After eating with Yakushi Nono, the two parted ways.
Some things needed to progress step by step.
Moving too fast would only backfire.
Especially with someone like Yakushi Nono, who had spent so long moving through the shadows as an intelligence operative. Her nerves were more sensitive and fragile than those of an ordinary person.
The evening sun sank in the west, and dusk gradually spread across everything.
The Uchiha clan's training ground was empty at this moment. Several scorched black marks remained on the training posts, and a faint trace of Fire Release chakra still drifted in the air.
Clearly, the clan members' training had only just ended not long ago.
Chiya entered the training ground and stood alone in the space.
He closed his eyes, then snapped them open.
His crimson three-tomoe Sharingan rotated slowly in the dusk, eerie and cold.
'My genjutsu is already polished enough, but my ninjutsu still has some room to grow.'
He murmured quietly to himself, a slight furrow in his brow.
In Uchiha Chiya's original plan, during the Second Shinobi World War he had intended to keep lying low in the Security Force, going through the days without leaving the village for missions, training quietly without drawing attention.
He had gotten his three-tomoe Sharingan genjutsu to a satisfactory level and had begun preparing to study the Uchiha clan's Fire Release ninjutsu one by one.
But the sudden activation of the system had thrown everything off course.
Training in Fire Release was for building up his own strength. The system's appearance, however, had caused his strength to increase at a geometric rate.
Now that the war was over, this was the ideal moment to make up for the gaps in his Fire Release.
He raised his hand and took out several scrolls from his ninja pouch. With a light tap of his fingertips the scrolls snapped open, and dense formations and text appeared on them.
In the end, his gaze locked onto two jutsu.
Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique, and Fire Release: Fired Pottery Technique.
To put it in plain terms, the first leaned toward individual combat, focusing on great power and precision. The second leaned toward area damage, wide-range and destructive.
In the past, Uchiha Chiya would not have considered either of these two jutsu.
Both required a large chakra expenditure and precise control.
But now, with his chakra having grown from 1 Kaka all the way to 15 Kaka, there was basically no need to worry about excessive consumption leading to any reduction in his combat ability.
Chiya's three-tomoe Sharingan swept quickly through the scrolls, burning every detail into his mind.
The hand seal sequence, the path of chakra flow, the rhythm of breathing, the control of the flame's shape.
'I have memorized it. Now let us see the results.'
Chiya turned around and walked quickly to the center of the training ground.
Directly ahead of him was a large artificial lake, one that Chiya had specifically marked and had built before.
After all, within the Uchiha clan there were large numbers of members training in Fire Release. Having an artificial lake nearby meant that if a fire broke out, it could be dealt with.
Chiya looked at the clear surface of the lake before him.
He took a deep breath, and his hands moved rapidly through the seals.
"Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique."
Blazing flames burst from his mouth, compressed into the form of a fire dragon.
The fire dragon drove straight through the center of the lake, sending out a sharp hissing sound and raising massive waves.
Chiya narrowed his eyes slightly. His three-tomoe Sharingan carefully observed the shape of the flames and their subtle changes.
After a moment, the water settled, leaving behind only a great cloud of mist rising from the center of the lake.
'The chakra output could be a little more concentrated.'
He formed the seals again.
A blazing fire dragon burst from his mouth and shot toward the center of the artificial lake once more.
This time the shape of the flames was more dense and solid, the temperature higher, and a faint bluish-white hue began to flicker at the edges.
'Not bad.'
His gaze then shifted to the scroll for Fire Release: Fired Pottery Technique.
Chiya closed his eyes and focused. The chakra within him was slowly drawn up, and then.
"Fire Release: Fired Pottery Technique."
A rumbling roar rang out.
A sky-filling sea of fire erupted in an instant. The blazing wave of flames swept over the artificial lake like a tsunami, and the entire training ground was lit up as bright as day.
Wherever the flames passed, ripples surged across the lake's surface, and the heat seemed to warp the very air.
Even the trees in the distant forest were hit by the heat wave and their branches and leaves shook violently.
Yet Chiya's eyes shone with an excited light.
