Naruto: Konoha Spring of the Uchiha Prodigies

The ninja villages of the five great nations, except for the Land of Wind, generally wouldn't do this, because they wouldn't be willing to lower themselves to such a level.

"If it were a few years later, when Sasuke and the others had grown up, this joint Chunin Exam would have been the best stage for them to make a name for themselves in the ninja world. But right now, although I hate to admit it, the village doesn't have any outstanding geniuses to show for themselves."

"Sigh, if Itachi had graduated normally, his age would have been just right," Shisui sighed.

"Let's not talk about that. Because of the current situation in the village, I plan to use this joint Chunin Exam as an opportunity for the genin of the security team to broaden their horizons. As for the final results, I don't care," said Uchiha Touko.

"You're not pushing for good results?" Shisui frowned slightly upon hearing this. "But if the village's genin perform poorly, it'll be you, the Hokage, who will lose face."

"What face could we possibly lose?" Uchiha Touko laughed. "Believe it or not, even if our ninjas really perform poorly, the Iwagakure village, as the organizer, will find a way to make things look good for us."

Shisui looked at Uchiha Touko with a puzzled expression.

“This is the confidence that our ancestors gave us,” said Uchiha Touko.

"However, no matter what, I'll still have to trouble you these next few days. Select a few talented individuals from the guard unit and teach them some B-rank ninjutsu. As long as their performance is acceptable, that's fine," Uchiha Touko instructed.

"Understood." Shisui nodded.

After Shisui left, Uchiha Touko also left the Hokage Building a while later.

After returning home, Uchiha Touko went to the study and saw Naruto still struggling in a sea of ​​sealing scrolls. Uchiha Touko walked over with a smile.

"How's your learning going?" Uchiha Touko asked.

"Teacher Dou Guang."

"teacher."

When the two saw that Uchiha Touko had arrived, they quickly looked up and greeted him.

"I still can't do it!" Naruto's little face was almost in tears. "Do I really have to learn this? Teacher, you don't know it either..."

"Shut up! You traitor!" Uchiha Touko slapped Naruto on the back of the head. "Besides, I'm different from you! I understand the principle behind that thing! I just can't control my strength! Unlike you, who hasn't even scratched the surface of sealing techniques!"

Naruto covered his head and looked at Uchiha Touko with a pitiful expression. After a while, Uchiha Touko sighed.

"Forget it, you're a genius, you shouldn't waste your talent on learning this stuff," Uchiha Touko said helplessly. "I'll teach you some other ninjutsu in a while."

"I don't need to learn this anymore?" Naruto perked up immediately upon hearing this.

“I wanted you to learn sealing techniques because I didn’t want the Uzumaki clan’s sealing technique lineage to end with you,” Uchiha Touko said. “But since you really don’t have the talent, then we’ll just have to forget about it.”

Chapter 142 The Special Training of the Three Little Ones

"Karin," Uchiha Touko turned to look at Karin and said with a smile, "It seems that the Uzumaki clan's sealing techniques will fall into your hands in the future."

"Yes! I will try my best!" Karin nodded.

"Naruto, in a while you, Sasuke, and Neji will come with me to the Land of Earth," Uchiha Touko said.

"The Land of Earth?" Naruto was taken aback. "Why would we go there?"

"I'll take the three of you to broaden your horizons," said Uchiha Touko.

"Great!" Naruto cheered. He might not understand why he had to go to the Land of Earth, but he was already very happy to be able to go out and have fun, let alone go abroad this time.

"Don't be too happy yet. You need to learn this before you go." Uchiha Touko took out a scroll. "This is a taijutsu technique that I researched with great effort based on your combat characteristics. It's a prerequisite for a wind-style ninjutsu. You should practice this for the next few days."

"Ninjutsu?" Naruto's eyes lit up immediately. "Is it a technique like Sasuke's Lightning Step Body Flicker Technique?"

"More or less." Uchiha Touko nodded. "This technique is a ninjutsu that I improved upon based on the Lightning Step Body Flicker Technique. You can only learn the complete version when you are a little older."

"Why?" Naruto asked, puzzled. "Hasn't Sasuke already started learning the complete version of ninjutsu?"

"You'll understand why once you start practicing tomorrow," Uchiha Touko said.

……

The next day, Sasuke, Naruto, and Neji went to the village's training ground number one after school.

Uchiha Touko had been waiting there for a long time. After the three of them arrived, Uchiha Touko announced:

"Naruto should have already told you two, right? In a while, you'll be coming to the Land of Earth with me."

Sasuke and Neji nodded. However, unlike Naruto, who was so oblivious, they knew that their teacher wouldn't do something without a reason. If he was taking them to the Land of Earth, then there must be a reason why he needed them.

