The one-on-one training would last half a year. During that time, Lord Fugaku took me to an extremely secluded Uchiha Clan base that had never been mentioned in the original story.
He told me that I had exceptional talent, especially when it came to ninjutsu, thanks to the quality of my chakra. My chakra flowed unusually actively, and my cells had tremendous potential—which meant my techniques would pack far more power!
My eyes sparkled. Wow! I really am a genius!
"The Great Fireball Technique is a C-rank jutsu, but you doubled its power. It's already at the level of a Chunin."
The blazing inferno from that day replayed in my mind, and I let out a sigh. I could hardly believe it myself.
I suddenly remembered that Itachi and Madara seemed to have exceptionally high-quality chakra too, rated as "excellent"!
My eyes practically gleamed!
That meant I had a limitless future!
Fugaku recommended that I focus on ninjutsu and dōjutsu, with Taijutsu, swordsmanship, and weapons training as supporting disciplines. He drew up a detailed schedule for me.
Every day—
4:30—Wake up
5:30—Refine chakra
6:30—Taijutsu training
8:00—Hand Seals and ninjutsu training
11:00—Weapons training
At first, I was full of fighting spirit. But when I saw the schedule, I deflated like a punctured balloon—
Mom, I want to go home!
At noon, I lay on the ground, my vision blurred and my breathing so ragged my windpipe almost cramped. My hands trembled uncontrollably, muscles twitching now and then. It hurt like hell.
After a ten-minute lunch break, the afternoon training began.
The entire afternoon was devoted to endurance training, both physical and mental. Long-distance running, rock climbing, endless dodging of hidden weapons, one-sided beatings, and so on. Or memorizing piles of complicated, disorganized ninja knowledge under the blazing sun: scrolls, seals, maps of the nations, the Uchiha Clan's rules...
Several times, I thought I couldn't go on, but warmth always began flowing through my body again. Then, with Fugaku relentlessly prodding and beating me, I got back on my feet time and time again, running through my tears.
QAQ!!!
By the time night came and I was utterly exhausted, I sometimes faced solitary confinement too, with water and food withheld... It was all meant to wear down my patience, temper my resolve, and push my body and mind to their limits.
—That was the most torturous part.
I'd never imagined I would endure such a painful stretch of days. When training first began, that brutal wake-up call left me stunned.
So this was how cruel the path to becoming a true ninja could be.
The whole ordeal was unimaginably grueling. Even many years later, I could still smell blood in my nostrils, feel my lungs wheezing like a broken bellows, and see my hair stand on end at the sight of a pitch-black room. I still had an instinctive craving for plenty of food and water...
—Even though it was all over.
I didn't hate Fugaku.
It was because I had been tested again and again at the border between awareness and oblivion, fighting my way between unconsciousness and wakefulness, that I was able to survive the deadly battles that came later and be the one left standing.
I ought to thank him.
Battles had never been won by luck.
One night, I had no idea what time it was. The moonlight was frosty, and the wind cut to the bone. My clothes were so thin that I could barely feel the cold—or the pain—but my hands couldn't stop moving.
Lord Fugaku's shadow stretched out long, reaching to my feet, cold and dark.
"Three seals a second. Good. Is that your limit?"
"No."
Hand Seals came down to practice. The more I practiced, the faster I became.
Itachi's talent let him form six seals in a second, but only day after day of practice could gradually push his limits higher.
So I knew this wasn't my limit.
My head was throbbing. A lot of today's training was more than my body could handle. I was really tired. My body swayed, and I felt like I might collapse at any moment.
If the first three months of training had been about challenging my limits, the last three were about wringing the very essence of life out of me. I didn't know whether that was a good thing, but I really was getting stronger.
I made new progress every day. After enduring the trials of blood and fire, the feeling gradually became intoxicating—addictive!
Unlike in my previous life, this time, my body was under my own control!
"Training will end next week. I'll send someone to bring you back." At some point, Fugaku had come to stand in front of me. Looking at me, his voice softened a little. "Until then, get some rest."
"Yes, Clan Head." I could barely hear him. The moment I finally relaxed, my eyelids began to droop. My vision flickered between black and white, and all I could think about was being dismissed.
