In the blink of an eye, a week had passed.
Hayato had gotten to know the Police Force's leadership well, and Shisui had also become able to communicate with the clan members to some extent.
As for Hayato, he'd received an unexpected assignment—or, rather, a special program run by the Police Force.
He was going to teach the clan's children.
When he first heard about it, Hayato had wanted to refuse.
Tekka, however, looked at him disapprovingly. "You're in the wrong here. We grow thanks to the resources our clan provides, so sometimes we need to give back."
"I just don't think I'm qualified."
Hayato waved a hand. He knew his own limitations. His growth had depended on the system, and his skills were far too scattered.
He was nowhere near ready to teach anyone.
Shisui was only qualified to teach some Body Flicker Technique and genjutsu.
Shisui, sitting nearby, offered a different opinion. "I think you should give it a try, Hayato. They're young children from the clan, so the basics will be simple, but they're also the things that need the most attention."
The basics?
Hayato blinked, understanding what Shisui meant.
He was proficient in all five nature transformations, as well as the Uchiha's Shuriken techniques and some Body Flicker Technique tricks. He'd used them with ease in sparring.
"Then I'll give it a try." With that, Hayato nodded and agreed.
That evening, Hayato arrived at the Uchiha training hall.
More than thirty little children were already gathered there.
As Hayato looked them over, he couldn't help but pause. Uchiha Itachi was standing among them.
Shisui, who'd come along with him, explained, "Itachi heard you were teaching, so he decided to come."
Hayato nodded. Uchiha Itachi was seven. He'd probably apply to graduate from the Ninja Academy before long.
At seven, he still had a trace of baby fat on his face, but there wasn't a hint of the innocence or liveliness one would expect from a child in his eyes.
"Hello, sir!"
A chorus of young voices rang out. Hayato's expression didn't change; he simply nodded warmly to the children.
His manner seemed to put them at ease. One little girl even raised her hand and called out, "You're really handsome, sir!"
Hayato looked over and couldn't help pausing. The girl had long, beautiful black hair, a teardrop-shaped beauty mark below her right eye, and a purple top.
That look...
Hayato smiled and replied, "Then, pretty junior, what's your name?"
"Hehe." The girl looked a little embarrassed by his compliment. "I'm Uchiha Izumi. Please take care of me!"
As expected, she was Uchiha Itachi's classmate and childhood friend.
"I'm Uchiha Hayato. I'll be your instructor today. I look forward to working with you all." Hayato put the thought aside and addressed the group.
Shisui went to the back and sat cross-legged, quietly listening.
After Uchiha Izumi had spoken up, Hayato took the opportunity to invite the children to introduce themselves as well.
Once everyone had finished, Hayato raised a hand to settle them down.
He picked up a wooden board from the floor nearby, stood it in front of him, and wrote a few words on it with chalk.
"Today, we'll go over the most basic topic."
"Chakra extraction," Hayato said, looking at the children. "Who can tell me what chakra extraction is?"
The group fell quiet for a moment, then Uchiha Izumi raised her hand at the front.
"Sir, it's energy. You need chakra to use ninjutsu."
Hayato nodded. "What else?"
The children sitting cross-legged glanced at one another. It wasn't that they didn't know; Uchiha Izumi had already given the best answer.
Hayato pointed to his stomach. "Chakra is energy, but where does that energy come from? The food we eat and the water we drink are converted into the nutrients our body's 130 trillion cells need, and—"
Hayato pointed to his head. "The experience we gain with every practice, the willpower we forge through training, the spirit we build by falling down and getting back up again—that's spiritual energy."
"When our spiritual energy and physical energy are mixed in equal measure, the result is stamina," Hayato explained softly. "Only when we convert that stamina as needed does it become chakra. Then, through Hand Seals, we use jutsu."
Uchiha Itachi stared intently at Hayato. Even Shisui's expression had turned serious.
"Now, can anyone tell me what it feels like to extract chakra?"
Hayato looked evenly at the children and asked quietly.
"Like peeing!"
A child with a clearly missing front tooth suddenly spoke up. Laughter immediately broke out among the group.
Hayato chuckled at the sight, then nodded in agreement. "That's a good way to put it. When you first start extracting chakra, you probably don't notice that force in your stomach, right? Then, when you suddenly become aware of it, it feels just like he described."
"After a few days, you get used to it. But what happens after that? For most people, every time they extract chakra, it still feels the same as when they first started. The amount never seems to increase, right?"
At Hayato's words, everyone fell silent. It did seem that way.
"You've been extracting chakra for quite a while now. Does it still feel just like it did the first time? Has the amount you can produce stayed the same?"
"I'm sure most of you can use the Three Basic Jutsu by now. But if the amount you have never increases, can you keep progressing?"
Uchiha Izumi seemed thoughtful. Then she looked at Hayato, clearly wanting to say something.
"Uchiha Izumi, go ahead and ask," Hayato said with a smile.
"Sir, what's the reason?"
Uchiha Izumi sounded a little troubled as she asked, because she was having the same problem.
"Because you're using brute force to extract chakra."
Hayato set down the board, pinched up a handful of sand, and pointed to some small pebbles.
"Physical energy is like sand. It's everywhere, and everyone has it. The pebbles are like spiritual energy. There's less of it than sand, and you have to build it up through training. Chakra is sand and pebbles mixed together. Do you understand?"
The children nodded.
Hayato mixed the sand and pebbles together, then added a few larger rocks. "Now, if this is what you extract, do you think it can flow through your chakra pathways?"
"Sir, what should we do instead?"
Hayato looked up. It was Uchiha Itachi. He let out a soft laugh.
He'd finally decided to speak.
Hayato cupped the mixture in his hands and began shaking it. The sand slipped through, leaving the pebbles in his palm. "This is chakra: filtered."
Uchiha Itachi furrowed his brow, then asked uncertainly, "Purification?"
"Exactly," Hayato said with a nod. "Extraction comes first, then refinement. Most people only know how to refine, not extract. They mix physical and spiritual energy together and send it straight out. It looks like a lot, but it's really just sand."
"True chakra is what's left after the sand is filtered out—the pebbles."
"Why do you fail when you first try the Clone Technique? Because your chakra pathways are clogged when you send chakra out. Half your effort is wasted along the way."
"Sir, is there a way to fix that?" Uchiha Izumi asked.
"There is. When you extract chakra each day, don't rush to send it out. Keep it inside your body and let it circulate a few times before releasing it. It might hurt a little at first, of course."
"Once you've made this a habit, your chakra won't feel so sluggish when you use ninjutsu."
The little ones all looked thoughtful. Whether at the Ninja Academy or at home, the adults had always explained things simply. No one had ever broken it down and spelled it out for them the way Hayato had.
At the back of the room, Shisui had already started trying it himself. After using the method Hayato had described once, he raised a hand and created a clone.
Shisui carefully observed the process, and after a while, he suddenly understood.
So that was why Hayato was so skilled at using all five nature transformations!
At the thought, Shisui looked up at Hayato. Hayato's chakra control was far beyond what an ordinary person could match.
Hayato, meanwhile, was already looking at the Uchiha Guardian Aura on his status panel.
At that moment, it was quietly transforming.
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