Apart from him and the Third Elder, it is unlikely that anyone else would know about this.
"Let this child become a genius in the eyes of others. Geniuses have never been a scarce commodity in the ninja world!"
"Although I'm not sure if this child can stand at the pinnacle of the ninja world in the future, if he only wants to cover the sky of the Uchiha clan, he can definitely do it!"
"I'm convinced of it!"
A solemn tone, a positive assessment, and unquestioning belief in a five-year-old child? Uchiha Izuni immediately thought that the Third Elder, whom he respected the most—Uchiha Junko—had gone crazy!
It was not until he saw Uchiha Renjiro still working out hard in the dark night by the soft light of the campfire that he felt this was indeed a unique outlier!
"Teacher Izuni, from now on just call me Renjiro..."
Renjiro scratched his head and laughed, saying that adding the honorific always sounded extremely awkward.
Uchiha Izuni was obviously stunned when he heard this, but then nodded. Although he thought Renjiro's words were strange, he didn't ask any more questions.
"I just saw you doing push-ups and other exercises. Are you training your body?"
Renjiro nodded and said:
"Yeah. Since I don't know any taijutsu yet, I can only do ordinary exercises to improve my physical fitness... Teacher Izuni, do you have any good training methods? The kind that are effective and give quick results?"
"A method that's effective and quick to show results?"
Uchiha Izuni shook his head.
"I don't have such a method. The path of cultivation should be gradual, one step at a time. Don't dream of reaching the sky overnight. Otherwise you'll ruin your foundation, leave hidden injuries, and be unable to progress later—you'll regret it too late!"
Uchiha Izuni gave a serious warning first, then asked curiously:
"How much time do you spend practicing every day?"
He needed to understand Renjiro's training model first.
Renjiro thought for a while and then replied:
"After deducting 7 hours of school, 4 hours for cooking and other chores, and 5 hours of sleep, I have only 8 hours left for training!"
"In just eight hours..."
Uchiha Izuni was shocked. What on earth was this kid thinking? He was only five years old! At least most kids would have some time to play...
According to Renjiro's own calculation, Izuni's remaining time for cultivation—apart from eating, sleeping, and missions—was less than an hour a day…
He couldn't help asking:
"What are you working so hard for...? You're only... five years old!"
Uchiha Izuni couldn't understand why Renjiro was so desperate. What was he pursuing? What was the 'reason' driving him to push so hard?
He couldn't believe a five-year-old would train like this for no reason!
Relying on maturity and understanding? Then am I, in my twenties, not mature enough? I still only train an hour a day... and often I'm so exhausted from missions that I don't even want to practice!
"..."
Renjiro fell silent after hearing this.
He shifted his gaze from Uchiha Izuni, looked up at the starry sky, and whispered softly:
"What I want to do is difficult. Even if I obtain the ultimate power in this world, I may still not be able to do it..."
"But I will definitely do it. I must do it! No matter how difficult it is!"
Renjiro looked back at Uchiha Izuni.
"Teacher Izuni, I need your help!"
Uchiha Izuni still had many questions to ask—what exactly did Renjiro want to do? What was the 'ultimate power' he mentioned?
But all those questions, when they reached his lips, turned into four words:
"At your service!"
Putting his curiosity aside, Uchiha Izuni asked seriously:
"You spend so much time practicing and exercising every day, and so little time sleeping. Do you wake up feeling tired and stiff every day?"
Although Izuni was asking, his tone was certain. He was experienced and knew that Renjiro's desperate regimen carried great risks!
However, Renjiro's answer left him embarrassed…
"No. I don't feel anything unusual when I wake up, as you said. I feel pretty good—except that I'm hungry... I feel super hungry every morning!"
"Hungry??? Are you sure that little sleep is enough to cope with such intense daily exertion? You don't feel tired?"
Uchiha Izuni felt Renjiro was just putting on a brave face. How could such a life not be tiring? Hidden injuries and illnesses would accumulate. Fatigue builds up, and over time it becomes a terrible chronic issue, affecting future strength and achievements!
