Refining Chakra

When he reached the street, Houka saw that every resident passing by was dressed in clothes bearing the Uchiha Clan Crest. They all held their heads high and wore haughty expressions. Even the street vendors had a strange air of pride about them, as if they were Jonin cosplayers who could unleash an A-Rank jutsu at any moment and destroy an entire street.

"Look, it's Uchiha Houka! That disgraceful loser actually dares to show his face!"

"He's dragged the Uchiha's reputation through the mud. What an idiot!"

"The shame of the Uchiha Clan!"

A few six- or seven-year-old brats on the street spotted Houka and crowded around to mock him, pointing and jeering with nothing but contempt and disdain on their faces.

Beside him, Uchiha Obito shrugged and gave Houka a knowing look. "See? I wasn't lying."

"Hey, isn't that Uchiha Obito? No wonder. Birds of a feather flock together. You're both idiots, both disgraces to the Uchiha!"

"There's a reason you two became friends."

The kids spotted Uchiha Obito and immediately turned their fire on him.

Uchiha Obito hadn't expected to get roasted too, and he immediately blew up. "You little punks! Who are you calling an idiot? I'm going to be Hokage!"

"The grown-ups all say you're too narrow-minded. You'll never awaken the Sharingan in your whole life, idiot!"

"You're the idiot! I'll definitely awaken it and become Hokage!" Uchiha Obito clenched his fists and shouted back angrily, but his voice was soon drowned out by the other kids' taunts.

After a while, the brats finally left, looking pleased with themselves, as if they'd just won a battle.

"Hey, Houka, why didn't you say anything back there?" Uchiha Obito had lost the shouting match. He was still fuming and hopping around in frustration.

Houka shrugged. "I can't be bothered to argue with a bunch of kids."

He was six years old, but mentally he was already well into his twenties. He wasn't bored enough to pick a fight with a bunch of kids in the street.

"Come on. Weren't you going to treat me to ramen?"

Uchiha Obito pouted, still upset, and led the way, muttering under his breath and swearing he'd become Hokage to prove everyone wrong.

Houka followed behind him, shaking his head slightly, then began looking around.

This was the heart of the Uchiha Clan's territory, where outsiders rarely ventured. In theory, a place full of clan members should have had a warm atmosphere. But Houka noticed that the residents passing by were all cold and haughty, acting as if nothing mattered to them. Their pride seemed to come from deep within, the sort that made you want to keep your distance as soon as you saw them.

No wonder Konoha couldn't tolerate the Uchiha Clan. They're arrogant to the core! Only someone like Senju Hashirama, the God of Shinobi, could have had the open heart and broad-mindedness to accept them.

"Hey, what are you muttering about back there? We're here!" Uchiha Obito called over his shoulder.

Houka looked up. Right, this wasn't Ichiraku Ramen.

Of course. They were in Uchiha Clan territory. How could Ichiraku Ramen have opened a shop here?

The two of them ordered a bowl of ramen each and wolfed it down.

"Ah, I'm stuffed!" Uchiha Obito exclaimed, patting his stomach contentedly.

Houka had been hungry all day, so everything tasted good. He nodded. "All right, we should get going."

If he wanted to survive in this world, he needed to become strong. So Houka decided...

"Wash the dishes?!" Houka stared at Uchiha Obito in disbelief. How could this future supervillain say that with such confidence?

Uchiha Obito planted his hands on his hips and declared as if it were obvious, "How else are you going to pay for two bowls of ramen?"

"Didn't you say you were treating me?" Houka was completely dumbfounded.

Uchiha Obito scratched his head. "This morning, I helped an old lady cross the street, and I..."

"You gave the old lady all your pocket money, right?" Houka's eye began to twitch.

"Ahahahaha, Houka, you really understand me. The elderly need help, after all. As the future Hokage, I can't just stand by and do nothing." Uchiha Obito looked thoroughly proud of himself.

Houka was utterly speechless. He'd run out of tears to cry.

In the end, the ramen shop owner hauled them into the kitchen, where they spent two hours washing dishes and listening to a two-hour lecture on morals.

"Damn it, I washed dishes for two whole hours!"

Houka was miserable. Even at his lowest point in his previous life, he'd never had to wash dishes!

"Houka, you look confused," Uchiha Obito said. "Wasn't it always like this for us?"

"..." So this wasn't even the first time. How had the owner of that ramen shop put up with them pulling this scam over and over again?

When they got home, Houka grabbed Uchiha Obito and asked him about training.

Unfortunately, Uchiha Obito was a complete dunce at this point—a dunce among dunces. He couldn't even perform the Three Body Technique reliably, let alone explain any of the other "fancy" training methods.

After sending the hopeless Uchiha Obito away, Houka began thinking about his situation.

At the ramen shop, he'd done more than eat. He'd also gathered plenty of information.

It's the ninth year of Konoha. The Third Great Ninja War is still at least three or four years away. I have to make rapid progress in the next few years!

Hmm, Kakashi just graduated, which means the Ninja Academy is on break. I'll have to train by myself.

Fortunately, during his year at the Ninja Academy, his Chunin teachers had been very reliable. They'd taught him the Three Body Technique, training methods for controlling Chakra, such as tree climbing and water walking, and how to throw Shuriken.

After all, the Second Great Ninja War had just ended, and border skirmishes with neighboring countries were constant. No one could be sure another war wouldn't break out. Their one year of school had covered as much as Naruto's generation would learn in several years!

Great towers rise from the ground.

He'd start with refining Chakra.

Houka sat cross-legged on the tatami, closed his eyes, and began to meditate.

Chakra was essentially energy produced by combining physical energy and spiritual energy after bringing the two into balance.

With his previous memories to guide him, Houka followed the steps and quickly succeeded in extracting Chakra.

What's more, he discovered that his spiritual energy was immense!

Could it be because I came from another world?

Houka's eyes lit up. With such immense spiritual energy, all he had to do now was train his body, and he'd be able to extract Chakra continuously!

And then there's my Sharingan!

Houka's heart skipped a beat. This was a Kekkei Genkai like a cheat! Once it evolved into the Mangekyou, he could not only summon Susanoo, which was equally suited for offense and defense, but also gain two unique ocular jutsu. Uchiha Obito and Kakashi's Kamui, as well as Itachi's Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi, were all powerful ocular jutsu. But they came with a serious drawback: unless the eyes became an Eternal Mangekyou, his vision would keep deteriorating until he went blind.

But all that was still a long way off. Houka suppressed the excitement stirring in his heart, regained his composure, and continued refining Chakra.