Withdrawing his gaze and closing the status panel, Shane took out a soldier pill and popped it into his mouth.
Crunch~
He bit down lightly.
Instantly, a wave of bitterness exploded across his tongue, making the corner of his eyes twitch involuntarily.
"No wonder nobody likes eating this stuff... the taste—ugh."
Shaking his head, Shane forced himself to endure the unpleasant flavor and swallowed the crushed bits.
Soon, a warm current rose from his stomach and quickly spread throughout his body.
Not wasting any time, Shane sat cross-legged, focused his mind, and began refining chakra.
Two hours later, his chakra was fully restored. He ended the Chakra Refining Technique and switched to practicing the Transformation Technique and Substitution Technique.
The Transformation Technique was simple: as long as he methodically channeled chakra and altered his appearance, he'd gain proficiency.
The Substitution Technique, however, wasn't so straightforward. It required advance preparation of props—like wooden boards for substitution.
In truth, Substitution Technique wasn't a spatial jutsu; it was more of a visual trick.
That is, at the moment of an attack, the user would quickly switch their body with a prepared substitute object, causing the opponent to misjudge the situation.
This gave the user a chance to launch a counterattack or escape.
As such, this technique demanded precise timing. If used well, it was a lifesaving skill. If used poorly, it could create even more openings.
However, no matter how well mastered, Substitution Technique had its limits.
As long as it involved a physical switch, there would inevitably be some flaw or delay.
These tiny flaws might not matter in genin or chunin-level fights, but for jonin, even a split-second was enough to be fatal.
That's why, in jonin battles, Substitution Technique was rarely used as a decoy.
But for Shane, that level was still far away.
At his current stage, Substitution Technique was a crucial life-saving move.
So, even though it was tedious to practice, he had no complaints.
About ten minutes later, his chakra was depleted again. Shane swallowed another soldier pill and resumed refining chakra.
Two hours passed, his chakra was mostly restored, and he once again practiced the Transformation and Substitution techniques.
And so, nearing midnight, Shane finally completed his last training session of the day.
Compared to usual, he had trained two extra hours on Chakra Refining today, increasing his chakra cap by two points and gaining three more proficiency points.
Additionally, the extra 100 chakra he recovered allowed him to earn over a dozen more proficiency points in both Transformation and Substitution Techniques.
Don't underestimate this kind of improvement. As the saying goes: "small progress adds up." If he improved this much in one day—what about a month? A year?
Well… a year might be too far off.
But a month was worth looking forward to.
If refining chakra and practicing jutsu didn't drain so much mental energy—and if too many soldier pills didn't lead to indigestion—Shane might've pulled an all-nighter.
Yaaaawn~
Stretching and yawning, he quickly washed up before returning to his bedroom.
Soon, the familiar sound of soft snoring echoed through the room.
Time ticked by.
At some point, a shadow appeared atop the utility pole outside the window. A pair of scarlet, three-tomoe Sharingan eyes stared at Shane, observing silently.
Moments later, the figure vanished.
---------------------------
Deep within the Uchiha compound — Elder's residence
Knock knock knock~
A soft knock echoed against the wooden door.
"Come in."
An old voice responded from inside.
Uchiha Jiren pushed the door open, bowed toward the elder behind the desk, and said, "Elder."
"Oh, it's you, Jiren."
The old man looked up and said calmly, "What is it?"
"It's about the observation results on Shane."
Jiren replied respectfully.
Upon hearing this, a glimmer of light flashed through the elder's eyes. He then asked slowly, "So? Has he awakened the Sharingan?"
"No."
Jiren shook his head. "After days of observation, there's been no explosive chakra growth or emotional instability. It's safe to conclude—he lacks the potential to awaken the Sharingan."
"I see…"
Though the elder had already anticipated this, he still couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed.
Normally, if a clansman had the potential to awaken the Sharingan, a traumatic stimulus—like losing one's parents—would trigger it almost instantly.
Even if it didn't awaken immediately, their body and spirit would show signs of change. With a bit of further stimulation, awakening would follow soon after.
But Shane had shown no change after learning about his parents' deaths—no awakening, no signs of emotional or spiritual fluctuations.
That alone was enough to conclude that he lacked the potential for the Sharingan.
"Elder, shall we continue observing?"
Seeing the elder remain silent, Jiren asked.
"No need."
The old man waved his hand. "You may go."
"Yes, Elder."
With that, Jiren turned and exited the room.
Shane had no idea—today had been his final chance to be acknowledged by the clan.
Had he awakened the Sharingan under the emotional shock of receiving the death pension, his path forward would've been drastically different.
Perhaps not smooth sailing, but it would've earned him significant support—even a bodyguard at the genin level wasn't out of the question.
Yes, that's the Uchiha clan for you. Hard to get along with outsiders, but internally, they supported their own.
Well…
Except for that infamous traitor.
But because Shane hadn't awakened his Sharingan, he was fated not to enjoy the privileges of a clan genius.
Still, even if Shane knew all this, he wouldn't care.
His strength never came from the Uchiha name.
With the proficiency panel in hand, he was confident that he could grow powerful in time.
----------------------------
Five days later.
Just before school ended—
Clap clap clap!
Sugimoku Itō clapped his hands and called out loudly, "Everyone, gather around!"
"Sensei, what is it? School's about to end!"
"Yeah, what's going on?"
…
About thirty students noisily crowded around Sugimoku, chatting all at once.
Shane stood quietly on the outer edge. From the seriousness on Sugimoku Itō's face, he sensed that something was off.
Sure enough, Sugimoku's next words confirmed his hunch.
"Silence!"
Once the group quieted down, Sugimoku said, "The village has decided to change your annual assessment, scheduled in half a month, into the graduation exam."
"Those who pass will officially be recognized as genin of the Hidden Leaf Village and become real ninjas."
Though he'd expected it, hearing the news still filled Shane with a sense of urgency.
But unlike him, many of his classmates were visibly excited.
"Sensei, are you serious?"
"Really? Can we become ninjas early?"
…
Listening to these naive voices, Shane shook his head and muttered internally:
"These kids have been too sheltered. They have no idea how dangerous being a ninja really is—especially now."
If possible, Shane would've loved to stay in school forever.
But that wasn't an option.
Now, he could only hope they wouldn't be sent to the battlefield right after graduation...
(End of Chapter)