After being put through various basic movements by Ethan for half a day, Sasuke finally began to adapt to fighting in this state.

With the weights on, even if he wanted to use flashy techniques, he couldn’t. He could only choose the most energy-efficient, accurate, and effective methods to attack or defend.

Fortunately, aside from using the Body Flicker Technique at the start to teach him certain concepts, Ethan didn’t rely on speed to overwhelm him later on. Still, even with Ethan deliberately holding back, Sasuke was unilaterally beaten.

Even though he spent most of the day getting beaten, Sasuke had already understood the true purpose of this sparring.

"You’re trying to make me develop this fighting habit?"

"Something like that."

"If this is the correct way to fight, why doesn’t everyone train like this?"

"Who said they don’t?" Ethan shook his head helplessly. This had always been one of Sasuke’s flaws—he always thought what he knew was everything. Then again, it wasn’t unusual for someone his age to think that way. "The Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, is the best example."

When the Fourth Hokage was mentioned, the strongest impression was always his use of the Flying Thunder God Technique. It seemed like he used that technique over and over again.

Did he not have any other skills? Of course he did. Minato had excellent talent in ninjutsu and had learned many techniques, especially the various sealing jutsu passed down from his wife.

So Minato definitely had many ways to fight, but he still prioritized the Flying Thunder God Technique.

"Because it’s the most efficient."

As for why other ninja didn’t develop along this line?

Because they couldn’t. If you could kill your enemy with one strike, why make things complicated?

On the other hand, not knowing how to conserve energy correctly would result in situations like Kakashi’s, where every battle turned into an energy drain despite his intentions to fight efficiently.

Kakashi once again became a negative example in Ethan’s words, leaving Sasuke a little speechless. He couldn’t help but wonder, does Ethan really look down on Kakashi that much?

But thinking it over, Sasuke realized Ethan didn’t belittle Kakashi. His tone and expression didn’t show any disrespect. He was just criticizing Kakashi’s bad combat habits.

Speaking of combat habits, Sasuke suddenly remembered something.

"What technique were you originally going to use when we sparred back then?"

"What?"

"The move you were going to use before switching to that was the one you used before."

"You still remember that?"

Of course he remembered. If not for that spar, Sasuke might still think he was impressive. A big reason he didn’t defect right after being provoked, like in the original timeline, was because of that match. So he remembered every detail of the confrontation clearly.

Ethan’s sudden change of technique had naturally caught his attention. He didn’t care much about Mumyo: Sandanzuki, but he was curious about the move Ethan initially intended to use.

"That move... actually, it’s not very useful for you."

"Oh?"

Mumyo: Sandanzuki is a high-speed frontal thrust. Sasuke had already learned Chidori, which served a similar purpose as a frontal piercing technique, so there was no need for him to learn another.

"No, I want to learn it."

"Oh?"

"Like you said, if you can finish the enemy in one strike, there’s no need to be flashy."

Chidori was a powerful ninjutsu full of destructive force.

But in exchange, it had a complicated activation process. Sasuke currently needed time for hand signs and chakra control, along with enough space to build up speed.

Not only that, Chidori consumed a lot of chakra. Right now, Sasuke could only use it twice before exhausting his reserves. If he forced a third use, not only would it fail, but it might also trigger the curse mark he had been working so hard to suppress.

With Ethan’s guidance, Sasuke now understood a principle: to kill an enemy, one strike is enough. In that case, learning a sword technique seemed like a good idea.

"If you want to learn, that’s fine. But this move requires extremely high speed. With your current level... you’re not there yet."

"I will definitely master it."

Looking at Sasuke’s determined expression, Ethan knew he was serious about learning swordsmanship. Ethan wasn’t the stingy type, but there was a slight problem—he didn’t actually know the real Mumyo: Sandanzuki.

He thought about it briefly and decided it didn’t matter. He’d just teach whatever version he could remember.

He vaguely recalled the core idea behind the move: using extreme speed to instantly close in on the enemy, followed by three rapid thrusts aimed at vital points. With an exceptional level of hand speed, the three strikes would appear to land simultaneously.

