Four years had gone by after Eiji's reincarnation. Eiji spent his time learning about the world he was in by asking his parents multiple complex questions. He asked them about the geography of the world, the military power of each nation, current political affairs, and the different job occupations available.
His parents quickly picked up that he wasn't an ordinary child, but one gifted with superior intelligence for his age. Initially, they would often joke that a child doesn't need to fill his head with such information, but after some time, his father began taking him seriously and answering his questions in a detailed manner.
His father even went so far as to buy a map of the world for him and write a book filled with information about the current state of affairs globally. Eiji couldn't help but appreciate his so-called father's commitment to helping him broaden his knowledge of the world. Whenever his father was off-duty, he would often come by the house and sit by Eiji, watching him study the material. Being in the military police led by Uncle Fugaku, his father was never too far from home.
Once again, Eiji was sitting in his room reading the new material his father had brought him. He was almost done reading everything and was ready to go for his daily walk. He wasn't too keen on going for walks every day, but his mother would often pester him, and he understood the importance of staying active, so he abided.
'Although it's awkward to say this to him, I really do appreciate my father. I've never had one before, so this feels great. They really do feel like my family, both of them. I'll make sure to make them proud.'
As Eiji finished up his last book, he stood and changed his clothes in preparation to go outside. He wore plain black pants and a black shirt with an Uchiha emblem on the back. His outfit was completed by his long hair tied in a ponytail. Leaving the house, he sat on the doorstep and began putting on his shoes when a shadow emerged, looming over him. Startled, Eiji looked up and noticed it was his father, who had returned from work.
"I'm guessing you've finished reading all the material by now. Since you're finally four years old, I think you're old enough for me to teach you something new," Sato explained.
'What does he plan to teach me? What else is there to learn??'
"Well, are you going to sit there and daydream or follow me?" Sato said, looking back at his son.
"Yeah, I'm coming!" Eiji exclaimed in response.
The two walked for what felt like ten minutes until they arrived in a forest. Looking around, Eiji noticed that almost all the trees had marks on them. Some even had shuriken stuck in them.
'Is he planning to kill me? Has he realized I'm not actually a child? Why has he brought me to a battlefield?'
Eiji's body began to tense up, ready to spring into action and run if required. Noticing Eiji tensing up, Sato approached the boy and placed his hand on his shoulder. "What? Don't tell me you're afraid of some little physical exercise. Was your mother right?" he asked in a disappointed tone.
'Ah, this is training... We are in a world full of ninja after all. Now I feel stupid.'
"Afraid? I don't even know what that is!" Eiji replied. He had to show a confident face; otherwise, his father might stop providing him with material to read, thinking his mother was right.
"Alright, come and attack me!" Sato demanded.
'He's being really intense today for some reason. He seems a little too excited. As if he's been waiting for this day his whole life...'
Although hesitant, Eiji wasn't willing to risk his father placing sanctions on him and preventing him from getting more learning resources.
'I can't do much with this body, but I can be annoying to defeat at the very least. Let's take advantage of my speed.'
Without a moment's notice, Eiji began charging at his father with no plans to stop. As soon as he got into the vicinity of his father's reach, Eiji slid between his legs and locked onto his father's foot, biting at it.
Sato's expression was one of complete surprise. He hadn't expected his son to slide between his legs and take advantage like that. Not wanting his son to become too overconfident, Sato thrusted his leg up, kicking at the air, causing Eiji to fly off.
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'He's gauging my talent, it seems. He looks quite happy so far. Let's see how far I can push his expression.'
Eiji slowly retreated while trying to come up with a new game plan and stumbled upon a shuriken that was just left on the floor.
'Hehehe.'
Picking up the shuriken, Eiji rushed at his father once more, throwing it simultaneously. The shuriken didn't seem to cut through the air how he imagined; instead, it just flailed in the air before falling in front of his father.
'It seems that it takes skill to throw a shuriken… What to do now…'
No longer having any plans, Eiji paused prior to entering his father's range and stood there scratching the back of his head with a silly smile on his face.
'I mean, what did he truly expect me to do? I can't even move his leg!'
Despite Eiji stopping, Sato's face still revealed that he was more than satisfied with Eiji's performance. "Your battle IQ isn't bad, son. You're extremely talented, but don't let that get to your head!" Sato yelled, grinning.
'It seems he's not delusional enough to think I would be able to do any damage with this small body of mine. That's good. At least now my supply of material won't stop.'
