Although Konoha is a village, it is not a small one.
The Uchiha clan's clan is located at the very edge of Konoha's inner circle, squeezed into the southwest corner by the Hyuga clan, next to the village boundary.
The No. 4 training ground that the three volunteers were going to was located due north of Konoha, on the high ground behind the Hokage Rock, outside the barrier circle.
This means that if the three of them want to get there from the Uchiha clan, they must first pass by the Hyuga clan's mansion, walk along the Konoha River onto Ichiraku Avenue, and pass by the police station, the Hokage building and the Sarutobi clan.
group of mansions, and then climb half a distance of Konoha from the ramp behind the ANBU base to enter the training ground.
Going around like this does not include climbing, but there is still a distance of four or five kilometers to cover.
For Uchiha Itachi, this was only a matter of less than ten minutes, because he could easily use chakra to attach to the soles of his feet and walk in a straight line all the way over mountains and ridges.
But for Sasuke, who had just come into contact with ninjutsu, and Giyuu, who couldn't extract chakra, they could only run along the road in pain.
In other words, only Sasuke was running around in pain.
Holding the lighter food box in his hand, he ran to the Konoha Security Department and was already panting like a mammoth that was about to die of thirst.
But in order to be carried home by Itachi, and because of Uchiha's characteristic super pride, he had no intention of giving up.
He stared closely at Uchiha Itachi in front of him, imitating the opponent's ninja running posture——
Lower your upper body, lean forward, and raise your hands backwards like bird wings. Your feet are not large, but they step frequently, pushing your body forward like a shooting arrow.
It is said that the reason why ninjas run in this posture is, firstly, to reduce the resistance caused by the air to the advancing person; secondly, to lower their body position, narrow their target during pursuit and escape, and make it less likely to be discovered by the enemy.
Of course, this kind of action is also convenient for the ninja to take out things like detonating charms or kunai (and the artist does not have to consider the complex hand movements of people when moving at high speed).
But looking at the righteous man beside him, he was running like an ordinary person going to the market to buy something——
The upper body leans slightly forward, almost straight. Although the stride is long, it rarely uses force to push on the ground, but keeps stepping forward.
If he hadn't been holding the lunch box firmly in his hand, this running style would have looked quite impressive, but it had nothing to do with ninjas.
What Sasuke couldn't understand the most was that even though he was already using the most standard postures described by his brother, he still couldn't distance himself from Giyuu.
No matter how fast he increased his speed, Giyuu always maintained his position relative to him and Itachi. From the moment he left the house to now, there was no change at all, as if he and Itachi were leading him forward!
What made Sasuke even more speechless was that unlike him, who was already suppressing his blush, Giyuu, who was holding a heavier food box, had a normal expression.
When he noticed Sasuke's gaze, he turned around and asked while still moving at high speed: "You must be very tired. Do you want me to help you get it?"
He naturally referred to the food box in Sasuke's hand, and he said it out of concern.
Giyuu observed with his world-clear vision that Sasuke's heart rate, due to the continuous acceleration on the road, had reached more than three times the normal level.
Although he knew that the physical fitness of humans in the ninja world was very good, their heart rate was already dangerous, and Sasuke was only a child, so he was a little worried.
However, any words of concern coupled with his plain face will make people feel that he is mocking!
Even though he knew that Giyuu probably meant no harm, Sasuke still gritted his teeth.
["Are you learning this to light candles?"] The feeling of humiliation came to my mind again.
In addition, he also saw the Uchiha clan emblem painted on the clothes of several people in front of him.
[This is not far from where dad works...]
If you give the lunch box to Yiyong and happen to be seen by his father at work——
"I don't want you to bother me!"
He yelled at Giyu and continued to accelerate as if he was desperate. Uchiha Itachi didn't say anything when he saw this. Sasuke accelerated with him, so Giyu had no problem.
In this way, the three brothers maintained a dynamic balance, like three dark winds passing through the main streets of Konoha, when they met a watermelon-headed man wearing green tights, who was clapping and beating wildly at them.
"Come on! This is the passionate youth! This is what you have to do, work hard and sweat!"
Uchiha Itachi nodded to the other party and said hello.
Sasuke was obviously about to die, but he still covered half of his face with one hand in shame.
Giyong glanced to the side and felt that if Purgatory Anjuro was resurrected, he would be very close to this person.
After all, they are the type who talk to strangers without any scruples, and their voices are very loud.
This kind of courage makes Yiyong very envious.
[If it were Purgatory to complete the task of resurrecting everyone, it should be easier. 】
Xiguatou saw the three of them leaving without looking back, and continued to say encouraging words, causing the vendors on the street to cover their ears and roll their eyes.
"Keep your voice down, people are still doing business."
Kakashi fell from a high place, yawned and stabbed the green man in the back.
"Oh, Kakashi, it's not youthful at all to take a nap so early."
