Uchiha Sasuke followed Kakashi Hatake to a secluded training ground.
This was Training Ground Three, surrounded by dense forest, with an open clearing in the center where several training stumps lay scattered on the ground.
“Alright, this will do.”
Kakashi stopped, his hands in his pockets.
“From today on, I’ll be your Jonin instructor.
Please take care of me, Sasuke.”
Sasuke looked around without speaking.
He had only followed Kakashi here because he wanted to see what this man could teach him.
“Well then, before we start formal training, as your teacher, I need to understand your current situation,” Kakashi said, pulling out a small notebook and pen from his Ninja pouch, adopting a serious recording posture.
“First, you can refine Chakra, right?”
Sasuke nodded.
As a member of the Uchiha Clan, these were things he had to learn from a young age.
“So, regarding Ninjutsu, which ones have you mastered?”
Sasuke frowned.
Ninjutsu.
The word sounded both familiar and strange to him.
Familiar, because it was the power he had once pursued.
Strange, because during his three years in the Soul Society, he had encountered a completely different power system—Spiritual Pressure, Zanpakuto, Kido… Compared to the Shinigami’s concise and efficient power system, Ninjutsu, which required intricate hand seals and the manipulation of internal Chakra, seemed somewhat outdated to him now.
Fragments of memory flashed through his mind—scenes of his father, Uchiha Fugaku, instructing him before the night of the clan’s annihilation.
“…Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, Substitution Jutsu, Transformation Jutsu,” Sasuke recalled the basic Three-Body Jutsu taught at the Ninja Academy, uttering the words somewhat stiffly.
“Mm-hmm, the Three-Body Jutsu, a very solid foundation.”
Kakashi nodded, making notes in his small notebook.
“Anything else?
Like Fire Release, which your Uchiha Clan excels at.”
Sasuke fell silent.
Fire Release?
He seemed to know that.
But the problem was, he hadn’t used it in three whole years.
After all, at the Shino Academy, Kido training was a compulsory course.
Whether it was Hado, which involved chanting incantations to launch attacks, or Bakudo, used for binding and defense, he was quite proficient.
Hado similar in nature to Fire Release, such as “Hado #33: Sokatsui,” he could use with ease, and its power far surpassed ordinary Fire Release.
But Kakashi was asking about “Ninjutsu.”
That required hand seals.
He hadn’t performed hand seals in three whole years.
In the Soul Society, victory was determined by the strength of Spiritual Pressure, and the application of Swordsmanship, Hakuda, Shunpo, and Kido.
Those cumbersome hand seal movements had long been forgotten by him.
“…A little,” Sasuke finally replied ambiguously.
Admitting his lack of proficiency in the Uchiha’s signature technique was somewhat humiliating for him.
“How much is ‘a little’?”
Kakashi pressed, “For example, the Uchiha Clan’s signature Ninjutsu, the Great Fireball Jutsu, can you use it?”
“Yes.”
“Very good.” Kakashi closed his notebook.
“Then, for a more direct understanding, could you demonstrate it here?
Just aim for that wooden stump.”
He pointed to a relatively intact wooden stump in the distance.
Sasuke glanced at him, not refusing.
He walked to the center of the clearing, facing the wooden stump dozens of meters away, and took a deep breath.
Then, he began to try and recall the hand seals forgotten in the corners of his mind.
Snake, Ram, Monkey, Boar…
Sasuke’s fingers were stiff, and his movements appeared extremely rusty.
This feeling was like a calligrapher suddenly being asked to write with his feet, full of awkwardness.
“Hoo—!”
A ball of flame shot from his mouth, but rather than a Great Fireball, it was more like a tiny flicker.
The orange-red flame wobbled out, and before it reached even halfway to the stump, it weakly extinguished in mid-air.
The air instantly fell into an awkward silence.
In that moment, Kakashi even saw Sasuke’s figure overlap with someone from his past, his eyes flickering, lost in thought.
Sasuke himself was stunned.
He looked at his recent masterpiece, a flicker of surprise in his eyes, followed by a surge of shame and indignation.
He, Uchiha Sasuke, a seated officer of the Eleventh Division, was so pathetic even when using the most basic Fire Release Ninjutsu?
“Ahem.”
Kakashi timely broke the silence.
He walked over to Sasuke, patted him on the shoulder, and said in a comforting tone, “Don’t worry, everyone’s like this the first time.
Maybe you’re just too nervous.”
His words sounded like comfort, but Sasuke could tell that this guy was definitely holding back laughter.
“I’m not nervous,” Sasuke said coldly, shaking off his hand.
“Alright, alright, it seems you’re a bit rusty from not practicing for too long.”
Kakashi raised his hands in surrender.
“But it’s not a big problem; this means your Chakra control still has a lot of room for improvement.”
As he spoke, he pulled out a thin piece of paper from his Ninja pouch.
“Come, before we officially start training, let’s do a little test.”
He handed the paper to Sasuke.
“This is Chakra paper.
Infuse your Chakra into it, and you’ll know your Chakra nature.”
Sasuke took the paper; he did have an impression of this item.
Chakra nature.
It was crucial for determining what Ninjutsu a Ninja could use.
The difference was that in the Soul Society, Spiritual Pressure was just Spiritual Pressure; there was only a distinction of strength, no attribute categories.
“How do I use it?” he asked proactively for once.
“It’s simple.
Just like before, concentrate and channel your Chakra into the paper,” Kakashi explained.
Sasuke did as told, injecting a wisp of Chakra into the paper.
The next second, a miraculous scene occurred.
The thin piece of paper was instantly cut in half.
One half crumpled into a ball, while the other half immediately burst into flames.
“…”
“Lightning, Fire, Wind, and a few less obvious attributes?” He looked at the changes in the paper, his eyes somewhat complex.
“Sasuke, what does power mean to you?” Kakashi suddenly asked a strange question.
“A tool for revenge,” Sasuke replied without hesitation.
“Just a tool?”
Kakashi shook his head.
“You rely too much on your sword and those strange techniques.
You seem to have forgotten that the Uchiha Clan’s greatest power originates from here.”
He pointed to his own eyes.
“The Sharingan is a mirror that reflects the heart…”
However, before he could finish speaking, he saw three black tomoe slowly rotating in Sasuke’s eyes.
“Three-Tomoe Sharingan?!
How is that possible!” Kakashi was struck as if by lightning, freezing in place.
“Sasuke, your eyes…”
Sasuke remained silent, merely looking back calmly at Kakashi with his rotating Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
Then he suddenly retorted, “Didn’t you say it?
The Sharingan is a mirror that reflects the heart.”
“So, having witnessed the horrific sight of my entire Family being slaughtered, what do you think my heart would reflect?”
…..