I Choose Orochimaru as Hokage, Ascending to the Moon in Ten Years Chapter 33

"What's wrong? Still a crybaby?"

"Don't you want to become a genius ninja like your brother? Are you content with being a mediocre ninja?"

Uchiha Gin spoke, sounding like he was about to dish out some life advice, while simultaneously dangling Itachi as a goal.

Sure enough, hearing that he was to follow in Itachi's footsteps, Sasuke immediately wore a determined expression. Since he often heard his brother being praised at home, he felt he should be able to achieve the same.

The rivalry between brothers began in childhood and would continue until one side gave up or conceded.

"I want to become as strong as my brother!"

Sasuke said earnestly, though he looked far too adorable.

There was absolutely no aura of seriousness to him.

"Then let's go!"

"Itachi, come pick up Sasuke at noon."

Uchiha Gin said.

He then turned and walked away.

"Brother, remember to come pick me up at noon!"

Sasuke said to Itachi, still feeling a bit afraid.

Itachi raised his hand, poked Sasuke on the forehead with his index finger, and then spoke with a sense of relief.

"Of course. Remember to listen to Captain Gin."

He felt that Sasuke taking the initiative to agree made him feel as if his little brother was growing up.

Even though he himself was still just a child!

"Mm!"

Sasuke covered his head and pouted, but he still agreed, then set off on his short legs to follow behind Uchiha Gin.

Uchiha Gin brought Sasuke to the edge of the Uchiha clan's territory near the forest, where there was a pond.

"Today, we'll start by learning chakra extraction..."

Everything starts from the basics. Sasuke hadn't begun any real training yet, having only played with Kunai and Shuriken at home.

Therefore, they would start with chakra extraction, followed by water walking and tree climbing. After that, they would move straight into ninjutsu training. Things like Shurikenjutsu could be quickly mastered by copying them once he awakened his Sharingan, so there was no need to waste time training them now.

Sasuke scratched his head while listening to Uchiha Gin, as he couldn't understand many of the terms. Uchiha Gin had no choice but to guide him slowly.

At the same time, he used his ocular jutsu to assist, manipulating Sasuke's five senses with his Mangekyo to help him feel the presence of chakra—essentially cheating to help Sasuke train.

With the help of the ocular jutsu, Sasuke soon began trying to extract chakra, while Uchiha Gin began his own physical strengthening exercises. He created a Shadow Clone to watch over Sasuke while his main body performed repetitive physical training.

About an hour later, Sasuke opened his eyes in excitement.

"Captain Gin, I've extracted chakra!"

Sasuke said to Uchiha Gin, looking very happy.

Uchiha Gin's Shadow Clone observed him with his Sharingan and discovered that the chakra flowing through Sasuke's body had indeed increased.

Everyone in this world had chakra, but the vast majority could not control or use it. Once one could extract and condense it themselves, their chakra reserves would grow.

"Well done!"

"Now we begin the next step. Extracting chakra requires spiritual energy and physical energy. Spiritual energy increases very slowly, but physical energy can be improved through physical exercise."

Uchiha Gin said to Sasuke.

Since his chakra levels were currently too low, water walking and tree climbing would be troublesome. They would start with some light exercise, but for someone with Sasuke's small arms and legs, weighted training was out of the question; simple exercises would suffice.

"Mm!"

Seeing progress, Sasuke felt very confident, much like seeing a walkthrough guide in a game.

However, Sasuke soon felt tired. Uchiha Gin had him do light jogging, followed by pull-ups; at his age, weighted training would only stunt his growth.

"Captain Gin, how long do I have to train for!"

Sasuke felt like crying.

"Until you have no strength left to run."

Uchiha Gin said mercilessly.

In the original story, Sasuke wasted too much time on the boring curriculum at the Ninja Academy.

Sasuke's talent was top-tier; after two and a half years with Orochimaru, his strength was enough to take down Deidara, reaching the level of an elite Jonin.

Therefore, in this life, Uchiha Gin would not let Sasuke's talent go to waste.

"But, I'm really so tired!"

Tears welled up in Sasuke's eyes, though he held them back.

"Konoha's Blue Beast has arrived!!"

Suddenly, a passionate, booming voice rang out, immediately scaring the tears right back into Sasuke. He stared blankly as a cloud of dust rapidly approached their direction.

Soon, Sasuke saw someone crawling rapidly upside down, rushing toward them.

"Gin, I've arrived as invited!"

"When do we start this blood-boiling contest!"

Might Guy asked Uchiha Gin with a hearty laugh.

He was already impatient!

"We can start right now."

Uchiha Gin said to Might Guy.

He and Might Guy had a pretty good relationship; after all, having transmigrated for three years, he naturally knew who was worth befriending and who to ignore.

Moreover, he and Might Guy were from the same cohort, so they were acquaintances and it was easy to get along. He didn't have any ulterior motives; it was simply about exchanging taijutsu training and occasionally sparring.

Recently, Might Guy had been away on missions, so they hadn't had a chance to meet. Now that he was back and resting, Uchiha Gin had invited him for a taijutsu duel.

"Sasuke, let's call it a day for now. Watch the taijutsu match between me and Guy."

Uchiha Gin's Shadow Clone said to Sasuke.

Sasuke naturally had no objections; only after training did he realize how exhausting it was.

