Chapter 25: Shadow Clone.

At this moment, within Uchiha Toshiro's dojo, a figure was continuously swinging a sword at a dummy. With the passage of time, the sound of the iron sword clashing against the wooden dummy became a constant, like a torrential downpour.

He wasn't skilled in any specific sword techniques, such as the Draw and Slash or Iaido. Though he had heard of them, he had no specific training methods. He didn't care, either. He simply continued to practice the basic swordsmanship taught by the clan, focusing on speed, precision, and fierceness.

Suddenly, with a whizzing sound, a wooden ball the size of an egg shot towards Toshiro's back. Just at that moment, he was making a powerful slash, his old strength gone and new strength not yet born.

Seemingly aware of the impending attack, Toshiro remained calm. His arm holding the sword moved slightly, bringing the sword handle to intercept the wooden ball in a clang. Easily handling this attack, he ignored it and continued to wield his long sword, attacking the dummy.

After some time, another whizzing sound came from the front side. This time, the timing was perfect, just as he was thrusting the sword at the dummy and unable to change moves mid-way. He twisted his waist and lowered his head, abandoning the attack, and successfully dodged the wooden ball again.

This was a new training method he had devised for himself. In a past life, he remembered reading about a swimming world champion whose coach constantly created unexpected situations during training, like leaking goggles or torn swimsuits, to train the champion's ability to handle unexpected situations during competitions.

Inspired by this, Toshiro arranged for a Shadow Clone to shoot wooden balls silently at him with a bow he had specially ordered from Uchiha Tetsuhei. Sometimes, he even tampered with the iron sword or the dummy to train his experience in handling unexpected attacks during combat.

Even during his morning runs, he planned routes from different angles in the forest to enhance his ability to run and jump at high speeds in new environments, achieving more significant training results.

To him, this was very necessary. Ninja battles were often unexpected, filled with suddenness and uncertainty. Their high attack, high agility, and low defense traits pushed ninjas to deceive their opponents and launch sudden attacks to achieve a one-hit kill.

It was unclear whether his years of hard training had awakened some hidden attributes of his body, or if his daily morning meditation had made him more in tune with nature.

At the beginning of this training, he was often hit by the wooden balls. Even if he deliberately chose spots with more flesh, the pain was unbearable.

Gradually, Toshiro felt he had developed some sensory ability. Whenever a wooden ball was about to hit him, he somehow sensed it in advance. Even during his morning runs, he could sense any disharmony in the forest up to a few meters around him.

As for why he chose wooden balls instead of sharp objects like kunai, he wasn't a masochist. Even a wooden kunai shot from a bow could cause injury and bleeding.

After nearly an hour of sword training, Uchiha Toshiro took a large gulp of salt water to replenish his nutrients.

While drinking, he couldn't help but complain silently that the Shadow Clone was a real troublemaker. It had tampered with the dummy, almost slapping him down earlier with a forceful blow.

[I'm the main body, you know. Have you ever considered my feelings?]

[It's a good thing I've stopped practicing shuriken throwing recently, or else it would have been too overwhelming!]

As for Uchiha's famous "Shuriken Control Technique," well, he decided to try it after his Sharingan awakened.

Speaking of the Sharingan, he had another complaint. When others transmigrated, didn't they awaken the Sharingan immediately or by the age of five? He had nothing yet.

[Is it because I hadn't refined chakra at the time?]

Lying on a specially made rocking chair in the living room, he relaxed and emptied his mind.

"It's here!"

Suddenly, a stream of information surged into his mind, bringing with it a faint weariness. A glance at the clock showed it was 11:50.

Ten minutes ago, the ninja academy had finished its morning classes. The Shadow Clone had found a secluded spot to dispel itself.

Now, he was receiving all the knowledge the Shadow Clone had learned throughout the morning. Of course, it wasn't classroom knowledge but from a book on medical ninjutsu and training methods he had brought along.

After some experiments with the Shadow Clone Jutsu, he had understood his affinity with the jutsu. Thanks to being a transmigrator and having the Uchiha surname, his mental energy was exceptional compared to his peers, almost two to three times stronger.

Even his physical energy was notably stronger than his peers, though not by a large margin. He was still miles away from physical powerhouses like the Senju or Uzumaki clans.

If the Shadow Clone was too active or lasted too long, the accumulated fatigue would overwhelm his body. However, mental strain was much more manageable. The knowledge learned by the Shadow Clone in the morning entering his mind only caused slight fatigue, solvable with a short nap.

Thus, he decided how to use the Shadow Clone. For learning new knowledge, practicing chakra nature transformation, attending cultural classes at the ninja academy, and assisting in his training—activities that caused minimal physical fatigue—he would rely on the Shadow Clone. He himself would focus on enhancing physical strength.

After all, not everyone had a Kyuubi leaking yang chakra into their body from a young age, modifying it like Naruto. Only twelve or thirteen years old, Naruto could create two to three thousand Shadow Clones at a time—truly a monster.

(End of the chapter)