'As expected. The Sharingan's copying ability, combined with precise chakra control, allows even high-level Fire Release to be mastered quickly.'
He held his stance and looked at the flames gradually dying out in the air, the corners of his mouth turning up slightly.
This session of training had gone so smoothly.
He knew it was because his own strength had risen, which made the execution feel completely effortless.
Not only that, but his advanced Sharingan had also contributed a great deal.
All of these improvements had come from the system's previous rewards.
The increase in chakra had brought a corresponding improvement in chakra control.
The advancement of the Sharingan had granted him a sharper ability to perceive.
[Congratulations, Host. Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique has been successfully trained.]
[Congratulations, Host. Fire Release: Fired Pottery Technique has been successfully trained.]
The system notification chimed.
A thought stirred in Chiya's mind.
"System, open the status panel."
[Name: Uchiha Chiya]
[Age: 18]
[Chakra: 15 Kaka]
[Kekkei Genkai: Sharingan (Mangekyō), Ice Release]
[Skills: Mangekyō Dojutsu: The Far Shore of the Yellow Springs, Cycle of Cause and Effect. Fire Release: (Great Fireball Technique, Great Dragon Fire Technique, Fired Pottery Technique). Genjutsu Mastery, Body Flicker Technique, Shadow Clone Technique, Three Bodies Technique, and others.]
[Susano'o Unlock Progress: Ocular Power (Forging Proficiency): 66%. Chakra Requirement: (Already Met). Chakra Control Requirement: 75%.]
The panel had grown.
Chiya let out a slow breath.
'Next, it is time to keep refining and improving.'
"Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique."
The night grew deeper, but the flames on the training ground still had not stopped.
All the way until the moon hung high in the sky.
Only then did Chiya stop training and lean against a large tree to rest.
The crimson Sharingan faded, returning to its natural dark appearance.
"Chiya-nii?"
A timid voice rose from the darkness.
Chiya turned to look.
The faint moonlight lit up the girl before him.
Dark hair and dark eyes, with a gentle and serene face carrying an expression of concern.
The one who had come was Uchiha Mikoto.
"It is Mikoto. This late, and you still have not rested?"
Chiya smiled warmly at her and turned a scroll face-down to spread it on the ground.
Mikoto came over obediently and placed the box she had been holding in her arms down in front of him.
Then she sat down beside Chiya.
Chiya reached out and felt the warmth on the outside of the box, and a faint smell reached him from above.
A clean snap.
Chiya opened the box. Inside was a bowl of tonkotsu ramen.
"Chiya-nii, you have been training for such a long time. You must be hungry. Go ahead and eat."
Mikoto's voice came softly.
Chiya turned to look at the girl beside him, who was watching him with a shy and tentative look.
He reached out one arm and pulled her into his embrace.
"Mikoto, you are always the one who is good to your brother."
Uchiha Mikoto's heart thumped hard from Chiya's sudden movement, and instinctively she was about to push him away.
But then Chiya's scent reached her.
The fists she had clenched slowly relaxed. She gently wrapped her arms around his waist.
Her fair face turned visibly red before anyone's eyes.
Chiya felt the girl's movement and paid it no mind. He freed one hand, picked up the bowl with one hand and the chopsticks with the other and started eating.
He could tell just from tasting it.
This bowl of ramen had not been bought from a noodle shop outside. Mikoto had made it herself.
Chiya could not help but feel a quiet admiration.
Mikoto's cooking was getting better and better.
This ramen, just the broth alone was as smooth as silk on the tongue, rich with bone fragrance and a pleasant lingering sweetness.
The flavor was exceptional.
"Chiya-nii, eat slowly. If you like it, I will make it again for you next time."
Mikoto's soft and gentle voice came from within his arms.
"Mikoto, it is so good to have you. This late at night, and you still made noodles for me."
Chiya wiped his mouth and smiled at Mikoto.
Mikoto's face turned even redder, her heart beating even more violently, as though it might leap right out of her chest.
Her gaze wandered away to avoid his, clearly completely flustered.
"As long as Chiya-nii likes it."
A faint and gentle smile rested on Mikoto's face, quiet and lovely.
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