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Early morning.
Naka Shrine.
Yuto appeared at the shrine entrance, yawning.
This was probably the earliest he had woken up since transmigrating.
The Grand Elder seemed to have been waiting for quite some time.
He was no longer wearing his usual long robe.
Instead, he had changed into a black, fitted combat outfit.
Yuto had never seen anyone in the village wear the same style of clothing.
It looked a little like Hiruzen Sarutobi’s battle attire, so it was probably something older-generation ninja wore.
“Too slow.”
The Grand Elder spoke without turning his head, his voice low and authoritative.
“Warring States-era shinobi did not yawn during missions.”
Yuto curled his lip and muttered inwardly, The old man is strict.
But before he could finish complaining, the Grand Elder suddenly turned around, and his three-tomoe Sharingan snapped open.
“Now, the special training begins.”
The Grand Elder’s figure shot forward like lightning, arriving in front of Yuto in an instant.
His thin fist carried a sharp rush of wind as it struck straight toward Yuto’s face.
He hurriedly raised his arm to block, but the brutal force shook him and sent him stumbling backward.
The fallen leaves under his feet burst outward in a ring of air.
“You’re open.”
The Grand Elder barked coldly and spun into a whip kick aimed at Yuto’s waist.
He hurriedly leaned back.
Even so, the wind from the kick cut several strands of his hair.
Before he could catch his breath, the Grand Elder had already charged in low to the ground, his elbow slamming toward Yuto’s chest like a war hammer.
He barely crossed his arms to take it head-on.
Pain instantly shot up into his shoulders.
This was not sparring at all.
These were battlefield killing moves.
Within three moves, he had been forced to the edge of the shrine’s stone steps.
The Grand Elder’s Sharingan shone crimson in the morning light.
“You cannot even use the Substitution Jutsu?
The next strike will break your ribs.”
Being forced into apprenticeship by the Grand Elder had already left resentment in Yuto’s heart.
Add in being forced to wake up early, and now Yuto was angry too.
Fine.
He wanted a life-or-death fight?
Then Yuto would give him one.
He gritted his teeth and took another elbow strike from the Grand Elder head-on.
A trace of blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.
Using the force of the blow, he suddenly retreated and formed hand seals at high speed.
Surprise flashed in the Grand Elder’s eyes.
He had not expected Yuto to be able to form seals while being attacked.
Then he sneered.
“Petty tricks.”
Just as the Grand Elder closed in again, Yuto suddenly changed tactics.
He rushed forward and took the old man’s attack with his shoulder.
Pain tore through his ribs, but he forced himself through the injury and used the momentum to close within half a meter of the Grand Elder.
At this distance, even the Sharingan would have difficulty completely avoiding it.
“Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!”
Yuto poured chakra into the technique, and scorching flames surged from his mouth.
But what Yuto had not expected was that the Grand Elder would smile faintly and punch him in the chin.
The Great Fireball Jutsu, already on the verge of release, was forcibly interrupted.
Yuto had not expected his proud suicide-style attack to have this kind of counter.
Back in the valley, it had directly blasted away Kakui, an elite chunin.
Sure enough, age and experience mattered.
A Warring States-era shinobi truly had better battle sense.
The blow to his chin left Yuto’s head buzzing.
He wondered if he had a concussion.
For a moment, his brain could barely control his body.
The Grand Elder did not take the opportunity to attack.
He put away his Sharingan and stood with his hands behind his back, waiting until Yuto recovered from the dizziness.
Then he said in a deep voice,
“When you exchange taijutsu blows, your chakra flow is like a leaking bag.”
“Using the same taijutsu, any random Warring States-era shinobi would need only half as much chakra at most.”
“If a Warring States-era shinobi close to your strength fought you, it would not take long before you died from exhausting your chakra.”
The Grand Elder pointed toward Yuto’s knee from a distance.
“Every time you dodge, you release chakra explosively.
Your speed does increase quite a bit, but have you thought about the consequences?”
Yuto rubbed his swollen chin and froze when he heard this.
When had he ever thought about that much?
Every battle, he had only needed to charge in recklessly.
Now that he heard the Grand Elder’s words, Yuto thought back to his previous battles.
It did seem exactly as the old man said.
His chakra drained away like an opened floodgate.
Yuto had originally thought his chakra reserves were simply too low.
It turned out part of the problem was that he had been wasting chakra.
Thinking of this, Yuto suddenly froze.
Wait.
Why was he reviewing his mistakes?
If he saved chakra in battle, his endurance would increase.
Then how was he supposed to die?
No.
Damn battle knowledge, get out of his head.
While Yuto was struggling internally, the Grand Elder turned and walked toward a shrine pillar.
“However, the Great Fireball tactic itself is worth acknowledging.
During the Warring States Period, many Uchiha ninja used that kind of tactic to achieve results.”
After speaking, the Grand Elder stood in the center of the shrine courtyard with his hands behind his back.
“Yuto, I will no longer dodge your attacks.
You only need to swing your fists at me.”
“Once your punches can maintain their original speed while using half as much chakra, you pass.”
The moment Yuto heard that, he was no longer sleepy.
The corner of his mouth curled up.
Old man, you are the one who told me to hit you.
And you said you will not dodge, right?
Then I will show you the iron fist of Konoha’s new generation.
Yuto used the Body Flicker Technique to rush in front of the Grand Elder.
He swung his arm in a wide arc, throwing a wild haymaker straight toward the Grand Elder’s face.
But his fist did not meet the distinct feeling of striking flesh.
By then, Yuto was already airborne, kicked away by the Grand Elder.
After flying several meters through the air, Yuto crashed heavily to the ground and rolled several times before stopping near the shrine wall.
He climbed up, grimacing as he rubbed his aching stomach.
“Old man!
You cheated.
You said you wouldn’t dodge, so why are you counterattacking?”
The Grand Elder snorted coldly.
“When did I say I would not counterattack?
I only said I would not dodge.”
He narrowed his eyes, a trace of amusement flashing in his Sharingan.
“The speed of that kick just now was the same as the speed of your first punch.
If you cannot avoid an attack of that level, how can you talk about saving chakra?”
After being kicked away by the Grand Elder several times, Yuto gritted his teeth and climbed up again.
This time, he deliberately suppressed his chakra flow.
His fist carried a rush of wind as it struck toward the Grand Elder’s face.
At the instant it was about to land, the Grand Elder’s toes were already pressed against Yuto’s abdomen.
But Yuto’s knuckles finally brushed the Grand Elder’s collar.
“I hit you!”
Before Yuto could cheer, he was kicked away again.
As he rolled, he heard the Grand Elder snort.
“Your chakra was like a broken dam.
You lost control again at the last moment, didn’t you?”
Yuto lay on the ground, panting hard, and looked at his arms, which had reddened from repeated chakra bursts.
He thought about it, and in the end, he decided…
He was done.
Someone else could do this training.
In any case, he, Yuto Uchiha, was not doing it anymore.
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