I woke up at exactly six again. Wash. Dress. Quiet steps to the dining table.
Mother was already there. Father's seat remained empty. Eight days now. I ate without asking questions. In a shinobi household, absence meant duty. And if Father was away this long, it wasn't a simple mission.
After breakfast, I rested for around thirty minutes, circulating my chakra gently to prepare for training.
A knock came ten minutes before I planned to start.
I already knew who it was. Mother opened the door.
"Good morning, Auntie!" Obito's voice carried inside.
"Good morning, Obito," Mother replied warmly. "You're early again."
He stepped in, scratching the back of his head. "I didn't want Keisuke to start without me."
I walked toward them.
"You're ten minutes early," I said.
"That's called dedication," he answered proudly.
Mother laughed softly. "You two try not to exhaust yourselves before lunch."
"We won't," I replied automatically.
Training began. We started with Leaf Concentration.
I placed a leaf on my forehead and regulated the flow carefully.
One minute.
Five minutes.
Ten.
The sensation of chakra circulation felt smoother than ever. Waste was minimal. Flow was steady.
By the time I stopped, thirty-eight minutes had passed. Obito was still going.
Or rather—failing, restarting, and trying again.
The leaf would stick. It would tremble. It would fall.
Again. And again.
He growled in frustration.
"Why does yours stay so easily?"
"It doesn't," I replied calmly. "I just control it better."
"That's the same thing!"
"No. It means you're leaking chakra. Focus on reducing the output. Don't force it."
He took a deep breath and tried again. While he repeated the exercise, I switched to Hand Seal Drills.
Snake → Ram → Monkey → Boar → Horse → Tiger.
Over and over.
My chakra regeneration was now 3.40 CP per second after leveling, but during the morning session it had still been lower. Roughly eleven minutes after depletion, I was full again.
Cycle.
Leaf.
Hand seals.
Leaf.
Hand seals.
Obito remained stuck on Leaf Concentration for hours. Near noon, he finally managed a stable two seconds.
His eyes widened. "Did you see that?!"
"Two seconds," I confirmed. "That's progress."
He pumped his fist. For the last hour before lunch, he switched to hand seals.
Still clumsy. Still slow.
But not hopeless.
Lunch arrived.
Mother had prepared grilled fish, rice, and miso soup. Obito clasped his hands dramatically.
"I'm blessed to be here every day."
"Just eat," I said. While chewing, I mentally summoned the system panel.
---
Skill Details
Leaf Concentration — Level 12 (Active)
Experience Until Next Level: 89.53% / 100%
Description: Allows the user to increase chakra control.
Chakra Usage: 1 Chakra per second
Passive Effect: +13% Chakra Control
Hand Seal Drill — Level 12 (Passive)
Experience Until Next Level: **98.14% / 100%
Description: Increases speed and efficiency of hand sealing.
Passive Effect: +13% Hand Seal Speed
---
Level 12. Almost Level 13 for hand seals.
Good.
After lunch, we said goodbye.
"Back before dinner," I said.
Mother gave us the usual look. "Be careful."
We headed toward the Naka River.
Finding targets took longer today. We walked for over an hour before locating enough colonies to make it worthwhile.
I almost laughed.
'We're actually wiping out the ecosystem.'
Once we marked the final hive, the hunt began.
First, the small ant colonies. We used smoke and controlled burning to flush them out.
Ants poured from the ground in black waves. Obito stomped and struck while I maintained perimeter control.
"Left side!" he shouted.
"I see it."
Efficient. Ruthless.
Five small colonies—roughly 3,200 ants.
Next were the medium colonies. These required more preparation.
We dug partial trenches to prevent escape paths.
"You're thinking ahead now," I commented.
"Of course I am," he grinned.
Three medium colonies. Approximately 20,000 ants.
Then the large one. Ninety thousand.
The ground seemed alive.
Smoke thickened. Obito followed instructions precisely.
When it was done, he collapsed onto his back.
"That was insane…"
"We're not finished," I reminded him.
Bee hives next.
Three small.
One medium.
One large.
The medium hive released around 32,000 bees. The large hive—69,000.
They swarmed violently. Obito panicked for a second.
"Don't lose focus!" I barked.
He steadied. We burned, struck, retreated, repeated.
By the end, smoke clung to our clothes. Dirt streaked our faces. We sat under a tree, breathing heavily.
I checked the time. Almost six.
We hurried back. While walking, I opened the system panel.
The numbers scrolled. I recalculated mentally.
Ants: 113,200.
Bees: 106,000.
Total: 219,200 experience points.
My heart pounded. Without the Party System and Obito's contribution, this would have taken weeks.
Level after level triggered.
When it stopped—
Level 37.
My chakra capacity surged. An additional 1,450 points.
Now at 3,750. At three years old.
That was already brushing against lower Academy student reserves.
My regeneration increased to 4.70 HP and CP per second. I exhaled slowly.
With this level of chakra, I could attempt the [Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique] once Father returned.
An Uchiha child unable to perform that technique was considered lacking.
I wouldn't be lacking. I glanced at Obito walking beside me.
He was still smiling despite exhaustion. In the original timeline, Obito entered the Academy unprepared.
Not this time. I would make sure he mastered chakra control and hand seals before enrollment.
Rin Nohara wouldn't be the center of his world. Training would be.
And me, as his "Boss". I laughed mentally.
When we reached his house, he waved.
"Tomorrow again?"
"Tomorrow," I confirmed.
I walked home. Mother opened the door before I knocked.
"How was today?"
"We played with ants and bees again," I said.
Her expression tightened slightly.
"You weren't reckless?"
"No. We stayed together."
She studied my face, then nodded. I could tell she was still worried—but less than before.
Maybe she was getting used to it. Though honestly… there wouldn't be many insects left soon.
Maybe fish next.
I washed up and ate dinner quietly.
As night deepened, I lay down and reviewed everything once more.
---
[Status]
Name: Uchiha Keisuke
Level: 37
Experience Points: 24,313 / 24,606
Health Regeneration: 4.70 HP/s
Chakra Regeneration: 4.70 CP/s
Chakra Capacity: 3,750 / 3,750
Chakra Control: 13%
Hand Seal Speed: 13%
[Skills:]
Leaf Concentration — Level 12
Hand Seal Drill — Level 12