Special Training Begins!

The individual guidance would last for half a year. During these six months, Lord Fugaku took me to an extremely secluded Uchiha base, one that was never mentioned in the original work.

He told me that my talent, especially in ninjutsu, was exceptional, stemming from the high quality of my chakra. My chakra flow was unusually active, and my cellular potential was incredibly high—which meant that when I unleashed my ninjutsu, the power would be even more devastating!

My eyes sparkled—wow! I really am a genius!

"The Fireball Jutsu is a C-rank ninjutsu, but you doubled its effect, reaching the level of a Chunin."

The scene of that day, with flames raging like a torrent, reappeared before my eyes. I gasped, finding it hard to believe.

I suddenly realized that the chakra of Itachi and Madara also seemed to be of top-tier quality, rated at the 'Refined' level!

My eyes practically glowed with excitement!

Doesn't that mean this young master has a boundless future!

Fugaku suggested that I focus primarily on ninjutsu and ocular techniques, supplemented by taijutsu, blade techniques, and shurikenjutsu. He then drafted a detailed schedule for me based on this.

Every day—

4:30 Wake up

5:30 Refine chakra

6:30 Taijutsu training

8:00 Hand seals and ninjutsu training

11:00 Shuriken training

I was full of fighting spirit at first, but after seeing the timetable, I deflated like a punctured ball—

Mom, I want to go home!

At twelve noon, I lay on the ground with blurred vision, my windpipe spasming, my hands trembling uncontrollably, and suffering from agonizing cramps.

After a ten-minute lunch break, the afternoon training began.

The entire afternoon was dedicated to endurance training. Whether physical or mental. Things like long-distance running, rock climbing, endless dodging of shuriken, one-sided beatings, and so on. Or standing under the scorching sun, reciting complex and chaotic ninja knowledge, scroll seals, maps of various countries, and the Uchiha family code over and over again...

Several times I thought I couldn't go on, but my body would always well up with warm strength, and coupled with Fugaku's relentless urging and whipping, I stood up again and again, running while crying.

QAQ!!!

When I was exhausted by nightfall, I would sometimes be met with solitary confinement, restricted water and food... all to wear down my patience, temper my resolve, and challenge the limits of my body and mind.

—This was the most torturous part.

I never imagined I would endure such a painful period; when the training first began, this sudden blow left me dazed.

So, this is how cruel the experience of becoming a true ninja really is.

The process was truly arduous. Even many years later, I can still smell the scent of blood in my nasal cavity, feel my lungs wheezing like a broken bellows, shudder at the sight of a dark, deep room, and feel an instinctive craving for ample food and water...

—Even though all of this is in the past.

I do not hate Fugaku.

It was precisely because of being tempered between the black and red of consciousness, struggling between fainting and waking, that I was able to stand until the end as a survivor in several life-and-death battles later on.

I should be thanking him instead.

Combat never relies on luck.

One night, I don't know what time it was, but the moonlight was like frost and the cold wind was biting. I was thinly clad, frozen to the point where I could barely feel temperature or pain, yet my hands could not stop moving for a single second.

Lord Fugaku's shadow stretched long, extending to my feet, cold and deep.

"Three seals per second. Very good, is this your limit?"

"No."

Hand seals are all about practice making perfect. The more you practice, the faster you get.

Itachi's talent allowed him to perform six seals per second, but it was day after day of practice that allowed him to break through his limits bit by bit.

So I knew this would not be my limit.

My head ached terribly; today's training included many tasks my current body couldn't handle. I was truly tired, my body swaying, ready to collapse at any moment.

If the first three months of training were about challenging limits, then these last three months were about squeezing out the essence of my life. I don't know if this is a good thing, but I have indeed become stronger and stronger.

Every day brought new progress, and after surviving the torture of blood and fire, this feeling gradually became fascinating, addictive!

Unlike my previous life, my body is now under my own control!

"The training will end next week, and I will send someone to pick you up." Fugaku stood in front of me at some point, looking at my state, his tone softening slightly: "Before then, get some good rest for a few days."

"Yes, Clan Head." I could barely hear his words. The moment I finally relaxed, my eyelids kept drooping, my vision flickering between black and white, and my mind was filled only with the thought of taking my leave.

