After leaving the academy, Yami did not go home. Instead, he used the Body Flicker to head to the Naka River.
At this time, the Uchiha clan had not been forced to relocate near the Naka River yet, so this area was sparsely populated.
Above the river were cliffs and forest.
In the forest, a black afterimage was leaping across the treetops, vanishing in the blink of an eye.
And unlike most ninja using the Body Flicker, there was no slightly harsh sound, no leaves blasted away by sloppy chakra control, and no lasting footprints stamped into the branches.
When that afterimage passed, there was not a sound, and not the slightest trace.
The speed was not especially outrageous, but this level of chakra control was something even a versatile Jonin who had mastered at least two nature transformations could not hope to match.
There was no doubt.
This was a true Body Flicker specialist.
Bang.
After leaping through the forest for a long time, the black afterimage suddenly crashed straight into a massive tree that would take several people to hug, producing a heavy, muffled impact. The whole body stuck to the trunk like a painting, then slowly slid down.
"Ow… that hurts, that hurts!"
Yami hit the ground and covered his now bright-red face with both hands, sucking in air through his teeth while groaning in pain.
If his classmates saw this, his image would shatter instantly.
After touching his nose and confirming it was not bent out of shape, Yami stared at the tree and thought to himself.
Moving through a solid object during high-speed combat is still too hard.
That was right. Yami had just tried to use his space-time ability to pass through the tree, and he failed.
It was his first attempt.
Because his shocking growth during this period had inevitably made him a little overconfident.
Yami originally believed that "evolution" only meant some of his cells could extract space-time energy.
Now it seemed that it had been a complete, all-around transformation.
Seven months had passed since he awakened space-time abilities.
In those seven months, Yami's body had changed drastically.
First was his height.
He was only seven years old this year, yet he had already grown to 143 centimeters.
In the Land of Lightning, where there were many tall people, that height might be ordinary.
But in Konoha and most other villages, it made him stand out among his peers.
After all, even Naruto was only around 147 centimeters when he graduated at twelve.
Just as his classmates said, if someone did not know better, they would think Yami was a fifth or sixth-year student.
His body's early maturation also caused his chakra reserves to surge. His chakra had already been larger than an ordinary Genin's before, and now it likely surpassed an ordinary Chunin's.
He still could not compare to Kakashi, who could use the Shadow Clone Technique in his first year, but Yami already had the qualifications to train Shadow Clone and Rasengan.
However, as his total chakra increased, the proportion of his space-time chakra dropped from one-third to only one-fifth.
Second, whether it was a space-time talent, or whether the evolution had affected his brain and nerves as well, Yami clearly felt that his talent had greatly improved over the past half year. His progress was frightening.
The academy's students and teachers all believed Yami was a genius.
But only Yami knew the truth.
He was not a genius.
More accurately, he could not be compared at all to the kind of once-in-a-decade, or even once-in-several-decades monsters.
Early to bed, early to rise, solid nutrition. Those habits gave him chakra reserves far beyond his peers.
Yet in front of five-year-old Kakashi, he was not even worthy of carrying shoes.
After refining chakra, Yami began practicing tree climbing and water walking to improve chakra control. He had mastered the basic academy techniques early, crushing peers, and even sixth-year students were not his opponents.
But Minato, in just one term, had nearly turned the tables on him through terrifying reaction speed alone.
And Orochimaru did not even need to be mentioned. Even Tsunade, who had Senju blood and was the Hokage's granddaughter, could not outshine him.
If Yami could not compete with those monsters who lacked bloodline limits, then comparing himself to bloodline geniuses was even more hopeless.
If he had never awakened the space-time bloodline, then once his information advantage faded, being left far behind by Minato would have been inevitable.
That was the gap in talent. Hard work could not make up for it. Only cheating could fight it, and surpass it.
But now, Yami truly deserved the label of "genius."
Because he realized his thinking had become sharper, and his reaction speed had become faster.
When he watched Minato fight, or when he matched against him again, Yami no longer felt overwhelmed. He finally experienced the advantage of fast reactions.
The sensation of the opponent moving in slow motion while he himself felt like he was fast-forwarding was unbelievably wonderful.
No wonder the Sharingan made Orochimaru and Danzo so obsessed.
With this change, even training ninjutsu and chakra control became twice as effective.
That was why Yami had become overconfident.
In just half a year, his Body Flicker improved to a terrifying extent.
Like how an incomplete Wind Style technique suddenly became throwable after adding Sage power, Yami still could not fuse ordinary chakra and space-time chakra to cast elemental techniques, but he could fuse them to use the Body Flicker.
A Body Flicker combined with space-time chakra did not just gain speed. It also became like a silent ghost.
Once Yami could coat his entire body with space-time chakra even during high-speed movement, then the moment he merged into space, his Body Flicker would no longer face resistance. He would be able to pass through all obstacles, becoming even more eerie and unpredictable.
If he pushed that concept further, it might not be Body Flicker anymore.
It might become true teleportation.
That was the direction Yami was working toward.
After easing the pain, Yami continued leaping through the forest with the Body Flicker.
Only when the sun sank and the fading glow could no longer pierce the leaves did he use the Body Flicker to return home.
After dinner, Yami entered the basement carved with spell-like markings, likely meant to block perception and sight-based spying. But he was not there to revise his old strategy notes.
He formed hand seals and mobilized the space-time chakra within him.
In the next moment, Yami's body slowly sank into the ground, quietly leaving Konoha.
Yami did not know whether Hiruzen had already mastered the Crystal Ball technique, or whether the old man might casually sweep his gaze across this area.
He also did not know whether someone like Danzo had started paying attention to him, a civilian genius and an orphan whose parents died on missions.
Just in case, Yami never trained advanced techniques inside his home or inside the village, aside from Body Flicker practice and C-rank elemental training.
It was not that he feared being watched.
He was worried they might "value talent" too much and force him to graduate early.
After all, Itachi used the Shadow Clone Technique in his first year, and the academy teachers decided there was nothing left to teach him, so they helped him apply for early graduation.
Maybe that was one of the reasons the Uchiha clan ended the way it did.
A six-year-old kid who had barely learned any general knowledge, pushed into early graduation just because he was too strong, was nothing but an illiterate child with overwhelming power.
No wonder he had no brains.
(End of Chapter)
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