The so-called Reflection Technique is a genjutsu that transmits the user's inner emotions and thoughts through the eyes as a mental signal to the opponent.
By doing this, it disturbs the target's senses and affects their judgment.
On the surface, it looks like a completely ordinary visual genjutsu, but a deeper understanding reveals it's far from that.
The most obvious clue is that its learning difficulty and actual effect are completely disproportionate.
According to the scroll, the Reflection Technique's learning difficulty is as high as A-rank, but its actual effect isn't even as good as some C-rank genjutsu of the same type.
If Haruki's predecessor's parents wanted to learn genjutsu, they wouldn't have chosen this technique.
Yet, they did.
And they treasured it carefully.
There's only one reason for this: this technique can help members of the Uchiha clan awaken the Sharingan.
At least, that's what the scroll claims.
The ninja world has never lacked farsighted individuals, and the Uchiha clan was no exception.
Long ago, some Uchiha realized the drawbacks of the Sharingan — it's not only hard to awaken but also prone to extremes.
So they wondered if there was a gentler way to awaken the Sharingan, making the process more controllable.
This would not only strengthen the Uchiha clan but also stabilize internal clan affairs.
Thus, the Byakugan of the Hyuga clan came into their view.
Also one of the three great dōjutsu, the Byakugan's awakening process is much gentler than the Sharingan's.
Even those with impure bloodlines could awaken it gradually through hard training after reaching adulthood.
The Sharingan doesn't have this luxury.
Its awakening requires intense mental stimulus.
By adulthood, a person's worldview is mostly fixed.
Most experiences have already happened, and unless struck by some major trauma, awakening the Sharingan after adulthood is basically impossible.
So, they thought about developing a training method similar to the Hyuga's Byakugan approach.
The Reflection Technique was born from this idea.
Its principle mimics the changes in chakra and mental power in the brain when the Sharingan activates its hypnotic ability, but in reverse.
It stimulates the brain nerves, optic nerves, body cells, and mental power to induce the awakening of the Sharingan.
It's like creating a warm bed suitable for the Sharingan to exist, then letting the bloodline power take root and bloom.
They succeeded — but also failed.
Success because the Reflection Technique can indeed assist Sharingan awakening.
Failure because its effect was just too weak.
The scroll records that multiple Uchiha tried to cultivate this technique, but none awakened the Sharingan through it.
If the developers hadn't sworn it worked, and if Sharingan users in the clan hadn't confirmed it could somewhat promote Sharingan evolution, most would dismiss it as a well-intentioned lie.
However, its high difficulty and barely noticeable effect made it an awkward tool.
After all, those who had awakened the Sharingan had no need to learn it, and those who hadn't couldn't achieve much even with great effort.
How could it not be neglected?
Now, only a few restless members still try to practice it, and most haven't even heard of it.
No wonder Haruki didn't know about it.
Speaking of which, the fact that his predecessor's parents treasured this technique showed they weren't content with mediocrity.
Unfortunately, they died on the battlefield before mastering it.
But Haruki would inherit their will and aim to awaken the Sharingan using this technique, becoming the first in Uchiha history to do so.
Others might be limited by aptitude or lose patience before reaching advanced levels of Reflection Technique.
But Haruki wouldn't.
With his proficiency panel, he could see and feel every tiny progress.
So as long as it was truly effective, Haruki wouldn't give up.
This would be his key to climbing the peak.
"Huff—"
Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Haruki picked up the scrolls recording Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique and the Reflection Technique and left the study.
For the next half month, he planned to devote half his energy to training these two techniques—not aiming for mastery yet, just familiarity.
Given how lively the village still was, the frontline situation probably hadn't completely collapsed.
So most likely, they wouldn't send rookies like him directly to the battlefield.
This gave him some buffer time.
By then, he could master the Great Fireball Technique as a trump card and simultaneously test the Reflection Technique's effect.
If possible, he hoped to awaken the Sharingan, adding another layer of self-protection on the battlefield.
With these thoughts, Haruki began tonight's training.
...
Half a month flew by.
It was now late September.
Only one week remained before the graduation exam.
After understanding the exam content, Haruki took a week off to devote all his energy to training.
Normally, such a leave would be hard to get, but now, as long as the reason was sound, Shigeki Sugiki wouldn't object much.
Back home, Haruki opened the panel.
[Name: Uchiha HarukiAge: 10Constitution: 5Mentality: 7Chakra: 16 (192→372)Bloodline: Sharingan · Unawakened (51/100)Skills: Chakra Refinement Technique: lv1 (1/200) → lv1 (91/200)Clone Technique: lv1 (20/200) → lv1 (95/200)Transformation Technique: lv1 (19/200) → lv1 (94/200)Substitution Technique: lv1 (18/200) → lv1 (93/200)*Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique: lv0 (30/100)*Reflection Technique: lv0 (30/100)Basic Taijutsu: lv1 (65/200) → lv1 (185/200)Ninja Tool Throwing: lv2 (42/500) → lv2 (120/500)]
In the past half month, he'd trained the six-hour nightly Chakra Refinement Technique diligently.
Thanks to lv1's powerful effect, his maximum chakra increased by 12 points daily — 180 points in half a month.
Thus, compared to two weeks ago, his chakra limit nearly doubled, rising from 192 to 372.
A single use of the Three-Body Technique consumed about 20 chakra, so 372 was enough for 18 or 19 uses.
This was the peak for most genin.
In other words, aside from battle experience, his strength was already on par with seasoned genin.
However, with growing chakra, Haruki vaguely felt a limit approaching.
This limit wasn't from Chakra Refinement itself, but from his body.
Chakra Refinement only accelerated his ability to tap into potential; it didn't raise his physical limit.
If the body was a bucket, then Chakra Refinement was the ladle drawing water.
How much water the bucket holds depends on the bucket, not the ladle's size.
Constitution 5! Mentality 7!
Clearly, his bucket wasn't big enough.
In other words, his body had a cap; once chakra reached a certain point, growth would stall.
At that point, unless his physical limit improved, even maxing out Chakra Refinement would be futile.
Fortunately, with time passing and his training in Basic Taijutsu, he vaguely sensed his constitution improving.
This meant his body limit was gradually rising as well.