Practical Course: Cat's Coordination

A First Taste of Practical Training: Cat's Coordination

In the cultural classes that followed, Uchiha Hara maintained his efficient learning pace.

Although he did not intend to graduate early and show off like Kakashi, mastering all the Ninja Academy's theoretical knowledge as soon as possible would definitely bring more benefits than drawbacks.

At the very least, while his classmates were still struggling to recognize characters, he could read "extracurricular books" in class with a clear conscience.

Besides, there were not even any phones these days. Even if he wanted to do something else during class, there was nothing to do!

He could not exactly play Gomoku with his deskmate.

At lunchtime, Uchiha Hara had planned to eat by himself, but when Kurenai Yuhi saw that no one was sitting beside him, she sat down directly.

When the girl saw his simple lunchbox containing only white rice, tofu, and slightly burnt stir-fried cabbage, her little face immediately scrunched up.

"Hara-kun, your lunch... is too plain."

"It's fine!" Uchiha Hara felt it was perfectly acceptable. Cabbage and tofu were nutritious, and he also had Blood Essence and Soul Essence to strengthen his life essence and soul essence.

These conditions were absolutely not bad.

It was not as if failing to eat delicacies from land and sea meant one was living a failed life.

But Kurenai Yuhi could not stand it. Without giving him a chance to refuse, she gave him more than half of her tamagoyaki, grilled fish, and vegetables. Then she earnestly began explaining how to balance nutrition and prepare lunchboxes, such as mixing a little salt and sesame into hot rice, or blanching vegetables beforehand to save time in the morning.

Uchiha Hara did not refuse her kindness. He listened quietly, occasionally nodding to show that he understood.

But actually making it himself? That was impossible. It was far too troublesome.

Stir-frying cabbage and tofu was much more time-efficient.

As they ate and chatted, their relationship unknowingly grew much closer amid the aroma of food and their soft voices.

That afternoon, the Ninja Academy held a practical class.

Their teacher, Daisuke Nakano, brought everyone to the training ground. Looking at the eager children, he said, "All right, run three laps around the field first. Warm up!"

That one sentence made every student collapse in despair, and even Uchiha Hara found it rather speechless.

This training ground was not small. It was even bigger than the track from his previous life. One lap had to be around six hundred meters, right?

Three laps meant eighteen hundred meters!

Back in his previous life, that distance would have exhausted people to death.

But in the Ninja World, in the Hidden Leaf Village, this really was the standard exercise routine for children.

Uchiha Hara knew that Might Guy and Rock Lee would later run around the entire village—and they did it while running on their hands!

The students admitted to Class A truly were extraordinary. After three laps around the field, not a single one fell behind.

Most of the children were panting heavily. Uchiha Hara had not held back, but because his body had only recently recovered, his results were nothing special. He had landed in a perfectly appropriate position.

After three laps, his face was pale, his breathing rapid, and his stamina nearly drained dry.

But that was only an appearance. Having gained a fish's endurance talent, Uchiha Hara was remarkably persistent. Though he looked too exhausted to move, if he were told to keep running, he could still run another three laps.

Next came instruction in the basic forms of Leaf Style Taijutsu.

As the Chunin teacher demonstrated simple blocks, punches, and kicks, he emphasized the importance of taijutsu to the rookies.

"Don't think ninja just stand far away and wildly throw ninjutsu around! Let me tell you, whether Genin, Chunin, Jonin, or even Elite Jonin, the overwhelming majority of battles revolve around taijutsu exchanges and seeking opportunities! Ninjutsu consumes an enormous amount of chakra. It is usually only used as the decisive blow that determines victory or defeat!"

Uchiha Hara recalled the original plot while standing in formation and silently nodded.

It was true. Even someone as strong as Kakashi had exhausted his chakra and collapsed unconscious after using three Water Release techniques in his battle against Zabuza Momochi.

Even in the earth-shaking master-and-disciple duel between the Third Hokage and Orochimaru, despite their constant exchanges, there had only been a handful of named ninjutsu. Most of the battle had consisted of taijutsu clashes, tactical contests, and ninja tool use.

Looking across the various Ninja World Wars, besides Explosive Tags and Soldier Pills, one indispensable item every ninja carried was a ninja sword.

Even Kisame Hoshigaki, known as the tailless tailed beast, had fought with a sword in his early years.

This showed just how important basic abilities that did not rely on chakra, such as taijutsu and swordsmanship, were in the Ninja World.

On the contrary, abilities like ninjutsu that consumed large amounts of chakra had to be used cautiously.

Once chakra was depleted, the mild outcome was dizziness and unconsciousness; the severe outcome was death.

If one ran out of chakra on the battlefield, that basically meant death.

After practicing taijutsu forms, they moved on to the basic ninja skills of Shuriken Throwing and Kunai Throwing.

The teacher explained the differences between them in detail.

