Though fierce battles raged along the borders, within the Hidden Leaf Village life remained deceptively calm. There was no tension, no panic—almost as if the war outside had nothing to do with the people within.
Compared to news from the front lines, the villagers were far more concerned with rebuilding their homes.
Deep within the forest of the Uchiha Clan's new compound, Uchiha Yuan stood in a firm horse stance beneath a towering tree. His right arm shot forward in a blur—straight punch!—then withdrew, only to strike again.
Each punch was sharp and precise, bursting forth with raw power—like a thrusting spear of muscle and will.
His movements flowed like water, smooth and rhythmic, every punch identical to the last—timing, strength, and form so perfect it seemed mechanical, yet there was an organic, hypnotic grace to it.
Through the lens of his spiritual perception, Yuan could see the shimmering natural energy—multicolored like mist—spiraling around him. His spiritual sense resonated with that energy, and as his fists struck and retracted, nature's power flowed ceaselessly into his body.
In the shinobi world, cultivation paths could be roughly divided into three systems: Taijutsu, Chakra Arts, and Sage Techniques.
Yuan believed Taijutsu and Sage Techniques were the pure, native inheritances of this world.
Taijutsu training was simple to understand—but to master it required extraordinary willpower.
The Hidden Sand had their "Seven-Day Breathing Method," though few could reach its true depths. In the Leaf, the father-and-son duo Might Duy and Might Guy had driven their bodies beyond human limits in pursuit of the Eight Inner Gates—a madness of training that eventually bloomed into brilliance.
Sage Techniques, by contrast, were the hardest and most mysterious of all, demanding both talent and affinity. Even the genius Orochimaru, who had mastered countless jutsu, failed to learn them—resorting instead to the Cursed Seal, a crude imitation of natural energy manipulation.
The Sage training methods of the Three Great Summoning Realms stood as the true measure of Sage power.
The Chakra system, on the other hand, had an alien origin—brought into the world by the Ōtsutsuki Clan. Yet it became the most widespread supernatural force across the shinobi world.
Chakra was born from the God Tree, which grew by absorbing the world's natural energy and eventually bore the Chakra Fruit.
From that fruit came the Sage of Six Paths, Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo, who founded Ninshū and spread the use of chakra among mankind. From then on, chakra was passed down and diffused through bloodlines.
To Yuan, the Ōtsutsuki were akin to gods or demons—beings of transcendent nature. All humans who inherited their bloodline were, in truth, limited by how much Ōtsutsuki essence they carried.
Those with stronger inheritance could refine greater amounts of chakra; those with less were inherently limited.
That was why Yuan believed Sage Training was the supreme path—the one means to elevate the ordinary into the extraordinary.
What he was doing now was precisely that: Sage cultivation.
To cultivate Sage Power was to sense natural energy, absorb it, and refine it within oneself.
After mastering the secret art "Sage · Ultimate Evolution", Yuan gained the ability to see natural energy. His next question had been how to strengthen his body further through it.
That was when he remembered the training method of Chairman Netero from the Hunter World of his past life—the legendary "Ten Thousand Punches of Prayer."
Drawing inspiration from that, Yuan began with a thousand straight punches—each one delivered with total concentration, his mind, spirit, and will fused into one motion.
By the end of the first day, he was exhausted—collapsed on the ground, drenched in sweat, barely able to lift his arms.
But he was grinning. The method worked.
His status panel showed a clear increase in his physique. More importantly, through his spiritual sight, he could see natural energy merging into his cells as he moved.
Day after day, he continued—
One thousand punches became two thousand.
Two became four.
And now, he could complete ten thousand in a single session.
Two hours later, the final punch landed.
Yuan stood still, his breath deep and steady. Steam rolled off his body as beads of sweat—thick as beans—dripped from his forehead and fingertips.
Mixed in the sweat were traces of dark, oily grime that gave off a faint, foul stench—impurities purged from his body.
After a short rest, his breathing evened out again. He tensed his muscles lightly—
Crack-crack-crack!
A rapid series of popping sounds echoed from within him, like beans bursting in a pan.
Later, after rinsing himself clean in a nearby stream, Yuan began walking home.
As he stepped out of the woods, he saw two groups of boys facing off in an open clearing nearby.
Both sides bore the Uchiha crest. One group had more than ten members, while the other had only three—but the smaller side radiated such overwhelming pressure that the larger group seemed utterly subdued.
"Ha! Uchiha Daishi, so this is where you rats disappeared to—sneaking off to train in secret."
"But talentless trash like you will always be trash, no matter how hard you train!"
The boy in the middle of the trio smirked arrogantly, his tone dripping with scorn.
On the ground before him lay six battered boys, bruised and bleeding, glaring up at him with fury and humiliation.
"Uchiha Eiji!" Daishi growled, climbing to his feet and brushing dust off his clothes. "Just wait till our big brother gets here—you won't be so smug then! He'll teach you a lesson you'll never forget!"
Eiji snorted. "A trash leader of trash is still trash."
But Daishi and the others only exchanged mocking smiles instead of anger, which made Eiji frown in confusion.
Then one of his companions stammered, eyes wide with fear.
"E–Eiji… behind you!"
Eiji froze.
Someone was behind him?
And he hadn't sensed a thing?!
He reacted instantly—his body flickered and vanished.
Body Flicker Technique!
The boys watching couldn't help but gasp in admiration. So Eiji really had mastered a full-fledged shinobi technique—worthy of a main-branch Uchiha heir.
Scanning his surroundings warily, Eiji found no one. But his two companions were still staring at the spot he'd just left, their faces pale with dread.
Realization struck. The presence… was still behind him.
He twisted in midair and lashed out with a powerful backward kick—
BAM!
A dull, heavy impact rang out as Eiji landed on his feet, grimacing. His right leg trembled; pain shot through it as if he'd just kicked an iron bar.
Clenching his teeth, he glared at the figure now standing before him.
"So it's you… Uchiha Yuan!"
Across from him, Yuan lowered his raised hand—the same one that had effortlessly blocked Eiji's fierce kick.
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