Control

Natsuki saw the look on Sasuke's face but did not explain immediately.

Instead, he beckoned.

A member of the Uchiha Clan immediately entered from the outer courtyard.

"Go find one of our Uchiha genin. The younger, the better."

Natsuki gave the order.

"Yes."

Before long, an Uchiha genin came to report in.

He was quite small, having only graduated last year.

"What's your name? Have you awakened the Sharingan yet?" Natsuki asked.

Although the information was in the Faction Template, there were so many Uchiha that he could not be bothered to look through it.

The newcomer looked calm.

"Reporting to Lord Natsuki, my name is Kōta. I haven't awakened the Sharingan yet."

Natsuki nodded.

"Attack me now. Use every method you have."

Uchiha Kōta did not ask unnecessary questions. He quickly assumed a fighting stance.

"Sasuke, watch closely."

Natsuki gave him a reminder, then waved for Kōta to come at him.

Kōta moved rapidly from side to side, then pulled out a shuriken from his pouch and threw it.

For a genin, both his strength and accuracy were excellent.

Natsuki seriously dodged to the side as well. While Natsuki was evading, Kōta rapidly formed hand seals and unleashed a Great Fireball Technique in the direction Natsuki had dodged.

Natsuki moved swiftly and flashed aside, avoiding the fireball.

Kōta abandoned the Great Fireball Technique, slipped past Natsuki's knifehand strike, and quickly kicked at him.

Although Natsuki still parried and blocked with ease, he let Kōta attack for a full round.

Only when Kōta threw an airborne kick did he send Kōta flying with a single kick.

"Alright, you may leave. Before awakening the Sharingan, don't put so many movements into your taijutsu."

Natsuki spoke calmly.

"Yes! Thank you, my lord!" Kōta sounded delighted, and without asking further questions, he left.

"Did you understand, Sasuke?"

"Master, are you saying I have too many movements?"

Bonk!

Natsuki rapped Sasuke on the head again.

"Wrong!"

Sasuke rubbed his head.

"Your mistake is not that your taijutsu has too many movements. Nor is it that your shuriken throws are poor, or that your Great Fireball Technique is bad."

"It is that you lack control over them."

"Control?" Sasuke raised his head.

"That's right. The Uchiha style of taijutsu has many movements, but that is not a disadvantage. More movements make attacks more varied. Fists, feet, elbows, shoulders, knees—every one of them can be used to attack."

"Our Uchiha Style Taijutsu can be as graceful and magnificent as dancing on the edge of a blade."

"But that has a prerequisite: The Sharingan."

"The Sharingan?"

"Without the Sharingan's assistance, you cannot keep up with your opponent's speed or adjust your taijutsu in time. Then the movements in Uchiha Style Taijutsu become superfluous."

"Oh!" Sasuke suddenly understood. When he had been learning Uchiha Style Taijutsu, Itachi had praised him because Itachi had the Sharingan.

Yet Sasuke himself had no Sharingan and was using all those movements anyway. He could not control them at all.

"Your shuriken accuracy is good, but you must understand that your enemies are not stationary targets. Being accurate is useless on its own. You also need to predict where the enemy will dodge."

"If you cannot predict your enemy's reactions, what is the point of throwing shuriken? Are you hoping your enemy will stand still and let your shuriken kill them?"

"Your Older Brother Itachi's shuriken skills are quite famous. While his shuriken are in flight, he can make them collide with one another and alter where they land."

"When you used the Great Fireball Technique, you could not even see where your enemy was. The enemy was right in front of you, and you still did not know to interrupt the technique. Would an enemy wait for you to finish your ninjutsu before attacking?"

"A Great Fireball is not better just because it is larger or lasts longer. You need to control when and where to use it."

"Mm-hm, mm-hm."

Sasuke nodded repeatedly. The more he listened, the more sense it made. Combat and training were completely different things.

So before, Older Brother was really just playing games with me.

"When should you throw shuriken? Which way will the enemy dodge? Should you keep using shuriken to create an opening for yourself, or use Fire Release to force them into your trap?"

"There is one thing you need to understand." Natsuki raised a finger.

"The Great Fireball Technique that every Uchiha knows is generally only used to compress the enemy's space or conceal one's body with the flames before launching an attack."

"Very few ninja have truly died to the Great Fireball Technique."

"Yes, Master! I understand!"

Only now did Sasuke realize that he still had so much to learn.

Natsuki reached out and tapped Sasuke on the forehead.

"You still cannot control your own power at all. Once you can cast and stop ninjutsu at will, and hit moving targets with shuriken, I'll teach you what comes next."

"Also, until you awaken the Sharingan, you are not allowed to use Uchiha Style Taijutsu."

"Got it, Master. Why do you tap my forehead just like Older Brother?" Sasuke muttered.

Still, he had grown much closer to Natsuki.

"Controlling every skill you know is a required lesson for the strong."

"Sasuke, if you want to become strong, then every time you learn a skill, you must master it completely before using it in battle."

"Otherwise, you are very likely to get yourself killed."

"Yes, Master!"

Seeing Sasuke so obedient and well-behaved now, Natsuki rather liked him.

No matter how much of what he said Sasuke remembered, as long as he stopped being so arrogant and became more grounded, his achievements could only rise higher.

"Alright, school starts tomorrow. Go get yourself ready. You're almost six now. Your Older Brother graduated from the Ninja Academy at seven."

"Don't worry, Master. I'm Itachi's little brother. I'll definitely graduate early too."

Sasuke's face was brimming with confidence.

But Natsuki waved his hand.

Itachi had graduated early because of the circumstances back then. The battlefield had been short on people.

Basically, anyone who could throw a shuriken or use the Substitution Technique was sent to the battlefield, much less a genius like Itachi.

"The Ninja Academy is a good place to build your foundation. You also need to learn how to get along with others at school. Being able to communicate well with your companions is also something you need to learn."

"Get first place at the academy first, then think about graduating early."

"Master, I'll definitely get first place!" Sasuke declared firmly.

At the border of the Land of Fire.

After enduring the hardships of the journey, the group of Uchiha were finally about to enter the Land of Rice.

Everyone was exhausted from the long journey.

Itachi decided they would rest and recover before entering the Land of Rice.

The many Uchiha quickly took camping supplies from their Storage Scrolls and set up tents.

They used Water Release to draw water and Fire Release to start fires.

Those who moved quickly went hunting nearby. Others gathered wood and prepared cooking utensils.

Everything proceeded in an orderly fashion.

Before long, several team members had brought back a deer and a wild boar, enough for everyone to eat.

Itachi took out the plan Natsuki had given him earlier and began reading it.

Shisui sat down beside Itachi.

Itachi looked up and asked, "Has your ocular power recovered?"

Shisui nodded. "It was my first time using Kotoamatsukami on so many people. I thought the ocular power in both eyes would be exhausted, but one eye's worth remains now."

"Senior Natsuki should have calculated it. You need to use your remaining Kotoamatsukami here."

Shisui looked in the direction Itachi pointed. There was a familiar name there: Orochimaru.