Metkai showed a literally shining smile, "If there wasn't another mission, I would have to compete with you to see who can climb up the Hokage Rock first with only hands!
"But speaking of it, the three kids just now look very similar. And I always feel like I've seen the ping-pong paddle-like logo on their backs somewhere -"
The three patrolling security team members suddenly turned their heads and looked at him with ferocious eyes.
But when he saw Kakashi standing next to him with his Sharingan, he snorted coldly and turned around.
They were the lackeys around Sandai. The patriarch had told them not to conflict with each other.
Vendors and pedestrians on the road moved out of the way, staring at the guardsmen as they left with all kinds of complicated looks.
"That's the emblem of the Uchiha clan. Please don't show your forgetfulness so loudly in front of the guard station!"
Kakashi held his forehead speechlessly, "If a Jonin in the village says something like this, others will think you are deliberately mocking him!"
[If Kai becomes the trigger of the conflict between the village and Uchiha, then I really don’t know what to say.]
"Because this mission is all in my mind, so I have cleared out all the things I don't need."
Kai raised his head and smiled brightly, "But we are all passionate young people, so you won't misunderstand me just because of this!"
"If I thought like you, I wouldn't be so tired."
Kakashi raised his eyebrows and changed the topic: "By the way, what do you think of those two brats just now?"
After a night shift, Kakashi met Giyuu again.
Yesterday, he was curious about whether the other party's strength was a little too strong.
As a result, I saw the other party again today. He could run so fast in his normal posture, but he didn't even have any signs of breathing disorder.
But there is indeed no chakra in the opponent's body, and Kakashi will not be wrong about it.
Are mortals as good as ninjas?
Among the people he knew, Kai was probably the only one who had such a physique when he was young.
"They're all pretty good. Especially the boy on the right..."
Metkai touched his chin, "His physical fitness is very suitable for practicing physical arts. It's just that there is no sparkle in his eyes. He doesn't seem to be a very enthusiastic child."
As he said that, he turned to look at Kakashi's exposed dead fish eyes, "It's different from yours, it's a pair of eyes that have no light at all. But then again, he gave me a very
It feels reliable, I don’t know what’s going on.”
Kakashi nodded.
For the brainless Metkai, intuition is his most accurate decision-making tool and is more trustworthy than a ninja dog who likes to exaggerate.
After all, for a ninja dog with limited power, most things related to people are dangerous, so that's why he said that.
Last night, he wanted to report the child's special characteristics to the third generation of adults. After all, "gloomy and cold personality" + "Uchiha" + "unusual talent", it was really difficult for people to ignore him.
But once Danzo finds out, something unpleasant will inevitably happen.
But since Metkai said so, he didn't bother to meddle in this nosy matter, so he just regarded it as a favor to Shisui.
From now on, his mission is to monitor and protect Naruto, and everything else has nothing to do with him.
At the same time, the three security team members who had just passed by returned to their offices.
After the three jounin said goodbye to their two subordinates, they went all the way to the top of the guard team, where the captain's office was located.
When the jounin opened the door, Uchiha Fugaku was standing by the window with a cup of tea, staring coldly down. He didn't take a sip until Kakashi and Gai disappeared around the corner of Ichiraku Ramen.
Tea turned around.
"What's up?"
Fugaku walked to the desk and sat down, asking in a calm tone.
"Clan leader, have you heard the news that Shisui has become the temporary captain of the ANBU directly under the Hokage?"
There was a hint of anger on the jounin's face, "This guy! He has chosen to stand on the side of the village openly."
"How many times have I told you not to call me clan leader when I'm in the guard, and don't talk about family affairs."
Fugaku glanced at him, "This is just your idea and has not been verified. And you also heard that Shisui is only the 'temporary captain'."
"Don't you doubt that guy at all?"
The jounin frowned.
"So what if we are suspicious? Doesn't he also reveal to us the situation of the village's senior officials from time to time?"
Fugaku shook his head, picked up a document on the table and shook it, "Besides, as long as you give Itachi and... give Itachi enough time, Shisui's power will not be as important as before. You see, I just
As soon as I got here, I received a notice from the Third Generation asking Itachi to take the Chunin Exam."
"A ten-year-old chuunin?"
There was a gleam in the jounin's eyes, "This kid Itachi is really amazing."
Fugaku used his tea cup to cover the rising corners of his mouth, "Actually, he was qualified to participate two years ago, but considering that becoming a chuunin means going to perform tasks outside the village and not having time to accompany Sasuke and Giyu, he has not gone. But next year
In March, it was time for Sasuke and Giyu to go to school, and he had no reason to refuse this time...
"However, with Itachi's pride, he probably won't choose to form a team with others and take the Chunin Exam alone. There are many dangers. It's better to confirm his level first."
"What do you want?" the jounin asked.
