Mother's Guidance

Every morning, Grandfather had Father teach him while he watched from the side, taking every opportunity to jab at Father. Though his words were harsh, everyone knew the old father-in-law was teaching his son-in-law.

In the afternoons, he practiced samurai-style swordsmanship. At night, he still sparred with wooden swords and trained in basic blindfolded sword techniques. His day-and-night training was back on track. Occasionally, Grandfather would ask Chunshu to find some young samurai for Uchiha Yo to fight. Gradually, the little swordsman's reputation began to spread through the area.

Uchiha Yo's strength improved by leaps and bounds, but his ninjutsu and genjutsu remained at a standstill. Though he said nothing, he was still anxious inside. Rowing against the current, one either advanced or fell behind. He decided to speak with his mother. In the family, only Mother could get a word in. While he trained, Father had not been idle either—and the beatings he took were truly brutal.

Uchiha Yo went to the kitchen and saw his mother cooking. He hurried over. "Mom, let me help you. You work so hard every day. You've even gotten thinner." Uchiha Ran seemed to see straight through him. "You feel that Grandfather's training doesn't suit you? You think you're becoming more like a samurai than a ninja? You want to learn ninjutsu and genjutsu, right?"

As expected, no one knew a son better than his mother. Uchiha Yo quickly nodded. His mother smiled and continued, "Do you think ninjutsu is the foundation of a ninja? Using ninjutsu too frequently at too young an age is harmful to the body. Chakra is extracted from the human body; that expenditure must be replenished through food and exercise. Your grandfather is helping you heal hidden injuries and temper your body.

"Besides, who said you haven't been practicing ninjutsu and genjutsu? Haven't you already noticed that your control over chakra has become increasingly refined? The chakra that once let you use four ninjutsu can now be used for six. Improving your chakra control helps far more than you imagine.

"You can practice medical ninjutsu. The time you need to master other ninjutsu will be greatly reduced. Strengthening your perception will allow you to go faster and farther in practicing chakra nature transformation and shape transformation.

"With perception as sharp as yours now, the chance of falling under genjutsu is already very low. And as Uchiha, we are naturally resistant to genjutsu. When you cast genjutsu, the surroundings will become more realistic, making it harder for enemies to see through it and even harder for them to break free.

"Ninjutsu training is the simplest because it follows rules. You only need to follow them. But what your grandfather teaches you is something that cannot be written on scrolls, something you cannot learn from them. It is an understanding of the body, a form of training that lets a person know themselves better and better understand how to use their own body.

"Whether one is a samurai or a ninja, the body is the foundation. Swordsmanship and ninjutsu are merely ways of using one's abilities. Cultivate the body first, then cultivate techniques. This is your grandfather's inherited training method. Your uncle trained this way when he was alive, but you are different from him. You listen; he did not. When you don't understand, you ask. When he didn't understand, he would not ask. I didn't listen before either, and I didn't understand. But later, I came to understand. That is why I am still alive. He was killed by his own naïveté and willfulness."

"Mother, how did Uncle die? If we hadn't come here, I wouldn't even have known I had an uncle," Uchiha Yo asked curiously.

Uchiha Ran looked at her son. "He was a very warmhearted person, but he had a mind of his own and was always going against your grandfather. He wanted nothing more than to find a path to peace for the clan and Konoha. Then he went blind, so he died. The clan does not wish to mention his name. He was Kagami Uchiha, the sinner of the Uchiha Clan."

Seeing the shock on Uchiha Yo's face, his mother gave a bitter laugh. "I am not your grandfather's biological daughter. I was the orphaned child of your grandmother's younger brother's family. Your grandfather and grandmother treated me as their own. Now you should understand why your grandfather would not return to Konoha—and why, even when he did return, he always found an excuse to leave. Your uncle betrayed the clan, so your grandfather had no choice but to resign as chief elder. Your uncle was sold out by Konoha, and your grandfather chose to exile himself."

She rubbed her son's head and smiled. "Train well. Don't be like your uncle and your father. Those two are complete idiots—the kind who would help count the money after being sold off. Go train. I don't need your help here. The more you help, the more trouble you make."