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•[Trait: Muscle Memory (White).]
•[Requirement: Repeatedly practice a tedious exercise until it becomes an unconscious habit.]
•[Progress: Complete.]
•[Effect: After countless repetitions, your muscles adapt. The movements become instinctive, executed without thought like a reflex. Your muscle memory improves by 10% compared to the average person. Currently, incorrect muscle memory cannot be erased.]
•[Note: This trait can be advanced further.]
Seiji felt the drain of chakra inside his body as he forced himself a few more steps upward, finally reaching the top of the tree.
The forest around him was lush and alive, birds chirping and fluttering in the distance.
"So that's the trick. As long as you repeat the process enough, no matter what it is, it'll trigger. Guess my talent isn't half bad after all."
He muttered the thought silently.
Most Uchiha were born gifted, their clan producing elites generation after generation. He carried that same blood—he was hardly going to be mediocre.
This tree was a lot shorter than the ones Kakashi's squad had been forced to climb in training. Getting to the top hadn't taken him much effort at all.
"Seiji, did you train like this back in the Land of Lightning?" Rin asked softly.
"No."
Seiji stepped down from the treetop, exhaling heavily.
His soul was that of an adult. Compared to a child like Obito, he could concentrate far longer and with greater intensity. But that also meant the chakra drain was heavier, and every muscle in his body ached with fatigue.
•[You have gained the trait: Tree Climber (White).]
•[Trait: Tree Climber (White).]
•[Requirement: Reach the top of a tree by walking up the trunk with chakra.]
•[Progress: Complete.]
•[Effect: Your control over chakra in unusual terrain has improved. Chakra cost for walking on trees decreases by 10%.]
•[Note: This trait can be advanced further.]
Seiji blinked in surprise.
So even this counted as completing an trait.
"Looks like the entries don't just trigger from within me. They can respond to more abstract actions as well."
His understanding of the panel deepened.
The previous entries—Muscle Memory, Reading Absorption, and Basic Memory—had all been inwardly focused, triggered by his body and mind alone. But now, there was proof they could link to external acts too.
"If I graduate early, or become top of the class… would those also trigger? Maybe even unlock higher levels?"
The thought stirred in him.
But Seiji knew better than to draw attention now. His current identity already attracted too many eyes. Even if he could pull it off, he had no reason to flaunt his talent yet.
First, strength. Then, exposure. That was the path to survival and profit.
"You've got to be hiding something! There's no way your talent's really that good!"
Obito's eyes bulged, unwilling to accept it. If Seiji was naturally gifted, then he himself would be stuck forever as dead last, the class clown, the one always trailing behind.
"Believe it or don't, it makes no difference to me, Obito."
Seiji's tone was flat.
Young Obito came across as warm-hearted, but in truth he was obsessive. When driven by love, he could—and would—abandon everything else, even push the world into extremes.
Rin's death would become his turning point. That was why he dreamed of plunging the entire world into Infinite Tsukuyomi, drowning everyone in illusions and convincing himself that falsehood was the only reality.
For that, he'd even kill his master's newborn child.
Naruto had been orphaned on the day he was born because of Obito.
And this was despite how deeply Minato and Kushina had cared for him.
A man who lashed out at the world whenever life didn't go his way—Seiji had no interest in cozying up to someone like that.
"That's enough, Obito."
Rin had noticed the hostility simmering in Obito's words. Given Seiji's complicated background, she couldn't say much, so she stepped in to smooth things over.
"It's getting late. We should head back."
"Alright. See you tomorrow, Rin."
Seiji's farewell was polite. Then he turned and headed toward the exit.
Rin watched his retreating back, murmuring under her breath, "He's nothing like those crude rumors from the Land of Lightning."
Her impression of him was favorable.
He wasn't loud and impulsive like Obito, nor was he cold and sharp-tongued like Kakashi.
"Hey, hey, Rin… don't you think his chakra feels kind of dark? Cold?" Obito muttered beside her.
"Chakra doesn't define a person," she answered simply.
…
On the way home, Seiji watched the busy streets, packed with the chatter and footsteps of villagers.
The Land of Fire was blessed with fertile soil and a mild climate, and Konoha, situated near its heart, enjoyed the best of it. Except for the rugged outer mountain paths, the conditions here were almost idyllic.
Living here felt far better than in the Land of Lightning.
But he also knew: comfort had its dangers. Too much of it would dull the edge of a shinobi's will.
He shook his head, pulling his thoughts back.
The Third Great Ninja War was only a few years away. The weight of it loomed over him like a mountain.
Once he became a shinobi, the battlefield was inevitable.
If he wanted to survive, he had to sharpen himself now, before the war came crashing down.
Smack.
Suddenly, someone bumped into him.
"Sorry."
The passerby rushed off without looking back.
"It's fine."
Seiji continued walking, face calm, as if nothing had happened. But his hand tightened slightly around the object that had slipped into his palm. He quickened his pace.
This was the second time already.
A Cloud spy.
For shinobi, information was everything. Every great village planted spies in the others, endlessly infiltrating, being discovered, replaced, and infiltrating again. Espionage and counter-espionage formed a constant, invisible war.
…
Inside Nanga Shrine.
Fugaku rubbed his temples as the clan members filed out one by one, until only Mikoto remained.
"Root has already sent their people. If there's nothing suspicious about Seiji, I'll need you to keep an extra eye on him."
His gaze fell on Mikoto.
Her face carried the soft, traditional beauty of a Yamato nadeshiko, but paired with the green flak jacket, there was also a firm competence about her.
"Don't worry, Fugaku," Mikoto nodded.
She understood the unspoken meaning behind his words.
If Seiji was a spy, his fate was already sealed.
If not, then it was the clan's responsibility to bind him closer, to nurture his loyalty.
After all, an outsider—no matter how young—had already been shaped by the world beyond.
They needed to forge ties that would tether him to the Uchiha.
…
Back home, Seiji didn't pull out the foreign object right away. Instead, he slipped it into the pouch at his left hip, keeping his expression perfectly ordinary.
He opened one of the books he'd brought back from the academy and immersed himself in study.
His entries "Reading Absorption" and "Basic Memory" were still just short of completion.
Not long after, he noticed the fatigue leaving his body. The soreness from earlier had almost completely faded.
"The gift of the Yagami Clan…"
He understood.
The Uchiha were already famed for their abundant chakra. Coupled with the Yagami clan's inherited talent for raw physical resilience, his recovery was unnaturally fast.
The Land of Lightning, shrouded in mist and filled with peaks that clawed at the sky…
According to the Book of Formations, it had once been the homeland of the Yagami clan.
"....."