The Right Way to Fight

Uchiha bloodline, Indra's Chakra, Nawaki's physique, and Sakura's talent for Chakra control—fortunately, Tsunade knew nothing about Uchiha Yi's situation. Otherwise, she might have cried with envy.

Over the past three months, the Battle Space had refreshed three times. Yi's luck, however, had not been as good as it was at the start.

First month: Tears Hidden by Kamui, Obito Uchiha

Final Battle, Kimimaro

Fifth Raikage, Darui

Sound Four, Tayuya

Yi had to admit he was still a little too weak. Even Obito Uchiha, freshly awakened to the Mangekyō Sharingan, was beyond him.

Darui was the Fifth Raikage, after all. Yi could not beat him either.

While fighting Kimimaro, Yi had planned to draw the battle out. He remembered that Kimimaro was already terminally ill at this point. If Yi stalled long enough, he might be able to win.

Unfortunately, Yi had overestimated himself and underestimated Kimimaro. This was someone capable of taking part in Orochimaru's battle against the Fourth Kazekage. Yi was no match for him yet. Despite doing everything he could to stall, he was easily defeated.

Yi strongly suspected that Kimimaro had the strength of an Elite Jōnin.

Yi defeated Tayuya with ease, but all he received was the Four Black Mist Formation, a combination technique. It was useless to him. Even if he ever needed it, he could simply learn from Mito Uzumaki, a master of Sealing Jutsu.

When it came to Sealing Jutsu, few people in the history of the Shinobi World could rival Mito Uzumaki.

Second month: Night of the Uchiha Massacre, Uchiha Itachi

The Legendary Sannin, Tsunade

Chunin Ninja Exams, Gaara of the Sand

A Tragedy of His Era, Itama Senju

Itama Senju was Hashirama Senju's youngest brother. He seemed to have been surrounded and killed by five adults from the Uchiha Clan—and tortured to death at that.

Even Yi had to admit that many Uchiha of that era were unhinged. Killing an enemy child like Itama was one thing; once the boy picked up a weapon, he was an enemy.

But they did not even spare children from their own clan. Uchiha Hikari was a reflection of the Uchiha of that era.

Of course, the Uchiha were not the only ones at fault. The Senju would have struck down an Uchiha child without hesitation too.

Yi was naturally no match for Uchiha Itachi after he had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan. The gap between them was too great.

The Tsunade he faced was from the battle that made the Sannin famous—in other words, Tsunade a few years from now. By then, battle had honed her and her strength had grown enormously. Yi could not stand against her either.

Yi defeated Itama Senju with ease. Unfortunately, he gained Itama's Chakra reserves rather than his physique. Still, it gave his own Chakra a slight boost.

Against Gaara from the Chunin Ninja Exams, Yi lost.

If he had faced Gaara alone, Yi could have handled him. He had even been on the verge of winning. But when Gaara realized he could not win, he released the One-Tail. That was beyond Yi's ability to fight at this stage.

Third month: Chunin Ninja Exams, Kiba

Descendant of the Yuki Clan, Haku

Chunin Ninja Exams, Caged Bird Neji Hyuga

Jewel of the Akatsuki, Puppet Master Sasori

Defeating Kiba gave Yi Affinity with Dogs. Haku, meanwhile, gave him the ability to form Hand Seals with one hand. Yi mastered the knack of it, and his speed at forming Hand Seals improved dramatically too.

Defeating Neji Hyuga took Yi some effort. Neji's loss in the Chunin Ninja Exams had only happened because the plot demanded it. Without drawing on the Nine-Tails' power, Naruto could never have beaten him.

Fortunately, Yi was stronger than the average Chunin. After some effort, he defeated Neji and gained Gentle Fist Art: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms.

If Hizashi Hyuga and Hyuga Hiashi learned that an Uchiha used Gentle Fist better than they did, Yi wondered how they would feel.

For now, though, Yi could not readily use Gentle Fist. Without the Byakugan to complement it, he could not bring out its full power.

Yi intended to incorporate Gentle Fist into his own fighting style and develop techniques that were his alone.

He clearly remembered Naruto and Momoshiki Otsutsuki both using Chinese Martial Arts. Momoshiki Otsutsuki had used orthodox Eight Trigrams Palm, while Naruto had used many Wing Chun movements.

Yi wished he had studied more when he had the chance. Combat at the Six Paths Level was that straightforward.

He deeply regretted not learning about those arts before crossing over. With Chinese Martial Arts, the Chakra system, and his special advantage combined, would he not have been even more unstoppable?

As for Sasori, Yi got crushed. A Kage Level fighter was not someone he could challenge.

In the original story, Granny Chiyo and Sakura Haruno had defeated Sasori together largely because Sasori no longer wanted to live. Otherwise, the two of them beating him? In their dreams. They would have been lucky not to hand him two kills.

Still, failing to gain many worthwhile rewards from the Battle Space did not mean Yi's strength had stopped improving. In fact, he continued to grow at a visible pace.

Not only had he developed Chidori, he had also learned many combat techniques from Tsunade. Even Mito Uzumaki held little back from him. Whenever he asked a question, she patiently answered it.

Mito even taught Yi some of Madara Uchiha's fighting techniques.

The person who understood Madara Uchiha best was not Uchiha Izuna, but Hashirama Senju. Tobirama Senju came second. His study contained over a hundred ideas for countering Madara, though whether any of them would have worked was open to debate.

Madara Uchiha was dead anyway. There was no way to test them now.

After years of exposure, Mito Uzumaki had learned quite a few of Madara's fighting techniques herself, and she taught them all to Yi.

Mito had no idea whether Yi could become a second Madara Uchiha. For now, helping him grow stronger was enough.

"Yi, are you planning to graduate early?" Nawaki suddenly asked.

His question drew looks from Tsunade, Kushina Uzumaki, and the others. They all wanted to know whether Yi would choose to graduate early.

"I am, but I plan to graduate next year. Why? Are you thinking of graduating early?" Yi made no secret of his plans. "I might seem fairly strong now, but I'm still only six. I have plenty of potential left to develop."