On the other side.
The Uchiha Clan.
Keigo Uchiha looked at the two scrolls in his hands and suddenly understood. "As expected of a great man's scrolls. This kind of profound insight is beyond the reach of ordinary ninja. Even though the content is incredibly deep, it's explained in such a simple, easy-to-understand way!"
"As expected of the man who could become the Sage of Six Paths!"
His eyes burned with excitement. He had gained a new understanding of ninjutsu. "Simply put, to master ninjutsu completely, you need to work on two things: first, shape transformation; second, nature transformation!"
"Shape transformation, as the name suggests, is like the Great Fireball Technique and Phoenix Flower Jutsu. The different forms of Fire Release serve different purposes. That's shape transformation!"
"Shape transformation is achieved through the flow of chakra and the use of different Hand Seals."
This alone showed how incredible Madara was.
According to Madara's notes, Hand Seals were basically useless.
They were mainly a way to assist.
There were twelve seals used for ninjutsu: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Hare, Monkey, Snake, Horse, Ram, and the rest. Each corresponded to a different flow and arrangement of chakra. It was like the English alphabet: there were only twenty-six letters, yet they could form countless words and, in turn, all kinds of sentences!
Hand Seals worked the same way. By combining different seals in different orders, you could create countless ninjutsu techniques!
In essence, ninjutsu was formed by combining chakra of different natures, arranged and made to flow in different ways.
So Hand Seals weren't the key. The key was how to combine and arrange chakra.
In theory, you could perform ninjutsu without Hand Seals if you understood the principles of chakra.
Yuki Haku, who could form seals with one hand, Uchiha Itachi, and Senju Hashirama, who could simply bring his hands together and make anything happen, were the best proof.
Ultimately, their chakra control had reached such a masterful level that they no longer needed seals to guide it!
"Shape transformation is like memorizing vocabulary, while nature transformation is like English grammar. For example, Fire Release Ninjutsu can have different qualities, such as burning, exploding, light, and heat."
Keigo Uchiha pondered. "Emphasizing a particular quality of Fire Release in a ninjutsu technique is nature transformation. It takes talent, understanding, and powerful chakra. It's extremely difficult to achieve!"
"Once you understand these two principles, learning ninjutsu and controlling chakra will both become much easier."
His eyes shone brighter and brighter. He had more or less grasped the theory.
He took a deep breath.
"So learning ninjutsu is like learning English. Memorizing vocabulary is the foundation of learning English, and ninjutsu is the same. Once you learn how chakra flows, forms, and arranges itself, learning any ninjutsu will be easy!"
After reading Uchiha Madara's explanation, Keigo Uchiha was shaken to the core.
Damn, Madara really was something else.
His insights were enough to make him a legend even today, and could serve as a priceless inheritance for any clan!
"Understanding this knowledge makes learning ninjutsu twice as effective. Without it, you're just fumbling through imitations and will never master nature transformation, let alone perform an S-rank technique!"
Keigo Uchiha continued reading.
The next section covered how Lightning Release Ninjutsu was formed, its variations, sequences, and nature—especially its properties. This was already at the level of nature transformation, knowledge that only jonin would encounter!
"The properties of Lightning Release Ninjutsu include penetration, diffusion, paralysis, explosive force, light, heat, and so on..."
Damn it!
Keigo Uchiha was at a loss.
He really couldn't understand any of this. "It's still too early for me to study this. From now on, I need to build a solid foundation and practice chakra control first! As for nature transformation... that's beyond me for now."
"I understand the principle that too much of a good thing can be harmful."
Keigo Uchiha turned back to the first page.
He began studying the flow of chakra and the techniques for forming Hand Seals.
"This is the advantage of being born into a great clan. Both Shisui Uchiha and Uchiha Itachi must have read these notes. They, too, stood on the shoulders of giants, and that's how they achieved what they did!"
"Body Flicker Shisui of the Uchiha Clan and Uchiha Itachi are both skilled at forming Hand Seals. Now I know why."
Keigo Uchiha began training his Hand Seal speed and learning to direct the flow of chakra inside his body, little by little.
It took practice to make perfect.
It also took talent!
If he couldn't form Hand Seals fast enough, he wouldn't be able to direct the chakra in his body properly.
And even if he could form Hand Seals quickly, if he couldn't direct his chakra properly, he still wouldn't be able to perform ninjutsu!
"From now on, I'll master chakra control and the principles of Hand Seals until they're second nature. At the same time... I'll train my body to prepare for Nintaijutsu!"
Time flew by.
The Great Elder visited from time to time. Even as a seasoned veteran, he was astonished by Keigo Uchiha's rate of progress!
"He's only seven, yet he can already form two seals per second. That's Genin-level!"
"And in just a few days, he's already become incredibly proficient in both Lightning Release Ninjutsu and Water Release Ninjutsu!"
Looking at the boy's composed gaze and heroic bearing, the Great Elder thought he could almost see that man's silhouette!
"Could it really be... that man's glory will shine again?"
His eyes burned with a hint of ambition and yearning!
"It's still not enough. Even after training like crazy all this time, I can only manage two seals per second. I seem to have hit a bottleneck. I can't get any faster."
Keigo Uchiha shook his head, dissatisfied.
To be able to clap his hands and make anything happen, he needed to reach a speed of at least eight seals per second!
He also needed to have a huge amount of chakra!
Otherwise, even someone like Yamato, despite having Wood Release, would still need Hand Seals for even the simplest Wood Release techniques!
"In just half a month, you've gone from a beginner to forming two seals per second. You've also learned two Lightning Release techniques and two Water Release techniques. That's more than enough to show how talented you are!"
The Great Elder praised him. "Training isn't something you can master overnight. Your progress is already enough to make others feel ashamed!"
"You're certain to be the top student in this year's Ninja Academy class!"
With talent this great and progress this frightening, he was already a monster!
Keigo shook his head at that. Great Elder, you have no idea how freakish things got during the Fourth Shinobi World War. I've barely even started!
Still, Keigo was somewhat interested in the Ninja Academy.
After all, training hard all the time was boring. The Ninja Academy would be a nice change of pace.
Although Keigo could choose not to attend the Ninja Academy as a member of the Uchiha main family, neither he nor the Great Elder thought that was a good idea.
If he didn't attend the Ninja Academy, it would be hard to extend his influence beyond the Uchiha Clan.
He'd also have a hard time benefiting from the resources of the entire village of Konoha.
If Senju Tobirama were still in power, Keigo definitely wouldn't want to attend the Ninja Academy. After all, Senju Tobirama was deeply hostile toward the Uchiha Clan.
But Sarutobi was about to take over, wasn't he?
That guy was already bursting with goodwill toward the Uchiha!
If he didn't attend the Ninja Academy, how was he supposed to fleece Comrade Sarutobi?
So, attending the Ninja Academy was definitely worthwhile!
Before you continue