Uchiha Gin's main body stopped training and pulled four Kunai from his ninja tool pouch, with steel wires wrapped around them.

"Swish, swish, swish."

The Kunai were flung out by Uchiha Gin, embedding themselves into four separate tree trunks.

The steel wires tied to them formed a rectangular area of about 500 square meters, with sides over twenty meters long.

It perfectly covered the pond, with some grass around the edges.

"Whoever is forced out of this area, or knocked down, loses."

"No ninja tools, only taijutsu."

Uchiha Gin stated the rules to Might Guy.

"Fine!"

Might Guy said as he removed the weights from his body.

He didn't underestimate Uchiha Gin. If Uchiha Gin didn't activate his Sharingan, he could suppress Uchiha Gin and generally win, having only lost once by accident.

However, once the Sharingan was activated, their win rate became nine to one. But once he activated the Eight Inner Gates, he could continue the fight.

Of course, this was assuming he didn't use the Eight Inner Gates. Uchiha Gin didn't really want to use the Sharingan, as his main goal was to improve his own taijutsu, and taking hits was more effective. But Might Guy believed that without the Sharingan, he couldn't apply real pressure. He wanted Uchiha Gin to activate the Sharingan and copy his taijutsu to use against him, helping him hone his own skills.

Furthermore, his true rival, Kakashi, also possessed a Sharingan. To defeat Kakashi, he was very eager to spar with an opponent who had one.

Thus, both sides benefited; it wasn't just a one-sided technical handout.

Before the fight, both had already expended some stamina, but neither cared.

"Sasuke, you call the start."

Uchiha Gin's Shadow Clone led Sasuke to retreat outside the steel wire perimeter.

Seeing that both were ready, he spoke to Sasuke.

"Mm!"

"Then, start!"

Sasuke didn't feel timid; he was eager to see the battle, as he had never witnessed such a thing before, having only played with Kunai and Shuriken at home.

"Bang!"

Uchiha Gin and Might Guy collided instantly.

Both threw punches with their right hands, only to be caught by the other's left palm.

After a moment of struggling for leverage, Uchiha Gin fell into a disadvantage.

Although he hadn't slacked off on training, Might Guy still held the edge in raw strength.

Seeing this, Uchiha Gin attempted a low kick, aiming for Might Guy's left leg, but Might Guy reacted, grabbing Uchiha Gin's right hand and lifting him forcefully, causing the kick to miss its target.

In mid-air, Uchiha Gin exerted force from his waist, pulling Might Guy up with him. Both men left the ground simultaneously before being flung apart.

"So amazing!"

Sasuke watched with wide eyes, stunned by the scene.

Uchiha Gin was thrown toward the pond, landing first and sprinting across the water toward where Might Guy was touching down.

As Might Guy landed, Uchiha Gin's whip kick came flying in. Might Guy performed a sudden backbend to dodge, then planted his hands on the ground and kicked out with both feet toward Uchiha Gin's right side. Uchiha Gin blocked with his right arm, but was sent flying back.

Next, Might Guy launched an offensive, engaging Uchiha Gin in rapid close-quarters combat, trading strikes and parries.

Sasuke's young eyes could barely track their movements; he could only think of how incredible it was.

Might Guy used the Strong Fist—wide, sweeping, and destructive. Although Uchiha Gin had copied Might Guy's taijutsu, his physical stats couldn't keep up, forcing him to rely on technical taijutsu for defense and counterattacks.

Uchiha Gin had attempted to replicate certain martial arts techniques from his past life's memories, distilling their essence into moves such as the Inch Punch, Iron Mountain Lean, and Crushing Fist.

"Use your Sharingan; the pressure right now isn't enough!"

Might Guy was incredibly excited, his blood surging with adrenaline once the battle began.

Lately, he felt that Uchiha Gin's strength had progressed once again, as he was already able to exert significant pressure on him without even activating his Sharingan.

"Then you should open the Eight Inner Gates as well, but only up to the fifth gate!"

Uchiha Gin did not stand on ceremony; his pupils shifted into the appearance of the Sharingan as he spoke to Might Guy.

Last time, Might Guy had been caught off guard by him; before he could react after opening the fifth gate, he had instinctively opened the sixth, sending Uchiha Gin flying with the shockwave.

"Of course!"

Might Guy immediately entered the fourth gate, the Gate of Pain, with the veins on his fists bulging prominently.

The movement speed of both men accelerated instantly, and when they collided, ordinary people could only see afterimages.

Sasuke could barely make out some traces of the movement, but he soon began rubbing his eyes due to fatigue.

"You aren't ready yet; once you awaken your Sharingan, you will be able to see some of these movements clearly."

Uchiha Gin's Shadow Clone said to Sasuke.

Even in their normal state, the Uchiha Clan possessed vision far superior to that of ordinary people, with strong dynamic visual acuity, but to truly unleash its potential, one had to activate the Sharingan.

Sasuke felt somewhat unwilling, but there was nothing he could do.

"Fifth gate, Gate of Limit, open!"

Might Guy opened the next gate of the Eight Inner Gates.

Every time Uchiha Gin blocked a punch from Might Guy, he would wince; Might Guy's strength was simply too great. Although the Sharingan allowed him to track the movements and react, his physical constitution was still far inferior to Might Guy's while the Eight Inner Gates were active.

A full-force Strong Fist sent Uchiha Gin staggering backward repeatedly.