Chapter 6: Taijutsu Battle

After extracting chakra, Uchiha Kiyoshi calmed their emotions and continued the extraction process.

During the first chakra extraction, Uchiha Kiyoshi wanted to understand their own limits, which would be helpful for future control.

Chakra is formed by the fusion of physical energy and spiritual energy, and it only strengthens the body without any reciprocal effects.

In other words, the body cells have to work without receiving any compensation!

It's terrifying!

Therefore, compared to other cultivation systems, the path of chakra does not increase one's lifespan. On the contrary, it can deplete one's lifespan.

Although ninja and ordinary people have similar lifespans, there are differences.

While ninjas experience a depletion of their lifespan, their constant training prevents them from being hindered by diseases. On the other hand, ordinary people, who are physically weak and suffer from illnesses, may not live up to their normal lifespan and die prematurely.

Overall, chakra can bring immense power but also cause damage to the body. It is a double-edged sword.

Although the most important thing in this world is to survive, Uchiha Kiyoshi came to this world with the ability to cultivate, naturally desiring longevity. Therefore, they would try to extract as little chakra as possible, avoiding reaching their limits every time.

During the past four years, Uchiha Kiyoshi had thought of various methods, but now that they had just extracted chakra, they didn't have time to implement their ideas.

Uchiha Kiyoshi exerted all their effort in extracting chakra, and only when their body sent warning signals did they realize they had reached their limit.

The chakra in their lower abdomen was noticeably thicker than a strand of hair, exceeding the average level in the Uchiha clan mentioned by Uchiha Ryo. This made Uchiha Kiyoshi aware of their talent in chakra.

Feeling the emptiness in their body, Uchiha Kiyoshi sighed inwardly. Unfortunately, they couldn't reach the limit anymore in the future.

"But it's also good. From now on, I'll extract only half the amount each time, which will also help hide my talent."

Uchiha Kiyoshi could only console themselves in their mind.

Before Uchiha Kiyoshi could think further, Uchiha Ryo woke everyone up.

"Alright, today five more people successfully fused chakra. Not bad. However, it has already been three hours, so it's time for the training of kunai throwing. Those who haven't extracted chakra yet will have to work hard tomorrow."

Hearing Uchiha Ryo's announcement that five more people had successfully extracted chakra, some individuals showed obvious envy. They were the ones who hadn't fused chakra yet, but they were close, stuck in the process of finding the right ratio.

However, if they knew that Uchiha Kiyoshi had found the correct fusion ratio in just two hours, they would probably be infuriated.

The day's training quickly came to an end. Uchiha Kiyoshi returned home as usual, took a medicinal bath, and contemplated their future plans.

"Now Konoha can be considered a very peaceful period. Although the Third Hokage has been in power for a long time, he has managed to maintain control. As for Danzo, he is busy consolidating his own power and hasn't shown any intention to suppress the Uchiha yet.

Moreover, various indications show that although Danzo strictly inherits the Second Hokage's ideology, Hashirama Senju himself didn't necessarily want to suppress the Uchiha. He just wanted to impose limitations.

The reason why Danzo is so active is twofold. On one hand, he covets the power of the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, and realizes that only the Uchiha clan's Sharingan can suppress Hashirama's cells. That's why he's been relentlessly collecting Sharingan. The second point is that Danzo somehow learned about Izanagi, the forbidden jutsu. Driven by greed, he intensified his efforts to suppress the Uchiha and covertly assassinate the Uchiha clan's elites who could unlock the Three Tomoe.

However, for now, Danzo shouldn't have started his research on Hashirama's cells, and he doesn't know about Izanagi either.

Currently, the situation between the village and the Uchiha isn't so confrontational. It's more like different positions.

But even so, a tree standing tall in a forest is sure to face destruction. With exceptional talent, the Third Hokage and Danzo won't allow their positions to be threatened, especially by the Uchiha clan.

Danzo is currently lacking manpower, so if he focuses on us and the enemy goes to great lengths to infiltrate, it would be disastrous.

Hiding my talent is necessary. Only by doing so can I grow smoothly."

Uchiha Kiyoshi constantly pondered various possibilities and ultimately decided to hide their talent.

Uchiha Kiyoshi could appreciate their own talent, and chakra levels were only one aspect of it. They quickly understood various books they had read before, possibly due to receiving a strict formal education in advanced sciences in their previous life.

What does this imply? It means that Uchiha Kiyoshi's learning ability in ninjutsu is definitely not lacking, at least in medical ninjutsu and sealing techniques. However, these two fields are already the most difficult to cultivate, aren't they?

So Uchiha Kiyoshi wants to hide their own talent and reduce the possibility of attracting attention.

"Well, taijutsu is not highly regarded right now, so it's okay to expose my talent in taijutsu to some extent... Although I don't have any particularly outstanding talent in that area either.

But I'm a mature person who knows what I want, and I won't slack off in training like the other playful kids. Compared to them, I already have a gap in training time. It won't be difficult to pretend to be a taijutsu genius.

And then, combined with medical ninjutsu? The ninjutsu I reveal should mostly be defensive. That way, it will reinforce the image of me being a "coward." And when I think about it carefully, it's not a bad idea! Cough... It's not that I'm personally a coward, it's just for my character, yes, for my character..."

Uchiha Kiyoshi firmly denies that they are a "coward."

After thinking about it, they have determined their development direction.

"For now, let's not rush into medical ninjutsu and defensive ninjutsu. Let's focus on taijutsu for now.

It won't be long before we start training in combat skills. Now that the direction is set, let's lean towards defense in all aspects..."

Having figured out their short-term goals, Uchiha Kiyoshi drifted off to sleep.