That was the general technique. As for the Noble Phantasm version of Mumyo: Sandanzuki, which caused conceptual collapse and made the strike unavoidable, that part could be ignored. Those were rules beyond what Sasuke needed.

Besides Mumyo: Sandanzuki, Ethan also considered teaching him Tsubame Gaeshi. If Sasuke could master the first move, in theory, he should also be able to perform Tsubame Gaeshi.

Mumyo: Sandanzuki was three rapid thrusts. Tsubame Gaeshi was three slashes at high speed. Because of the incredible speed, the slashes occurred simultaneously, sealing off all escape routes and making the attack unavoidable.

"Great, I will definitely learn both techniques."

"Go for it."

Sasuke was full of confidence, but when he actually started practicing, he realized it wasn’t so simple. His daily training now included basic sword practice, and he had to wear the weights while doing it.

Time flew by. For Ethan, the days were relaxing. In the blink of an eye, several days had passed.

For Sasuke, every day felt like a year. It was pure suffering.

Even worse, Ethan kept increasing the intensity of his training, leaving him utterly exhausted. He never managed to complete the two-hour basic training in the morning without collapsing.

He was surprised to find that even though he trained to the point of exhaustion each day, he recovered faster than expected. It seemed he had underestimated his own recovery ability.

Sasuke thought he hadn’t worked hard enough in the past, but the truth was, the patch of grass he trained on was subtly influenced by Ethan’s Wood Release. It allowed his body to recover and protected him from breaking down under the harsh training.

Ethan’s actions weren’t obvious. He didn’t let Sasuke bounce back immediately after resting—that would’ve been too much and wouldn’t help his growth.

He simply made sure Sasuke didn’t break down and could regain some strength over time.

As Sasuke gradually adapted to the training, Ethan slowly reduced the healing effect in the area. If Sasuke noticed, let him wonder.

Just as Sasuke was getting used to the weights and was able to move normally and even counterattack during sparring with a short sword, something big happened in Konoha.

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, would retire, and Tsunade, one of the Sannin, would succeed him as the Fifth Hokage of Konoha.

Tsunade had just returned to the village, accompanied by Jiraiya, Naruto, and her disciple, Shizune. As soon as they returned, they went to visit the Third Hokage, and then rushed to treat Kakashi.

Thanks to Ethan’s intervention, Lee was not seriously injured by Gaara and didn’t need Tsunade’s surgery.

However, Ethan was still technically a patient, so Tsunade came to check on him.

Because of this, Sasuke met Tsunade, the person who would soon become Hokage and was one of the Sannin alongside Orochimaru, even before many Jonin had the chance.

"Why is she a young woman?"

There were no outsiders present, only Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Naruto. When Naruto heard Ethan was injured and staying at Sasuke’s place, he insisted on coming along. Jiraiya tried to send him away but failed.

Before they arrived, the Third Hokage had already informed Jiraiya that Ethan’s injuries were faked. Tsunade and Jiraiya only needed to put on a show so Ethan had a reason to keep up the act.

At the same time, Hiruzen also shared the information he got from Itachi. Only then did the two learn that Uchiha Itachi was actually a spy for Konoha.

...

So when Tsunade saw Ethan, looking at the pale young man who seemed on the verge of death, all she could do was sigh, thinking, "Great acting." She didn’t perform any treatment, just stood there staring.

"Huh? Grandma Tsunade, why aren’t you treating him yet?"

Only Naruto didn’t know what was going on. He was confused as to why Tsunade hadn’t done anything since arriving. Could Ethan’s injuries be so bad even Tsunade didn’t know how to treat them?

Just as he was about to say more, Tsunade pushed him aside with a slap. The woman about to become Hokage gave off a powerful presence as she stared at Ethan.

"I heard you can use Wood Release?"

"..."

Ethan didn’t expect that to be her first question, but thinking about it, it wasn’t surprising. She was a descendant of the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, and had a special connection to Wood Release.

Besides, Tsunade had a fiery temper. Without waiting for Ethan’s response, she immediately challenged him.

"Kid, follow me outside and fight me!"

"..."

(To be continued.)