"Do you know why I'm taking the three of you over there?" Uchiha Touko glanced at the three of them and said slowly, "Iwagakure sent us Konoha an invitation to the joint Chunin Exams a few days ago, so I'm taking a team of genin from our village to keep the appointment."

“However, I will also tell you the truth, there are not many strong ninjas of the right age in the village right now, so I am very likely to embarrass myself in this Chunin Exam,” Uchiha Touko said. “Therefore, I need the three of you to help me regain my honor.”

"I've heard that the Third Tsuchikage of Iwagakure has also taken on a few disciples, who are about the same age as you, only two years older. Do you have the confidence to defeat them and declare to the ninja world that the legacy of geniuses from Konohagakure in the Land of Fire has always endured!"

"Yes!" Naruto was so excited by Uchiha Touko's words that he shouted on the spot.

Sasuke and Neji, however, remained calm and asked, "Sensei, is that Tsuchikage's student very strong?"

“He’s very strong.” Uchiha Touko nodded. “His talent is no less than yours, and he’s a year or two older than you. So, you’ll need to work harder if you want to defeat him.”

“Leave that guy to me,” Sasuke said coolly. “I will protect the honor of the village and the Uchiha clan.”

"Alright, alright." Uchiha Touko clapped his hands. "Then, the three of you will be training with me for the next period of time."

"Sasuke, go practice the Lightning Step Body Flicker Technique over there first. In a bit, I'll teach you a simplified version of a ninjutsu that I got from Kakashi, one that's suitable for your current level," Uchiha Touko instructed.

"Yes!" Sasuke exclaimed excitedly as he heard that there was a new ninjutsu he could learn. He immediately ran off to the side.

"Neji, how many palm strikes can you unleash with your Eight Trigrams Palm?" After settling Sasuke, Uchiha Touko looked at Neji and asked.

“Master, I can already unleash the Thirty-Two Palms, but my current chakra reserves are only enough to complete one set of the Thirty-Two Palms,” Neji said. “Then, my uncle has recently been teaching me our Hyuga clan’s secret technique, Rotation. I feel like I’ll be able to learn it soon.”

"Really? You can already unleash thirty-two palm strikes." Uchiha Touko nodded. Neji truly deserves to be the most talented Gentle Fist user of the Hyuga generation. After being freed from the Caged Bird Seal, he can be said to have soared to new heights. You should know that being able to unleash thirty-two palm strikes is already a watershed moment for Chunin in the Hyuga clan's branch family.

Moreover, compared to his original self in the original timeline, Neji now saves the time of figuring out how to restore the heavens, so he will likely be much stronger than his original self in the future.

"Good. During this time, try your best to learn the Rejuvenation Technique. Your situation is different from Naruto and Sasuke's. I am not familiar with your Hyuga clan's secret techniques, so I can't teach you anything directly. What I can teach you is only the combat strategy and techniques. In addition, I must remind you not to be too bound by your Hyuga clan's moves. After you have mastered the Gentle Fist Technique, try to explore a new path."

"A new path?" Neji asked, somewhat puzzled.

“Yes,” Uchiha Touko nodded, “I’ve seen a lot about your Hyuga clan in our Uchiha clan’s records. Do you know how the Hyuga clan fought during the Warring States period?”

Neji shook his head.

"The way the Hyuga clan fights now is the same way the Hyuga clan fought during the Warring States period," Uchiha Touko said.

Neji froze on the spot upon hearing this, while Uchiha Touko continued speaking:

"As the head of the Uchiha clan, I shouldn't be saying these things to you, but as your teacher, I still have to remind you that although your Hyuga clan was as famous as the Uchiha and Senju during the Warring States period, your clan has never produced a genius like the First Hokage or Madara who could dominate an era. The reason for this is largely because you are too conservative."

“Neji, you are the most talented child of the Hyuga clan in this generation. In my opinion, you have the potential to surpass your ancestors. So, what you need to do now is to learn from the strengths of all sides as much as possible and try to forge a completely new path.” Uchiha Touko reached out and patted Neji’s head. “As your teacher, all I can do is to help you resolve your doubts and save you time in this process.”

Neji nodded blankly, then said solemnly, "Yes, teacher, I will."

“Of course, what you need to do now is to learn and master the skills passed down in your Hyuga clan,” Uchiha Touko said with a smile. “So, go and practice.”

"Yes!" Neji nodded and went to Sasuke's side, where he began practicing Baguazhang on the training ground.

"As for you..." Uchiha Touko looked at Naruto, who was already eagerly anticipating the moment, "Have you finished reading the scroll? You can already walk the basic steps, right?"

"Mmm-hmm-hmm!" Naruto nodded his little head like he was pounding garlic.

"That's good. I'll personally help you with your special training from now on." Uchiha Touko smiled and took out a sealing scroll.

"Alright! Bring it on, Sensei!" Naruto said, full of energy.