"Alright, son, watch me. This is my very own taijutsu that I have created. It's called Beginner's Fist. Be sure to watch closely!" Sato instructed.
'Beginner's Fist, huh? Sounds pretty lame but interesting at the same time.'
After Sato verified Eiji was watching closely, he began demonstrating the basics of the technique. The style looked incredibly slow and unorthodox compared to what Eiji had seen in his past life.
'That looks far too slow to do anything in a real fight! The attacks are heavy… but way too slow!'
Having completed the basic motions of the taijutsu, Sato stopped and looked over at his son, who was pulling an unimpressed expression.
"I thought it'd be more flashy. Instead, it just looks like you're getting too old to move!" Eiji laughed. His father, however, did not take lightly to his taunts.
"You underestimate your father! There's a reason I am best friends with the clan leader!" Sato shouted. Regaining his composure, Sato continued, "I'll demonstrate the taijutsu in action."
Lifting up his middle and index fingers, Sato crossed them and summoned a clone of himself.
'!!!'
"Watch closely, boy," Sato ordered.
'It's a doppelganger of himself! How is that even possible! I read that ninjas used ninjutsu, but to think this was the type of ninjutsu they were talking about! Absurd…'
Sato resumed his stance and stood waiting for the clone to attack. The clone circled Sato for a bit, looking for any openings. Seeming to have finally found an opening, the clone went in for an attack. Cocking his fist back, the clone threw a punch at the unmoving Sato. Sato easily diverted the punch by pushing it to the side and struck back with a punch of his own, sending his fist crashing into the clone's rib.
'It looked slow when he was demonstrating the movements, but it seems incredibly fast in reality. It looks like he left some opening on himself for the clone to attack, and once the clone did, he delivered a punishing heavy blow. How would this work in other situations, though? What if I am giving chase to the enemy?'
As Eiji pondered the practicality of the taijutsu his father just demonstrated, his father interrupted his thoughts, questioning Eiji on what he learned from the taijutsu.
"I understand the concept of using little and decisive movements while also deceiving your opponent, but what about in offensive situations?" Eiji queried.
A grin emerged on Sato's face. "You're absolutely right. The taijutsu is only for one-on-one situations or when you're in a defensive position. You've also managed to pick up on the advantages of the taijutsu. The reason I taught you this is that it serves as a great basis for your own taijutsu. Every ninja has their own style; some rely heavily on tools to aid their taijutsu, others on ninjutsu, but having a solid foundation in your taijutsu allows you to hone your abilities and adjust them in a balanced way."
'Well, that makes a lot more sense. I guess he's done now, and I can go back to reading.'
Sato cleared his voice, gaining Eiji's attention once more. "There's one other thing I must teach you. It's about Chakra. Chakra is made up of both spiritual and physical energies. In order to utilize this chakra, you must have a sufficient level of chakra control. Chakra control enables you to create the right amount of chakra needed for a specific jutsu. You don't want to be producing too much chakra as you'd be wasting your energy. Neither do you want to be producing too little chakra as the jutsu just wouldn't work, or it would be a sorry excuse for a jutsu. Got that all?" Sato interrogated.
'Hm, so Chakra is a mix of both physical and spiritual energy. Alright, makes sense, sounds like a video game. So he used the Chakra like Mana to do magic… Ehm, ninjutsu, I meant.'
"That isn't really a tough concept to grasp, but how do I improve my chakra control?" Eiji asked.
'If I learn chakra control, I'll be able to make those clones too! Things are getting more fascinating...'
Sato seemed to be mind-blown by Eiji's comprehension skills. "We created a genius, Kiyoko! I wonder if he'd be able to wrestle for the position of clan head. Well, I guess Fugaku has a genius of his own," Sato thought, shrugging.
Snapping back to reality, Sato walked over to the boy and ruffled his hair. "You're going to be practicing the Beginner's Fist until you have mastered it. On top of that, I'll be giving you material to read related to basic chakra theory. Master these, and you can be a great ninja like your father one day," Sato laughed.
'Ugh, I have to go outside more. Well, I did find fighting that senior fun. If I can master the Beginner's Fist, I'll be pummeling bastards in no time. I also get more to read, which is a plus.'
Having felt he had taught Eiji enough, Sato decided to call it a day and head home.
"Let's go, Eiji!" he yelled at his son, who was lagging behind, deep in thought.
"Yes, Sir!" Eiji replied. He was in an exceptional mood. This world was far better than his previous one.