Hearing this, Uchiha Chi felt it made complete sense, so he immediately crossed his legs right where he stood and began reviewing the entire process of his swordsmanship practice, all the way down to the final slash.
A quarter of an hour later, Uchiha Chi stood up, focused his full concentration, and delivered the final slash of the night. He then planned to take a bath first and head straight to bed afterward.
At the same time, he glanced at Uchiha Mikoto, but she was still deeply engrossed in her training. Evidently, her physical limits had not been reached yet, and she could keep going for quite a while longer. This truly made him envious, though he simply lacked the energy to watch any further.
After bidding Uchiha Chiri good night, he turned to head back to his room. He was utterly exhausted, worn out both mentally and physically.
Just then, he heard Uchiha Chiri say, "Go get the medicinal decoction I've brewed. Pour it into your bath later and soak for half an hour. It'll effectively relieve your fatigue."
Obediently following Uchiha Chiri's instructions, Uchiha Chi took the medicinal bath while practicing the Meditation Technique for a short while. Finally, both his mental and physical exhaustion were partially alleviated, and he collapsed straight into bed and fell fast asleep.
Early the next morning, Uchiha Chi woke up on time as usual and found that he had pretty much fully recovered. Clearly, the secret medicine of the Uchiha Clan was remarkably potent when it came to physical recovery. He promptly began practicing the Meditation Technique.
After finishing the Meditation Technique, he felt full of vigor and vitality. He exercised alone in the courtyard for a while, and then, at his mother's call, he went inside to finish breakfast before heading off to the academy with his older sister.
Unlike her usual lively self, Uchiha Mikoto was rather subdued today. It seemed last night's swordsmanship practice had drained a great deal of her energy, and her recovery rate simply couldn't compare to his enhanced physique.Uchiha Chi was quite happy to enjoy the peace and quiet, so he didn't bother her. The two of them simply walked along in silence until they were almost at the school, when Uchiha Mikoto finally recovered her composure.
"Chi, study hard at school, listen to your teachers, and don't whisper to your classmates during class. You must firmly commit what the teachers teach to your memory. Do you understand?" With that, Uchiha Mikoto reached out and patted Uchiha Chi on the head.
Uchiha Chi felt as though she were petting a cat. The Uchiha Clan had an overwhelming number of cat enthusiasts—take his own household for example, where Ninja Cats were frequent visitors, and Uchiha Chiri even prepared a variety of feline delicacies especially for them.
"Don't worry, Sister, I've been a good boy since I was little, so you don't need to worry about me. I'll definitely work as hard as you do," Uchiha Chi promised, patting his chest as he looked straight into Uchiha Mikoto's eyes. He had a strong suspicion that Uchiha Mikoto herself rarely managed to live up to any of those expectations.
Sure enough, he caught Uchiha Mikoto freezing for a fraction of a second before she quickly recovered her normal expression. At that exact moment, they arrived at the school, and running into some of her classmates, she made an excuse: "Chi, my friends and I are heading off first, so walk the rest of the way by yourself." With that, the two of them parted ways.
As Uchiha Chi walked toward his classroom, he muttered to himself, "What a wonderful sister I have, lecturing me about studying when those are probably all the things *she* fails to do."
Then it occurred to him that Uchiha Mikoto's momentary stiffness, though extremely subtle, hadn't escaped his watchful eye since he was focusing entirely on her. It was indirect proof that his guess was spot on.Uchiha Chi walked toward the classroom, grumbling inwardly. Only upon stepping inside did he finally stop his wandering thoughts and find a seat. As the students arrived one by one, class time finally arrived.
Uchiha Chi lacked the arrogance and coldness typical of the Uchiha Clan; on the contrary, he was very easygoing. However, because he bore the crest of the Uchiha on his person, the only ones who ended up sitting near him were two young girls from minor, declining ninja clans. And even that was simply because they had arrived late and this was the only seat left.
The reason for this phenomenon was that Uchiha Chi was in the elite class. Every student here had already learned the Chakra Extraction Technique before entering the academy—which was to say, they were at least from minor ninja clans.
Having matured early, they did not represent merely themselves. Knowing full well that a rift existed between the Hokage's faction and the Uchiha, none of them dared to approach him proactively, at least not on the first day, for fear of causing misunderstandings.
Of course, a more important reason was that their class this year included a young scion of the Sarutobi Clan: Sarutobi Shinnosuke, the eldest son of Sarutobi Hiruzen in the original story, and also the father of Sarutobi Konohamaru.
That was why everyone steered clear of Uchiha Chi, terrified of displeasing the young master. Many parents had explicitly warned their children to keep their distance; after all, they had to give some face to the Hokage, and Sarutobi Hiruzen still held considerable deterrence at this time. Yet this avoidance would last only for the first few days of the semester; after a while, personal relationships would take over, and it wouldn't matter at all.
Of course, Uchiha Chi would never admit that the most crucial reason of all was that his appearance merely reached the Uchiha Clan's baseline. While decent enough, it was not nearly striking enough to make those appearance-obsessed girls lose their minds.
As for why he was the only Uchiha in this class, it was because only his branch of the family still sent children to the academy, serving as a bridge between the clan and the village. Yet as the village's resident bridge-inspection expert grew increasingly powerful and extreme in his methods, the bridges between the Uchiha Clan and Konoha were eventually dismantled entirely.
All other Uchiha were trained internally within the Konoha Military Police Force, so they never came to the academy at all. After all, the school basically taught only The Three Techniques and the Chakra Extraction Technique, which to most ninja clans was a sheer waste of time, to say nothing of the deep heritage of the Uchiha Clan.
For the ninja clans, the academy was purely a place to demonstrate loyalty to Sarutobi Hiruzen, as well as a venue to make friends. Though few Uchiha came here, every single one of them was an important figure within the clan, essentially hailing from the families of high-ranking elders.
For commoners, however, the academy was a genuine opportunity to change their destiny. Only by coming here did one gain the eligibility to learn the Chakra Extraction Technique and The Three Techniques, along with fundamental ninja knowledge, Taijutsu, shurikenjutsu, and the guidance of Chunin instructors skilled in teaching.
As long as one had chakra talent, someone would teach them—at worst, one would at least qualify to be cannon fodder. And if one's talent was high enough, it meant catching the eye of the Hokage and receiving proper cultivation.
After entering the classroom, the teacher first greeted everyone, expounded upon the deceptive sacrifices of the Will of Fire, and then instructed the students to begin self-introductions. Naturally, the first to go was Sarutobi Shinnosuke; because he had a Hokage for a father, no one dared to contest his spot.