Uchiha Tokō opened the scroll and turned it upside down. Stones the size of half a fist fell down with a soft rustling sound, quickly piling up into a small mountain as tall as a person.

"Alright, you can start your escape now," Uchiha Touko said with a smile.

"What... what are they trying to do?" Naruto was startled by the sight.

Uchiha Touko didn't say much. He picked up a stone and threw it at Naruto using shuriken technique. As the stone cut through the air, Naruto immediately turned and ran. However, Uchiha Touko had already predicted his escape route, and the stone accurately hit the kid's butt.

"Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!" Naruto jumped up and down, clutching his butt. Uchiha Touko controlled his strength perfectly, throwing the rock at a level that would make Naruto fly through the air in pain but wouldn't actually hurt him.

"Whether you use the footwork you learned yesterday or your own method, what you need to do is avoid these rocks as much as possible," Uchiha Touko said expressionlessly.

Whether it's the impression of Naruto in the original work or the experience gained from teaching him sealing techniques during this period, Uchiha Touko realized that the conventional methods wouldn't work if he wanted to teach Naruto something. It would be best to let his body remember something in battle.

Uchiha Touko deliberately left an opening when throwing the stones. As long as Naruto could use the footwork he had memorized, he could dodge the stones thrown by Uchiha Touko. Now, it was just a matter of when the kid would realize this.

Naruto was running and getting beaten up at the same time, his screams echoing throughout the training ground.

"Teacher! Are you deliberately getting revenge? All I did was say you don't know illusion magic! Ouch! That hurts! Slower! Slower! Teacher! I was wrong!"

Uchiha Touko increased the intensity without expression. This kid still has time to talk about these trivial things. It seems that I still underestimated his physical fitness. After moving into Kakashi's house, with Kakashi making sure that the kid eats well every day, the kid's physical fitness does seem to be much stronger than his peers.

"Stop howling, get used to the pain. Once you've truly mastered this ninjutsu, it will only hurt more when you use it!" Uchiha Touko said.

In the realm of ninjutsu and taijutsu, there are virtually no wind-style ninjutsu and taijutsu. Wind-style chakra is one of the most difficult to control among the five basic chakra natures, and ninjutsu and taijutsu require integrating chakra into the body. The cutting nature of wind-style chakra also causes the greatest damage to the body among the five natures.

It's estimated that only someone like Naruto, a member of the Uzumaki clan with the double life force buff from the Nine-Tails, could truly master wind-style ninjutsu.

Chapter 143 Clash at the Entrance of Iwagakure Village

After a period of training, Naruto gradually imprinted this footwork into his muscle memory while being beaten.

After learning the basic footwork, Naruto won against Sasuke for the first time in a classroom sparring session.

This is quite normal. Naruto lost to Sasuke before largely because Sasuke was too agile; even a dozen or so clones couldn't catch him.

But once Naruto catches up with Sasuke, his abnormally resilient body will come in handy. The percentage of damage caused by Sasuke hitting him ten times is incomparable to the percentage of damage he causes by hitting Sasuke ten times.

In that sparring match, the two basically ended up tangled together, throwing wild punches at each other. If Iruka hadn't pulled them apart, given Sasuke's stubborn and headstrong nature, he probably would have suffered a great loss.

Of course, this is also because the Ninja Academy prohibits the use of highly destructive ninjutsu in sparring. Otherwise, Sasuke's already basic Chidori would have been enough to give Naruto a hard time.

While the three disciples were intensifying their training, the genin in the guard unit were not idle either. After Shisui's rigorous selection, four genin were finally chosen. They, along with two members of the Uchiha clan who had just graduated from the Ninja Academy last year, formed two three-person teams.

These individuals possess exceptional talent among ordinary people, and if they have a bit of luck in the future, reaching the level of Seiichi Nagai will not be a problem.

The two Uchiha clan genin who were chosen were rather mediocre by Uchiha clan standards.

One of them had only awakened a single tomoe, and the other hadn't even awakened the Sharingan yet, but their basic ninjutsu skills were very solid, reaching the level of Chunin. They had awakened the single tomoe Uchiha Shingetsu, and their genjutsu skills even surpassed those of the clan leader, Uchiha Tokō.

After learning that the Chunin Exams concerned the reputation of their respected Hokage, the selected genin trained extremely hard.

Three weeks later, the group embarked on their journey to Iwagakure.

Naruto, who was leaving the village for the first time, found everything new and exciting, and kept peeking out of the carriage to take in the world around him.

Although Sasuke and Neji were also excited, they maintained basic decorum due to their upbringing in prestigious families.

A week passed in the blink of an eye. After Naruto's initial excitement wore off, he soon felt bored traveling by carriage. Fortunately, just before he got sick of the carriage ride, the Hokage's procession was about to arrive at Iwagakure.