"I remember……"
Fugaku made a recalling expression.
"The junior who almost had a conflict with Itachi at the clan show before was called Uchiha Enhuo, right? Many people have come to me recently to tell me about him. This child is very restless."
"Is such that."
The Jonin nodded, "Not long ago, he participated in the Jonin examination organized by the village. He was targeted because of conflicts with other candidates, so Mito Monobu, who was in charge of scoring, did not let him pass. During this time, he has been
He was a little annoyed and eager to do something to prove himself, but among his peers in the clan, Shisui could not find anyone, and Itachi deliberately avoided him..."
"Fifteen years old, at the level of a jounin, he can be considered a genius."
Fugaku pondered for a while, then tapped the table with his knuckles, "It's him."
"what do you mean?"
"Isn't he looking for Itachi?"
Fugaku looked at the jounin and ordered: "Go find him at noon, hint to him or let him hear it on purpose, just say that Itachi will be training at the No. 4 training ground in Konoha today. With his mental state,
They will definitely come to you. When the time comes, I will secretly observe how far Itachi’s strength is now.”
"That's fine."
The jounin didn't hesitate.
The Uchiha are a clan that longs for power, and they are also a clan that longs to test their strength. It is their nature to be warlike, and fighting is their way to prove themselves.
"I'll do it right away."
After the Jonin left, Fugaku picked up the pen and pointed at the family photo on the table, and lightly tapped Giyuu's forehead.
"Giyu, after today you will understand that you cannot take good care of Sasuke just by doing housework.
"In this world, only power can give people a stable life."
Uchiha Fugaku didn't tell the jounin just now.
That is, from noon to afternoon today, Itachi still has a C-level mission to complete, which will take about one to two hours.
By then, only Sasuke and Giyuu will be left in training ground No. 4.
…
"Ho, ho, ho!"
When the three brothers were about to start the last third of the climbing trip, Uchiha Sasuke was already panting like a bellows, as if there was a huge fireball stuck in his chest but could not spit it out, and his free hand pressed tightly on
The location under the ribs.
In order to show off in front of Schrödinger's father, he had just sprinted continuously for a distance of more than 500 meters, which had exceeded the limit that he could achieve at his age.
Now, the consequences of overloading exercise have bitten his immature body.
But Sasuke still endured the pain without saying a word. He didn't want Giyuu to see himself vulnerable and painful when he followed him to training for the first time.
"Pause."
Giyuu stopped Itachi who was running in front, and grabbed Sasuke who was still trying to show off his strength.
Before the two of them could react, he slapped Sasuke directly where he was angry.
This not only startled Sasuke, but also Itachi.
They had never seen Giyuu hit anyone, let alone Sasuke.
"what you do……"
Sasuke opened his innocent eyes, holding his stomach and taking two steps back.
But the next moment, he noticed that his abdominal pain, which was originally a bit painful, actually returned to its original state in just a few seconds.
"Eh?"
He felt his breathing suddenly became smoother and asked in surprise: "Yiyong, what did you just do to me?"
The same question, but the tone and intention are completely different from before.
"Your breathing is so messed up."
Giyuu didn't answer. He grabbed the food box in Sasuke's hand and said, "And it's very inefficient."
"efficiency?"
When Itachi heard this word, he looked at Giyuu's steady chest thoughtfully, and his eyes turned red.
He observed quietly for a while, and then he was surprised to find that Yiyong's breathing rhythm was indeed very different from theirs.
Each time he inhales and exhales, it takes a long time, lasting more than ten seconds.
After exhaling, there will be a longer breath-holding time, more than thirty seconds.
Wait a moment!
Uchiha Itachi opened his eyes wide.
This means that Yiyong barely breathes every minute——
once???
The reason why Itachi didn't notice it in the past was because Giyuu was too quiet and never made any obvious breathing sound!
And their family is used to it.
Now that I think about it, has he been "breathing" at this pace for so many years?
How much lung capacity does this have to do this?
While listening to Giyuu's instructions on Sasuke's new breathing method, Itachi watched carefully as Giyuu's fingers positioned Sasuke's lungs, trachea and heart with great precision to explain.
This shows that Giyuu has an extremely good understanding of the structure of the human body, far exceeding the average level of Ninja School students.
In fact, in Giyuu's eyes, Sasuke is no longer a cute boy, but a human tissue model composed entirely of bones, blood vessels, muscles, fat, fascia, and skin.
Under the "transparent world" view, not to mention breathing, which is an activity that obviously expands the lungs, even the direction of the blood flow, and every contraction and stretch of the muscles, Yiyong can clearly see.
Moreover, when the transparent field of view is turned on, all movements captured by the eyes will be slowed down by about half, which is enough for Yugi to accurately capture every movement in Sasuke's body.
"It's right this time."
