Chakra Training (I)

In the world of shinobi, strength was everything.

Having been reincarnated, Uchiha Yue, whose soul belonged to an adult, understood the importance of strength better than most.

Especially since the time Uchiha Yue had arrived in this world coincided with the fiercest period of the Second Shinobi World War. There was almost always a funeral taking place in front of the Memorial Stone, and the narrow alleys and dilapidated houses in the clan compound were filled with the cries of widows and orphans. In his previous life, Uchiha Yue had lived in peacetime. How could he have ever witnessed the misery of war?

So whenever Uchiha Yue saw such a terrible sight, he clenched his fists and silently made a vow in his heart.

For the parents who cherished him in this life, and for the family he had been so lucky to have, he would grow stronger!

Only by becoming stronger could he protect his parents and the hard-won family he treasured in this chaotic age!

However, although four whole years had passed since he had arrived in the world of Naruto, Uchiha Yue still hadn't discovered any remarkable talent in this body. Even the reputation for being a genius he'd earned within the clan was entirely due to his adult soul, and had nothing to do with his natural aptitude.

But Uchiha Yue didn't give up after realizing his talent was limited. Instead, he approached his training with even greater seriousness and effort.

A slow starter could still get ahead—that was a simple truth Uchiha Yue understood well. Since he had no talent far beyond that of others, he would have to rely on his own efforts to gain great strength.

Take Rock Lee from the original story, for example. Didn't he lack even the talent to use ninjutsu?

And yet, through his own hard work, hadn't Rock Lee proved himself and even become one of Konoha's twelve strongest?

With Rock Lee as an example, Uchiha Yue immediately began planning his future when he realized his own talent was only average.

During the first two years after arriving in the world of Naruto, Uchiha Yue didn't begin training because he was still too young. He knew that it wasn't the right time. If he forced himself to train, his body might not be fully developed, and he could suffer irreparable damage that he would regret for the rest of his life.

So, during those first two years, Uchiha Yue spent his time reading the ninjutsu scrolls at home and planning his training for the future.

His training plan didn't truly begin until a year ago, when Uchiha Yue turned three. Even then, it was limited to basic physical conditioning.

He went for a run every morning without fail. He did exercises to strengthen his body in the morning and afternoon, then practiced Hand Seals indoors at night.

His training was planned out almost every day, and Uchiha Yue never pushed himself beyond his limits the way Rock Lee did.

What a joke. Only a freak like Rock Lee could train beyond his limits every day without damaging his body.

If three-year-old Uchiha Yue trained like him, he probably wouldn't make it to the age of five. How could he expect to get stronger?

Still, even keeping up with simple training was difficult for Uchiha Yue.

After all, he'd spent his previous life in peacetime, cooped up at home whenever he was bored. When would he ever have had time to exercise?

Everyone knew the people who could afford to work out at the gym were rich. How could a homebody like Uchiha Yue ever go to a place like that?

So, after beginning his training, Uchiha Yue often thought about giving up. In the end, however, he always persevered through sheer willpower.

Whenever Uchiha Yue ran into difficulties in his training, he would ask his father, Uchiha Nara, for advice.

With Uchiha Nara, an elite jonin, guiding him so carefully, Uchiha Yue had no fear of going astray on the path of training.

After two whole years of diligent training, Uchiha Yue felt that he had made great progress. At the very least, his body was stronger than those of all the other children his age, and could even compare to the bodies of six- or seven-year-olds. And because he'd started practicing Hand Seals at such a young age, Uchiha Yue might not be able to match Uchiha Itachi's astonishing speed, but he could still form one seal per second.

That rate of progress gave Uchiha Yue plenty of confidence.

The next person Uchiha Yue planned to surpass was Hatake Kakashi, who was currently training at the Ninja Academy!

In fact, Hatake Kakashi was Uchiha Yue's benchmark for measuring his own strength. He felt that as long as he could surpass Kakashi at the same age, he would have what it took to make a name for himself in the shinobi world!

However, surpassing Hatake Kakashi in strength wouldn't be easy.

To surpass Hatake Kakashi, Uchiha Yue had asked his father to teach him chakra training when he was just three. His father had refused. At that age, Uchiha Yue's body wasn't fully developed, and the pathways in his body hadn't yet matured. Forcing himself to train in chakra could cause those pathways to rupture.

The worst possible outcome was permanent damage to his chakra pathways, leaving him unable to use ninjutsu, just like Rock Lee in the original story.

Because the consequences of forcing himself to train in chakra were so serious, Uchiha Yue temporarily suppressed his urge to begin.

It wasn't until the Ninja Academy was about to open, when Uchiha Yue was four, that his father finally taught him how to train in chakra.

But once again, Uchiha Yue felt disappointed by his mediocre talent. His body was simply not suited to chakra training.

"Father, Mother, I'm going back to my room now."

Under his parents' attentive care, Uchiha Yue felt that his injuries had nearly healed. He then said goodbye to them and went back to his room to continue training in chakra.

His chakra training wasn't going particularly well, mainly because Uchiha Yue's talent was rather mediocre.

But Uchiha Yue had known all along that he wasn't a training prodigy, so he wasn't about to give up so easily.

So, after realizing that he lacked talent for chakra training, Uchiha Yue planned to work even harder at it, without wasting a single second.

Seeing how diligently he was studying, Uchiha Yue's parents were naturally delighted. They smiled and agreed to let him return to his room to continue training.

Before leaving, however, Uchiha Yue remembered to ask his father for some ninjutsu scrolls about chakra training.

With an adult soul, Uchiha Yue knew how to make use of the advantages he had in this life.

Uchiha Nara was a member of Konoha's powerful Uchiha Clan, and a descendant of Uchiha Madara to boot. It was impossible to count all the ninjutsu scrolls he possessed. With so many scrolls, Uchiha Yue had access to a better learning environment than ordinary people. If he couldn't even make use of that advantage, then his reincarnation would have been for nothing.

Uchiha Yue didn't need to worry about the heavy ninjutsu scrolls, despite his frail body.

Once Uchiha Nara had gathered the scrolls on chakra training, servants would naturally bring them to Uchiha Yue's room.

In his room, Uchiha Yue carefully read each scroll on chakra training, hoping to find a better way to train.

After all, chakra was the foundation of every shinobi. Without enough chakra, a shinobi was only a little stronger than an ordinary person.

"Right now, there are two things holding back my growth: the amount of chakra in my body, and the fact that my body hasn't fully developed yet."

"I can't control how my body develops, so I have to make the most of my chakra training. That's the only way I can get stronger as quickly as possible!"

As he thought this, Uchiha Yue continued reading the ninjutsu scrolls in front of him, and for no apparent reason, recalled the tree-climbing exercise he'd done earlier that day.