each other like arrows loosed from a bow.

The next second, their figures tangled together. They traded blows back and forth, the sound of fists colliding ringing out repeatedly.

"As expected of someone from the Senju Clan. He's amazing."

"Good! That counterpunch was beautiful!"

"..."

"Sure enough, only the Senju Clan can contend with the Uchiha Clan."

Upon hearing this, Hyuga Kagami and the other Hyuga Clan boys immediately changed expression, intense unwillingness showing in their pale eyes.

In present-day Konoha, only the Uchiha Clan and the Hyuga Clan could be considered great clans.

Since both clans possessed eye-based Kekkei Genkai, they had always secretly competed over whose ocular technique was superior, and that sentiment had also affected the Hyuga Clan's children.

Yet in everyone's subconscious, the Hyuga Clan was actually inferior to the Uchiha. Perhaps even the Hyuga Clan itself faintly sensed this.

This only made them more determined to surpass the Uchiha.