I woke up at 6 AM again.
My body moved on its own now. Wash up. Dry my face. Walk to the dining table.
My mother was already there, preparing breakfast.
I sat down without saying anything.
It was the fifth day in a row that my father wasn't there.
At this point, I didn't sigh anymore. The absence had become part of the routine. My mother noticed anyway, of course. She always did, but she didn't say anything—just handed me my bowl and sat across from me.
We ate quietly.
After breakfast, I rested for a short while, letting my chakra settle, then went to the garden to train.
I had barely been practicing for ten minutes when I heard footsteps.
"Keisuke."
I turned around.
My mother stood there with Obito beside her. Unlike the previous days, he didn't look shy or awkward. He waved casually.
"Morning," he said.
"You're early," I replied honestly.
He scratched his head. "I woke up and just… wanted to come."
My mother smiled. "You two can train or play together again."
"Yes, Auntie," Obito replied immediately.
She left us alone.
I didn't waste time.
"Sit down," I told him. "Close your eyes."
He blinked. "Huh?"
"Do it."
He sat cross-legged, eyes shut tight.
"First lesson," I said calmly. "Don't try to see anything. Just feel."
"…Feel what?"
"Chakra. Yours. Everything has it."
I explained it the same way my father had taught me—simple, direct, no mysticism. How chakra was the balance between physical and spiritual energy. How it moved. How it reacted.
At first, nothing happened.
Ten minutes passed.
Then thirty.
Then an hour.
Obito fidgeted constantly.
"Am I doing it wrong?" he asked.
"No," I said. "You're just impatient."
Three hours in, something finally changed.
"Wait—!" Obito suddenly opened his eyes wide. "I felt something!"
I sighed. "Close your eyes."
"But—!"
"Close them."
He did, trembling with excitement.
"That sensation," I said, "that's it. Remember it."
He nodded furiously.
Once he calmed down, I moved on to the next step.
"Now we start leaf concentration."
I placed a leaf on his forehead. It fell immediately.
"…It fell," he muttered.
"That's normal."
I showed him again, step by step.
Before lunch, he barely managed to keep it there for a second or two. At best, he was maybe five percent of the way there.
But he was trying.
That mattered.
While teaching him, I never stopped my own training. Whenever my chakra dipped, I switched to hand seal drills. When my stamina returned, I resumed leaf concentration.
By the end of the morning, the system notified me quietly.
Both skills advanced again.
[Skill]
Leaf Concentration — Level 8 (Active)
Experience Until Next Level: 67.37% / 100%
Description: Allows the user to increase chakra control.
Chakra Usage: 1 Chakra per second
Passive Effect: +9% Chakra Control
Hand Seal Drill — Level 8 (Passive)
Experience Until Next Level: 77.11% / 100%
Description: Increases speed and efficiency of hand sealing.
Passive Effect: +9% Hand Seal Speed
We ate lunch together afterward.
Obito praised my mother's cooking again.
"This is really amazing!"
"How do you make it taste like this?"
"I could eat this forever!"
I ignored him and kept eating.
After lunch, we told my mother we were heading to the Naka River again.
"Be careful," she said, as always.
"Yes!" Obito replied.
We moved quietly once we arrived.
This time, we targeted the medium-sized beehives we had marked earlier.
When we reached the first one, both of us froze.
The air buzzed constantly.
"…That's a lot," Obito whispered.
I nodded. "More than ten thousand."
Obito swallowed. "Can we… really do this?"
"We take it slow," I said.
I laid out the plan quickly. No heroics. No rushing.
We gathered dried leaves and wood separately, piling them into what looked like a small mountain. Then we placed everything near the hive, hidden behind thick brush.
I struck the flint.
Fire bloomed instantly.
We spread the burning material toward the hive.
Chaos erupted.
Bees swarmed everywhere.
And we started killing them.
For the rest of the afternoon, that was all we did.
Kill. Retreat. Burn. Repeat.
The system kept ticking.
At Level 12, bees dropped to 2 EXP.
At Level 14, they dropped to 1 EXP.
By then, I already knew what that meant.
This method was reaching its limit.
At exactly 5 PM, I raised my hand.
"That's enough," I said.
Obito panted, covered in dirt and sweat. "Already?"
"We stop here," I said. "Tomorrow, the second hive."
He nodded, exhausted but smiling.
[Status]
Level: 14
Experience Points: 178 / 7,026
Health Regeneration: 2.40 HP/s
Chakra Regeneration: 2.40 CP/s
Chakra Capacity: 1,300 / 1,300
I walked Obito home and waved goodbye.
At home, my mother asked, "How was your day?"
"It was great," I replied honestly.
She smiled.
After dinner, I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling.
Insects were no longer enough.
Soon, I'd need something stronger.
Animals.
Or… shinobi-level threats.
But that could wait.
[Status]
Name: Uchiha Keisuke
Level: 14
Experience Points: 178 / 7,026
Health Regeneration: 2.40 HP/s
Chakra Regeneration: 2.40 CP/s
Chakra Capacity: 1,300 / 1,300
[Skills:]
Leaf Concentration — Level 8 (67.37%)
Hand Seal Drill — Level 8 (77.11%)