One Month Later

Dawn had just begun to break, the sky paling with the first light.

Kiyoshi quickly got out of bed, washed up, and ate some bread.

If he could, he wanted to just eat Soldier Pills and save himself the trouble.

Soldier Pills actually tasted quite good.

The claim that Soldier Pills tasted awful came from Sakura's special-made Soldier Pills.

They were nothing like the ordinary Soldier Pills sold on the market.

They saved him the time wasted on cooking and washing dishes.

Unfortunately, Soldier Pills were not cheap enough for Kiyoshi to eat every day.

Kiyoshi arrived at his usual training spot and began cultivating.

About an hour passed.

At last, a voice sounded in Kiyoshi's mind.

"You have comprehended an entry: Water Walker (White)."

Entry: Water Walker (White).

Requirement: Walk across the water's surface with both feet as though walking on solid ground.

Progress: (Complete).

Effect: In special terrain, your Chakra control becomes more proficient. Your Chakra "endurance" is 5% greater than that of ordinary people.

Note: Can be advanced further.

Advancement Route One: Fuse with "Tree Climber (White)" to advance into "Build a Solid Foundation (White)."

Advancement Route Two: Fuse with "Tree Climber (White)" and "Three-Body Technique (White)" to advance into "Solid Foundation (Green)."

"Two routes?"

Kiyoshi looked at the panel.

Whenever he had free time, Kiyoshi would train in the river near Training Ground Three.

His talent was already decent, and Muscle Memory had etched these techniques into him. He learned quickly.

Of course, that was only on calm water.

If he had to fight while walking on water, he still needed more training.

When some Chunin suddenly shifted onto water during battle, they had to hurriedly form hand seals and refine Chakra to keep themselves stable on the surface.

It tested a ninja's understanding of "seals."

Nearly all ninjutsu was inseparable from "seals."

To cast ninjutsu, one had to "refine" Chakra, then "control" it into ninjutsu, and finally release it.

The purpose of "seals" was actually to help ninja quickly merge spiritual energy and physical energy into Chakra for "refinement" and "control," not simply to increase hand-sign speed.

From the first Book of Confrontation to the Book of Formations that concluded Shippuden, the official guidebooks underwent many revisions and deletions.

There had once been evaluations of a ninja's "potential" and "luck," but these were removed from later guidebooks.

Yet the eight ninja attributes had remained from beginning to end.

That was enough to show how important "seals" were to ninja.

That was also why every seal-less ninjutsu was of a fairly high rank.

"I'll choose the latter."

Kiyoshi decided not to advance it yet.

Advancing now would only give him a new White entry.

But if he waited a while longer and obtained the Three-Body Technique entry, he could combine them into a Green entry!

It would not take long to learn the Three-Body Technique. Through tree climbing and water walking, aside from the additional entry bonuses, Kiyoshi's own ability with "seals" had already improved considerably.

After thinking it over, Kiyoshi continued training.

Now that he had obtained the Water Walker entry, it was time to formally train in the Three-Body Technique.

Some time ago, Kiyoshi had learned the Rope Escape Technique and Hiding Technique from Rin Nohara.

Both were basic E-rank ninjutsu.

Among them, the Rope Escape Technique was one of the first ninjutsu taught at the Ninja Academy.

Afterward, Rin Nohara had explained the key points of the Clone Technique, one of the Three-Body Techniques, to Kiyoshi. All that remained was practice.

After practicing for a while, the Entry System gave him a prompt.

"You have obtained an entry: Three-Body Technique (White)."

Entry: Three-Body Technique (White).

Requirement: Learn the "Clone Technique," "Transformation Technique," and "Substitution Technique."

Progress: (1%).

Effect: Your understanding of the Three-Body Technique exceeds that of ordinary people, and its effects are 5% better than normal.

Note: Can be advanced further.

"Not bad."

Kiyoshi kept forming the hand seals for the Clone Technique, continuously refining Chakra to cast it.

The Three-Body Technique would be 5% more effective than other ninja's.

If it kept advancing, would his Transformation Technique become impossible to distinguish from the real thing?

Generally speaking, the Transformation Technique was difficult to use effectively against sensory ninja.

According to the Book of Formations, White Zetsu's Transformation Technique was the best among all ninja.

Other than Naruto's Malice Perception, it was difficult for any other method to tell through it.

The faint morning light fell through the woods as birds on the branches curiously watched the figure beneath the tree.

"Huh? There's someone here?"

Natsu Hyuga spotted a figure who seemed to be training.

"Isn't that Kiyoshi Uchiha from our class?"

Natsu Hyuga's short dark-green hair swayed gently in the wind. More than fifty meters ahead, a person wearing an Uchiha robe was forming hand seals.

"Don't mind him. Let's keep looking for a place to train our Byakugan."

Tetsu Hyuga, standing beside Natsu Hyuga, spoke.

Everyone in the Hyuga Clan had a pair of white eyes.

However, to awaken the Byakugan—to use the power within those eyes—still required extensive training.

"Mm."

Natsu Hyuga nodded and withdrew her gaze.

The Byakugan possessed farsighted vision and could see everything within a one-kilometer radius. With training, that distance could increase further.

But this ability was unsuitable for training within the village or the clan, since it could invade other people's privacy.

That was highly offensive, and it could easily be noticed by ninja with strong sensory abilities.

Most importantly, the relationship between the Hyuga and Uchiha was delicate. It was best to have as little contact as possible.

The two left together.

Kiyoshi frowned slightly, having sensed someone watching him.

When he turned around, the two had just turned away and left.

"Natsu Hyuga and Tetsu Hyuga..."

Both were minor characters from the original story.

Natsu Hyuga was from the Hyuga branch family and would become Hanabi Hyuga's attendant in the future.

"Forget it."

Kiyoshi shook his head and continued training.

In the blink of an eye, a month passed, and Kiyoshi had completely adjusted to life at the Ninja Academy.

Late autumn grew colder by the day, nearing the season of death.

Kiyoshi's home.

"I finally mastered it."

A weak electric current slowly flowed through Kiyoshi's body.

The current spread beneath his skin, constantly stimulating his cells.

Kiyoshi looked at himself in the mirror.

He was no longer skinny. The beginnings of muscle filled out his broad frame.

Perhaps due to the Yagura Clan's talent, Kiyoshi developed faster than ordinary Uchiha.

He looked somewhat taller as well.

"If this keeps up, I might end up looking like one of those Kumogakure ninja."

Kiyoshi shook his head and stepped away from the mirror.

His complexion was not dark. Instead, his skin was closer to those fair-skinned people from Kumogakure.

Except he had black hair rather than blond hair.

"I've completely learned the Clone Technique, and the Substitution Technique is already more than halfway done."

Kiyoshi opened the Three-Body Technique entry and took a look.

Happy 2025, my dear readers!