For me, after a hard day, sleeping comfortably was enough. When I was hungry, a satisfying meal was enough to comfort me.
I was easy to please!
After he disappeared, I forced myself to walk to a tree. Before I could even crawl into my sleeping bag, I was already asleep on top of it.
Once I was asleep, two tall figures suddenly appeared: Uchiha Fugaku, who had just left, and the medical ninja Uchiha Xun.
Xun carefully lifted the boy's arm and examined it. Then she spoke into the bitter wind. "His body is remarkably resilient, and his wounds heal quickly. He can keep fighting even with injuries to his bones and tendons. He's a natural at Taijutsu."
"And thanks to the quality of his chakra, his ninjutsu potential is limitless too." Uchiha Xun exhaled, her eyes bright, and emphasized, "Even among the Uchiha Clan's generations, he's a rare genius!"
"I just don't know if he can handle this level of training. After all... he's still so young..."
"Don't worry. He can handle it."
Uchiha Fugaku stared intently at the sleeping Uchiha Yue. His gaze was indifferent, as if he weren't looking at a child at all, but observing a monster—a monster being used as a tool. His eyes were cold and merciless.
Uchiha Xun was silent for a long while, then quietly answered, "Yes."
This year, Konoha's first snowfall came unusually early. After a night of sudden freezing, the snow cloaked the pine woods around the base in a glittering world of ice and snow. The training ground lay beneath a vast blanket of untouched white.
When I woke, the air still carried the scent of frost, dry and cold, pressing heavily against my chest.
Since the daily training had been etched into my body, I automatically opened my eyes at 4:30. I was sleepy and exhausted, but I couldn't fall back asleep.
Damn it!
At last, I had some rare free time. Hanging inside my sleeping bag, I gazed up at the night sky and, for the first time, quietly and deeply examined this world.
The sky here was different from the one in my previous life. The stars stretched endlessly across the deep blue night. The moon overhead was clear and pale, at once so gentle it could make you swoon, and so cold it seemed real.
Fresh snow lay beneath me, soft and dense to the touch. The pine forest overhead was covered in frost and snow, gray-white pressed against deep green. Under the cold moonlight, everything was still.
The longer I spent in this world, the more real it felt. I breathed in deeply, filling my lungs with the crisp scent of snow and pine, and finally felt at peace.
My special training was almost over. What would be waiting for me next?
"What's going on in that little head of yours?"
My heart clenched. I rolled out of my sleeping bag, a kunai sliding from my sleeve into my palm as my gaze snapped toward the voice. The moment I recognized who it was, I relaxed.
Oh, it was her.
In the moonlight, Uchiha Xun knelt on a tree branch, smiling at me.
"Why are you sleeping out here? There's a place to rest at the base, isn't there?" She jumped down and, as if by magic, produced several skewers of dango and handed them to me. Then, with another flourish, a fire sprang up on the ground with a whoosh.
"There's a bed..." I rubbed my eyes and eagerly took the dango, biting off a piece and swallowing it. It was sweet, and cold enough to make my teeth ache.
It was Itachi's signature dango! I was gonna eat and eat!
My cheeks were stuffed full, and I had no idea I'd made Uchiha Xun's eyes light up with how cute I looked.
I opened my sticky mouth and mumbled, "But... but there are bugs in the bed."
I was scared of bugs, especially the many-legged ones that crawled fast. I'd been afraid of them since I was little.
Luckily, there were no bugs here. It was too cold.
Uchiha Xun smiled and started roasting the dango. I watched her, then copied her, holding my skewers over the fire. The flames warmed both our faces, making them feel cozy and warm.
Once they were roasted just right, I took a bite. The outside had turned firm and chewy, while the filling was soft and piping hot, sweet from end to end.
I fell in love with them instantly.
"Do you like sweets?" She handed me the skewer in her hand too. Her eyes reflected the firelight, so warm I couldn't look away.
I nodded, my mouth stuffed full. I was starving.
She watched me, then suddenly leaned closer and gently touched my face. She wiped the dirt and food crumbs from it with her sleeve, then spoke with the same warmth as if we'd only just met. "Come on. Let's go to the room and get you cleaned up."
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