Chapter 9: Inspiration from Samurai

Uchiha Kiyoshi was well aware of the dangers of chakra refinement. Extracting too much chakra would damage the body's cells and shorten the lifespan of the ninja. Since the first time he refined chakra, Uchiha Kiyoshi had never fully exerted himself in chakra refinement.

But continuing like this was not a solution. If he couldn't find a way, the progress of his chakra enhancement would undoubtedly be delayed. If his chakra couldn't improve, even learning ninjutsu would become difficult, eventually dragging him down to his demise.

Uchiha Kiyoshi was also anxious. Every day, he dedicated five to six hours of his time to visit the Uchiha Clan's library, hoping to find inspiration.

However, finding a solution was not something that could be easily accomplished. Uchiha Kiyoshi could only calm down and focus on his own tasks each day.

And so, half a month had passed.

With only ten days remaining until the ninja school resumed, Uchiha Kiyoshi didn't feel much about it.

In half a month, Uchiha Kiyoshi's speed of performing hand seals had doubled once again. He was now able to perform two hand seals in one second, meeting the standard for learning ninjutsu.

As mentioned before, the release of ninjutsu was accomplished through the circulation of chakra within the body, which required a certain speed of hand seal execution. If the effect of the previous seal had already passed while the subsequent seal hadn't been formed yet, how could it succeed?

Furthermore, when referring to Uchiha Kiyoshi's speed of performing hand seals, it was only about the speed of his hands.

Without any coordination of chakra circulation, he could only achieve two hand seals in one second.

If chakra manipulation was involved, he had to pay attention to the rhythm between the hand seals, and it might not be possible to form three seals in two seconds!

In the original work, Uchiha Itachi was able to perform six hand seals in one second, but that was in the context of using ninjutsu, which involved chakra manipulation, and it was even during combat.

That's why Uchiha Itachi's ability to perform six hand seals in one second was considered impressive. Otherwise, with enough practice, almost anyone could achieve a speed of six hand seals per second. The difficulty lay in chakra manipulation.

In summary, it was necessary to familiarize oneself with the flow of chakra throughout the entire process of releasing ninjutsu and then keep up with the speed of six hand seals per second while manipulating chakra.

After forming the hand seals, the flow of chakra was actually fixed, which could be controlled by the ninja themselves. The improvement in hand seal speed was accompanied by an increase in the ninja's ability to manipulate chakra.

Even with the guidance of hand seals, this process was quite troublesome and could not be achieved without daily practice.

Regarding the speed of hand seals, Uchiha Kiyoshi could only take it step by step.

He had already started recording and summarizing the chakra flow corresponding to each hand seal. Uchiha Kiyoshi had made progress by completing the records of the effects of the twelve hand seals on the chakra circulation in the lower abdomen, and he had also started researching other body parts.

However, due to Uchiha Kiyoshi's limited chakra reserves, he didn't have an outstanding amount of chakra to work with. Therefore, the time he could allocate to his research each day was also limited.

And so, the problem returned to chakra once again.

Throughout the history of ninjas' development, chakra had always been a significant factor restricting their progress. Therefore, the time left for Uchiha Kiyoshi was not much.

Uchiha Kiyoshi made a decision. If he couldn't find a solution within three months, he would abandon his original plan and focus on refining chakra with all his might.

After all, the ninja world had various strange ninjutsu techniques. In the worst case, he could obtain a new body through the Summoning: Impure World Reincarnation or his own Living Corpse Reincarnation and start anew!

Of course, the prerequisite was that he had to be strong enough to leave behind such a backup plan.

Feeling helpless once again in his research on insufficient chakra, Uchiha Kiyoshi sighed, recorded the previous data, and put a stop to his current research.

After recovering his spirits, Uchiha Kiyoshi got up and headed to the clan's library.

On the way, Uchiha Kiyoshi kept pondering his previous problems and felt a mix of anxiety and uncertainty.

"Three months... Will I be able to find a way to nourish the body with chakra during this time? Sigh! Did I take the wrong path?"

Uchiha Kiyoshi furrowed his brow and sighed intermittently. Fortunately, he was walking with his head down, and there were few people around, so no one saw him in this state. Otherwise, they might think Uchiha Kiyoshi had gone mad.

Upon reaching the library, Uchiha Kiyoshi greeted an old man at the entrance before entering.

The reason for greeting him was not because he thought the old man was a simple janitor or anything like that.

Rather, it was because the old man was indeed a remarkable figure. Within the entire Uchiha Clan, any ninja who came to the library to search for information knew that the old man at the entrance was not an ordinary person.

Uchiha Takeo, a retired ninja of the Uchiha Clan, had reached the elite Jonin level during his prime and now served as the elder in charge of external affairs for the entire Uchiha Clan!

After all, the library was such an important place that not just anyone could be entrusted with its management.

Uchiha Takeo lifted his head and glanced at Uchiha Kiyoshi, remembering this junior who frequently visited the library from a young age. Uchiha Takeo had also learned some information about Uchiha Kiyoshi from Uchiha Shin, which made him feel quite regretful about Uchiha Kiyoshi's situation.

"In this aspect, you can only rely on yourself to overcome this obstacle in your heart. Sigh! Such a promising junior, with talent that shouldn't be lacking, what a pity. If only...

However, if this little guy can truly overcome it, his future might be boundless!"

With murky eyes, Uchiha Takeo watched Uchiha Kiyoshi's figure from behind and silently made his evaluation.

Unfortunately, Uchiha Kiyoshi was unaware of this.

