Uchiha Rìtiān got up bright and early the next morning.
He couldn't help it. He was too excited to sleep!
He had been twenty-five in his previous life, only to transmigrate into a five-year-old kid. After waiting five whole years, he could finally start practicing ninjutsu. How could he not be excited?
After breakfast, Uchiha Rìtiān skipped off to the clan's training ground.
The Uchiha Clan's training ground was spacious and well-equipped. They were one of Konoha's great clans, after all. They could at least afford that much prestige.
When he arrived, Itachi was already there.
Seven-year-old Itachi wore black training clothes and was practicing shurikenjutsu. With a flick of his wrist, several shuriken whistled through the air and embedded themselves precisely in a target dozens of meters away. Every one hit the bull's-eye!
Uchiha Rìtiān couldn't help giving a mental whistle.
The great Itachi really lived up to his name. He was already this good at seven!
Hearing footsteps, Itachi stopped and turned toward Uchiha Rìtiān, saying expressionlessly, "You're here."
"Yep! Morning, Itachi!" Uchiha Rìtiān greeted him with a grin.
Itachi nodded and pointed at a stack of textbooks nearby. "Father told me to teach you basic theory first, along with how to extract chakra. Have you... learned any of that before?"
"A little," Uchiha Rìtiān answered honestly. He had secretly practiced chakra extraction before, after all, so claiming he had never learned anything wouldn't really hold up.
"All right. Extract some chakra so I can see," Itachi said.
Uchiha Rìtiān nodded, closed his eyes, and began extracting chakra using the method he remembered.
Of course, he concealed his strength. The mastery-level Chakra Extraction Technique the system had given him was far too outrageous. If he revealed chakra reserves comparable to a chunin's right now, wouldn't someone dissect him for research?
So he released only about a third of an ordinary genin's chakra reserves.
Even so, Itachi was a little surprised.
"You're only five, and you already have this much chakra?" Itachi frowned. "Did you really only learn a little before?"
Uchiha Rìtiān looked utterly innocent. "Yeah. I just practiced a little whenever I had nothing to do. Maybe... I'm pretty talented?"
Itachi: "..."
He was seven, yet his chakra reserves were only slightly greater than Uchiha Rìtiān's. This child... really was frighteningly talented.
But...
Itachi studied Uchiha Rìtiān closely, feeling that something wasn't quite right.
Normally, a five-year-old who could extract chakra at all was already doing very well, never mind producing this much. But the feeling Uchiha Rìtiān gave him... was almost as though he was still holding something back.
Was I imagining it?
Itachi shook his head, deciding he was probably overthinking things. How could a five-year-old possibly know to hide his strength?
"Not bad," Itachi said evenly. "Since you already know how to extract chakra, we'll learn the Three Basic Jutsu today. They're the foundation for a ninja: the Clone Technique, Substitution Technique, and Transformation Technique..."
Itachi began explaining in earnest.
Uchiha Rìtiān appeared to listen attentively, but his mind was on the system's choices.
After agonizing over it for quite a while last night, he had ultimately chosen option two-hide his strength and develop gradually.
Seriously, what kind of times were these? Konoha High Command's suspicions of the Uchiha were running deep. If he displayed too much monstrous talent, wouldn't he be bringing disaster upon the clan?
Besides, as the saying went, make your fortune quietly. Developing in secret, then amazing everyone-how satisfying would that be!
As for the reward of a 50% increase in chakra reserves... that was even better! Thanks to the system's rewards and Physical Enhancement, his chakra reserves were already far greater than those of other children his age. Another 50% increase was practically cheating!
His current chakra reserves were probably nearly on par with an ordinary chunin's.
Of course, he had discovered all this through secret testing. Nobody else knew.
"...Did you understand?" Itachi asked, looking at Uchiha Rìtiān after finishing his explanation.
"Huh? Oh, yes, I understood! I understood!" Uchiha Rìtiān nodded hastily.
Itachi gave him a doubtful look. "You really understood? Then show me the Clone Technique."
"No problem!" Uchiha Rìtiān thumped his chest.
Was the system's mastery-level Basic Three Body Technique just for show? Something like the Clone Technique was easy enough for him to perform with his eyes closed.
But... he couldn't make too much of a display.
So Uchiha Rìtiān pretended to struggle, formed a few hand seals, and produced a clone with a "poof."
The clone wavered, looking a little insubstantial, as though it might vanish at any moment.
Itachi nodded. "Not bad. Succeeding on your first try is already impressive. But your clone isn't stable enough. You need more practice."
Uchiha Rìtiān laughed inwardly. Of course. I made it that way on purpose. Wouldn't want to scare you.
"Okay, Itachi. I'll work hard!" Uchiha Rìtiān said earnestly.
Looking at him, Itachi somehow felt that something was a little strange.
This child... always seemed different from the other Uchiha children.
The other children of the Uchiha Clan were either unbearably arrogant or aloof and quiet. Someone like Uchiha Rìtiān... who grinned and joked all day was genuinely rare.
"All right. Next, we'll practice the Substitution Technique," Itachi continued, suppressing his doubts.