For me, being able to sleep comfortably after a hard day's work and having a hearty, delicious meal when hungry was already enough to soothe my soul.

I am very content!

After he vanished, I forced myself to walk to the tree. Before I could even crawl into my sleeping bag, I collapsed onto it and fell asleep.

After I drifted off, two tall figures suddenly appeared. One was Uchiha Fugaku, who had just departed, and the other was the medical ninja Uchiha Xun.

Xun carefully pinched the boy's arm to examine it, speaking into the freezing wind: "His body is incredibly resilient, and his wound-healing ability is rapid. To be able to continue fighting even with injured muscles and bones—he is a natural-born talent for taijutsu."

"And thanks to his high-quality chakra, his ninjutsu potential is also limitless." Uchiha Xun let out a breath, her eyes bright as she emphasized with certainty: "Even among the successive generations of the Uchiha clan, he is a rare genius!"

"I just don't know if he can handle this intensity of training. After all... he is still too young..."

"No need to worry. He can endure it."

Uchiha Fugaku stared fixedly at the sleeping Uchiha Yue. His gaze was indifferent, not at all like he was looking at a child; it was as if he were observing a monster, a... monster being used as a tool, cold and merciless.

Uchiha Xun remained silent for a long time before giving a low, soft "Yes."

This year, the first snow in Konoha arrived exceptionally early. After a night of freezing temperatures, the heavy snow draped the pine forest of the encampment in a crystalline, icy world. The snow on the training grounds remained unshoveled, a vast expanse of white.

When I woke up, the air still carried the scent of frost and mist—dry and cold, pressing heavily into my chest.

Because the daily special training had been etched into my body, I automatically opened my eyes at 4:30. I was exhausted and sleepy, but I couldn't fall back asleep.

Damn it!

Finally having a rare moment of leisure, I lay in my sleeping bag and looked up at the night sky, examining this world quietly and profoundly for the first time.

The sky here is different from my previous life. The starry sky before me is vast, the night curtain a deep blue. The moon overhead is clear and bright, at times intoxicatingly gentle, at others coldly real.

I am lying on fresh snow, soft and dense to the touch. The pine forest above is covered in frost and snow, gray-white pressing against pine-green, all resting in silence under the cold moonlight.

The longer I stay in this world, the more real it feels. I took a deep breath, filling my lungs with the cold, snowy air and the scent of pine, and my heart finally settled.

The special training is about to end. What awaits me next?

"What are you thinking about, little one?"

My heart contracted, and I rolled out of my sleeping bag in one motion. The kunai in my sleeve slid into my palm, my gaze instantly locking onto the source of the voice. The moment I saw who it was, I relaxed.

It's her.

Under the moonlight, Uchiha Xun was half-kneeling on a tree branch, looking down at me with a smile.

"Why are you sleeping here? Isn't there a place to rest in the encampment?" She jumped down and, as if performing a magic trick, produced several skewers of three-colored dango and handed them over. Then, with another flourish and a whoosh, she suddenly ignited a fire on the ground.

"There are beds..." I rubbed my eyes and impatiently took the dango, biting one and swallowing it. It was sweet, and so cold it made my teeth ache.

It's Itachi-brand dango! I'm going to eat, eat, eat!

My cheeks were stuffed full, completely unaware that I had already made Uchiha Xun's eyes light up with adoration.

I opened my sticky mouth and mumbled, "But... but there are bugs on the beds."

I am very afraid of bugs, especially the multi-legged ones that crawl fast. I've been afraid since I was little.

At least there are no bugs here; it's too cold.

Uchiha Xun smiled and began to roast the dango. I watched her and followed suit, placing my three-colored dango over the fire. The flames toasted our faces, warm and cozy.

Once they were roasted, I took a bite. The outer skin of the dango was crisp and chewy, while the filling was soft, piping hot, and sweet.

I fell in love with it almost instantly.

"Do you like sweets?" She handed me the skewer she had been holding. Her pupils reflected the firelight, so warm that I couldn't look away.

I nodded, my mouth stuffed full, starving.

She watched me, then suddenly leaned in close, gently stroking my face and using her sleeve to wipe away the dust and food crumbs. With a gentleness as if we were meeting for the first time, she said, "Come on, let's go to the room and get you cleaned up properly."