Chapter 10: The Primary Package
Uchiha Raizen returned to camp, his breath coming in short gasps, and almost collided with Uchiha Ryoken and Uchiha Natsume as they exited the mess hall.
"Uchiha Raizen, what's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost," Uchiha Natsume said, his brow furrowed with concern.
"It's nothing," Uchiha Raizen waved a hand, catching his breath. "I just went to take a look at the old battlefield. I'd never really seen it up close before. I wanted to... feel it." He fabricated a quick excuse.
"Only you would go sightseeing at a place like that," Uchiha Ryoken chuckled, shaking his head. "So, what's your plan now?"
"I need to find some of the officers," Uchiha Raizen stated, his purpose clear. "I need to learn more ninjutsu." The techniques Uchiha Ryoken and Uchiha Natsume could demonstrate were no longer enough. He needed a deeper well to draw from, a wider arsenal of powerful techniques to stockpile. A persistent, gnawing anxiety told him a crisis was looming, and he needed to be ready.
"In that case, let's go see my father," Uchiha Natsume offered without hesitation.
"Your father... Uncle Oki?" Uchiha Raizen's eyes lit up. Uchiha Oki was the captain of the village guard, a seasoned Jonin who had unlocked the three-tomoe Sharingan. He was a repository of powerful techniques and, more importantly, he was Uchiha Natsume's father. That connection made him the ideal candidate.
"Alright, it's settled. He's in his quarters now. Come on, I'll take you to him." Uchiha Natsume led the way, and the trio soon arrived at a larger, more permanent-looking tent.
"Father, Uchiha Raizen and Uchiha Ryoken are here to see you," Uchiha Natsume announced as they entered.
Uchiha Oki, a man with a stern face and the bearing of a veteran warrior, looked up from a scroll. "Come in and sit."
"Father, Uchiha Raizen would like to become your student," Uchiha Natsume said, getting straight to the point.
"Become my student?" Uchiha Oki's gaze shifted to Uchiha Raizen, his expression unreadable. "Uchiha Raizen, you were the boy who always shunned combat and anything to do with the shinobi arts. What has changed? Why this sudden desire for strength?"
Uchiha Raizen stepped forward, meeting the older man's scrutinizing gaze. "Uncle Oki, I used to hate the violence and the ninjutsu that enabled it. But I've learned that without strength, death is the only certainty. I am the only male left in my household now. It is time I shouldered my responsibilities." The words, though spoken for effect, carried a ring of truth that resonated with his new reality.
"Good. A man must face his duties," Uchiha Oki said, a note of approval in his voice. "I will accept you as my student. But know this: training under me will not be easy. You will be pushed harder than you have ever been in your life. Are you prepared for that?"
"I am, Master! Thank you!" Uchiha Raizen bowed deeply.
"Then we begin now. All powerful ninjutsu, all advanced chakra control, is built upon a foundation of physical prowess. Your body is your primary tool. We will forge it. Start with one hundred push-ups. Now."
"Yes, Master!"
...
Uchiha Oki's training was relentless and brutally straightforward. The push-ups were only the beginning. The entire day was filled with a grueling regimen of physical conditioning that pushed Uchiha Raizen to his absolute limits. Even with the enhanced physique granted by the Senju fragments, his muscles screamed in protest, and his body felt like a single, massive ache by the time dusk fell.
"Enough for today. We will resume at dawn tomorrow," Uchiha Oki stated before turning and striding back to his tent.
Uchiha Raizen lay on the ground, unable to move, his chest heaving. He still had two pickups remaining for the day, but he had no energy to seek out anyone to perform jutsu. He had just become Uchiha Oki's student; it would seem suspicious to immediately ask others for demonstrations.
As he lay there, his eyes, half-closed with fatigue, noticed a few faintly glowing orbs scattered around the training ground where he had exerted himself.
It seems even my own training can generate pickups, he realized, though the sight was underwhelming. They were all [Uchiha Primary Physique Fragment].
System, pick up two of the Primary Physique Fragments, he commanded, deciding not to let them go to waste.
[Pickup successful. Congratulations, Host. You have completed seven consecutive days of pickups. Reward: Primary Gift Package.]
The mechanical voice echoed in his mind, jolting him from his exhaustion. A gift package! So the system does have more functions!
"Open the Primary Gift Package!" he thought eagerly.
[Congratulations, Host. Acquired: Experience Card x1. Upon use, grants 50 experience points.]
His heart leaped. This was exactly what he needed!
"Use the Experience Card immediately!"
He watched as his experience bar, which had been at a sluggish 21/100, instantly surged to 71/100.
A wide, triumphant grin spread across his grimy face. He was almost there. In just ten more days of consistent pickups, he would reach Level 2. And when he did, the two powerful S-Rank ninjutsu sitting unused in his warehouse would finally be at his command. The path to real power was finally opening up before him.