Ten Days of Cultivation

The next day, Lihuo woke up early, for today was the first day of his "training plan."

He donned his familiar black short-sleeved Uchiha training uniform, carefully wrapping bandages around his elbows and knees, and looked at himself in the mirror with high spirits.

Sasuke really did have a sense of style, he thought. Most importantly, I'm handsome—at least half as handsome as the readers.

After his daily dose of vanity, Lihuo walked with a light, brisk pace toward the Uchiha Ninja Tool Shop.

As he walked, Lihuo couldn't help but grumble to himself.

"The Uchiha really are a clan with an absurdly high sense of pride."

"Every Uchiha on the street has the clan crest printed on their clothes."

"Even if Sasuke and Itachi stopped wearing the crest later on, isn't the casual use of the Sharingan the best proof of being an Uchiha?"

Lost in thought, Lihuo arrived at the largest Uchiha Ninja Tool Shop.

As for why he didn't go to a general Konoha Village shop, it was because the quality of his own clan's gear was guaranteed, and the prices were fair.

Uchiha don't scam Uchiha.

Stepping into the shop, Lihuo had expected to face someone as arrogant as Uchiha Aotian.

To his surprise, the clerk was a young, beautiful woman.

"Hello there, little one. What can I help you find in our shop today?"

Her unexpected warmth caught Lihuo off guard.

"Oh my, our little ninja seems a bit flustered. Judging by your age, you must still be at the Ninja Academy, right?"

"Are you here to buy some kunai for practice?"

Lihuo snapped back to reality.

"That's right. I need some practice kunai and shuriken, some weights, and finally, a standard combat ninja tool pouch."

The clerk seemed surprised by Lihuo's clear and concise request. She paused for a moment, then smiled.

"Alright, we have the practice kunai, shuriken, and weights suitable for you right here."

"However, the standard Uchiha ninja tool pouch comes with explosive tags and military rations."

"Explosive tags are too dangerous for a child to handle, and eating too many military rations is bad for your health. Children aren't allowed to purchase those."

Lihuo suddenly felt a sense of detachment.

It was a strange sensation. In the past, when he watched Naruto, these characters felt like paper cutouts—they had their own emotions and logic, but they lacked true substance.

Yet, with just a few words, this clerk made Lihuo feel the reality of this world.

In his past memories, aside from Obito, other members of the Uchiha clan had also helped him in one way or another.

It could be said that Lihuo had been raised by the collective kindness of the Uchiha clan members.

I can't imagine what kind of mindset Itachi had when he slaughtered these innocent Uchiha civilians.

They didn't even have the aptitude to be ninjas; they just wanted to live their lives in peace.

Do they have to lose their lives just because their surname is Uchiha?

Coming back to his senses, Lihuo looked at the kind woman before him, realizing more than ever the importance of strength.

He truly didn't want to see this beauty destroyed.

"That will be 48,000 yen, please."

Lihuo instantly felt the clerk wasn't quite as beautiful as before.

With a pained heart, he fished out his wallet and took the brand-new kunai and shuriken.

The moment he strapped on the weights, Lihuo felt his body grow significantly heavier.

It's a good thing I earned 60,000 yen from Obito and Aotian; otherwise, I wouldn't be able to survive just by living off my savings.

With the sound of the clerk counting money in the background, Lihuo walked out of the shop and headed straight for the Konoha Training Ground.

Did the Uchiha lack training grounds? Of course not. The clan's facilities were fully equipped and beautifully landscaped.

However, Lihuo chose the public Konoha Training Ground because he wanted to meet his future training partner—Might Guy.

By the time he reached the training ground, Lihuo was already drenched in sweat. Because of the weights, every step this six-year-old body took required much more effort than usual.

"Alright! Let the training begin!"

Lihuo didn't have a systematic method for taijutsu. In the scrolls left behind by his parents, he hadn't found a single technique for physical training.

Furthermore, Uchiha Style Taijutsu was unheard of in the ninja world, and even within the clan itself.

This was because the Uchiha clan cared the least about taijutsu. As long as one's physical fitness was high enough, one only needed to glance at an opponent's moves to see through them (as seen with Sasuke's self-developed Lion Combo).

It truly was a case of, "In front of these eyes, you have no chance of winning."

Therefore, lacking access to formal taijutsu training, Lihuo's solution was simple: train the body first.

Only with a strong enough physique would he have the foundation to practice taijutsu.

The way to acquire taijutsu is by head-patting Might Guy and Might Duy.

Konoha Strong Fist Style—for someone like me who currently lacks chakra, practicing taijutsu is the only path to increasing my strength.

Without delay, Lihuo began training to push his limits.

He performed warm-ups in the morning, practiced kunai throwing at noon, and engaged in endless taijutsu drills in the afternoon.

At night, Lihuo would replenish the energy his body required and treat the injuries sustained during training.

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, nine days had passed.

During these nine days, Lihuo became a regular at the ninja tool shop, not only because he burned through tools during his training, but also because he could buy bandages and liniment there.

His relationship with the salesgirl also became quite familiar.

Over these nine days, Obito would come to find Lihuo to play from time to time, but he was always dragged into forced training by Lihuo, which made Obito miserable.

Besides Obito, Aotian also came by one evening and saw Lihuo's body covered in bruises from the high-intensity training.

He left silently, and when he returned, he brought a fruit basket before leaving silently once more.

Only Aotian's lackeys knew that from that day on, they were dragged along by Aotian for forced training every afternoon.

During these nine days, because the training was so life-threatening, the money spent on training equipment and medical expenses skyrocketed.

To this end, Lihuo didn't hesitate to use the "Rock-Paper-Scissors, if you lose, let me pat your head" method to earn a handsome income from the Uchiha children.

Everything was proceeding smoothly, and on the evening of the ninth day, just as Lihuo was doing his last set of push-ups, a passionate voice drifted over from a corner of the training ground.

"Keep going, Guy! 2,000 more kicks! Let your youth burn!"

"Right! Dad! I can feel my youth burning!"

Lihuo smiled slightly; it seemed the people he had been waiting for had finally arrived.

However, Lihuo did not act immediately, choosing instead to persist until he had finished his final set of training.

"Father, it looks like there's someone from the Uchiha clan training over there too."

Might Duy heard his son's words and looked toward Lihuo as well.

Lihuo summoned his ancestral lack of stage fright and walked toward the Might father and son.

"Hello, I saw your training, and I was moved by your youth."

"May I join you and train together?"

Hearing the word "youth," Guy appeared exceptionally excited.

Ever since he and his father began training, all they had received were cold mockery and ridicule from others.

"Two weirdos in strange clothes with thick eyebrows; what's the point of only practicing taijutsu?"

"Haha, just a perennial genin; what could he possibly achieve besides practicing taijutsu?"

Yet today, he heard an Uchiha "genius" acknowledge their youth.

Unable to express his excitement, Guy looked at Duy with anticipation, hoping his father would agree.

At this moment, Duy was also teary-eyed. However, Duy was an adult after all, and a ninja who was attentive despite his rough appearance; he had seen enough schemes and mutual deception.

What if this child was sent by someone to feign closeness to me, only to learn our forbidden technique—the Eight Inner Gates?

And this child is from the Uchiha clan...

But when Duy saw Lihuo's dirty clothes from training and looked closely at the boy's appearance, he hesitated.

Lihuo was drenched in sweat, his bandages and clothes showed clear signs of long-term training, and he was wearing weights; it was obvious he hadn't just been training for a day or two.

Duy pondered for a moment, then grinned, revealing his sparkling teeth.

"Good! Uchiha boy, you may join us and let our youth bloom together!"