Shuriken had sharpened four-pointed edges, covered a broad area, and were easy to hit with, causing interference and minor injuries, but they lacked penetrating power.

Kunai were heavier, with more concentrated power. Top experts could even kill a Jonin with a single throw, but they were more difficult to use and counted as an advanced technique.

Normally, the Uchiha clan should have shone brightly in this category.

Unfortunately, the two Uchiha in this class... Obito was flustered, and hitting two or three targets out of ten throws already counted as an exceptional performance.

Uchiha Hara was even more "hopeless." He appeared to aim carefully, yet his kunai flew crookedly through the air without even grazing the edge of the target.

Naturally, Kakashi was the most outstanding performer. His movements were standard, and every throw struck the bullseye, drawing a chorus of amazement.

Asuma Sarutobi came next. Though he was slightly less accurate, his throws still landed steadily on target.

Seeing Hara perform so miserably while several girls still gathered around to comfort him, Asuma felt deeply displeased. He sneered at Uchiha Hara, "Hey, Uchiha Hara, isn't your Uchiha clan supposed to be the best in the world at Shuriken Throwing? How come you can't even touch the target? Looks like dead last will always be dead last!"

Uchiha Hara ignored him completely, as though he had not heard a thing.

Kurenai Yuhi stepped forward instead, standing in front of Uchiha Hara and glaring at Asuma in dissatisfaction. "Asuma! Hara-kun just hasn't fully recovered yet! Don't talk about him like that! Hara-kun, don't lose heart. I'll practice with you from now on!"

When Asuma saw Kurenai Yuhi defending Uchiha Hara again, his anger flared even hotter. He blurted out, "Hmph, do you only know how to hide behind women?"

Uchiha Hara still ignored him.

Asuma tried to provoke him. "Hey! Do you dare compete with me in shuriken throwing? Whoever wins gets Kurenai!"

The moment he said that, the classmates who had merely been watching felt that he had gone too far.

The other person had already decided to ignore him, yet he kept pushing his luck.

They had always heard that the Uchiha were arrogant and overbearing, but the Hokage's son seemed even more overbearing than the Uchiha!

Uchiha Hara was speechless inside. Sure enough, in Naruto fanfiction, the early antagonists were generally caused by women.

He had been prepared for this before approaching Kurenai Yuhi, but he had not expected it to be such a hassle.

He was still growing, so he truly did not have the strength to provoke Asuma. But even if he did, making a move against Asuma would bring no benefits.

After all, the other boy had a Hokage for a father. If he found an opportunity to send you straight to the front lines, what could you do about it?

Still, this could not go on forever. He needed to think of a way to solve the problem once and for all.

But since he could not think of such a solution for the moment, Hara could only pull Kurenai Yuhi away to practice somewhere else.

If you have the guts, follow us. I'll hold hands with Kurenai right in front of you.

Asuma had never seen such a cowardly Uchiha, one who did not even dare confront him head-on.

It looked as though he had won, but when he saw Hara leave hand in hand with Kurenai Yuhi, he felt even more infuriated.

He wanted to chase after them and say something, but as the saying went, there should not be a third or fourth time after the first and second. He had kept mocking the other boy, yet the other boy had neither talked back nor fought, and had simply left.

Did that not mean the other boy had already admitted defeat?

If someone admitted defeat, that meant his skills were inferior. Fine, you were stronger.

But if you continued chasing after him to beat him even after he had surrendered, then there was something wrong with your character.

After all, they were companions from the same village. There was no reason to keep pressing the attack.

Kiryu Daiki, standing behind them, saw Asuma's little face turn red with anger.

He became even more convinced that if he found an opportunity to "teach" that annoying Uchiha Hara a lesson, he would surely earn young master Asuma's appreciation and favor.

Kurenai Yuhi looked at Uchiha Hara worriedly and comforted him in a soft voice. "Hara-kun, ignore him. He's just like that. I'll definitely tell Lord Hokage later and make him properly discipline Asuma..."

Uchiha Hara raised his head and hurriedly stopped her. "Absolutely not. This is something between us boys. I'll get my dignity back, but if you call an adult, the situation will change!"

"Th-this..." Kurenai Yuhi did not understand why, but since Hara had said so, she could only choose to trust him.

After school, Uchiha Hara walked Kurenai Yuhi home along the way.

It really was along the way. Both of their families lived in the center of the village, and her house was only one street away from his. That was an unexpected discovery.

After saying goodbye to Kurenai Yuhi, he did not go straight home. Instead, he continued wandering around the Hidden Leaf Village.

Yesterday, he had only given the main commercial street a cursory look. He believed that such a large Konoha must have channels for selling or capturing animals.

Even rural markets in his previous life sold chickens, ducks, cats, and dogs. There was no reason Konoha, surrounded by vast forests, would not have such things.

