The next day, in the courtyard of Uchiha Aozora's house.
Just because Aozora had become a Genin didn't mean he had to start taking missions right away.
As per Konoha tradition, new Genin wouldn't go on missions alone—they'd be put on a team first. Under the guidance of experienced Jounin instructors, they'd gradually grow into capable ninja who could operate independently.
Team assignments required approval from the Hokage, so for now, he could relax at home for a few days.
But he had no intention of resting—he planned to master two or three ninjutsu over the next couple of days.
"Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, Pig!"
"Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, Pig!"
Aozora enunciated each word clearly while forming the hand seals, slowly going through the motions.
In truth, back when he first arrived in this world, he had seriously practiced hand seals. By age five, he could already perform three seals per second.
After all, in the Naruto manga, using ninjutsu always required hand seals.
But once he learned the Chakra Refinement Technique, he realized things weren't quite like that.
Hand seals weren't just about finger movements; they involved coordinating the flow and transformation of chakra within the body.
Actually, hand seals were only triggers. Different techniques represented different volumes, flows, and transformations of chakra.
Adults could grasp these ideas, but they were quite complex for young children. Therefore, powerful ninja categorized chakra transformations into twelve types, each corresponding to a specific hand seal.
Children would then begin learning these seals, performing each one while channeling their internal chakra through the corresponding transformation.
Once they mastered all twelve transformations, they could combine them to create actual ninjutsu techniques.
Back then, he remembered an interesting post from his previous life discussing [Water Style: Great Dragon Projectile Technique]. When Zabuza first used it, he formed forty-four seals, but later, Tobirama Senju needed only three.
Most comments below the post read "The Second Kage is just salty" or "Kishimoto got lazy with drawings."
Yet after understanding the principle behind hand seals, Aozora easily grasped why simplified sealing methods existed—including one-handed seals and even "no-hand-seal" techniques. From that point on, he lost enthusiasm for improving seal speed and even stopped practicing much.
Because practicing hand seals wasn't really about finger flexibility—it trained the speed and precision of chakra flow and transformation inside one's body. In this regard, the "guidance method" provided by the Heavenly Book proved far more effective.
The reason he was reviewing the sealing techniques today wasn't because he believed he had been wrong before, but because the techniques recorded on the scroll didn't explain how chakra flowed and transformed internally—they simply substituted descriptions with hand seal instructions.
To properly understand and master the techniques, he had no choice but to pick up again the hand seals he had previously abandoned.
After finishing breakfast, Shisui Uchiha dressed neatly and walked into the courtyard. Watching his younger brother fumble through the seals, he couldn't help shaking his head.
Arms crossed, Shisui stood watching Aozora practice. The more he watched, the more disappointed he became.
"With skills like these, he still thinks he can learn every technique in the ninja world?"
"Did I make a mistake giving him a stack of ninjutsu scrolls yesterday?"
Shisui Uchiha's presence didn't distract Aozora at all. After practicing for a while, he began to grasp the technique.
His Dao Yin Lian Qi was progressing well — his chakra circulated quickly through his body. All he needed to do was synchronize each seal with the chakra flow properly.
Snake, Ram, Monkey, Boar, Horse, Tiger.
Aozora slowly formed the seals while synchronizing each one with the chakra flow in his body.
Huuuh!
Aozora's eyes lit up as he finally synchronized the hand seals with chakra transformations. He grinned, laughing joyfully, "Finally mastered it!"
Upon hearing this, Shisui frowned slightly, feeling disappointed toward his younger brother.
Although the Great Fireball Technique was a basic Fire Release ninjutsu for the Uchiha clan, its difficulty ranked among the most difficult in C-rank techniques. Yet Aozora simply performed the hand seals once and claimed he had mastered it.
He had never truly believed in his brother's talent. The scroll gift had only been meant to encourage him.
Now he regretted giving those scrolls more and more.
Meanwhile, Aozora Uchiha began his first attempt at casting the Great Fireball Technique.
Snake-Ram-Monkey-
Before he even completed the sequence, Shisui already recognized what technique his brother intended to use. His frown deepened.
"Tch… Walking before crawling."
"I should probably take back those scrolls now. I hope my brother won't resent me for it later."
He hadn't expected his brother to succeed at all — yet he did nothing to stop him.
In his opinion, with such slow hand seals, the chakra wouldn't circulate or transform properly. It would dissipate entirely before reaching his throat.
Contrary to Shisui's thoughts, the chakra flowing inside Aozora's body didn't scatter aimlessly after reaching designated points. Instead, it remained in place, awaiting further instructions.
After a moment, Aozora finally finished the seals. The chakra within his body transformed repeatedly, taking on the form of molten steam as it gathered in his throat.
Aozora's face turned red as he felt like a thin stream of magma burned inside his throat, intense heat threatening to scorch through.
Despite the intense heat building up in his throat, Aozora didn't panic. Calmly, he continued completing the final chakra transformation required for the last seal.
Then a surge of chakra rose from Aozora's abdomen, providing powerful momentum to the heat in his throat. Aozora knew he must open his mouth now.
"Hoo-"
A thin stream of red-hot air instantly burst from his mouth. The current ignited upon contact with the wind, growing into a massive fireball nearly half-human-sized.
About three seconds later, the red current weakened and disappeared, causing the great fireball to lose energy and disperse within the courtyard.
Panting and gently touching his throat, Aozora still reeled from what had just happened.
However, Shisui stared wide-eyed at his younger brother, shocked beyond words. He murmured in disbelief, "He actually succeeded! How could he possibly succeed?"
"Although he had been too busy with missions to keep a proper eye on his younger brother, he still knew that his brother's talent was nothing special; otherwise, he wouldn't have graduated from the Ninja Academy at age twelve.
He'd also heard his brother had only awakened his chakra earlier this year. Though he didn't excel in any of the three main disciplines—Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, or Genjutsu—he still kept up the Uchiha tradition when it came to Ninja Tool Throwing.
Looking at his brother's clumsy hand seal just now, logically speaking, there shouldn't have been even the slightest chance of successfully casting a technique!
Yet before him, the scorched grass and his brother's continuous heavy breathing confirmed everything was real.
His "useless" younger brother had actually succeeded on his first attempt using the [Great Fireball Technique].
This wasn't about merely releasing sparks—he'd genuinely unleashed a massive fireball.
Even himself, hailed as a genius, had needed three attempts before successfully performing the [Great Fireball Technique]. It wasn't until two weeks later that he'd managed to produce such an enormous fireball.
Shisui Uchiha grabbed Uchiha Aozora's arm, puzzled, and blurted out urgently, "Aozora, how did you just perform the [Great Fireball Technique]? Why were you successful on your first try?"
Uchiha Aozora pushed Shisui's hand away and replied confusedly, "Just like I always do. Is that really so hard?"
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