Renjiro was stunned for a moment, then explained with a smile:
"I understand what you mean, Teacher Izuni, but I really don't feel tired.
My daily training is split into three sessions: morning practice after waking up, drills at lunch break, and exercise after dinner.
Since those eight hours are spread out, I don't feel that exhausted..."
"So you're using class time to rest and sleep? That's a waste. The knowledge and experience taught at the Academy are very valuable—especially for your class. You must study hard..."
Uchiha Izuni said this seriously, but Renjiro's next words once again broke his understanding.
"How could I possibly fall asleep during class..."
"The 'content' taught at school is indeed important, but the amount of knowledge each day is too limited, and there's too much water..."
"Water? What water?" Uchiha Izuni asked, confused.
"..."
"There's just too much fluff. The whole curriculum pushes harmony with comrades, the Will of Fire, teacher–student interaction, and lessons on being a good person..."
Renjiro frowned and complained that Academy education was close to brainwashing. More than 90% of the teaching every day was loyalty to Konoha and emotional bonds, with very little real 'substance'!
For that less than 10% of 'solid content,' Renjiro could only listen patiently…
"Forehead..."
"Is this the 'water' you mentioned?"
After Uchiha Izuni understood, he didn't blame Renjiro for disagreeing. Instead, he laughed and praised him for being different, saying the word "water" was apt!
Compared to shinobi knowledge and experience, those emotional indoctrinations were indeed useless "water" for Renjiro, a mature, old-soul type!
But as he laughed, Izuni froze. He realized... he had gone off-topic again!
"a**hole, that's not what I meant! I'm asking—even if your sessions are split up, your body might digest it, but what about your mind?"
"How can you be so alert on five hours of sleep? Enough to study, train, and stay active for nineteen hours a day? Especially at your age—how is that possible?"
Uchiha Izuni voiced all his doubts at once. He wouldn't allow his hard-earned understanding to be toppled so easily.
"Is it impossible?"
Renjiro asked back with a smile.
Uchiha Izuni was about to yell "Absolutely not" when the Third Elder Uchiha Junko's introduction of Renjiro resurfaced in his mind.
"A five-year-old child with two tomoe, who can perform ninjutsu and genjutsu..."
"Two tomoe... and can use genjutsu..."
Uchiha Izuni murmured.
The Sharingan represents Yin Release—the embodiment of spiritual power!
Genjutsu is a mental assault launched through chakra!
All signs indicated that Renjiro's spiritual strength far surpassed his peers...
"Okay, I get it!"
Uchiha Izuni took a deep breath and said, abandoning the idea of lecturing Renjiro about work–rest balance.
"I'll teach you for an hour every day. You can set a fixed time."
Renjiro thought for a moment and said, "Let's meet at the time we met today."
Uchiha Izuni nodded.
"I'll be focusing on your physical training for now. Your current body is still too weak."
Renjiro nodded. He agreed with Izuni's approach.
Uchiha Izuni was secretly surprised. Renjiro was surprisingly easy to work with—no strange demands, none of the childish arrogance common to his age.
If it were other kids, given Izuni as a mentor, most would clamor to learn powerful ninjutsu—or at least some named 'taijutsu.'
But Renjiro patiently polished his basics and knew the foundation mattered most. The body is the foundation!
"Taijutsu, taijutsu—the body is the base. Only with a strong body can you perform techniques!"
"To put it nicely, it's called taijutsu, but in essence, it's a combination of strength, speed, and reaction, plus specific methods. That's the core of taijutsu!"
At the start of his instruction, Uchiha Izuni went straight to the heart of taijutsu. He wanted Renjiro to understand that a strong body is the essence, and he shouldn't be obsessed with "technique" alone.
Renjiro was like a sponge, absorbing the knowledge quickly. He was engrossed, and his meticulous, serious attitude made Izuni secretly praise him.
A night of pleasant instruction ended. Uchiha Izuni stayed far longer than an hour. Renjiro lay in the tent with eyes wide open, savoring the knowledge Izuni had taught, a satisfied smile curling his lips.
The road ahead now had direction!
End of the chapter.