Yet after walking around for quite a while, he was surprised to find not a single stall specifically selling hunted game, as if Konoha had no profession of hunters at all.

There were, however, several shops selling farm-raised chickens and ducks, as well as ordinary cats and dogs—not ninja dogs or summoning beasts.

Just as he stopped in front of a stall selling small animals to take a closer look, the stall owner opened a cage and picked up a scrawny calico kitten, inspecting it for a long while.

"Sigh, this little thing didn't look lively this morning. It lay in the sun for half the day, and I thought it was asleep. Who would've thought..." The stall owner shook his head, having discovered that the kitten no longer had any breath left.

Uchiha Hara's heart stirred. He stepped forward and said, "Boss, can you give me that cat...?"

The owner froze, then waved a hand. "Kid, the cat's dead. What do you want it for? You can't eat that thing."

"I'm not going to eat it." Uchiha Hara explained, "I think it's pitiful, so I want to find somewhere to bury it. Give it to me, and give me one hundred ryo too, as... burial expenses?"

The owner immediately understood. Taking the dead cat was a pretense; the real goal was to get money from him.

One hundred ryo was not much, and he was the only person tending the stall. If he left, no one would look after the business.

Besides, this child looked like an ordinary kid, but his clothes bore the Uchiha clan emblem!

The Uchiha clan was responsible for Konoha's security. Even roadside stalls fell under their jurisdiction.

If the child of a city official demanded money from a small vendor, could the vendor refuse?

So he readily handed over the kitten's corpse, then gave Uchiha Hara a one-hundred-ryo note as well.

Uchiha Hara carefully placed the kitten's corpse into his backpack, though in truth he instantly transferred it into the Demon Refining Pot's space.

He felt a little regretful. The cat was completely dead, otherwise he could have gained another Soul Essence. Now there was only Blood Essence.

But if someone actually gave him a living cat, he might not have had the heart to refine it.

After all, he had liked cats and dogs in his previous life. But chickens, ducks, fish, pigs, and similar animals were a different matter.

"Refine!"

[Obtained Cat Blood Essence x1]

He did not consume it on the street. Uchiha Hara first returned home, then took out the Blood Essence.

Perfect. The Fish Blood Essence he had swallowed that morning had already finished digesting.

Uchiha Hara immediately swallowed the Blood Essence that had come from the cat.

A warm current, completely different from that of fish, merged into his body. Then his Essence increased by another 0.001.

He immediately summoned his panel.

[Individual Status Panel]

Essence: 1.004 (+0.001)

Vitality: 1.003

Spirit: 1.003

[Talents]

Enhanced Perception (White)

Enhanced Stamina (White) *2

Cat's Coordination (Green): Significantly improves bodily balance, agility, neural reaction speed, and dynamic visual tracking ability.

"A green talent!" Uchiha Hara was shocked.

It was only a kitten, not even much bigger than a rat, yet the talent it provided was actually green, at the Chunin level!

He subconsciously performed a few simple stretches and jumps. Immediately, he felt as if his body had become much lighter, his control over his muscles more precise, and his ability to track moving objects with his eyes clearer and easier.

This was while the Life Imprint had not fully digested yet. Once it completely digested in a few hours and the talent fully loaded, the effects should be even better.

"As expected of a feline built specifically for combat. The improvement it brought is enormous!" He was overjoyed. "And this is only a kitten. If it were an adult cat, or even... a ninja cat? Would the effect be even more astonishing?"

After his wild delight, a trace of concern surfaced in his mind.

"But... if word gets out, will people say I abuse cats?"

He rubbed his nose.

After thinking about it, he quickly felt relieved.

"Anyway, felines are not limited to house cats. Aren't tigers and leopards felines too? If I find a way to get those big guys later, no one can say anything about me, right?"

"But this Enhanced Stamina is actually *2. That should be because I ate two Fish Blood Essences."

So if he kept eating them, he could continue gaining related talents.

He just did not know whether similar talents could fuse and stack.

He still had plenty of fish in his space, so he simply refined another one. Another Fish Blood Essence and Fish Soul Essence appeared in the space.

"I still have a Cat Blood Essence digesting in my body. I wonder whether I can digest multiple at once!" Uchiha Hara wanted to try, but he was afraid something might go wrong. This was his own body, after all. What if there was a problem?

Getting injured was a small matter. The real issue was being sent to the ninja hospital and having medical ninja discover something suspicious.

He could imagine what would happen next with his ass. It would definitely attract Orochimaru's attention, then he would be captured by Danzo and sent to Orochimaru's laboratory as an experimental subject.

"Then I won't try it!" Uchiha Hara stood up and began practicing Tai Chi.

Tai Chi helped digest Life Imprints. He needed to practice it several more times, digest the Life Imprint as quickly as possible, then consume another Fish Blood Essence and see whether three talents with the same name could combine into a higher-level one.