Chapter 3: Real Shinobi Don’t Need Hand Seals

"I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I’ll treat you to three-colored dango later. My treat."

Reiji apologized while placing the ice towel he had prepared earlier over Izumi’s eye.

Izumi unhappily grumbled, but she was feeling rather depressed inside.

The things that had originally been prepared for Reiji had ended up being used on her instead.

Was the improvement after awakening the Sharingan really this tremendous?

"The main reason was that I hadn’t adapted to the increase in perception after awakening my eyes. My brain could react, but my body couldn’t keep up."

Reiji explained as he thought about it.

It was somewhat similar to what had happened to Sasuke when he was completely overwhelmed by Rock Lee in the original story.

And solving this was very simple. He just needed to gradually adapt during combat.

Since he needed to graduate early as soon as possible, he had to become accustomed to his current strength as quickly as possible.

After that, he would have to trouble Izumi with sparring against him on a daily basis.

Thinking this, Reiji voiced his request to Izumi.

"Why are you always thinking about becoming stronger?"

Izumi asked curiously.

Whenever Reiji had free time, he would pull her into a sparring session, and he was also extremely serious and diligent about his daily training.

He seemed to have an unusually strong desire for power.

"If I don’t become stronger, how am I supposed to protect you and Uncle and Auntie?"

Reiji spoke with a determined look in his eyes.

In the original story, Uchiha Izumi could be considered Uchiha Itachi’s only female friend with whom he had a close relationship.

But even she had died on the night of the clan massacre.

Now that he had entered the story, there was no need for Obito to act during the massacre.

That filial son would be enough to wipe out Izumi’s entire family with three strikes of his blade.

Izumi had no idea what Reiji was thinking. Her face flushed slightly as she quietly grumbled, "...I don’t need you to protect me. I’ll work hard to protect Mom and Dad."

However, recalling what had happened on the night of the Nine-Tails attack, Izumi still felt a lingering sense of fear.

Fortunately, Reiji had pulled her entire family out of their home that night, and when the Nine-Tails appeared in the village, they happened to be near a shelter.

When they returned home the next day, she discovered that their house had already been crushed beneath the huge rocks thrown by the Nine-Tails.

If not for Reiji, someone in her family might very well have been missing by now.

"...I’m planning to familiarize myself with the increase in strength after awakening my eyes as soon as possible, and then apply for early graduation."

After carefully considering it, Reiji spoke.

"..." Izumi stared blankly for a moment before asking somewhat reluctantly, "Why?"

Even if he wanted to improve his strength, there was no need to rush this much, was there?

She had been hoping to spend all six years of Ninja Academy together with Reiji.

Reiji did not mention the night of the clan massacre. Instead, he changed the subject.

"Once I become familiar with the strength of the One-Tomoe Sharingan, there won’t be much left for the Ninja Academy teachers to teach me."

"Only by graduating as soon as possible and receiving guidance from a Jonin can I improve my strength quickly."

Take Uchiha Itachi, for example. His father was the clan leader, and he had Uchiha Shisui, who was both his teacher and friend, teaching him from a young age.

As for himself...

His parents had died when he was young, while Izumi’s parents were not shinobi either.

His only regular sparring partner was a little girl like Izumi.

He did not want to end up like Uchiha Sasuke, wasting six years at the Ninja Academy and only reaching Genin level at twelve.

At twelve, Uchiha Itachi was already almost becoming an ANBU squad captain!

"All right."

Izumi did not ask any further. She touched the towel over her eye, her expression filled with "righteous indignation," and her tone sounded as though she had made an enormous decision.

"I’ll do my best to help you adapt to your new strength in taijutsu."

"However, if you want to graduate early, it probably won’t be that simple when it comes to ninjutsu, right?"

Under normal circumstances, graduating from the Ninja Academy only required mastering the Three Basic Techniques.

But if he wanted to graduate early at the age of seven, there would probably be higher requirements.

Ninjutsu?

Reiji’s heart stirred.

He had not had the chance to try ninjutsu after obtaining Indra’s talent.

There was naturally no need to test something like the Three Basic Techniques anymore.

But what about elemental ninjutsu?

For example, the Uchiha clan’s signature Fire Release technique, the Great Fireball Technique?

Uchiha clan shinobi could apply to learn the Great Fireball Technique before becoming Genin.

That was one of the advantages of being born into a major clan!

If one was born into an ordinary civilian family, even if they wanted to learn ninjutsu, they would not have access to the resources needed to study it.

However.

Although Reiji had obtained the scroll for the Great Fireball Technique, he had never actually managed to perform it successfully.

At most, he could spit out a tiny flame.

But now that he had the enhancement from the Indra bloodline talent, things should be different, right?

Reiji stood up and walked to the center of the courtyard. Recalling the flow of chakra and the hand seals for the Great Fireball Technique, he formed the seals slowly with anticipation.

Snake, Ram, Monkey, Boar, Horse, Tiger—

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

Boom!

Hot chakra surged into his throat and was expelled, forming a massive fireball!

Success!

The glow of the flames illuminated his face. Reiji was excited, but at the same time, he felt that something seemed slightly off.

"You did it!"

Uchiha Izumi’s small face was filled with surprise, and she was genuinely happy for Reiji.

Not only had he successfully performed the technique, but he also seemed to have cast it with ease.

Was the improvement after awakening the Sharingan really this tremendous?

Izumi could not help thinking this again.

Even though she normally did not care much about increases in strength, she could not help feeling a little envious at this moment.

She was just about to celebrate with Reiji when she saw him standing in the middle of the courtyard with his brows tightly furrowed, apparently deep in thought.

For some reason, Reiji felt that there had been something unnecessary about the way he had performed the jutsu just now.

Right.

Hand seals. It was the hand seals!

Suddenly, Reiji remembered something: the system of using hand seals for ninjutsu seemed to have been created by Indra!

It had been created so that people could master ninjutsu more easily.

In other words, hand seals were merely an auxiliary method for controlling chakra.

The scroll for the Great Fireball Technique had not only contained the hand seals but also the route through which chakra flowed through the various chakra points and chakra pathways!

"So, as long as my chakra control is good enough, I don’t need something as superfluous as hand seals at all?"

With that thought, Reiji immediately began experimenting. He once again circulated the chakra within his body, but this time he did not form any hand seals. Instead, he pressed his index and middle fingers together and held them upright in front of his mouth.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

With a booming sound, another fireball appeared, its size no different from the previous one!

Sure enough!

As the creator of the hand-seal system, Indra did not need hand seals to use ninjutsu. Since he had obtained Indra’s talent, naturally, he could do the same!

"...H-How did you do that?"

Izumi was completely dumbfounded.

She could hardly believe her eyes.

Reiji had just used the Great Fireball Technique without forming a single hand seal?

"Real shinobi don’t use hand seals when casting ninjutsu."

Reiji said with a completely serious expression.

From today onward, he could finally be considered a real shinobi.