[System: What a shame, bro, this is pure green!]

After finishing the red bean pancake and composing his mood, he took his shuriken and headed to the backyard.

Under the moonlight, he began practicing the Twin Swallow Rotation.

Once, twice, ten times...

The shuriken collided in mid-air, tracing arcs, and then... fell to the ground.

"The angle is wrong," Izuna instructed in his mind. "When the second collision occurs, your wrist needs to turn inward by 15 degrees."

"The chakra distribution is uneven," Tobirama added. "The left shuriken has 3% more chakra than the right, causing the flight trajectory to deviate."

Qingyu wiped away his sweat and continued to practice...

At five in the morning, the sky had not yet fully brightened.

Qingyu was awakened by the sound of tapping on his window glass.

It wasn't a gentle "knock-knock," but the kind of "bang-bang-bang" that said, "If you don't open the window, I'm breaking in."

He groggily climbed up to open the window, only to see Shisui Uchiha squatting on the sill, his smile as radiant as the first ray of morning sunlight.

"Morning, Qingyu-kun! It's the first day of special training, let's head out full of energy!"

Qingyu glanced at the alarm clock by his bed: 5:03 AM.

Senior, do you have some kind of misunderstanding about what "early morning" means?

Even the dogs aren't awake at this hour, okay!

"I'll give you three minutes to wash up." Shisui hopped into the room and pulled a small notebook from his pocket.

"Today's training plan: one hour of physical recovery training, two hours of advanced shuriken, one hour of ninjutsu coordination practice, oh, and don't forget tactical deduction..."

"Wait! Stop! Stop!" Qingyu raised a hand to interrupt. "Shisui-senpai, I was only just discharged from the hospital..."

"That's why it's recovery training," Shisui blinked.

"The intensity has been adjusted, don't worry~"

Qingyu looked at Shisui's harmless, smiling face, and alarm bells rang in his heart.

Based on his years of experience watching anime, when a smiling tiger character says "don't worry," it's usually the time you should be most worried!

Three minutes later, Qingyu was hauled off to Training Ground 3 of the Uchiha.

The training ground was empty in the early morning, with only the morning mist lingering about.

Qingyu let out a yawn, feeling his eyelids still fighting each other.

"Warm up first." Shisui handed him two sandbags.

"Strap them to your legs and run twenty laps around the training ground."

Qingyu took the sandbags, and his hands sank... Good grief, these were at least five kilograms each!

Run twenty laps with these on my legs?

Is this a warm-up or are you trying to kill me?

But he didn't dare say it, so he obediently strapped them on and started running.

The first lap was easy.

By the third lap, he was panting a little.

By the seventh lap, his legs felt like they were filled with lead.

By the tenth lap, Qingyu felt a burning, aching pain in his thigh muscles.

Every step felt like treading on the tip of a knife; sweat dripped down his cheeks, and his breathing sounded like a bellows.

I'm going to die!

"Your breathing rhythm is wrong." Shisui appeared beside him out of nowhere, maintaining the same speed without even a flushed face or a heavy breath.

"Inhale for three steps, exhale for two, control your heart rate! Don't lose your rhythm."

Qingyu tried to adjust, and it did indeed get a little better.

"Very good, keep it up," Shisui nodded.

"Running isn't just about training physical strength; it's about training your willpower and sense of rhythm. On the battlefield, maintaining your rhythm is often more important than explosive power."

Qingyu nodded while gasping for air, though he was complaining internally: Senior, everything you say is correct, but could you please let me catch my breath before you keep talking!

Finally, the twenty laps were finished.

Qingyu collapsed on the ground, feeling like a piece of air-dried salted fish.

Dream lost.jpg

"Three minutes of rest." Shisui glanced at his timer. "Then we proceed to shuriken training."

Qingyu struggled to crawl up and pulled out his water bottle to take a few desperate gulps, while two voices began again in his head:

"Can't handle it after just twenty laps?" Izuna said with disdain.

