Nighttime.
Inside the room.
Shane once again finished extraction of his chakra, and when he opened his eyes, they were filled with exhaustion.
Even so, he forced himself to stay awake and used the chakra he had just recovered to practice one of the Three Basic Techniques: the Clone Technique.
Unlike before, his movements were clearly more fluid now. He could finish the hand seals within five seconds.
That was the school's testing standard.
But that didn't mean he had mastered the technique.
Why? Because if it were only about forming seals, he could meet the requirement easily.
But that was useless.
When performing ninjutsu, the most crucial part isn't the hand signs themselves, but the ability to synchronize chakra control and transformation during the process.
The hand signs only help guide that transformation.
If a ninja becomes proficient enough, they can simplify the process—reducing the number of seals or even performing one-handed seals.
Of course, that level was still far out of reach for Shane.
He hadn't even learned to "walk," let alone "run."
Poof—
A puff of chakra smoke dispersed, and a distorted figure appeared next to him—vaguely resembling Shane.
Expressionless, Shane glanced at the clone before immediately dismissing the technique.
Closing his eyes for a moment to think, Shane gathered his chakra again and began forming seals.
Five seconds later, another puff of smoke, and a similarly distorted shadow of himself emerged. Still flawed.
Like that, he cast the Clone Technique five times in a row, draining all of his chakra before stopping the practice.
Taking a deep breath, he summoned the status panel:
[Name: Uchiha Shane
Age: 10
Physique: 5
Spirit: 7
Chakra: 11 (131)
Bloodline: Sharingan · Unawakened (51/100)
Skills:
Chakra Extraction Technique: Lv0 (8/100)
Clone Technique: Lv0 (46/100)
Basic Taijutsu: Lv0 (35/100)]
Tonight, he had spent four hours extracting chakra, increasing his maximum chakra by 4 points—from 127 to 131.
During this time, he had recovered a total of 200 chakra points.
Each use of the Clone Technique consumed about 20 chakra, meaning he had practiced it ten times tonight.
Thanks to his predecessor's memories and experience, each attempt earned him 2-3 proficiency points.
Tonight alone, he had gained 27 points.
Combined with the previous 19, he now had 46—more than halfway to mastery.
Additionally, his Chakra Extraction Technique had also benefited, gaining 6 proficiency points instead of the expected 4.
With this pace, if he stuck to a four-hour daily schedule, he'd reach basic mastery in about two weeks.
Once that happened, its effects would be significantly enhanced, and his chakra shortage issue would begin to ease.
After that, his skill improvement speed would also pick up.
It wasn't hard to see that as time went on, his power would start rising faster and faster.
But for now...
Slow and steady.
Sure, he could push himself harder, spending extra hours daily to master Chakra Extraction Technique sooner.
But what was the point?
If his guess was correct, he'd be forced to graduate soon. With such little time, how much stronger could he realistically get?
Genin level? Maybe Chūnin? It's not like he could reach Jōnin that quickly.
And even if he did reach Jōnin, what good would that do in a war that engulfed the entire ninja world?
Changing even one local battle would be difficult.
Why put in so much thankless effort?
Besides, as an outsider, gaining power too quickly would only put a spotlight on him—and that could easily lead to exposure.
So, why not just proceed at a natural pace?
Shaking his head, Shane let the thought go, turned off the lights, and walked back to the bedroom. Lying on the bed, he gazed at the moon outside the window and soon fell into a deep sleep.
--------
The next day.
Afternoon.
Back on the training field.
But today, Sugimoto didn't have them spar. Instead, they were practicing throwing kunai and shuriken.
Like close combat, these were also core techniques for Genin. Combined with the Three Basic Techniques, they made for a passable battlefield grunt.
As for other, more advanced ninjutsu?
Forget it.
Take Uchiha Shane, for example. His aptitude was considered average—compared to other ninja clan kids.
But among civilians, his talent was already above average.
If not for his transmigration, even after graduation, his predecessor would barely have enough chakra to perform the Three Techniques a few times.
If that was his case, imagine how bad it was for the civilian students.
So, learning other ninjutsu would be a complete waste of time.
It wasn't that the school didn't want to teach more—they just didn't need to.
Promising students with family backgrounds would be taught by their clans.
Civilians with potential would be placed under capable Jōnin instructors to be personally trained.
Thus, the school had no obligation to cover anything beyond the basics.
Especially for this class—likely to graduate early—whose overall power would be lower than previous years.
There was even less reason to teach more.
--------
Thud—
A kunai whistled through the air and struck the target five meters away.
Shane let out a long sigh of relief.
If he had missed again, he really didn't know what excuse he could use.
Ever since he began practicing, Sugimoto had been watching him closely—just like during yesterday's sparring with Moriki Tetsu.
Shane knew his recent performance was quite different from before and had even prepared excuses to cover it up.
Unexpectedly, Sugimoto didn't ask anything—like he didn't even care about him.
That left Shane unsure whether he should feel relieved or disappointed.
"Panel."
With a thought, he opened his skill interface:
[Name: Uchiha Shane]
Age: 10
Physique: 5
Mind: 7
Chakra: 44 (131)
Bloodline: Sharingan · Unawakened (51/100)
Skills:
Chakra Refining Technique: Lv0 (8/100)
Clone Technique: Lv0 (46/100)
Basic Taijutsu: Lv0 (35/100)
Ninja Tool Throwing: Lv0 (1/100)
Just as he expected, with that single successful kunai throw, a new skill had appeared:
Ninja Tool Throwing: Lv0 (1/100)
Following the feeling from the previous throw, Shane hurled another kunai.
Thud— It barely hit the target.
The skill increased again—now at Lv0 (2/100)!
Seeing the newly gained proficiency, Shane's eyes lit up.
If he wasn't mistaken, this might become his first skill to reach basic mastery.
Why? Because Ninja Tool Throwing didn't consume chakra.
As long as he hadn't surpassed his predecessor's level, he could keep grinding proficiency quickly.
However…
Shane glanced toward the distant Sugi Itō, silently wondering,
"Will he notice something's off?"
With that in mind, he retrieved his kunai and shuriken, moved to the ten-meter target, and began practicing seriously.
Despite the earlier success, he still missed many times at this range.
That, of course, slowed down his proficiency gain—but it was worth it.
After all, his predecessor also missed sometimes at ten meters.
Though Shane's misses were more frequent, it wasn't as obvious as failing the five-meter shots.
Just give him a little time, and he could grind the proficiency up without raising suspicion.
(End of Chapter)