In the evening, Kazuki sat in a meditative posture, placed a leaf on his forehead, and began concentrating chakra at the point. Just like before, the leaf almost fell instantly, but after a few tries, he managed to keep it in place for about four seconds.
Kazuki's eyes lit up. 'I finally did it. It's just four seconds, but if I keep training like this for a few months, I should be able to maintain it for 15 minutes. Let's just keep practicing for now.'
He continued practicing the leaf concentration exercise for four hours, and the results were satisfactory. Now, he could hold the leaf on his forehead for around fifteen seconds.
After finishing his training, Kazuki ate a bowl of instant ramen for dinner. He had used the remaining 50 Ryo to buy five more cups of instant ramen. Despite only eating twice a day, he was now left with just some bread and peanut butter—barely enough for another day or two.
The next morning, Kazuki woke up at 6 AM. He meditated for two hours and then exercised for another two. Ever since the day he was bullied, Kazuki had started doing his workouts at home, only going out for runs twice a week to avoid unnecessary interactions. That change had cut down the time needed for his training.
While eating the last pieces of bread, Kazuki heard a knock at the door.
When Kazuki opening it, he found a ninja—probably a chunin from the Uchiha clan—standing there.
The man scowled at him and tossed an envelope. "Hey kid, here's your allowance for this month."
Kazuki forced a smile. "Thank you very much, sir."
The man muttered as he turned to leave, "Why do I have to babysit this brat? Can't they just kick him out of the clan?"
He disappeared with a flicker, leaving Kazuki standing at the doorway. Kazuki opened the envelope only to find just 500 Ryo inside of it.
Kazuki frowned. 'That's it? Just 500 Ryo? It's even less than last time. From Kazuki's memories, the allowance was supposed to be 1000 Ryo, but it gradually got reduced... now they're just giving half.'
He sighed and leaned against the wall. 'Well, I can't particularly blame them for this. Kazuki's mother, Haruko Uchiha, fell in love with a shinobi from Takigakure—Kenji Uzumaki. He was one of the last surviving Uzumaki, or rather, a half-Uzumaki. Inter-clan marriage wasn't allowed, so Haruko ran away with Kenji. They lived in Kusagakure for a while, but were eventually caught by ANBU and executed. Somehow, I—Kazuki—was brought back to Konoha and given a place in the Uchiha clan.'
When Kazuki's parents were captured, a council meeting was called to decide their punishment. Everyone agreed on execution. Their two-year-old child was to be taken into Root, but Haruko pleaded with the Hokage as her last wish not to let Root have him. The clan head Fugaku Uchiha also intervened, stating that Kazuki was still an Uchiha and might awaken the Sharingan someday.
Eventually, it was decided that they will be sent on a suicidal mission in Kumogakure and if they succeed then then their child will be given to an orphanage in Uchiha compound. They succeeded… but from that day on, Danzo kept a close watch, waiting for a chance to drag Kazuki into Root if he showed any promise.'
For the next five months, Kazuki followed the same routine: meditation, leaf concentration, physical training, and occasional running. Gradually, both his chakra control and physical strength improved. Now he could keep the leaf in place for around four minutes and run up to 4 kilometers.
But even so, progress felt slow.
Lying on his bed one night, Kazuki stared at the ceiling. 'It's too slow. If I keep going like this, I might not qualify for the elite batch at the Academy. I need to think about my future plans.'
He closed his eyes. 'My chakra control isn't impressive, but it's decent for my age. The real issue is my physical state. Six months ago, I could run 3 km. Now I can only manage 4. Not much of a leap. Sure, I can do 35 push-ups and 50 squats, but that's not exactly impressive either.'
His stomach rumbled faintly.
'The main problem is my diet. I don't have enough money to eat nutritious food regularly. Sometimes I don't even eat three meals a day. When the month ends, I survive on cheap instant ramen. I haven't been to Ichiraku since my first visit. That's just how things are.'
His expression hardened. 'This will only improve once I join the Academy. Until then, I'll keep doing what I'm doing—but I need to increase my running. Twice a week isn't enough. Starting tomorrow, I'll wake up at 4 AM and run while no one's around.'
A small idea sparked in his mind. 'As for jutsu, I don't remember many hand signs, but I do remember the three steps of learning Rasengan. Maybe I should buy some balloons and start on that. If I can finish the first step before the Academy, that would be great.'
He smiled slightly. 'The basic three jutsu are mandatory, so I'll learn them at the Academy anyway. I might even get access to some fire-style jutsu from the library once I'm in. But there's one jutsu I truly want to master—the Body Flicker. Shisui Uchiha was feared in all the other 4 great nations because of this jutsu but I don't intend to master it to that extend, I just want to learn this jutsu so that i can escape if I ever feel the my life is in danger, yeah people can call me a coward I don't mind.'
He pulled his blanket over himself.
'Time to start making some real progress.'
With that, Kazuki drifted off to sleep.