The morning quickly passed.
Through his "hard work," Uchiha Rìtiān successfully "learned" the Three Basic Jutsu. Of course, to Itachi, his rate of progress was already astonishing. He could practically be called a genius.
But only Uchiha Rìtiān knew that he hadn't shown even a tenth of his ability.
Keep a low profile. A low profile.
During their midday break, Uchiha Rìtiān sat at the edge of the training ground, took a small notebook from his pocket, and began writing and sketching in it.
Itachi leaned over curiously for a look. "What are you writing?"
Uchiha Rìtiān hurriedly closed the notebook and laughed awkwardly. "Nothing, nothing. Just scribbling."
Itachi frowned. "Let me see."
"It's really nothing..." Uchiha Rìtiān's eyes darted away.
Itachi grew even more suspicious. "Hand it over."
Helpless, Uchiha Rìtiān could only pass him the notebook.
Itachi opened it and found all sorts of strange drawings, along with written descriptions.
Things like "Uchiha-brand ice cream machine blueprint," "chakra-powered fan concept," and "Portable Shuriken Automatic Loading Device"...
Itachi: "..."
He looked up at Uchiha Rìtiān as though he were a monster. "These... you came up with all of them?"
Uchiha Rìtiān scratched his head, a little embarrassed. "Yeah. Just things I thought up when I had nothing to do. What do you think, Itachi? Pretty creative, right?"
Itachi: "..."
Creative? This went way beyond a question of creativity!
Who sat around thinking up things like this?! You're an Uchiha! Could you act a little more like one?!
Itachi took a deep breath, trying to keep his voice calm. "Uchiha Rìtiān, we're ninja. Our duty is to train, grow stronger, and protect the village and our clan, not... tinker with this nonsense."
Uchiha Rìtiān objected. "How can you call it nonsense? Think about it, Itachi. If we had an ice cream machine, we could eat ice cream to cool off during summer training. That would definitely make training much more efficient! And that chakra fan-wouldn't it feel great to have it blowing on you in summer? And with that Portable Shuriken Automatic Loading Device, we wouldn't have to load shuriken manually during fights. Think how much trouble that would save!"
Itachi: "..."
He actually thought... that made some sense?
No, no. Something was definitely wrong here!
Itachi shook his head, banishing those dangerous thoughts, and said sternly, "No. These things are too dangerous. You're not allowed to think about them anymore."
Uchiha Rìtiān pursed his lips. "Fine..."
But inwardly he thought, You think I'll stop thinking about them just because you tell me to? Where would that leave my dignity? Just wait until I secretly make them. You'll be scared out of your wits!
Just then, an arrogant voice rang out:
"Well, well, isn't this Itachi? And who's this little runt?"
Uchiha Rìtiān and Itachi looked up together.
Several youths from the Uchiha Clan approached. Their leader looked about ten, his face arrogant and his eyes full of disdain.
Uchiha Rìtiān recognized him immediately. This guy was Uchiha Daisuke, the grandson of one of the clan's elders. Relying on his bit of talent, he acted outrageously arrogant and bullied people everywhere.
Itachi frowned. "Daisuke, did you need something?"
"Nothing much." Daisuke chuckled. "I just heard the clan head asked you to train this little brat? Come on, Itachi, you must have way too much time on your hands. What's the point of training trash like this? Come train with us instead. We'll take you to the top!"
Uchiha Rìtiān narrowed his eyes.
Trash? Who are you calling trash?
Before he could speak, Itachi spoke first, his tone cold. "Daisuke, watch your mouth. Uchiha Rìtiān is my little brother."
"Little brother? More like your trash little brother." Daisuke sneered. "I heard this kid hasn't even attended the Ninja Academy, and he spends all day messing around with weird things. He's a disgrace to the Uchiha!"
The followers beside him burst into mocking laughter too.
Uchiha Rìtiān stood, patted the dust off his backside, and looked at Daisuke with an "innocent" smile.
"Hey, big brother, are you really strong?"
Daisuke declared proudly, "Of course! I've already awakened my Sharingan! I could take on ten little brats like you with one hand!"
Uchiha Rìtiān's eyes lit up. "Wow, amazing! Then how about a bet, big brother?"
"A bet? What kind of bet?" Daisuke asked in puzzlement.
"Let's compete in the Three Basic Jutsu," Uchiha Rìtiān said with a grin. "If you win, I'll kowtow to you three times and call you Grandpa three times. If you lose... you kowtow to me three times and call me Grandpa three times. How about it?"
Daisuke froze, then burst out laughing. "Hahaha! Have you gone stupid, kid? You want to challenge me in the Three Basic Jutsu? Fine! You've got a bet! Just don't start crying afterward!"
Itachi frowned and was about to speak, but Uchiha Rìtiān gave him a look.
Itachi hesitated, then ultimately said nothing.
He also wanted to see just what this mischievous younger cousin of his was planning.
Uchiha Rìtiān chuckled.
Betting against me? Kid, you're still too green!
Watch me win the pants right off you!
Before you continue