Konoha: Uchiha's Two-Way Travel in One Piece

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"Kaito, it's already very late! Take a break! There's no rush to continue training tomorrow."

"You shouldn't neglect your health just because your body had gotten better!"

At that moment, Uchiha Jiri had appeared under the tree without Kaito even noticing. She looked up at him perched at the top of the tree and called out gently.

She was pleased to see her child so dedicated, but that didn't mean he could ignore his health.

From the beginning, she had been monitoring his chakra extraction process.

If she had noticed anything wrong—whether an injury or overexertion—she would have stopped him immediately. Fortunately, Kaito's process was smooth, and his mastery of chakra extraction was improving rapidly without any harm to his body.

Startled, Kaito looked down to see his mother standing with her hands on her hips. Sticking his tongue out sheepishly, he quickly climbed down from the tree.

"Ah? Alright, Mom! I'm coming down now!"

When he was about a meter above the ground, he jumped and landed steadily in front of his mother. Scratching the back of his head in embarrassment, he said, "Hehe, I kind of lost track of time!"

"It's just that extracting chakra was so much easier than I expected!"

"Hm."

Jiri nodded slightly, reaching out to pat his head. "Alright, off to bed now!"

"Yes, ma'am!"

Kaito obediently went to rest.

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Early the next morning

After enjoying breakfast made from Sea King meat with his mother and Mikoto, the three headed to the small training ground in the backyard to practice the Longevity Technique.

[You consume Sea King meat to aid in practicing the Longevity Technique. Proficiency +10, Longevity +9, Life Essence +0.03.]

"Breaking through to perfection with the Longevity Technique is still going to take some time!"

"Once that happens, I imagine the benefits to longevity will be even better. I'm kind of looking forward to it!"

"I just wonder what it will be like after breaking the limit?"

After practicing the Technique five times, digesting most of the food in his stomach, Kaito finally stopped.

After taking a quick bath, he returned to the backyard. While occasionally offering a tip or two to his mother and Mikoto about the art's essentials, he began practicing his hand seals.

There was no rush to learn ninjutsu just yet; building a solid foundation in chakra control, hand-seal proficiency, and speed would pay off later.

Sharpening the axe will not delay chopping wood, after all.

[You practice hand seals. You've successfully unlocked the skill: Hand Seals. Proficiency +1.]

[You practice hand seals. Proficiency +2.]

[You practice hand seals. Proficiency +3.]

Perhaps due to his natural talent, strengthened further by the right Technique, Kaito's growth in hand-seal proficiency was astonishingly fast.

Within half an hour, as Jiri and Mikoto finished their morning practice, Kaito had already advanced from the beginner level to the proficient level.

Not only could he now perform hand seals with precision, but his speed had also increased to two seals per second—a solid start.

"Knock, knock!"

Suddenly, a loud knocking came from the front courtyard, followed by Tsunade's bold voice.

"Jiri-sama, little Kaito, are you home?"

"Huh?"

Kaito and the others were momentarily stunned. "Tsunade?"

"Let's go see what she wants!"

Jiri led Kaito and Mikoto to the front yard, opened the door, and welcomed Tsunade inside.

"Come in and sit for a bit!"

"No need, Jiri-sama, thank you," Tsunade waved her hand dismissively. "I came here today for something else, so I won't stay long!"

"Oh? What's the matter?"

Jiri and Kaito asked curiously.

"Well…" Tsunade hesitated for a moment, then said awkwardly, "Yesterday, my teacher—the Third Hokage—called me to the Hokage's office. He's heard about me taking Kaito as my student."

"He wants me to take Kaito to meet him, as his 'grand-disciple,' so to speak."

"And… he also suggested Kaito should attend the Ninja Academy."

"Although, to be honest, I think it's a complete waste of time considering Kaito's level of knowledge!"

Having seen Kaito's medical expertise firsthand, Tsunade knew his skills even surpassed hers in some areas.

Given his talent and intelligence, what could the academy possibly teach him? He could probably master the entire curriculum in just a few days.

But since the request came from the Hokage, she couldn't outright refuse.

It was obvious to her, though, that her teacher was hoping to use this opportunity to instill the Will of Fire in Kaito.

"Too bad, Teacher. You've miscalculated. Someone as smart as Kaito isn't someone you can brainwash!"

Tsunade smirked inwardly, finding some schadenfreude in the situation. She wasn't exactly fond of the Third Hokage these days.

If it weren't for the timing being off, she would've already had a falling out with him.

"What?"

Kaito looked completely unimpressed. "Ninja Academy? Seriously? That's pointless!"

"That kind of playhouse-like school isn't worth it. The reformed clan school is way better!"

"Besides, my schedule is already packed every day with things to learn and train. I don't have the time for this."

Though he was mildly interested in meeting a few potential talents and building rapport for future contracts, he wasn't willing to waste much time on it.

"Uh… so you're not going?"

Tsunade blinked, surprised but also agreeing with his reasoning.

Especially now that she could sense Kaito's chakra levels, which were already comparable to a standard jōnin despite him only starting to train yesterday.

His chakra talents were monstrous, to say the least.

Sending him to the academy really was meaningless.

It would be far more effective for her to teach him directly, passing on her own ninjutsu, strength-enhancement techniques, and medical ninjutsu.

"No, he's going."

Before Kaito could speak again, Jiri placed a firm hand on his head and said, "You'll go meet the Third Hokage, enroll formally, and get to know your classmates."

"Once you feel the academy is no longer useful, you can use a shadow clone to attend instead."

"Alternatively, Tsunade can talk to the academy and the Hokage, allowing you to switch to private training with her, like learning medical ninjutsu."

For now, Jiri hadn't considered the possibility of early graduation.

In her eyes, Kaito's current strength was still far from sufficient.

Graduating early would only mean being sent on dangerous missions outside the village, which, coupled with Danzo's lurking ambitions, was too risky for now.

When Kaito had developed sufficient strength to protect himself, they could revisit the topic.

"What do you think, Tsunade?" Jiri asked, turning to the blonde sannin.

"No objections here! That's perfect!" Tsunade grinned.

This arrangement suited her just fine. Jiri-sama was so considerate.

Turning to Kaito with expectant expressions, both women asked, "What about you, Kaito?"

"..."

Seeing their firm expressions, Kaito sighed inwardly. 'Did I even have a choice?'

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