The next day, Li Huo woke up early, as it was the first day of his "training plan."
Familiar with the Uchiha clan's black short-sleeved training uniform, he carefully bandaged his elbows and knees, then looked at himself in the mirror with a spirited expression.
"Sasuke's style is definitely something else," he thought, "and most importantly, I'm handsome, at least half as handsome as you, dear reader."
Having completed his daily self-admiration, Li Huo strode briskly towards the Uchiha ninja tool shop.
As he walked, Li Huo couldn't help but mutter to himself:
"The Uchiha are truly a clan with an absurdly high sense of clan honor."
"Every Uchiha on the street has their clan crest printed on their clothes."
"Even though Sasuke and Itachi don't have their crests on their clothes anymore, isn't their ability to use their Sharingan anywhere the best proof of their Uchiha clan identity?"
Thinking to himself, Li Huo arrived at the largest Uchiha ninja tool shop.
As for why he didn't go to the ninja tool shop in Konoha, it was simply because the quality of tools from his own clan was guaranteed, and the prices were fair.
Uchiha don't lie to other Uchiha.
Entering the shop, Li Huo expected to be met with an arrogant person like Uchiha Aoten.
But to his surprise, the saleswoman was a beautiful young woman.
"Hello, little friend, what would you like to buy at our ninja tool shop?"
This unexpected enthusiasm caught Li Huo off guard.
"Oh dear, our little ninja seems a bit lost. Judging by your age, you should still be in the ninja academy, right?"
"Are you here to buy kunai for practice?"
Li Huo snapped out of his daze.
"Yes, I need some practice kunai and shuriken, some weights, and finally, a standard combat ninja tool kit."
The saleswoman seemed surprised by Li Huo's sudden clarity, paused slightly, then smiled and said,
"Okay, we have practice kunai, shuriken, and weights suitable for you."
"However, the standard Uchiha clan ninja tool kit includes explosive tags and soldier pills."
"Explosive tags are too dangerous; children won't understand them. Soldier pills are harmful to health if consumed in excess. Children shouldn't buy them."
Li Huo suddenly felt a sense of alienation.
It was a strange feeling. When he watched Naruto, he felt that while these two-dimensional characters had their own emotions and behavioral logic, they ultimately lacked a sense of reality.
But this saleswoman, with just a few words, truly made Li Huo feel the reality of this world.
In his past memories, besides Obito, other members of the Uchiha clan had also helped Li Huo in various ways.
It could be said that Li Huo was raised by the kind-hearted members of the Uchiha clan.
"I really can't imagine what Itachi was thinking when he slaughtered these innocent Uchiha civilians."
"They didn't even have ninja potential; they just wanted to live peaceful lives."
"Just because they're Uchiha, they have to take their lives?"
Coming to her senses,
Li Huo looked at the kind girl before her and realized even more the importance of strength.
She really didn't want this beautiful scene to be ruined.
"48,000 yen, please."
Li Huo suddenly felt that the saleswoman in front of her wasn't so kind anymore.
Reluctantly pulling out her wallet, Li Huo took the brand-new kunai and shuriken.
The moment the weights were put on, Li Huo felt a significant increase in weight.
"Luckily, I earned 60,000 yen from Obito and Aotian, otherwise I couldn't just live off my family's savings."
Amidst the saleswoman counting her money, Li Huo left the ninja tool shop and headed straight for the Konoha training grounds.
Did the Uchiha clan not have training grounds? Of course not. The Uchiha clan's training grounds were well-equipped and beautifully landscaped.
However, Li Huo chose the Konoha training grounds, which were accessible to everyone, to meet his future training partner—Might Guy.
Arriving at the training grounds, Li Huo was already drenched in sweat. The weights made every step he took, despite his six-year-old body, require far more effort than usual.
"Alright! Let's begin training."
Li Huo didn't have a systematic taijutsu training method. Among the scrolls left by his parents, he hadn't found any training methods for taijutsu.
And the Uchiha fluid taijutsu was virtually unknown even in the ninja world and within the clan.
Because the Uchiha clan doesn't value taijutsu at all. As long as one's physical strength is sufficient, a single glance is enough to render ordinary taijutsu useless (see Sasuke's self-developed Lion's Barrage).
It truly is a case of "You have no chance against those eyes."
Therefore, Li Huo had no way to obtain taijutsu training methods, so his solution was—to first train his body.
Only with sufficient physical strength can one afford to practice taijutsu.
And the way to acquire taijutsu is by touching the heads of Might Guy and Might Dai.
Konoha's Goryeo taijutsu...for someone like me with relatively low chakra levels, practicing taijutsu is an essential path to improving my strength.
Without delay, Li Huo began training to push himself to the limit.
Mornings were for warm-up exercises, noon for kunai throwing practice, and afternoons for endless taijutsu training.
Evenings were for replenishing his energy and healing the injuries sustained during training.
Time flew by, and nine days passed in the blink of an eye.
During these nine days, Li Huo became a regular at the ninja tool shop, not only because his training was so demanding on tools, but also because he could buy bandages and liniment there.
His relationship with the shop assistant also grew closer.
During these nine days, Obito would occasionally come to visit Li Huo, but Li Huo would drag him into forced training, much to Obito's dismay.
Besides Obito, Ao Tian also came by one evening and saw Li Huo's body, covered in bruises from the intense training.
He left silently, then returned carrying a fruit basket, and left silently again.
Only Aotian's underlings knew that from that day on, they were forced to train with Aotian every afternoon.
During those nine days, the money spent on training equipment and medical expenses skyrocketed due to the grueling training.
To compensate, Li Huo resorted to a "rock-paper-scissors" method—the loser gets a pat on the head—to extract a substantial income from the Uchiha children.
Everything went smoothly, but on the evening of the ninth day,
Just as Li Huo was doing his last set of push-ups, an enthusiastic voice rang out from a corner of the training ground:
"Go for it! Kai! 2000 final kicks, burn with youth!"
"Yes! Dad! I feel my youth burning!"
Li Huo smiled slightly; it seemed the person he was waiting for had finally arrived.
However, Li Huo didn't act immediately, but instead persisted in completing his last set of training.
"Father, there seems to be someone from the Uchiha clan training over there too."
Might Guy heard his son's words and looked towards Li Huo.
Li Huo displayed his family's inherited composure and walked towards Might Guy and his father.
"Hello, I saw your training, and I was moved by your youth."
"Can I join you and train together?"
Guy became particularly excited upon hearing the word "youth."
Since he and his father began training, they had only received ridicule and sarcasm.
"Two strangely dressed, thick-browed men, what's the point of just practicing taijutsu?"
"Haha, just a perennial genin. What can he accomplish besides taijutsu?"
But today, he heard a "genius" from the Uchiha clan acknowledge their youth.
Overwhelmed with emotion, Kai looked at Dai with anticipation, hoping his father would agree.
Dai, too, was moved to tears. However, Dai was an adult, a shrewd ninja with a rough exterior, accustomed to deceit and scheming.
"What if this child was manipulated into feigning friendship to learn our forbidden technique—the Eight Gates?"
"And this child is from the Uchiha clan..."
But when Dai saw Li Huo's filthy clothes from training, and carefully examined the boy,
Li Huo was drenched in sweat, his bandages and clothes showing clear signs of training, and he was wearing weights—clearly, he hadn't been training for just a day or two.
Dai pondered for a moment, then grinned, revealing gleaming teeth.
Alright! Uchiha boy, join us, and let your youth shine...
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