He also didn't know that his disguise had inadvertently sparked someone's imagination. Indeed, the power of imagination in people's minds was the strongest.

Uchiha Kiyoshi entered the data room and headed straight towards the medical area.

The Uchiha Clan was proud and confident, but not careless. The organization of the data was still tidy.

The entire data room was divided into different sections, with the largest one dedicated to Sharingan-related information, which only Uchiha clan members could access.

Then came the section on genjutsu basics, followed by Fire Release, and after that, other nature transformations, medical techniques, and sealing arts areas.

Lately, Uchiha Kiyoshi had been reading in the medical area, hoping to find inspiration for nurturing the body through improved physical fitness.

For the past four years, Uchiha Kiyoshi had frequently visited the medical area and the sealing arts area. Uchiha Takeo, the administrator, was naturally aware of this.

But Uchiha Takeo didn't say anything about it. In this regard, he wouldn't interfere with the direction of his clan members' training. Moreover, Uchiha Kiyoshi had "liked" reading these kinds of knowledge since he was young, and it seemed that he could understand them. Maybe he truly had talent in this aspect!

It would be good for the clan to have an outstanding medical ninja or a ninja proficient in sealing arts.

Furthermore, Uchiha Kiyoshi's situation might be suitable for becoming a medical ninja...

Uchiha Takeo withdrew his gaze and closed his eyes once again, focusing on his own matters.

Time passed in this manner while Uchiha Kiyoshi earnestly studied.

After putting down "Ninja Body Conditioning Basics," Uchiha Kiyoshi scanned the bookshelf with his gaze. Suddenly, a book titled "Samurai Body Conditioning Techniques" caught his attention.

"Why would there be a book about samurai here?"

Picking up the book, Uchiha Kiyoshi felt puzzled. He didn't understand why his clan, a ninja clan, would have such a thing in their collection.

"Maybe it was obtained unintentionally and then discarded? What a waste. That's why it ended up here, right?"

Originally, Uchiha Kiyoshi intended to put the book back, but upon further thought, he realized that he hadn't researched methods to improve the physical fitness of samurai. Was it too narrow-minded to focus only on ninja techniques? Shouldn't he study other systems as well?

With this thought in mind, Uchiha Kiyoshi opened the book "Samurai Body Conditioning Techniques" and started studying it seriously.

Afterward, Uchiha Kiyoshi specifically searched for several other books on samurai and planned to study them on his own.

Unconsciously, two hours had passed.

Lost in his focus, Uchiha Kiyoshi continued to look at the materials in his hands.

Currently, he was holding a biography of a certain samurai.

When he saw that this samurai lived to be 120 years old, Uchiha Kiyoshi's gaze sharpened, feeling that inspiration was about to strike.

Living to 120 years old was almost impossible in the shinobi world. Even Uchiha Madara, who relied on the Gedo Statue, only lived to be around 80-90 years old! Upon closer examination, Uchiha Kiyoshi discovered that this samurai was not different from others. He hadn't consumed any special elixirs or miraculous medicines. The only difference was that he was amiable and rarely engaged in conflicts with others.

"So you mean there are no hidden injuries or anything like that on his body?" Uchiha Kiyoshi muttered to himself. Looking at the book in his hand, his gaze scattered, and his thoughts wandered off.

Uchiha Kiyoshi abruptly awakened and began searching for biographies of other samurai.

"Indeed, it's not an isolated case. Samurai who had fewer injuries in their youth or received timely treatment tend to have longer lifespans."

"The lifespan of humans in the shinobi world, even without practicing chakra and without any illnesses, definitely won't reach a hundred years!"

Uchiha Kiyoshi felt his brain heating up, his breathing becoming rapid. He felt that he had found the right direction.

Excited for five minutes, Uchiha Kiyoshi finally calmed down. He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, regaining control of his emotions.

Picking up the book "Samurai Body Conditioning Techniques" once again, Uchiha Kiyoshi delved into his research. He felt that he must have missed something and needed to study it thoroughly again.

Unconsciously, it was already late at night. Prompted by Uchiha Takeo, Uchiha Kiyoshi realized the time and hurriedly apologized, returning the book to its original position and leaving the data room.

Uchiha Takeo watched Uchiha Kiyoshi leave and didn't immediately close the door. Instead, he focused his gaze on the materials that Uchiha Kiyoshi had been studying.

"'Samurai Body Conditioning Techniques'? Why is this kid interested in this kind of thing? And why is he so engrossed in it?"

Taking out the "Samurai Body Conditioning Techniques" book, Uchiha Takeo briefly skimmed through it, getting a general idea of its contents. He wondered, "Isn't it just a method for samurai to condition their bodies? Is it necessary to take it so seriously? The methods of samurai are too energy-consuming. Although they excel in physical techniques compared to shinobi, they have already been phased out."

Uchiha Takeo muttered to himself, and suddenly, he gasped.

"This kid, could it be?"

Uchiha Takeo couldn't believe it.

"Is he so afraid of death? He's even interested in samurai body conditioning? Medical ninjutsu, samurai body conditioning... This information is quite significant!"

Then, Uchiha Takeo began to worry about Uchiha Kiyoshi's situation.

Could this kid really have the determination to learn the ways of the samurai? It would be such a waste. How could such a diligent child be struck with such a fear of death?

"Well, let's observe a bit more. If he really starts training in this, then I'll guide him. Such a promising young talent should not be wasted on the path of the samurai."

Uchiha Kiyoshi had no idea that his actions had sparked so much speculation.

If he knew, Uchiha Kiyoshi would only say, "You're overthinking it. Such a difficult training with slow results, I can't persist in it!"