A Normal Day

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"Let's try again!"

Once he had an idea, Uchiha Renzo acted on it immediately. Closing his eyes, he recalled the sensation of using the move before.

This time, he tried replacing his stamina with chakra, channeling it through the meridians in his arm. Then, he threw a punch at a tree in front of him—without even touching it.

"Impact Punch!!"

BOOM!!

A shockwave blasted from his fist, tearing through the air with a deep roar. The impact rushed forward, colliding with a thick tree half a meter away.

CRACK!!

A deep pit, more than ten centimeters wide, was punched into the tree trunk. The tree groaned, its branches shaking violently as several snapped and fell to the ground.

Renzo retracted his fist, staring at the damage with a sharp inhale.

"Damn, that's way too strong!"

It reminded him of Tsunade's legendary strength.

Actually, it was really similar!

"Alright, let's keep at it! I should at least be able to use Impact Punch with both hands and feet by today!"

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

For the next thirty minutes, Renzo kept training relentlessly, pushing his body and chakra reserves to the limit. The training area was a mess, full of craters and fallen branches.

When exhaustion finally caught up, he used the Wish ability he got from Eevee to restore his stamina and heal his overworked limbs.

After resting for another thirty minutes and recovering some chakra, he started experimenting with modifying Howl and Tail Whip into usable techniques.

"HOOOOWL!!"

"AWOOOO!!"

"ROOOOAR!!"

Renzo trained until the sky turned pitch black, only stopping when he was completely drained. He dragged his exhausted body back home, ate a late-night snack, took a bath, and passed out in bed.

The next morning, he woke up feeling fully refreshed.

After grabbing breakfast at a small shop in the Uchiha district, he made his way to the Hokage Tower.

"Damn, my recovery rate is insane now."

Just one night of sleep had restored him to peak condition. His old body would have needed at least another full day to bounce back.

No doubt, Eevee's natural healing abilities had boosted him significantly.

From a distance, he spotted a familiar figure and waved with a grin. "Yo! Morning, Kurenai!"

Standing there was none other than Yūhi Kurenai, his teammate.

She wasn't fully grown yet, but she was already a little beauty.

Renzo always considered himself to have average talent, but he made up for it with hard work. His broad knowledge helped him develop a personal training system, allowing him to outshine most of his peers.

After Kakashi graduated early, he had taken the number one spot in the class.

There was no way he could've beaten Kakashi before that. That guy was a real genius.

Because of his top ranking, it was natural that he and Kurenai were put on the same team.

More importantly, unlike most Uchihas, Renzo wasn't arrogant. In fact, he had a solid grasp of the Will of Fire.

"Will of Fire, huh?" Renzo thought to himself. "Pfft, I understand it better than Hiruzen himself! Oh, and my acting skills are top-notch too!"

"Good morning, Renzo-kun!" Kurenai greeted him cheerfully.

Unlike most Uchihas, Renzo was not only kind and approachable, but also insanely handsome. Even in the Uchiha clan—full of beautiful men and women—he stood out.

And since he was talented and strong, it was only natural that Kurenai liked him.

This is the Naruto world, after all. Boys and girls mature early.

Of course, it was just innocent admiration at this point.

"Hey! Are you two seriously ignoring me?!"

Just as Renzo and Kurenai were chatting, a certain someone nearby couldn't hold back anymore.

Sarutobi Asuma, who had been standing there the whole time, was fuming. His face turned red as he finally exploded in anger.

He had always liked Kurenai, but now she was laughing and chatting with Renzo like he didn't even exist.

"Huh?" Renzo finally turned to him, acting as if he had just noticed Asuma for the first time. "Oh, Asuma! You're here too? Morning!"

"MORNING, MY ASS!" Asuma yelled. "I've been standing here forever! How invisible do you think I am?!"

Then, as if something snapped inside him, he pointed at Renzo and growled, "You only care about Kurenai, don't you?! Well, listen up! Kurenai is mine! You better back off!"

He turned to Kurenai, shooting her the most desperate puppy-dog eyes ever.

She, however, only looked disgusted.

Renzo glanced behind Asuma, then suddenly grinned and gave him a big thumbs-up. "Man, I respect your bravery."

"Huh? What the hell are you—"

Before Asuma could finish, he felt it.

The air around him darkened. A shadow loomed over him.

And then, a deep, familiar voice rumbled from behind him. "Brat… Who did you just say was 'yours'? Hm?"

Killing intent.

Cold sweat drenched Asuma's back.

"Ahaha… ha…" Slowly, he turned his head and saw a face that nearly made him cry.

It was Yūhi Shinku—Kurenai's father and their squad leader. A veteran Elite Jōnin.

Asuma forced a shaky smile. "G-Good morning, sensei! You must've misheard me! I didn't say anything! Really! I swear!"

Inside, he was panicking.

"Crap! I just got caught flirting with his precious daughter! WHAT DO I DO?! HELP! SOMEBODY!"

A giant metaphorical "DANGER" sign flashed above his head.

"Hmph! If I hear you say that again, I'll break your legs!" Shinku growled.

Like any overprotective father, he was pissed.

Even if Asuma was the Hokage's son, that didn't mean shit.

"Sensei, what's our mission today?" Renzo asked, smoothly changing the subject.

A subtle way of saving Asuma's life.

Of course, Asuma wasn't grateful at all.

To him, Renzo was just a love rival.

A side note—yes, Kurenai's father was their squad leader.

Shinku was an experienced Elite Jōnin, which showed how much Hiruzen valued this team.

Though, let's be real, it was probably mainly because Asuma was on it.

Renzo and Kurenai being on the team was just a bonus.

After all, Renzo wasn't just a talented Uchiha, he also didn't act like a typical Uchiha. That made him the perfect recruit for Hiruzen's long-term strategy.

Hiruzen and Danzo had always followed this tactic—recruit Uchiha prodigies to weaken the clan's unity.

They did it with Shisui.

They did it with Renzo.

And later, they'd try the same thing with Itachi.

Renzo understood their little games perfectly.

But for now? It wasn't time to deal with that.

His priority was getting stronger.

Once he reached the point where no one could control him—then he'd settle all accounts.

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