In the following week, the remaining few individuals also gradually succeeded in extracting their chakra.

Uchiha Kiyoshi successfully "disguised" their chakra talent.

After a month of training, the kunai throwing exercises no longer made their hands ache every time.

Uchiha Shin seemed to have calculated everything perfectly. The morning training didn't interfere with the afternoon combat sessions, and everyone successfully extracted their chakra. It was at this point that the combat training began.

"Starting today, we will incorporate some taijutsu combat into our daily training. Over the past month, I've been sharing some techniques and tips for taijutsu combat, so let's see your progress today."

Although Uchiha Shin said this, he didn't have high expectations in his heart. After all, over the past month, he had trained these little brats to their limits every day, and he doubted anyone had the focus to listen to the techniques he shared.

...

As expected, after three rounds of combat, it was a pitiful sight.

Although it wasn't as bad as inexperienced kids randomly flailing at each other, it couldn't be considered proper combat either.

Uchiha Shin proceeded to call the next pair.

"Uchiha Kiyoshi vs. Uchiha Towa."

Upon hearing the opponent's name, Uchiha Kiyoshi was momentarily taken aback. Uchiha Towa? Could he be related to Uchiha Ryo?

Uchiha Kiyoshi's guess was correct. Uchiha Towa was indeed Uchiha Ryo's brother, but compared to his elite Jounin brother, Uchiha Towa appeared much more ordinary.

Of course, none of this mattered to Uchiha Kiyoshi.

After Uchiha Shin called out the names, Uchiha Kiyoshi stepped forward along with another slender child.

Uchiha Towa did bear some resemblance to Uchiha Ryo, even their height was similar. They were slightly taller than their peers, at least among the children present, no one was taller than Uchiha Towa.

Following Uchiha Shin's command, Uchiha Kiyoshi and Uchiha Towa formed the hand seal for confrontation.

Then they both jumped away in opposite directions, creating some distance between them.

Uchiha Towa, being Uchiha Ryo's younger brother, hadn't received any special treatment during the training period, but having an elite Jounin brother meant that he had been guided in many combat techniques from a young age.

As soon as the fight began and the distance was established, Uchiha Towa took out a pair of kunai. These weren't the standard training kunai, but ones customized to fit the user. Uchiha Towa held the kunai, using them as short blades.

Uchiha Towa, with kunai in hand, quickly closed in on Uchiha Kiyoshi.

Uchiha Kiyoshi was a bit surprised because they hadn't considered the use of weapons in combat before. However, seeing that Uchiha Shin didn't intervene, it seemed to be permitted.

Dodging the first strike, Uchiha Kiyoshi quickly took out a standard kunai while the opponent was still recovering.

Although a standard kunai wasn't as suitable for close combat as Uchiha Towa's, Uchiha Kiyoshi couldn't just rely on bare hands to receive a kunai attack, right? It's not like they were Nezha who could catch blades with their bare hands.

Uchiha Towa regained his composure and once again lunged towards Uchiha Kiyoshi.

At this moment, Uchiha Kiyoshi had already taken out the shuriken, turned to the side, and held the shuriken in front of them to block the opponent's horizontal strike.

Uchiha Kiyoshi quickly retreated after the brief contact. Uchiha Towa, seeing that he couldn't easily take down his opponent, continued to attack with strikes, slashes, and stabs. Although he didn't display high-level skills, his performance was considered decent.

At least in Uchiha Shin's opinion, it was a much better performance compared to the previous matches.

However, Uchiha Shin frowned as he watched Uchiha Kiyoshi continuously blocking with the shuriken. Although he was satisfied with their blocking skills, he couldn't help but think, "Why don't you counterattack? It seems like you're not panicking and don't lack the knowledge to do so, so why are you constantly forced to defend?"

Uchiha Kiyoshi was unaware of Uchiha Shin's thoughts and continued to block Uchiha Towa's attacks. Starting off struggling, they gradually became more proficient.

This improvement surprised Uchiha Shin who was watching from the side.

"I didn't expect this kid Kiyoshi to have some talent in taijutsu. The progress is quite noticeable. But come on, why don't you attack? Just blocking without counterattacking, what's that about?"

Uchiha Shin praised Uchiha Kiyoshi in his mind but was frustrated by their behavior of only blocking.

Uchiha Shin couldn't help but think, "I finally see someone with talent in taijutsu, but are they only going to focus on defense in the end?"

Shaking his head, Uchiha Shin continued to observe the ongoing battle in the field.

At this point, Uchiha Towa and Uchiha Kiyoshi had been fighting for ten minutes.

Uchiha Towa, who had been unable to defeat Uchiha Kiyoshi, was getting anxious.

Due to constantly being on the offensive, Uchiha Towa's stamina was gradually wearing out.

On the other hand, Uchiha Kiyoshi, who only needed to defend, still had plenty of energy left. They could at least fight for another five or six minutes.

After one more minute, Uchiha Towa finally exhausted his strength and surrendered.

Uchiha Kiyoshi achieved their first victory, although it could be debatable if it could be called a win.

After completing the sealing technique, Uchiha Kiyoshi returned to their original position under the strange gaze of Uchiha Shin and observed the battles of the other groups.

The first round of battles ended like this, and Uchiha Shin commented on each individual's performance. Perhaps thinking that Uchiha Kiyoshi's situation was just a coincidence for today, Uchiha Shin didn't specifically point it out.

Then it was time for intense physical training again.

In this way, the special training truly entered the right track.

Under Uchiha Shin's guidance, Uchiha Kiyoshi's proficiency in taijutsu continued to rise, although their style might be a bit off...