Chapter 17: The Uchiha Want to Grow Stronger, Too

When the tests concluded, Shingo and the others exchanged parting words with Naoki, then left the academy and headed straight for the training ground as usual.

Only this time, they had two small tails trailing behind them.

Uchiha Ami and Uchiha Ruri.

The two girls kept a considerable distance, and while their stealth techniques were decent, they still couldn't slip past Shingo's Level 3 Mind's Eye perception.

Upon noticing them, Shingo's stride faltered by an imperceptible margin.

Yet he neither turned around nor called them out.

Since Naoki hadn't stopped them, he figured he might as well let them tag along.

The group made their way all the way to the training ground.

Might Duy was already hard at work there.

Supporting his weight with his palms and bracing a sizable boulder across his back, he was repping out push-ups, one by one.

"One hundred and seventy-six! One hundred and seventy-seven!"

Noticing Shingo and the others arrive, Might Duy simply glanced up and flashed his trademark grin.

"You're here."

With that, Duy lowered his head right back down, resuming his workout.

He was only halfway through his session; he couldn't afford to stop yet.

Shingo's group didn't disturb him, scattering to begin their respective training regimens.

Ten minutes later...

Hiding up in the branches of a nearby tree, Ruri and Ami were already speechless with shock.

So there were no shortcuts to growing stronger, only sweat and toil.

With training intensity this punishing, it was no wonder Shikaku and Inoichi had managed to pull off such a massive leap in strength in just a single month.

It was no wonder Shingo commanded such high praise from Naoki.

Talent mattered, certainly, but without this sort of near-barbaric training volume, that raw talent would never translate into real strength in such a short span.

Watching the boys sweat it out in the distance, Ruri's fingers curled tightly.

She wanted to drop down and join them, but her legs felt like they had been poured full of lead; she couldn't force a single step forward.

Seeing her internal struggle, Ami turned her head and shot her an exasperated look.

"Why are you always so agonizingly hesitant? If you want to train with them, just go over and say so."

Ruri pressed her lips together, offering neither a reply nor any movement.

"Don't tell me you're planning to just stand here and watch the whole time?"

Ruri remained silent.

Ami drew a sharp breath, reached out, and firmly grabbed Ruri by the wrist.

"Tch, what a pain."

With that, she dragged Ruri straight down out of the tree.

The boys in the training ground finally noticed the two newcomers.

Nawaki paused mid-squat, rubbed his eyes, and wondered if he was hallucinating.

"Uchiha Ami? Uchiha Ruri? What are you two doing here?"

Shikaku looked at the girls, then turned his gaze to Shingo, who was maintaining his own training rhythm without the slightest hint of surprise.

Did Shingo notice them from the start?

Caught in the collective gaze of the boys, Ami felt a flicker of awkwardness.

Under normal circumstances, she would have instinctively jutted her chin out and talked her way past the embarrassment with a few sharp quips.

This time, however, she merely took a soft breath and pulled Ruri forward.

"Um... we watched your training for a bit, and... well, you guys are all incredible. Can we join you? Can we train together?"

Ruri stood beside her, fingers nervously pinching the hem of her shirt.

She was never one for socializing, and with all eyes locked onto her, her voice dropped even lower.

"Please... I... I want to get stronger, too."

The training ground fell silent for a moment as all eyes turned to Shingo.

Shingo dropped the log he was holding, caught his breath, and answered, "Sure."

With that, he turned his gaze toward an eager-looking Nawaki.

"Nawaki, go help them pick out some weights."

"You got it!"

Nawaki beamed.

Ami and Ruri exchanged glances, surprised at how easily they had been accepted.

By the time training wrapped up around noon, Ruri and Ami had completely lost their usual composure.

Ruri sat beneath a tree, hands braced against her knees, chest heaving as she struggled to catch her breath.

Ami lay flat on her back on the grass with zero regard for her image, soaked head-to-toe in sweat.

Watching Shingo and the others train earlier, they had figured it looked intense enough. Only after trying it for themselves did they realize just how brutal it truly was.

Today's lunch consisted of beef sent over by the Akimichi family that morning.

Normally it would have been enough, but with two extra mouths to feed, Shingo decided to catch a few fish to roast as a supplement, throwing together a pot of soup made from dried meat and wild greens to round it out.

The group quickly divided up the labor.

Marinating meat, skewering it, catching fish, building the fire...

Ruri and Ami saw everyone else bustling about and felt too embarrassed to just sit there, so they forced their aching limbs to stand and foraged for some wild berries in the surrounding woods to serve as dessert.

The roasted beef and meat soup were finished in no time.

Inoichi popped open a bento tin and picked up a wooden ladle to dish out rice for everyone.

Shingo rotated the fish roasting on the rack; the glowing charcoal baked the skin until the fats slowly bubbled up, dripping down with a faint sizzle.

Judging it ready, he dusted it with the Akimichi clan's secret seasoning blend and handed the grilled fish out to the group.

Shingo raised his bowl of soup and said:

"Two more members are joining our training squad today. Welcome aboard."

Nawaki chimed in immediately:

"Welcome, welcome!"

Chōza nodded with earnest sincerity:

"Welcome."

Inoichi smiled and gave a nod:

"Looking forward to working with you."

Shikaku lifted his bowl slightly, offering words that felt uncharacteristically earnest for his personality:

"From here on out, let's all push our limits together."

Watching the scene unfold, Might Duy felt the familiar surge of tears spring uncontrollably to his eyes.

"Youth... truly is a wonderful thing!"

Ami looked at the circle of faces surrounding her, a rare flush of shyness coloring her cheeks.

Lowering her head slightly, her voice came out softer than usual:

"Please... take good care of me."

Ruri held her wooden bowl in both hands, the tension finally draining from her face as she offered a gentle smile.

"Please take care of us."

Several wooden bowls tapped lightly against one another.

Soup rippled, and steam drifted into the air.

Weary from training, the boys and girls sat shoulder to shoulder, savoring the food and trading lighthearted banter. The softening afternoon light filtering through the trees made the atmosphere all the more peaceful and harmonious.

Right at that moment, a voice suddenly echoed from right behind Shingo.

"Kids, mind sharing a grilled fish with an old man? Smells absolutely divine."

Shingo's heart clenched tight.

His Mind's Eye had only caught the presence of that aura the exact microsecond before the voice rang out.

It wasn't that his Mind's Eye had failed.

It was because the newcomer had crossed the threshold from outside his sensory range directly behind him in the blink of an eye.

It was the Body Flicker Technique. and an exceptionally master-class execution of it at that!

As the identity of the newcomer registered, Nawaki was the first to react, calling out with delighted surprise:

"Hiruzen-jichan!"

The rest of the group sprang to their feet in unison:

"Hokage-sama!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen waved a hand, signaling them to relax.

"Don't treat me like the Hokage, look, I'm not even wearing the Hokage robes. Today, I'm just an ordinary old man who happened to be passing by and wanted to check in on Konoha's future hopes. Treat me just like Nawaki does, call me Hiruzen-jichan."