Chapter 77: Early Morning

In the Uchiha family's training ground, a refreshing morning breeze gently blew, causing a crystal clear dewdrop on a green leaf to slowly drip down. The first ray of sunlight from the rising sun pierced through the dense shadows of the trees, illuminating the slowly falling drop, adding a layer of iridescent glow to it. 

At the top of a large tree, a young boy was sitting cross-legged, his expression neither joyful nor sorrowful, his figure slightly swaying with the breeze. Occasionally, small birds would pass by him without a trace of alarm.

The boy was Uchiha Toshiro, who was currently engaged in his daily meditation practice. Due to his instructor Choumasa's requirement, a special training session was scheduled for six o'clock this morning, prompting him to change his practice location to the training field. As a result, he arrived early, even before dawn, to conduct his meditation session. 

After years of such meditation practice, Toshiro could easily enter a state of absolute stillness, a unique state he himself referred to as 'Stillness,' which integrated him seamlessly with nature, making birds and animals unaware of any threat from him.

As time passed and the sun gradually rose, new visitors arrived at the training field.

"Idiot Zhe, why are you the only one here? Hasn't Toshiro come yet?" a crisp, young girl's voice sounded, with a tone that could only be described as coquettish.

"That guy usually arrives pretty early, doesn't he? Always in the way!" 

Seeing that the 'light bulb' wasn't there and no one was disturbing her time alone with the boy, the girl beamed, her face even showing two small dimples of joy.

Whenever she was with this idiot, Toshiro and teacher Choumasa were always around, really an eyesore! 

Now it was just the two of them, she was utterly happy. It would have been perfect without the special training today!

Although she was only eight years old, Uchiha En, the girl, was quite mature, always feeling that her teammates and teacher were redundant.

As for shyness, it was non-existent. Uchiha En couldn't care less about what others thought. If she had time to spare, why not mess with this idiot?

"Toshiro and the teacher haven't arrived yet. By the way, En, have you had breakfast? The pies my Kaasan made are top-notch. Do you want to try them?" 

Not too mindful of why Toshiro was often considered 'in the way,' he took out the breakfast his mother had specially prepared and offered to share it.

Seeing the open and cheerful smile on his face, the girl felt delighted and eagerly took the pie passed to her by Uchiha Zhe, savoring it with a smile.

"Awesome! Auntie's pies are so delicious! I wish I could eat such tasty food every day!" Smiling as she enjoyed the pie, she enthusiastically praised her 'future' mother-in-law.

Hearing her praise, Uchiha Zhe laughed heartily, also scratching his head with his free right hand, giving off a silly and naive impression.

Hearing the conversation below, Toshiro couldn't help but exit his state of 'Stillness' and voiced his critique: "Sorry to interrupt your delightful time, Miss En."

Jumping down from the top of the tree, he landed in front of the two.

"Ah! Toshiro, you're here. Did you arrive early? Why haven't you come down?" Uchiha Zhe asked, puzzled, as he saw Toshiro suddenly appear, offering another pie from his bag.

"You mentioned a family member not being here. Who are you talking about? Is it teacher Choumasa?" 

Not clarifying who the named person was, Toshiro accepted the pie with a large bite, disregarding the girl's murderous look.

"I came early and have been meditating for over an hour. Seeing you both chatting so lively, I decided to come down and greet." 

"Indeed, Auntie's skills are good. En, you're in for a treat!" Toshiro commented, savoring the pie while teasing the girl.

These pies were likely prepared by Zhe's mother specifically for their breakfast, silently supporting her son, hoping he would get along with his teammates and teacher. 

Unperturbed by Toshiro's teasing, Uchiha En merely shot him a fierce glare, displeased that her alone time with 'Idiot Zhe' was interrupted.

"Are you really practicing that meditation technique? Does it actually work?" The young boy's interest diverged, amazed that Toshiro had meditated for over an hour, something he considered a mere excuse before.

Eyeing him, Toshiro responded gloomily: "Of course, it's real! Your expression shows disbelief." 

"Test it yourself if you doubt its efficacy! We're in the same team; do you think I'd fool you?"

It was frustrating for Toshiro. He had shared the technique for practicing sage arts, yet it was dismissed as nonsense. Did he have that much free time?

Even Teacher Choumasa didn't get it. Despite being an elite Jonin, he lacked the vision to recognize it. They didn't realize that for a thousand years, ninja training focused on refining chakra and physical or mental energies, disregarding meditative practices deemed archaic.

Only monks and priests practiced meditation, relics of a bygone era. As prime representatives of the current era's pinnacle, why would they revert to such outdated methods?