Chihane narrowed his eyes slightly, an odd smile playing on his lips. He walked over to Itachi and mimicked his stammer. "The... the... the rock split in two! Well? Want to learn?"
Itachi snapped out of his daze and grabbed Chihane's hand. "Senior Chihane, please, you have to teach me!"
At that moment, Itachi had completely forgotten his family's Fire Release Ninjutsu and shuriken throwing methods. All he could think about was the punch Chiriku had used to shatter that boulder, and how casually and effortlessly Chihane had split the rock.
That's how a man should be. Throwing shuriken and hiding in the back to cast ninjutsu were just lesser pursuits.
A man should make every punch hit home. He should be like Chihane and Chiriku, making every punch and kick rival high-level ninjutsu through physical strength alone.
Chihane found this kid Itachi truly amusing. Before, he had only ever addressed him as "you." Now that he had seen what Chihane could really do, he had suddenly started calling him "Senior Chihane" so respectfully.
Still, he wondered whether a child from a major clan like Itachi could endure his hellish training the way Chiriku had.
But if Itachi could not even accept this level of hardship, that would mean his potential went no further. His future achievements would probably stop at an ordinary Kage Level.
With that thought, Chihane decided to stop teasing Itachi and asked him directly, "See these wooden posts with paper tied around them?"
Itachi had actually noticed the wooden posts from the start. They were different from the ones normally used for taijutsu practice.
Each post had a thick stack of paper tied around it. The paper had a rough surface, and a cross resembling a target had been drawn in the middle.
Chihane probably knew