Basic training was the dullest of all. At five years old, almost no child had the patience to endure it. But Hiko was not really five inside. He knew what had to be done.
Other kids might play. He could not. Today's hardship was tomorrow's achievement.
No effort, no reward.
There was no free lunch in this world. And even if there was, how many times could you eat it?
Push-ups, sit-ups, frog jumps—he cycled through them all before moving on. Basic taijutsu was limited, but repetition was key.
Kicks, side kicks, punches. The wooden post became his constant partner.
That Uchiha kid works hard.
More and more people took notice. Many were already full-fledged shinobi, veterans who trained regularly. Yet even they were struck by Hiko's persistence.
At first they assumed he would give up. He was just a child, after all. But from the moment he entered the grounds, he never stopped. The training was monotonous, but he endured.
Most Uchiha children trained at the clan's facilities. Hiko chose the public grounds instead.
The Uchiha name carried little affection in Konoha. They were seen as cold, aloof, hard to approach—unless you were a smitten admirer of their beauty. Even among themselves, unless you were close kin, most hardly bothered.
Hiko wanted no part of those stares. The village's open training field was free, and no one cared if he wore himself out there.
"Phew... how did Gai ever stick with this?"
As night fell, his body felt like it would come apart. Don't underestimate basics. Done seriously, they left you dead tired.
Dragging himself home, he entered the small house his late parents had left him. That, and a bit of money, was all.
Ninjutsu? Forget it. Those had to be earned. But Hiko was satisfied.
After a quick bite and a cold bath, he forced himself to sit cross-legged and refine chakra. His body begged for rest, but he pushed through until sleep claimed him.
Chakra refinement drained stamina. Combined with exhaustion from training, he collapsed into heavy slumber. Thunder itself might not have woken him.
Yet something was different. Whether from sheer fatigue or the God-Tier Evolution Potion, his chakra refining was fast and plentiful—far beyond his peers.
Even Tsunade herself might not be faster. The Senju and Uzumaki clans were famed for immense reserves. The Uchiha were not weak, but their Sharingan always overshadowed their chakra pool.
Still, compared to common folk, the clan's chakra was immense. It was only when measured against Senju and Uzumaki that they fell short.
For academy children, chakra was the bottleneck. With so little to draw on, higher-level jutsu were a fantasy. At graduation, mastering the three basics was already an achievement.
That night, Hiko slept deeply.
When morning came, he stretched with a yawn—and froze.
By rights, after yesterday's bet with Tsunade and his grueling training, his body should be sore all over. Unless conditioned by time, muscle pain was unavoidable.
But today? His body felt light, strong, overflowing with energy.
"Could it be...?"
All signs pointed to the potion.
"Half a month's wages well spent," he whispered, clenching his fists in delight.
The biggest fear of training was strain and hidden injuries. If a single night of sleep restored him completely, he could push harder every day, growing stronger faster.
Looking into the mirror, the blood-red Sharingan was mesmerizing. Paired with his young but already striking features, he knew girls would stare.
He drew a deep breath and closed the eye technique. Who knew when it would evolve to double tomoe?