"Rasengan… a rotating spherical ball? That's a great name." Hiruzen Sarutobi recalled the blue chakra sphere and felt that the name Rasengan suited it perfectly.
"Isamu, if the Village asks you to hand over this Ninjutsu, will you do it?" Hiruzen Sarutobi asked, already thinking ahead about the consequences of such a technique.
After all, this was a powerful A-rank Ninjutsu, and a hand-seal-less one at that. The Village would certainly covet it. He wanted to understand Isamu's attitude beforehand.
If Isamu was willing to hand it over, that would be ideal. If not, he could at least remind him not to reveal it carelessly. Otherwise, if conflict arose, it would be troublesome for everyone. After all, there was truth in the saying that a man's wealth can invite disaster.
"If the Village wants it, they can have it," Isamu said indifferently. "If I can create one Ninjutsu, I can create another. I, Uchiha Isamu, have that confidence."
On the surface, he sounded calm, but inside he thought: With the System backing me, what do I have to fear? For now, I'll endure while I'm weak. But once I'm strong enough, if anyone dares demand my Ninjutsu, I'll show them the consequences.
Hearing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi visibly relaxed. If Isamu had refused outright, it would have put him in an awkward position. Although he prioritized the Village, he didn't want a teammate to feel resentful over a single technique.
"Isamu, your talent for Ninjutsu is truly impressive. At your current stage, your Ninjutsu is already more than sufficient. Against a Chunin, this one technique alone could secure victory. But no matter how powerful a Ninjutsu is, it's useless if it doesn't hit the target."
Isamu nodded. He agreed completely. His Ninjutsu was already powerful enough. Although his physique had been enhanced by the Water of Life, relying on medicine alone wasn't enough—he needed proper training to fully bring out its effects.
"For the next period," Hiruzen Sarutobi continued seriously, "we'll focus on Taijutsu training. We need to raise your strength to the level of an Elite Chunin as soon as possible."
Isamu understood the urgency. Based on the timeline, the First Great Ninja War was only a few years away. Hiruzen wanted him to grow stronger for his own survival.
"Alright, enough talking," Hiruzen Sarutobi said suddenly. "Your mission today is to run twenty laps around the Village. Go on, young man! A bright future awaits you!"
He even struck a dramatic pose while saying it.
Isamu rolled his eyes at the overly dramatic Hiruzen Sarutobi, then dashed off without complaint. Twenty laps were nothing for him right now.
Unfortunately, over the next few days, he completely lost that confidence.
---
Five days later, Isamu was jogging outside the Village, drenched in sweat.
His speed slowed with every step. Each movement felt as if he were dragging hundreds of pounds.
A few days earlier…
On the first day, Hiruzen made him run 20 laps.
On the second day, it became 40 laps.
On the third day, it jumped to 70 laps. That same day, Hiruzen somehow found several weights and strapped 20 pounds onto each of Isamu's limbs.
Not only that—Hiruzen ordered him to wear them at all times, even while eating and sleeping.
By today, the fifth day, the training had increased to 100 laps, and the weights had risen to 50 pounds each.
That meant 200 pounds total—more than Isamu's own body weight.
Watching Isamu slow down, Hiruzen Sarutobi shouted from the side:
"Isamu, speed up! What are you doing? Why are you slowing down? If you want others to acknowledge you, this level of strength isn't enough! Do you think you'd survive on the battlefield like this? If you don't want to die out there, keep running!"
Grinding his teeth, Isamu cursed silently.
Damn you, Hiruzen Sarutobi! Easy for you to say. Running a hundred laps with two hundred pounds of weights—is this training for a ten-year-old?!
Still, he kept running.
Finally, at 9:00 PM—
"98 laps… 99 laps… 100 laps…"
"Huff… huff…"
"These damn hundred laps are finally done."
Isamu collapsed onto the ground, gasping for breath.
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked down at him.
