Kaida approached the first house on the list. It had a big yard in front, filled with various physical training equipment.
'A Taijutsu user among the Uchiha? With the Sharingan, a trained Taijutsu user can definitely be deadly,' Kaida thought, giving a quick scan of the equipment. Some were familiar, but others were unique and seemed specially made, likely commissioned for specific purposes.
Dong, Dong!
"Who is it?" A young boy came out, not much older than Kaida.
'What the heck? Another prodigy? The paper said a Jonin, and he's the same age as me! How can the Uchiha clan have so many prodigies?'
"Yes, how can I help you?" the boy asked, noticing Kaida staring at him silently.
"Oh, sorry. I'm here for this," Kaida said, handing over the letter.
"Okay, take a seat. Dad will be here in about 10 minutes," the boy said, pointing to some chairs in the yard.
"Would it be a bother if I used one of those?" Kaida asked, gesturing toward the machines. Each one targeted different parts of the body, but unlike regular gym equipment, these seemed more practical. Instead of just building aesthetic muscles, they helped develop functional strength. However, this didn't mean the muscles they built were not aesthetically pleasing—quite the opposite. The results looked more natural and balanced, no matter how large or dense the muscles became.
"No, not at all. Feel free to use any machine you like. Dad is really proud of his creations and always boasts about them. He'll be thrilled to see someone using them," the boy replied.
"Your dad made these machines?" Kaida asked, genuinely surprised.
"No, not exactly 'made' them. He designed them according to his needs and then commissioned the Uchiha clan's blacksmith to build them," the boy explained.
"Still, designing something this precise requires a keen eye and a lot of experience. I can see that each machine is made to maximize gains with minimal effort," Kaida said, starting to use a machine for his arms. It increased resistance while punching, with gloves in place of handles.
"Quite a good observation, young man. I see you've got an eye for Taijutsu," a voice said from behind. A man, blurry in appearance but with an impressive presence, approached them. He had likely been listening to their conversation.
"Thank you, sir, but I'm currently focusing on Ninjutsu. My name is Kaida Uchiha, sir," Kaida said, bowing politely.
"Saburo Uchiha. And this is my son, Suzaku Uchiha," the man introduced himself.
"Wait a minute—you're Kaida Uchiha? The one who went to the Chunin Exams with Itachi, right?" Suzaku asked.
"Yeah," Kaida replied.
"Oh! How were the finals? Was your fight with him really so close? What were your chances of winning?" the boy asked all in one breath.
"Haha! He's a little fan of Itachi—and, from now on, probably yours too," Saburo said with a light laugh.
"I'm not his fan! I'm his rival! Rival!" Suzaku shouted, annoyed.
"He's already a Chunin, and you're still in the academy. How can you be his rival? If you want to be anything close to that, you'll need to train ten times harder than you do now," Saburo said firmly.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm going to the academy," Suzaku mumbled, running off—most likely to avoid another lecture about hard work.
"We truly live in peaceful times. When I was his age, I was already fighting in wars," Saburo said, shaking his head.
"And it's because of those times that he can live like this," Kaida replied.
"Leave the flattery aside, boy. I see you're here to learn the Iron Skin Jutsu, huh? If you're talented, you can pick it up in a day," Saburo said.
"I hope so, sir. But I'll try to learn it as fast as I can. I don't want to waste too much of your time," Kaida replied, refraining from mentioning that he was planning to learn two other jutsu the same day.
"Nonsense! Teaching the younger generation is never a waste of time. But since you want to learn quickly, let's get started right now. How much do you know about the Iron Skin Jutsu?" Saburo asked.
"Honestly, not much. All I know is that it's an Earth Chakra-based defensive jutsu that toughens the user's body," Kaida admitted.
"That's only half the knowledge. It doesn't toughen equally. Here, try punching me," Saburo said, his skin suddenly darkening in color.
Kaida, confident in Saburo's expertise, didn't hesitate. He put all his strength into a punch aimed at Saburo's stomach.
Pack!
'It felt like hitting a brick wall,' Kaida thought, shaking his hand.
"That was a decent punch," Saburo said, dusting off his clothes as though nothing had happened.
"Now, try again," Saburo instructed. This time, his skin darkened further, becoming almost metallic.
Kaida understood the significance but still decided to proceed.
Thud!
This time, the sound was more metallic, and Kaida felt a crunch in his fingers. He quickly healed the minor fracture but couldn't ignore the difference.
"The second time, your body was almost three times tougher than before. It was like punching a steel statue," Kaida remarked.
"Good, good," Saburo said, nodding approvingly. The fact that Kaida was more focused on analyzing than his injury elevated Saburo's impression of him.
"You're correct. In this state, even uncoated sword strikes are almost useless against me. Fireballs and techniques like the Electric Spear can also be tanked. The downside is the absurd amount of practice required. You must activate the jutsu instantly because it's only useful when you can't avoid an attack. And for it to be effective in battle, mastery is essential," Saburo explained.
"I'll keep that in mind while learning," Kaida said, nodding.
"Good. Let's begin the learning process," Saburo said, looking expectantly at Kaida.
After a moment, Kaida realized why Saburo was waiting. Activating his Sharingan, the three tomoe in his eyes glowed red. Saburo nodded in approval and began demonstrating the jutsu.
"With these hand seals, you can activate the Iron Skin Jutsu. It will be weak at first, but if you add these two seals and mold your chakra…" Saburo began explaining, performing each hand seal and the chakra molding process in detail.
****
(A.N: PowerStones please ^~^)