"During the Warring States period, a thirty-kilometer forced march with heavy loads was a daily routine for us."

"However, his recovery speed is indeed fast," Tobirama analyzed.

"His heart rate returned to normal levels within three minutes, and his muscle fatigue is also lower than expected. It seems the breakthrough from the previous battle had significant effects."

Qingyu offered a bitter smile.

So, the progress I traded my life for is just "alright" in the eyes of these two big shots?

Three minutes later, shuriken training began.

What Shisui brought out wasn't a set of ordinary targets, but... moving ones.

"These are training mechanism targets developed by the clan," Shisui said, pointing at the wooden figures sliding along tracks.

"Both speed and trajectory can be adjusted. Today, we'll start with the basic mode: three targets, an average speed of five meters per second. You must hit the bullseye when they cross paths."

Qingyu looked at those sliding targets, his mouth twitching.

Is this really the "basic mode"?

This difficulty level could serve as a graduation exam at the Ninja Academy!

"Begin," Shisui pressed the switch.

The targets moved!

The three wooden figures slid rapidly along the tracks.

Sometimes they crossed, sometimes they separated; their trajectories were completely erratic.

Qingyu drew three shuriken, took a deep breath, and recalled the techniques from the scroll the clan head had given him.

"Twin Swallow Rotation... angle, force, timing..."

He flicked his wrist and threw them!

The three shuriken collided once in mid-air, changed direction, and shot toward the three targets!

Clang, clang, clang! All of them hit! Although they weren't dead center, they all landed on the targets!

"Not bad!" Shisui applauded. "To have this hit rate on your first attempt shows great talent."

Qingyu let out a sigh of relief, feeling a bit smug inside.

"However," Shisui's tone shifted.

"Enemies on the battlefield won't move along fixed tracks. Next is random mode; the speed and direction of the targets will change at any moment."

He adjusted the mechanism.

The next second, the three targets began darting around like they were having a seizure!

Sometimes fast, sometimes slow, sometimes left, sometimes right—they even performed sudden stops and sharp turns!

Qingyu: "..." Am I practicing shurikenjutsu or playing a bullet hell game here!

Bullet hell! Hahaha, hahahaha.

Bang, bang, bang!

This isn't training anymore; this is torture!

Senior, do you have some kind of misunderstanding regarding the word "random"?

This should be called "Mental Pollution Mode"!

But he had no choice but to bite the bullet and continue.

The first time, he missed everything.

The second time, he hit one.

The third time, he hit two.

By the tenth attempt, Qingyu was able to consistently hit two, and occasionally all three.

"You're improving very quickly," Shisui nodded with satisfaction. "Next, we'll add obstacles."

He clapped his hands, and several wooden stakes rose from the training ground floor, blocking some of the shooting lines.

Qingyu looked at those wooden stakes, wanting to cry but having no tears.

Isn't this difficulty curve a bit too steep? I just mastered the basics!

Are you trying to make me eliminate the monk and his disciples?

"There are no ideal environments on the battlefield," Shisui said seriously.

"You must learn to find shooting angles amidst various obstacles! Come on, try again!"

Qingyu gritted his teeth and threw again.

The shuriken carved an arc through the air, bypassed the wooden stakes, and hit the target... though it was off-center again.

"The angle could be even more tricky," Shisui demonstrated personally.

He casually threw a single shuriken. The shuriken seemed alive, changing direction three times in mid-air, bypassing all obstacles to strike the bullseye perfectly.

Qingyu watched, dumbfounded.

This maneuver... is he hacking?!

If this isn't a hack, I'll film an episode with Doll Sister!

[System: Too bad, brother, this is completely legit!]

Qingyu: It really is...

"This move is called Swallow Piercing Forest," Shisui laughed. "Once you master Twin Swallow Rotation, I'll teach it to you."

Qingyu nodded heavily.

For the sake of such a cool move, I'll give it my all!

The morning training passed amidst pain and progress.

At lunchtime, Shisui actually pulled a... bento box out of his ninja tool pouch?