In the days that followed, Uchiha Sora sparred with Uchiha Izumi in Taijutsu from time to time.
Although his Taijutsu grew steadily stronger through automatic training, and sparring with Uchiha Izumi no longer offered any meaningful improvement, Uchiha Sora did not stop practicing with her.
For Uchiha Sora, sparring and spending time with Uchiha Izumi brought back the childhood joy he had not felt in so long.
It gave him, a transmigrator constantly thinking about how the future would unfold, a rare moment of peace.
Ever since Uchiha Sora had shown a decent talent for Taijutsu, his classmates had stopped mocking him as the Uchiha dead last. A few little girls even stole glances at him and privately compared him to Uchiha Itachi.
Their conclusion was that Uchiha Sora had a more likable face than Uchiha Itachi and a more cheerful personality, unlike Itachi, who always seemed so withdrawn.
At the home of the Uchiha Clan's leader.
After dinner, Uchiha Mikoto took a stroll through the courtyard with one-year-old Sasuke in her arms.
Uchiha Fugaku sat in the living room, talking to Uchiha Itachi, who sat across from him.
"Itachi, how is life at the Ninja Academy? Have you learned anything? Made any friends?" Fugaku asked with concern.
Uchiha Itachi answered respectfully, "Father, there is quite a lot to learn at school, but I have already mastered most of it. As for friends... I still have very few."
"Yes, your talent makes it hard for others to keep up with you, and you aren't the type to take the initiative in making friends. Still, you should make a few when you have time," Fugaku said with a nod.
After a pause, he added, "I hear Uchiha Sora from your class has been doing quite well lately?"
"Father?" Uchiha Itachi looked at him in confusion. Hearing Uchiha Sora's name from his father seemed to surprise him greatly. His father had always been stern and imposing, and as the leader of the Uchiha Clan, he rarely paid attention to such minor matters.
"Heh, I merely heard that he has been improving quickly lately. They say his Taijutsu is already on par with yours," Uchiha Fugaku said. "Itachi, your talent is exceptional, and you should be proud of it. But you cannot keep shutting yourself off from others. When you have time, you could discuss Taijutsu with him."
"Yes, Father." Uchiha Itachi nodded in agreement.
"Good. That will be all for today." Uchiha Fugaku stood and left.
In his eyes, Uchiha Itachi was excellent in every respect, except that he was rather quiet and had too few friends. That would hinder his future development and could even cause problems when he eventually took over as clan leader.
If Itachi could build a few trusted relationships from childhood, then, coupled with his talent, the Uchiha Clan would surely flourish under his leadership.
Meanwhile, Uchiha Sora had no idea that Uchiha Fugaku had already earmarked him as one of Itachi's future confidants.
He was currently practicing the Uchiha Clan's Fire Release techniques.
Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!
As the Uchiha Clan's signature ninjutsu, this technique's instructional scroll could be found in virtually every ninja household in the clan.
After finding the instructional scroll at home, Uchiha Sora memorized the hand seals and the method for unleashing the technique.
As expected, the system immediately issued a notification.
"Your Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique has entered automatic training mode!"
That notification meant Uchiha Sora no longer needed to spend time training it himself. He only had to wait for the automatic training to succeed.
However, simply waiting for it to train automatically did not seem very fast. A day passed, then two, without any notification that the training had succeeded.
So Uchiha Sora decided to give it a try himself.
He formed the hand seals and gathered chakra in his chest, but just as he was about to spit it out, it suddenly dispersed.
Only a few tiny flames appeared at the corner of his mouth, and he even accidentally burned himself there, raising a blister.
Training failed!
Damn this talent of mine!
Uchiha Sora felt utterly helpless.
By comparison, Uchiha Itachi had unleashed the technique at its standard power on his very first attempt, while Sasuke Uchiha had managed to produce a small fireball on his first try.
Yet all he had managed was a tiny flicker of flame-and he had burned himself with it!
What a disgrace to transmigrators!
"Ding! Your Great Fireball Technique is furious at your garbage talent! It has decided to speed up its training!" "Ding! Your Great Fireball Technique has demonstrated talent that utterly surpasses its host! Training has succeeded!"
The next moment, the system's notifications rang out in his mind.
Immediately afterward, the experience and knowledge gained from successfully mastering the Great Fireball Technique poured into his mind.
He formed the hand seals again and unleashed the Great Fireball Technique!
Boom!
An enormous fireball burst forth, rolling relentlessly ahead.
The turf was torn up, leaving a strip of exposed soil in its wake.
The fireball struck a large tree nearby. Its trunk instantly caught fire, and it crashed to the ground!
"All right, the system really does come through!" Uchiha Sora muttered helplessly.
He glanced at the sky. Night was approaching, and he was in quite a good mood. Remembering that he was having dinner at Uchiha Izumi's house that evening, he stopped dawdling, tidied up, and headed toward her home.
This was the first time Uchiha Izumi had invited him over for dinner. He could not be late.
Before long, he arrived at Izumi's house.
Izumi was already waiting at the door. When she saw Uchiha Sora, a happy smile spread across her face. She gave him a pair of shoes to change into and said, "Sora, you're here! My mom is cooking, and it'll be ready soon. Let me make you a cup of tea first."
"Thank you." Uchiha Sora changed his shoes, went inside, and sat down. Izumi soon brought over the tea she had brewed.
Her gentle, caring manner tugged at his heart.
Izumi's family was not well-off either. Her father had died in the Nine-Tails' Attack a year earlier, after which she had returned to the Uchiha clan grounds with her mother, Uchiha Hazuki. Mother and daughter had only each other to rely on.
After a short wait, the beautiful Uchiha Hazuki brought out the food, sat beside Uchiha Izumi, and smiled at Uchiha Sora.
"Sora, our Izumi's Taijutsu has been improving so quickly lately. I hear it's all thanks to you!" Uchiha Hazuki said with a smile.
"I wouldn't take all the credit. Izumi and I have been improving together," Uchiha Sora replied modestly.
Uchiha Hazuki gently smoothed her hair and chuckled. "Hehe, no need to be so modest. From now on, just think of this place as your own home. I'll be counting on you to look after Izumi."
"Izumi is very capable too, but I'm a boy, so of course I'll look after her," Uchiha Sora said.
"Yes, Sora, I can tell you're a mature, dependable child." Uchiha Hazuki nodded gently, wearing the smile of a mother-in-law. "Now that you've said that, I can rest easy."
Beside her, Uchiha Izumi's little face had already turned bright red...
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