The next day, early morning.
The bright sunlight signaled that it was going to be another good day.
Sasuke arrived at the training field early, following her usual routine. From taijutsu to shuriken throwing,
Yesterday's battle made her realize just how naïve and foolish the thoughts she once had were.
She had been like a frog sitting at the bottom of a well, thinking the view of the sky from the well's mouth was the whole world.
But after experiencing yesterday's battle, she finally woke up.
Whether it was Gaara from the Sand Village or Erii from the Hidden Hot Springs Village, she still had a long way to go to catch up to them!
Effort!
Effort!
Effort!
These words constantly flashed in Sasuke's mind.
Her fists grew heavier with every strike, each punch leaving a deep mark on the wooden post.
If one looked closely, they could see dried, blackened bloodstains on the posts, covered with fist prints. Looking around the training field, the broken posts were scattered everywhere, all snapped in half.
These signs clearly showed just how grueling her training was.
"Konoha Whirlwind!"
Sasuke stepped and leapt into the air.
With a belt-like stride, she spun her body and unleashed a kick, the force of which was like a whirlwind. The explosive power cut the wooden post clean in half!
Crack!
The post, as thick as two people could hug, was broken in half with a single kick!
Wood chips flew as the kick created a whirlwind, sweeping across the grass, cutting through the weeds like a sharp razor.
Sasuke landed gracefully and pulled several shuriken from the ninja pouch at her waist.
With complete blind vision, relying only on the information stored in her memory, she threw the shuriken.
Uchiha Style: Shuriken Mastery!
Swish, swish, swish.
Several shuriken flew out, spreading like flowers in bloom.
Although the shuriken appeared scattered, the trajectories they traced in the air were almost impossible to follow.
Yet, they eventually returned with perfect precision, hitting the center of the target she had set up in the distance.
Previously, with her blind vision, she could hit at most nine shuriken. But after yesterday's battle, she had improved.
It might seem like just a single difference, but in battle, one shuriken might be enough to change the entire course of a fight!
Still, this achievement wasn't enough to satisfy Sasuke.
Especially after witnessing true 'genius,' she felt the pressure weighing down on her once more.
"No, I'm still far too behind."
Sasuke clenched her fists, her eyes filled with hatred, and muttered, "Right now, I'm even weaker than the 10-year-old 'Itachi.' How can I possibly avenge the entire clan?"
The man, Uchiha Itachi, was the 'genius' of the Uchiha clan after Uchiha Madara and Uchiha Sogetsu.
By the time he was three, Uchiha Itachi could fight with full blindness and hit over a hundred targets with shuriken.
At six, he had mastered all Fire Style ninjutsu, and his taijutsu and genjutsu were also top-notch. Even Shisui once admitted that he lost to the nine-year-old Itachi with no chance to counter!
Now, twelve years had passed since the night of the massacre.
How strong had Uchiha Itachi become?
No one could say for sure.
But from the rumors in recent years, it seemed that even Kage-level ninjas couldn't handle him anymore!
From a young age, Shisui had instilled in Sasuke the belief that revenge was necessary.
Now, that belief was deeply rooted in her heart. Her life existed for vengeance; if she couldn't avenge her clan, what was the point of living?
"I must become stronger!"
Sasuke bit her lip, her eyes burning with a fierce fire.
Just as she was about to continue training, she suddenly sensed a presence, raising her guard. She quickly turned around, drawing a kunai, ready to throw it. "Who's there? Come out!"
"Sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you."
A figure stepped out from behind a tree—it was none other than 'Uesugi Koeru' from yesterday, who had stayed over.
"It's you?" Sasuke immediately put the kunai away, replacing her expression with one of her usual cheerful confidence, as if the hatred-fueled look on her face moments ago had been nothing but an illusion.
"Uesugi Koeru, what are you doing here?" she asked.
"I'm used to waking up early. I couldn't sleep, so I decided to wander around. I didn't expect to find you training. I'm really sorry, I wasn't trying to spy on you. I was about to leave when you noticed me," Uchiha Sogetsu naturally didn't mention that he had come intentionally.
"It's fine, it's not really a secret anyway."
Sasuke smiled, not bothered by being 'watched,' and even shyly said, "Sorry to make you see that."
"No, I saw a child working hard," Uesugi Koeru said.
Uchiha Sogetsu smiled and asked, "Can I ask, have you always been training alone?"
"Yeah, why?"
Sasuke nodded, not fully understanding why the question was being asked.
In fact, after she graduated from the ninja academy, her guardian, Uncle Shisui, left her a note and his savings from the years he'd taken care of her. He then left the village to search for Uchiha Itachi.
Though she had joined a ninja team, her instructor seemed rather laid-back, so her training had been something she did alone.
"I see."
Uchiha Sogetsu pretended to think for a moment, then said, "From the way you train, it seems rather rigid. If you keep this up, the results might not be very good. Why not seek out a mentor? Having a Jōnin guide you could help you avoid many wrong paths."
Upon hearing this, Sasuke's face turned bitter. She shrugged helplessly and sighed, "I've thought about it, but my instructor is... well, kind of lazy."
"I see now. No wonder you're still doing basic training."
Uchiha Sogetsu made a 'lightbulb moment' expression, then spoke with a tone of regret, "At your age, you should be learning at the fastest pace. If you keep focusing only on basic training, it'd be a waste of your talents."
Sasuke felt somewhat down, but mostly frustrated.
Wasn't she aware of the problem everyone else could see?
But what could she do?
She had an irresponsible instructor, so what choice did she have?
Aside from basic training, she had tried seeking guidance from other Jōnin, but the Jōnin were often too busy. Their own ninja teams were already too much to handle, let alone mentoring others.
Ever since graduating from the academy, she'd felt her progress was slowing down.
The classmates she had left far behind at first, after receiving attentive guidance from the Jōnin, were now making huge strides and were beginning to catch up to her.
And what about her?
All she could do was continue her day-to-day basic training, reinforcing her foundation, while helplessly watching her classmates slowly close the gap.
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