Kaiji, ignoring the growing tension in the village and the events unfolding, focused on his training.
In the morning, as usual, he went to the less-frequented training field on the outskirts of Sunagakure.
By now, entering the state of 'First Activation' had become much easier.
With a clap of his hand, the air rippled around him, muscles tense, veins bulged and a faint white aura surrounded him as he entered the state.
For the next few days, from the day Reeku gone missing, he decided to learn the Earth Wall Jutsu before moving on to trying out 'Second Activation'.
He read the scroll of the Earth Wall Jutsu, which seemed much easier to learn.
While most Jutsu are usually easy to grasp, their actual use depends on a ninja's chakra reserves, control, and overall capabilities.
Earth Wall Jutsu is a defensive B-rank Ninjutsu with a short range, up to five meters.
The hand signs for this Jutsu were Tiger → Hare → Boar → Dog.
The scroll mentioned two ways to perform and use this Jutsu.
One method involved the user converting chakra in their body into an earthen material that they spit from their mouth.
The more skilled the user, the greater the volume of earth that could be created.
But this method was more complex and difficult to learn and use.
The second method of performing this technique was to instead manipulate pre-existing earth directly.
By placing their hands on the ground, users could raise the ground as a barrier in front of them.
This was much simpler than the first method, and Kaiji was obviously practicing it with the second approach.
With the temporary surge of chakra within him, Kaiji made the hand signs and slammed his hand on the ground.
A three-meter-long brown wall rose just a meter away from Kaiji, where he had slammed his hand.
It was five inches thick.
"Ha... ha... ha..." After standing for a few seconds, it crumbled down, while Kaiji huffed lightly, his 'Activation' state fading.
He stated, still breathing heavily, "Just needs a little more practice, and I can move to 'Second Activation' of Seven Heavens Breathing Technique."
After a few minutes of rest, he continued his morning training, practicing Earth Wall, while in state of 'First Activation' for more chakra.
...
Later, after training, he washed up, had a light breakfast, and went directly to Ryota.
He had been lucky, as he hadn't gotten any missions for the last few days, which gave him much more free time to improve his ninja skills.
Knock..
Knock..
Kaiji knocked on the door, softly.
After receiving permission, he entered the room, and with a respectful bow, he said, "Good morning, Ryota-san."
"Morning," Ryota replied, and asked, "Why are you here, Kaiji?"
Kaiji said, "I want to know if I have any missions today."
Ryota replied, shaking his head lightly, "No, not today. Actually, due to the current situation, missions have become less frequent for a few days."
Kaiji nodded and asked, "So that's the reason. But I didn't get any mission for the last week, actually."
Ryota looked up at Kaiji, raising his brow, and asked, "Are you that eager to do missions?"
Kaiji chuckled lightly and said, "Nope, not at all. It's actually better if I have more free time."
Ryota nodded with a dry laugh, then waved his hand and said, "Alright, if you have nothing else to ask, then go. I'm a little busy."
Kaiji was about to leave but paused and asked, "But why did the village's tense situation affect missions exactly?"
Ryota was a little surprised and asked, "What do you mean?"
Kaiji shrugged and replied, "I mean, missions mostly come from outside the village, and I know, how strong a Jōnin is. But it's only one Jōnin gone missing, nothing major, I suppose."
Ryota closed his eyes for a moment and said, "It's just known to most of the village ninja's that a Jōnin has suddenly gone missing. However..."
He paused before continuing, "You Genin's might not know, that actually many more ninja have gone missing, all with either Special Jōnin or Jōnin rank, situation is more direct than you can assume."
Kaiji's eyes widened upon hearing this information.
He was surprised, but not for too long.
He understood that only Sasori might be behind this.
He thought, chuckle internally, 'Many ninja gone missing, huh? Just wait a few more days; even the Kazekage will go missing.'
But he was still little stunned at considering, that Sasori has killed quite a few ninja's within just 5 days.
Kaiji, with a bow, left the room and went to his room in the Genin Corps facilities.
...
Back at his place, he took out the scroll for the Gravity Seal.
This sealing technique was actually very simple, and he was able to learn it.
Now the only thing left was to apply it on his wrists and ankles for use.
This could help him in his strength training.
