That day, after the academy classes ended, Louis went as usual to his regular training place, a spot he had searched the entire village to find.
It was a secluded clearing, rarely visited by people, as if it had been forgotten by the world. It was the perfect place for a shinobi who did not want to be watched or disturbed while refining his strength.
Near the clearing, a small stream flowed quietly, clear like crystal. The bottom was fully visible through the transparent water, and Louis could even see small fish hiding among the soft pebbles, moving lightly whenever a shadow passed over the surface. It was a simple scene, yet it gave the place a strange sense of calm.
Tall trees with dense leaves surrounded the area, blocking the sunlight except for scattered rays that slipped through. On one side, a massive rocky cliff stretched upward, steep and silent, imposing in its presence. To an ordinary person, the cliff would be truly dangerous, but to a ninja… it was just another obstacle.
More than that.
Louis often used it to test his physical limits and to train his climbing and control.
Not far from the cliff, beside the thick tree trunks, several wooden stakes stood firmly planted in the ground. They were simple stakes, set up by Louis himself. They might look useless to an experienced shinobi, but for Louis, who was a newcomer to this world, they were more than enough.
In fact, because he chose to focus on taijutsu talent, their effectiveness far exceeded what ordinary shinobi training could achieve.
Louis walked toward the stakes and began his daily routine.
A continuous series of punches and kicks followed, precise and powerful movements with no hesitation. His body moved smoothly, and every strike carried more weight than the last. He could clearly feel it, his strength was increasing, his muscles responding, and his control improving with each repetition.
He never regretted his choice.
Choosing excellent taijutsu talent over other training paths was the right decision… a decisive one.
At this point, using taijutsu alone, Louis had already reached the level of an elite genin. As a descendant of the Uchiha clan, his fundamentals had been higher than those of ordinary genin from the very beginning.
After finishing his physical training, Louis slowly turned toward the cliff.
He did not rush recklessly.
He focused chakra into the soles of his feet, then stepped onto the rocky surface. His feet stuck firmly to the cliff, as if gravity had lost its meaning. He began to walk… then run vertically, without falling.
After countless repetitions over the past days, Louis finally gained the ability to climb the entire cliff, both up and down.
If he had chosen a training path focused on chakra control, he would have mastered this much faster. Even so, he did not complain. He kept repeating the process, again and again, until he succeeded.
When he finished his final climb, he finally collapsed onto the grass.
His body was soaked with sweat, and his chest rose and fell heavily with each breath. Taijutsu had always been the field closest to him. It was his strongest area, and the foundation of his combat abilities.
He remembered how Lee had managed to pressure Gaara during the Chunin Exams using only taijutsu. He also remembered the iconic scene of Guy beating Madara mercilessly.
Pure physical strength, when it reaches its peak, needs no decoration.
As for ninjutsu…
He possessed only one true offensive technique.
The Great Fireball Technique.
It was a basic technique that all young Uchiha learned in order to be recognized by the clan. Fortunately for Louis, he found that his self in this world had already learned it. All he needed to do was repeat it several times to become more familiar with it.
Aside from that, he was already trying to learn the Rasengan... a much more difficult technique.
He also remembered some low-level techniques from the original work that he planned to train later. At the same time, he recalled an upcoming incident… a foolish boy wearing orange who would be tricked into stealing the forbidden secret techniques scroll of Konoha.
If he could take advantage of that opportunity…
As for genjutsu, the matter was simpler than the rest.
All he needed to do…
was awaken the Sharingan.
And as quickly as possible.
The Chunin Exams would not wait for anyone.
And Louis intended to keep up with them… using his own strength.
*** ***
Days passed little by little, and Louis continued going to the academy as usual, attending classes and taking tests seriously. After lessons ended, he always made sure to save some time for personal training, as if his real day only began after leaving the classroom.
During this time, Louis did not forget something that had worried him since the beginning. In his own way, he searched for any signs of another player who had chosen to start in Konoha like him. He observed people, listened carefully, and analyzed their behavior, but the result was disappointing. There was no one suspicious. Either that player, if they even existed, was perfectly pretending to be a "salted fish," or everyone had simply followed that idiot called the "Raging Tiger" to another village.
In the end, Louis did not care much about it. Instead of wasting time on doubts, he focused on what truly mattered.
During those days, he got used to carrying a group of balloons with him. He would fill one with water, place it on the palm of his hand, and try to rotate the chakra inside it in a steady and precise way, aiming to create enough spinning force to burst the balloon from the inside.
Yes, Louis was trying to learn the Rasengan.
And as fast as possible.
Of course, others did not understand what he was doing. If it were not for his excellent results in academy tests, most people would have thought he was just a foolish child playing with balloons. Even Ino, who often watched him closely, asked him one day with clear curiosity,
"What is this? Is it a new kind of game? Let me try too."
Louis only answered with a quiet sigh.
He knew the truth well. With his average talent in ninjutsu, who knew how long it would take him to master this technique if he started late? Starting early was not a choice, it was a necessity. Every day of delay meant a bigger gap between him and those who would become real monsters in the future.
During these days, Louis also noticed a clear change in Sasuke.
Since their last conversation, Sasuke had become more isolated than ever. He was silent and closed off, as if an invisible wall separated him from everyone else. Louis even remembered a shocking incident that happened in front of several students, when Sasuke slapped Sakura without hesitation.
Sakura had tried to get closer to him after seeing how successful Ino was in getting close to Louis.
The scene shocked Louis and everyone who saw it. The way people looked at Sasuke after that was no longer the same. He was no longer just the cold genius, he became someone people watched with caution… and maybe fear.
Even Ino herself, who had always been Sakura's fierce rival, felt pity for her. Not only that, she went to Louis and tried to convince him to comfort Sakura by dragging her along into their "dates."
Of course, Louis did not mind.
Having another beautiful girl join his life was not a bad thing. On the contrary, he understood that his hard training routine required rest and enjoyment from time to time. He was not a training maniac, and he did not believe he could ever reach the future level of Naruto or Sasuke anyway.
That was not his goal.
All he needed was to reach a certain level of strength, take part in the main events, and then calmly wait for the results.
So he began going on triple dates once every few days.
The strange thing was that the two girls, who should have been rivals, became strangely compatible. Talking, laughing, and even cooperating, as if their rivalry had suddenly melted away.
Louis noticed it.
But he did not bother thinking about it too much.
In the end, as long as it did not interfere with his training… there was no problem at all.