"Well, you finished. Honestly, I wasn't sure you'd last to the end. But seeing you finish… I'm impressed. For that determination alone, tonight's barbecue is on me. Let's go!"
Hearing that he wasn't going home to sleep but instead had to go eat barbecue, Isamu stared at him speechlessly.
"Big Brother Sarutobi… look at my condition. Where would I get the strength to eat barbecue? It's already a struggle just to walk home."
"Oh come on," Hiruzen said, patting his shoulder. "Young people should have energy. Why are you acting like an old man? If you have the strength to walk home, you can walk to the BBQ restaurant. Think of it as replenishing your energy."
The truth was, Isamu really wouldn't have been able to hold on.
But on the third day, the System had issued a mission: he had to complete the number of laps assigned by Hiruzen Sarutobi every day.
Failure meant instant death.
That was why he had been silently cursing him the whole time.
The rewards, however, were generous.
1,000 points on the third day.
2,000 points on the fourth day.
3,000 points today.
In three days, Isamu had earned 6,000 points.
"You're right," Isamu said after a moment. "I should eat some meat to recover. After all, I'm in this miserable state because of you. Let's see if I can eat you out of house and home."
Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't take the threat seriously. How much could one person possibly eat?
At worst, it would cost him the reward of a B-rank mission. Hardly a big deal.
"Big Brother Sarutobi, can I take off these weights before we go?" Isamu asked, reaching for them.
"Wait, wait," Hiruzen stopped him quickly. "Keep them on. It's good for your training. Once your body adapts to them, your explosive power will increase significantly."
"You've already done enough running. Tomorrow we'll start combat training while wearing the weights."
Hearing that, Isamu breathed a sigh of relief.
Finally—no more running.
Then another thought hit him.
Wait… if there's no running mission, how will I earn more System points?
Without those points, how would he exchange for the Three-Tomoe Sharingan?
After thinking for a moment, he shrugged internally.
Forget it. I'll deal with it later. For now, the priority is barbecue… and teaching Hiruzen Sarutobi a lesson.
---
Soon, the two arrived at the BBQ restaurant.
The moment they sat down, Isamu ordered:
"Fifty plates of meat. All thinly sliced."
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at him with amusement. He himself could easily finish that much. If Isamu thought he could bankrupt him with just fifty plates, he was dreaming.
But then Isamu began to eat.
At first, both of them grilled and ate together.
Later, however, Hiruzen ended up doing all the grilling…
while Isamu did all the eating.
Before long—
Fifty plates were gone.
"Boss! Another fifty plates!"
Those disappeared as well.
"Boss! Another fifty plates!"
Soon the table was piled high with empty plates.
Other diners began gathering around.
"Wow… that kid can really eat."
"What kind of stomach does he have? Isn't he afraid he will burst?"
Seeing the crowd forming, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt a little embarrassed.
"Hey, Isamu, that's enough," he whispered. "Do you really need to eat until you explode? Everyone's watching."
"What's there to be embarrassed about?" Isamu replied casually. "I'm just eating. Besides, you said you were treating. What—don't want me to eat my fill?"
…
Two hours later.
Outside the BBQ restaurant—
Hiruzen Sarutobi roared at the fleeing figure ahead.
"Uchiha Isamu, you bastard! You ate over 500 plates of barbecue! Don't let me see you again—next time I do, I'll beat you senseless!"
The running Isamu shouted back:
"Big Brother Sarutobi, you were the one treating! I only ate a little!"
"A little?!" Hiruzen yelled, throwing his empty wallet in rage. "You cleaned me out!"
Eventually, Isamu disappeared into the distance.
Watching him go, Hiruzen Sarutobi's anger slowly faded.
"That brat… he can really eat," he murmured softly.
"He's probably getting revenge for the training these past few days."
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"Looks like things will be interesting from now on."
Meanwhile, walking home with an overly full stomach, Isamu wore a sly grin.
Stupid Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Let's see if you dare torture me like that again.
This was just a small warning. Next time you treat me to meat… I'll burn your wallet to ashes.