Being able to activate and adjust weight just by focusing a little chakra was much more convenient than wearing body-weights.
The Gravity Seal Kaiji have was a lower, or watered-down version of a powerful Gravity Sealing Technique.
Takeshi had told him that there was an A-rank level Gravity Seal technique that could even be used at a higher volume on objects and enemies directly at a greater scale, working similarly to Ōnoki's "Earth Release: Added/Lightened Weight Rock Technique!"
However, unlike Ōnoki's Jutsu, the Gravity Seal could only increase density.
So, it couldn't be used to stop Madara's meteor the same way Ōnoki tried.
As it would rather have the opposite effect if used on a falling meteor, quickening its fall instead of stopping it.
But what Kaiji had was a weaker version, with less volume, though still has upto 2,500 pounds.
Though he could improve it to the A-rank version by practicing...
But for now, he was satisfied with it helping his strength training, at lower volume.
Kaiji got ready, going through the whole Gravity Seal scroll once more, and started applying the sealing design on his wrist, but a little above the wrist itself, on his forearm.
The reason was simple; he wanted to create a Storage Seal directly on his wrist, similar to Sasuke's, who used that to summon his Kusanagi sword.
Though that was for the future.
For now, he focused his chakra on his right hand's fingers.
Chakra Scalpel, a green glow appeared over his fingers.
He had tested it and found that Chakra Scalpel could actually be used for drawing seals on skin, either his own or someone else's, though he hadn't tried it on someone else.
Though he can't be sure if it can be used on open air or other surfaces.
He infused a consistent stream of chakra and slowly, carefully applied it to his left forearm.
He didn't use the Chakra Scalpel Jutsu to cut his skin, but only to infuse the Fūinjutsu sealing symbol chakra into his skin's cells.
Applying the core symbol on his forearm, a dark black solid line started to form, a rectangular pattern drawn, like a tattoo, on his forearm.
"Phew..." Kaiji sighed in relief, a small smile touched his lips, as everything went well without any sign of mistake in his use.
While he had practiced during the last three days, applying a simple, temporary symbol on his skin, but that was not a full sequence sealing formula.
Although the Gravity Seal as a whole was also a temporary seal, as it could be removed if Kaiji wished, and it could be activated and deactivated at will.
He could also adjust the maximum current weight at any time without worry.
He clenched his fist, scanning the black rectangular sealing formula over his left forearm.
"Currently, I am using 225 pounds of body weight," Kaiji considered and adjusted the weight on his seal to 250 pounds for now.
His Gravity Seal could go up to 1,000 pounds of total weight, just a maximum number which he might not reach for a year or three.
He concentrated his chakra on the seal, and in the blink of an eye, his left arm now carried 250 pounds of extra weight through the Gravity Seal.
"Hm, hm, that would work for now," Kaiji nodded and deactivated the seal, reducing the weight back to base.
Then he started drawing the same on his right forearm with his left hand, using Chakra Scalpel Jutsu once more.
"All done," Kaiji announced, after few minutes, finally having a Gravity Seal on each forearm and ankle.
Then he put his hand under his chin, thinking about which Fūinjutsu he should try learning now.
"Silencing Seal, useful but not much needed for now. That leaves Storage Seal and Explosion Tag Seal." He mused, considering which to learn first.
"Explosive Tag Seal would be much more useful, at least considering current circumstances," Kaiji decided after a few minutes of thinking.
He stated, "Moreover, aside from my Chakra Blade and a few important scrolls, other items are basic stuff every ninja should have; kunai, shuriken, military pills, and such, which can be carried in pouches easily."
Then he tucked the Gravity Seal scroll back into his main storage scroll and picked out the Explosion Tag Seal scroll.
"Maybe later, I should practice Mystic Palm Jutsu for the remaining day," Kaiji paused and then decided, putting the scroll back inside the storage scroll once again.
Then he looked at the corner of the room, where his pet, Desert Cottontail was, in it's hutch.
The small desert cottontail he had picked up a few weeks ago had now grown much, fed by Kaiji.
For the rest of the day, he practiced Mystic Palm Jutsu, on his desert cottontail.
While also frequently moving outside to have meals and chat with Hiroshi and Ren.
•••