Seeing that Sasuke had mastered the most basic breathing rhythm, Giyuu nodded calmly, then looked at Itachi Uchiha: "You can go now."
There are no ghosts in this world, and there are no ghost slayers.
However, as someone with the title of Water Pillar and the qualification of being exempted from all exemptions, he should have no problem teaching basic non-lethal breathing techniques to his family.
When he thought that Sasuke also aspired to become a ninja like Itachi, he felt a little unhappy. He just hoped that Sasuke could learn more practical things and skills.
Regarding this point, Giyuu and Uchiha Itachi had the same idea, but the way of realizing it was slightly different.
After this little episode, the next journey to the No. 4 driving range was relatively smooth.
Sasuke mastered the new breathing technique. Although it was uphill, he was overjoyed by the increasing effect of breathing on his physical strength, and he ran extremely happily.
"This is training ground No. 4."
Uchiha Itachi pointed to the wide field with hundreds of earthen walls erected, and a small lake in the depths, which was very similar to the Uchiha training ground.
Those earthen walls are the products of earthen, each with different thickness and size. They are used to test the power of offensive ninjutsu. Even if they are destroyed, ninjas who practice earthen will come and replace them, so they are recycled.
"Rest for a while first."
Itachi used his ninja sword to cut a piece of earthen wall into squares of different sizes, which he used as temporary tables and chairs.
The chakra of a ninja is transformed from the physical strength extracted from the cells. After running for such a long time, it might be dangerous to let Sasuke practice ninjutsu rashly.
However, in the blink of an eye, Yiyong had already taken out the picnic tablecloth from the top layer of the food box, spread the snacks made in the morning on a "table", and three large bowls of covered fish soup. Although it was the leftover food from last night.
It's made, but still has a drool-worthy fragrance.
"..."
Uchiha Itachi, who usually only brought rice balls, blinked.
I hope I won't be seen by any familiar ninja coming to eat and drink.
Glancing at Sasuke who secretly caught a few fried shrimps to eat, Itachi sat down next to Giyuu and said, "While Sasuke is eating, let me teach you how to refine chakra first."
Before Giyuu said his refusal, Itachi quickly added a few words: "Giyu, I know you don't want to become a ninja, but your Sharingan is likely to open automatically due to emotional changes. Without chakra, you will
You'll faint again this time. You don't want me, Sasuke and mother to worry about you, right?"
Yiyong's expression changed slightly.
Itachi knew that what he said had been listened to by Giyong.
"Furthermore, chakra is not exclusive to ninjas. Having chakra does not mean you must become a ninja. For example, the samurai of the Iron Country also use chakra to use sword skills. Of course, if you don't like fighting, Chakra
Carat can also do other things.
“For example, if you learn the art of channeling, you can ask your cat to go out and buy groceries for you, and then channel it to your body to save time; if you learn the most basic sealing art, you can put the food into a scroll to save space and weight;
If you learn more carefully, you can even walk on the water, wouldn't it be very convenient to catch fish?"
Itachi knew very well that whether Giyuu learns or not, his father will definitely find a way to force Giyuu to become a ninja on his own. Uchiha has longed for strong combat power so that he can show his fangs to Konoha for too long.
But right now, he can't control that far. He has to solve the hidden dangers of Giyu's Sharingan first, so he can only say what he likes to hear first.
Yiyong was silent for a long time, and finally nodded.
As Itachi said, if he accidentally opens the Sharingan and faints, it will waste a lot of time and make his mother worry about him. This is not what Giyuu wants.
More importantly, he wanted to know whether that inexplicable voice could analyze anything from his own chakra.
Unlike yesterday's Yiyong, today, he has a clear goal of resurrecting his teammates.
"Well."
Seeing that Yiyong agreed, Itachi finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Although Yiyong is difficult to communicate, he is at least reasonable and very different from the stubbornness of ordinary children.
"Before I teach you how to transform chakra, I must first explain to you what chakra is."
Itachi used his ninja sword to draw a human shape on the nearest earthen wall, and then drew two circles on the abdomen and brain of the figure.
"Yuyong, the so-called chakra, is an energy transformed from human physical strength. Physical energy is a mixture of physical energy extracted from 13 billion body cells and spiritual energy from spiritual practice experience. When
When you use Taijutsu, your physical strength will be directly consumed; but if you want to use Ninjutsu or Sharingan, your physical strength must be processed and converted into chakra."
With that said, Itachi formed Yin Seal with his hands and blew out a ball of red fire. Giyuu once again gained 0.02% of the resolution of the breath of fire.
"Through the seal, the non-attribute chakra you transformed through physical strength will be further processed into the form and properties required for ninjutsu. This is what my father called the change in the nature and form of chakra at home, that is, the escape technique.
"However, we don't have to think that far today. What you need to understand most now is how to refine chakra and convert it into the eye power necessary for the Sharingan.
