Chapter Ten: Slight Progress

The next day, Hui arrived at the dango shop early. Naruto and Rock Lee had gone for their morning run, and Hui hadn't asked Naruto to tag along. Since the shop hadn't opened yet, she squatted outside to wait.

Unexpectedly, Itachi arrived shortly after.

"Brother Itachi!" Hui ran over excitedly, as if she had just seen a savior.

Itachi responded calmly, "What is it you wish to ask me?" He went straight to the point.

Hui didn't dawdle. "Brother Itachi, I want to ask if I can practice the Three Body Technique now?"

"I've memorized the hand seal sequences, but I can't seem to condense my chakra."

Itachi replied, "Theoretically, you can, but it depends on your individual circumstances. It's not that you are unable to condense it, but rather that your chakra reserves are still too low."

He glanced at Hui's thin, small frame and continued, "Focus on nourishing your body first. Don't be impatient. After you form the hand seals, carefully sense the cells throughout your body, gather them together, and then practice repeatedly."

Although Hui didn't fully understand, she committed his words to memory.

Afterward, Itachi demonstrated the technique again. Hui watched in amazement as a pale blue light—the chakra—became visible around him. Perhaps Itachi was letting his chakra leak out specifically so she could sense it.

Seeing that Hui had grasped a good deal, but knowing he didn't have much time, Itachi said, "Practice on your own for now. I'll check on your progress next week."

Hui nodded, smiling happily as she thanked him. "Yes, I understand. Thank you, Brother Itachi."

"Mn." Itachi left immediately after, looking quite hurried.

The conversation had lasted less than ten minutes. Hui tilted her head, watching Itachi's retreating back with a smile.

He was clearly so busy, yet he was still willing to come and help her. He was truly so gentle...

Because of her long hours of practice and Itachi's help and explanations, Hui truly discovered she could sense the flow of chakra.

Later, for convenience, Itachi would arrange meeting times with her in advance, and for the first time, he took her to the Uchiha clan's district.

The first person she saw was the smiling Mikoto Uchiha; she was truly a beautiful, gentle, and virtuous woman.

Hui stared at her blankly, remembering that she had been the one to save her last time. Her gratitude and affection grew even deeper, and she felt very close to Mikoto.

Moreover, eating the breakfast Mikoto had prepared for her made her feel like she was bubbling over with happiness. She was so content she almost forgot to go back and find Naruto.

This continued even after she met Sasuke; she found herself constantly praising Mikoto.

"Auntie Mikoto, you are so beautiful and gentle! It must be super happy to be your child!"

"Auntie Mikoto, you are an angel, the most beautiful angel of all!"

Mikoto smiled shyly, while Sasuke stood to the side looking disgusted, though his eyes held a hint of gratification as he looked at his mother.

"Auntie Mikoto, your cooking is truly amazing! Can you teach me?"

Sasuke would chime in with his daily dose of disdain, "Stop finding excuses to come to my house for free meals!"

"Auntie Mikoto, this is a hair clip I bought. It's for the most beautiful person—you."

Although Hui was poor, she didn't know why, but she just really liked Auntie Mikoto, and Mikoto was very good to her as well.

However, every time she returned to face Naruto's resentful gaze, Hui could only offer a sheepish smile. She would comfort him and pay out of her own pocket to treat him to ramen, while she could only watch from the sidelines.

Today was another day she was stared at by a certain someone with resentment all the way to the ramen shop. Naruto was eating with the utmost joy, and Hui couldn't be bothered to argue with him, instead calculating Naruto's current situation in her head.

She asked, "Naruto, whose stamina is better, yours or Rock Lee's? If you two spar, who wins more often? Also, have you been practicing taijutsu? You know, the scroll I gave you last time?"

Hearing her voice, Naruto "obediently" stopped eating. "That... well... hey, I'm actually really strong! I'm going to be super strong very soon!!!"

He started off hesitant, but by the end, Naruto was practically shouting, as if saying it would make it come true. It gave Hui a start.

For this flag, Hui chopped Naruto on the head with her hand and sighed helplessly. Naruto rubbed his head with an innocent expression, but Hui pouted and pretended not to see.

Naruto's gaze shifted back to his ramen. Seeing that Hui was still ignoring him, he secretly picked up his chopsticks and continued eating, being as careful as he could—it was completely unlike his usual self.

Hui pondered for a moment. She only saw Itachi a few times a week to learn what she could, while Naruto and Rock Lee continued their physical training every day. It seemed she needed to go see for herself. "I'll go with you tomorrow."

Naruto was shocked. For the past few weeks, Hui had been training alone. They had agreed on a match a month later and hadn't been training together, though they were secretly competing.

Although both of them were trying their best to build stamina and learn the simple taijutsu from the scroll, they both felt they couldn't quite get the hang of it.

Hearing Hui's almost defeatist statement, Naruto felt incredibly proud. He beamed at her, only to be met with another chop to the head from Hui.

"I'm going to check on your training results." After saying this, Hui turned and left the ramen shop.

Naruto finished his meal in a hurry and chased after her. "I'm really strong!" Naruto said.

Hui tilted her head to look at him and chuckled. "Good, I look forward to your progress."

Hui rejoined Naruto and the others' training. Rock Lee and Naruto's stamina remained excellent—something she couldn't help but envy. Seeing how lively and passionate the two of them were, she suddenly felt that being an idiot wasn't so bad after all.

Watching their sparring become increasingly intense, Hui felt she had been left far behind. But Itachi always told her not to be impatient. The only thing she had a slight advantage in now was shurikenjutsu, though because they were too expensive, she had only bought three to practice with.

Rock Lee and Naruto had always wanted to try, and Hui had tried to teach them, but something was always missing. She couldn't pass on what Itachi had taught her to Naruto and Rock Lee, so they decided to focus on taijutsu first.

Bang! Hui watched as Naruto was kicked away by Rock Lee, slamming heavily into a tree.

Hui was too stunned to speak. Rock Lee rushed over to help Naruto up. "Are you okay!"

Naruto clutched his stomach, his eyes still squeezed shut in pain. It seemed that kick from Rock Lee had been quite heavy.

Hui did not step forward immediately, instead glancing at Rock Lee with a faint smile on her lips; it seemed Rock Lee had achieved it first, living up to his reputation as a taijutsu genius.

Naruto opened his eyes slightly to see Rock Lee's anxious expression, and the resentment he felt from being beaten subsided just a little.

However, he also saw Hui standing behind Rock Lee, along with that trace of a satisfied smile on her face, and suddenly his mood soured; he clutched his stomach tightly and began to wail, "It hurts so much, I think I'm going to die!"

"Lee, it seems you've done it!" Hui ignored Naruto and turned toward Rock Lee.

"Done what?" Lee asked, puzzled.

"Taijutsu, true taijutsu that utilizes chakra!"

Lee and Naruto were both stunned for a moment, but once they finally realized what Hui was talking about, they began to cheer excitedly, while Hui watched from the side, feeling an inexplicable sense of joy.

Afterward, the three of them sparred with one another, and with Lee sharing his insights, everyone made some progress, though what they needed most now was time.

Hui, however, felt a bit dejected because she hadn't made any progress herself, so she eventually stopped wasting time with the two of them and went off to practice the Three Body Technique on her own again, but the day she truly succeeded, she encountered Sasuke.