Chapter 57: Passed the Review
Although the Rasengan is classified as an A-rank jutsu in terms of difficulty, once the learning method is mastered, even an ordinary chunin can learn it.
In truth, the most difficult part of the Rasengan is its chakra requirements.
Most ninjutsu scale in power based on the amount of chakra used, but the Rasengan is different. The more powerful it is, the more chakra it consumes, and the longer it is maintained, the more chakra it continues to drain.
Because of this, compared to regular ninjutsu, the Rasengan introduces more uncertainty in chakra consumption, which can lead a ninja to misjudge how much chakra they have left during battle.
Naruto Uzumaki, with half of his bloodline coming from the Uzumaki clan and the Nine-Tails sealed within him, naturally never had to worry about chakra. As for Minato Namikaze, his use of the Flying Thunder God Technique meant he didn't need to maintain the Rasengan for long—he could just mark the enemy with a teleportation seal and smash the Rasengan right into their face.
As a result, aside from Naruto and Minato, no other ninja ever truly mastered the Rasengan in a flashy or innovative way.
After five days of intense training, Boruto finally managed to unleash a Rasengan in front of Sasuke.
"This... is your Rasengan? It's so small, it hardly qualifies as one."
Boruto was well aware of the issue. He had always been lax in chakra refinement, didn't have a Tailed Beast inside him, and the diluted Uzumaki bloodline in his body barely helped. That's why his Rasengan was so small.
"Don't be fooled by the size of my Rasengan—it's packed with power! Watch closely, Uncle Sasuke. I'm throwing it now!"
Boruto confidently tossed the tiny Rasengan. It flew a short distance—then disappeared.
Did the wind blow it away...? Sasuke wondered, already thinking about how to comfort Boruto afterward.
"Uncle Sasuke, look!"
At Boruto's prompt, Sasuke turned toward the direction where Boruto had thrown the Rasengan. With the enhanced vision of the Sharingan, he spotted a spiral mark on a distant tree trunk.
It was clearly the mark left by a Rasengan impact.
While Rasengan can be affected by external factors and sometimes unleash unexpected power, an invisible Rasengan? That was a first for Sasuke.
Come to think of it, the only known external factor capable of invisibility was Gekko Hayate's the Transparent Escape Technique... but Sasuke shook his head. No, Gekko Hayate was long dead. It couldn't be him.
Whatever. This was Naruto's headache now. Steeling himself, Sasuke looked at the confident Boruto and said, "Alright, I'll take you as my student."
"Yes!"
Back when Boruto first learned the Rasengan, he had been frustrated by how small it was and how easily it was blown away. But thanks to the mouse, Shuyu, he discovered that his Rasengan could turn invisible.
"Uncle Sasuke, what are we learning next?" Boruto, who dreamed of becoming a cool and cold-hearted ninja like Sasuke, asked eagerly.
"Let's focus on the upcoming chunin exams first."
Normally, a ninja's path goes like this: start as a genin—without much chakra, it's not wise to learn many new jutsu, so the focus is on laying a solid foundation.
As their chakra refinement improves and their foundation is built, they become chunin and can begin systematically learning ninjutsu.
By continuously learning and fighting, they build up battle experience. Once they reach a certain level of experience, they can be promoted to jonin.
Beyond that, unless there are special circumstances, very few ever reach the kage level.
Sasuke, of course, understood that what Boruto needed most right now was to work on his fundamentals. "Start with this," he said.
With that, Sasuke threw two shuriken. The second shuriken struck the first mid-air, altering its trajectory and causing it to hit a target it normally wouldn't have.
This was none other than the Uchiha clan's signature throwing technique—Uchiha Shurikenjutsu.
For ordinary people, it would take considerable effort to master, but for Uchiha, the presence of the Sharingan made it easier to learn compared to others.
"Damn it! Why can't I get the shuriken to curve? Can't you demonstrate a few more times, Uncle Sasuke?" Boruto groaned after failing another attempt.
But Sasuke only demonstrated once before leaving Boruto to practice on his own.
In truth, Sasuke's teaching style was not much better than Naruto's—this had always been the Uchiha way.
After all, nearly everyone in the Uchiha clan was a genius, with the lone exceptions being Shunhi and Obito—the latter being a late bloomer, and the former... well, had lived an utterly average life.
Whenever Sasuke thought of Shunhi—currently the oldest living Uchiha—he couldn't help but sigh. If the clan hadn't been reduced to fewer members than the number of Tailed Beasts, the Uchiha would have completely ignored someone like Shunhi.
He was an embarrassment to the proud Uchiha name.
In fact, Sasuke wasn't aware that his grandfather—Fugaku Uchiha's father—had once said of Shunhi: "If Lord Madara were still alive, he'd have killed this disgrace to our clan long before I died of frustration."
"You came here just for this?"
As dusk approached, Sasuke appeared at Konohamaru's home. This place had once been the Sarutobi clan compound, but now only Konohamaru lived here. The others had been scattered when Danzō forcibly took the Hokage seat, and their whereabouts were unknown.
"Yes. Since I've accepted your student as my apprentice, I thought I should at least let you know," Sasuke said.
"Thanks for going out of your way to tell me."
"Actually, Boruto really admires you. His attitude toward you is the complete opposite of how he treats the Seventh. I suspect it's because he feels like the Seventh doesn't acknowledge him, always treating him like a child—so he's developed a rebellious streak."
"This might be the first time Boruto's shown this much drive. So, I'll leave him in your care."
Konohamaru didn't know Sasuke all that well—his only impression of him came from what Naruto had told him: things like arrogant, conceited, and aloof. In short, nothing flattering. But one thing was certain—Sasuke was powerful. Every time Naruto ended a conversation about Sasuke, he'd always say, "Sasuke is the one man I recognize as my lifelong rival."
As much as he hated to admit it, Konohamaru understood that Sasuke was more suited to teach Boruto than he was.
"You don't need to say it. I was going to do that anyway. Besides, I'm not much better than Naruto when it comes to teaching kids. I'll take care of Boruto. And as for Sarada, I'll be counting on you. Goodbye." With that, Sasuke vanished in an instant.
Even the ever-dramatic Sasuke wasn't above asking for help when it came to his daughter.
After all, once the chunin exams were over, Sasuke would be taking Team Taka to investigate the matter of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Umbrella Corporation. During that time, Sarada would inevitably need Konohamaru's support.
Besides, Konohamaru was technically Sarada's team leader.
(Support me and read ahead on Patreøn: patreøn.com/craxxtranslations.
3 new chapters are released daily—thank you for your support!
Powerstone Event: For every 50 powerstones, 1 chapter will be unlocked.)