"Chishimo, since you've chosen to become my disciple, from now on, I will hold you to my standards," Fugaku said, raising his teacup again and taking a sip.
"Yes, regarding that, I've long been prepared!" Chishimo said seriously.
Watching Chishimo's reaction, Fugaku nodded in satisfaction.
"I have a few more things to tell you," Fugaku said slowly, rubbing his teacup.
"The first point is that our teacher-disciple relationship must remain a secret for now, to prevent you from entering the Konoha high-level's sight too early."
Chishimo nodded without hesitation; in fact, even if Fugaku hadn't brought it up, Chishimo would have said the same thing. After all, Konoha has never been solely run by Hiruzen Sarutobi, and if he were to enter Danzo's sight without sufficient strength, he might easily stumble.
"The second point is, according to the method you proposed, you need to continue attending the Ninja Academy. Due to the recent precedent of Kakashi Hatake graduating early, you need to be careful not to reveal your strength unless absolutely necessary."
"However, I believe you can handle this even if I don't say anything. After all, if you hadn't come to me this time, it's truly a mystery when I would have noticed you!" Fugaku said, giving Chishimo a meaningful look.
Chishimo chuckled, his expression slightly unnatural, but he didn't think he had done anything wrong. In a situation without power or strength, to develop cautiously, one must fully embrace the concept of 'lying low.'
Fortunately, now that he had become the disciple of his Clan Head, he had the entire Uchiha Clan as his backing. Anyone who wanted to touch him would have to think twice.
"As for the third point, let's talk about your training. Besides the Ninja Academy's curriculum, I will set aside an hour to guide you. As for the remaining time, you can arrange it yourself, whether it's practicing what I teach you, refining Chakra, or even sleeping in. I won't interfere, but if you fail to achieve the results I demand within the specified time, you'll have to consider the consequences yourself!"
Hearing Fugaku's arrangements, Chishimo was not surprised. After all, in the original story, Fugaku treated his own son in a similar hands-off manner: 'I've taught you the Ninjutsu, now go practice it yourself; I only look at the results.'
However, this method is probably only suitable for a genius like Uchiha Itachi, who grasps things instantly. If it were a more mediocre person, they might truly not be able to learn this way.
But Chishimo didn't think he was inferior to Uchiha Itachi. Through self-study, Chishimo had also mastered the C-rank Ninjutsu Great Fireball Technique and some other C-rank Wind Release Ninjutsu, and he had even figured out how to control a Chakra blade on his own.
He believed that as long as his master guided him, his achievements would definitely not be inferior to those of previous generations. This was the inherent arrogance of the Uchiha Clan, and also Chishimo's own confidence in his hard work and talent!
The only thing that made Chishimo feel a bit of an issue was...
"Um, Teacher Fugaku, isn't the guidance time a bit too... short?" Chishimo asked weakly.
Hearing this, the sip of tea Fugaku had just taken nearly sprayed out of his mouth. Who didn't know that Clan Head Fugaku was famously strict? It was debatable whether an ordinary person could even endure that one hour, and this kid thought it was too little?
Besides, he, the great Clan Head, held such a high position. Didn't he have anything else to do besides teaching a disciple? He had already set aside an hour for him, and he still wasn't satisfied. Was he trying to exhaust his master to death?
Uchiha Mikoto, standing by, covered her mouth and chuckled, seeing Fugaku's rare expression of being flustered.
Fugaku swallowed the tea in his mouth, first glancing at Uchiha Mikoto, then glaring at Chishimo, saying grumpily, "Brat, don't be so ambitious. First, honestly try to endure this one hour. I hope you still have the strength to complain about the short time then."
"Yes, Teacher!" Chishimo showed a harmless smile.
In reality, Chishimo didn't think Fugaku's training would be easy. Bringing it up was mainly to tease Fugaku a bit, as this teacher always had a stiff face. Also, it was a way to indirectly convey his determination to become stronger to Fugaku.
Watching Fugaku almost choke with anger, Chishimo couldn't help but want to laugh, but he didn't dare to actually laugh out loud. Otherwise, he wasn't even sure if he could leave the room intact.
"Alright, I've said what I needed to say. Now, let's talk about you. How does a five-year-old kid like you have such monstrous strength? Also, who taught you that Jutsu where you attach Chakra to a Kunai?"
After finishing his instructions, Fugaku was eager to know the answers to these questions.
Chishimo blinked, putting on an innocent look, and recited the explanation he had already prepared.
"Oh, you mean that! It's nothing much, really. Just do five thousand squats, five thousand push-ups, kick a wooden stake five thousand times, jump rope five thousand times, and drag a tree trunk around the forest for fifty laps every day, and you're good to go."
Listening to Chishimo nonchalantly describe his training regimen, even with Fugaku's composure, his mouth couldn't help but twitch, and he inwardly cursed him as a 'freak.' But undeniably, the effect was immediate. Five-year-old Chishimo possessed strength comparable to an adult Ninja, which left Fugaku with no objections, only a reminder to "pay attention to your body."
Meanwhile, Uchiha Mikoto looked at Chishimo with a pained expression, clearly having fully embraced her role as his master's wife, almost treating Chishimo like her own son.
"As for the Chakra Kunai, I figured that out myself. Wind Release Chakra is sharp and keen, so I thought if I attached Chakra with this property to the surface of a Kunai, I could get a weapon with a larger attack range and stronger lethality. However, this requires a lot of Chakra control, and I can only barely manage it."
Fugaku nodded slightly upon hearing this, not doubting the credibility of Chishimo's words. After all, he had already investigated everyone Chishimo had come into contact with, and there was nothing noteworthy, so Chishimo's answer was clearly the only acceptable one.
"Hmm, your idea is quite good. This method also helps to enhance your control over Chakra flow. Continue practicing it. Once you can fully master this technique, you can try learning our Uchiha Style: Sword Leap Flame, as it shares a similar principle."
"Really? Thank you, Teacher!"
Hearing this, Chishimo was overjoyed. How could he not have heard of this technique? After successfully attaching Wind Release Chakra to his Kunai, Chishimo had also tried attaching Fire Release Chakra to it.
But the result was that the Kunai melted due to the excessively high temperature of the flames. After many attempts, Chishimo still couldn't find the balance point where the flames could maintain high intensity without melting the Kunai. If he could get guidance from Fugaku, it would naturally be much more efficient.
"Alright, it's getting late. We've discussed everything. Go back and rest quickly. Starting tomorrow, come here after school," Fugaku said, looking at the moon already high in the sky outside the window and waving his hand at Chishimo.
Chishimo looked at Uchiha Itachi, who was lying in Uchiha Mikoto's arms, fighting sleep, nodded, and after bidding farewell to Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Mikoto, he got up and left the Clan Head's residence.