Chapter 43: Sword Fighting Training
After completing his analysis, he concluded:
"In terms of mid-range combat capabilities, I should be superior to most genin who participated in the Chunin Exams in the original series. I estimate that only Gaara could easily defeat me at this level, and perhaps Temari and Shino might be able to compete effectively."
"My speed is definitely faster than Rock Lee when he's wearing his training weights. My Body Flicker Technique might be comparable to his natural speed when unweighted. However, Body Flicker doesn't have the same flexibility, precise maneuverability, or stamina endurance that Lee's pure taijutsu speed possesses."
"As for my ninjutsu arsenal, Great Breakthrough and Air Bullets are both progressing excellently. Earth Release techniques are functioning exactly as I envisioned. I'm genuinely surprised by the high tactical utility provided by Projectile Control. Although I can currently only control a maximum of 8 shuriken simultaneously, it's still extremely useful."
Then he contemplated areas requiring improvement:
"To increase my offensive power significantly, I must learn Fire Release techniques. After all, I don't currently have access to higher-ranked jutsu."
"But if I could demonstrate proficiency in three elemental natures right now, it would attract far too much attention. I should wait until after my genin squad is formed."
Kaito thought strategically—if one of his future teammates could use Fire Release, he could learn from observing them.
Secondly, he felt he should also begin seriously training the Rasengan.
And he definitely needed to stockpile numerous explosive tags!
He also had an innovative idea: could he attach an explosive tag to a kunai enhanced with Wind Release chakra flow? This way, he could pierce through any defensive barriers the enemy erected and detonate the tag when they attempted to evade.
As for optimizing Body Flicker distance control, that should naturally improve through continued sparring practice.
Regarding underground combat weaknesses, Kaito decided he would address that later, as he currently couldn't acquire techniques or tools that would help with subterranean fighting.
Kaito also needed to improve his weapon storage methods. He thought he should experiment with engraving sealing formulas directly on his weapon pouch. Perhaps he could advance further and create a bracelet embedded with multiple storage seals so he could instantly access whatever equipment he needed.
However, he still needed to thoroughly test close-quarters combat effectiveness.
He finally stopped analyzing and created another Shadow Clone.
This time, the sparring would simulate close-range combat. So the established rules were: Great Breakthrough and standard Breakthrough techniques were prohibited, remaining underground for more than a few seconds was not allowed, and Body Flicker was limited to distances within 10 meters maximum.
Kaito and his Shadow Clone stood twenty meters apart, and Kaito tossed a small stone into the air.
The instant the stone struck the ground, Kaito charged directly toward his Shadow Clone.
However, his Shadow Clone quickly prepared and launched an Air Bullet.
Kaito rapidly dodged the compressed wind sphere and continued closing the distance.
As soon as the Shadow Clone saw Kaito evade, it detonated the Air Bullet remotely.
However, as Kaito continued charging forward, he didn't suffer any significant damage—only feeling intense wind pressure from behind.
Then he swung his wooden sword at the Shadow Clone's neck in a lethal arc.
Before the Shadow Clone could grab the blade, it channeled chakra into its fist, blocking with the reinforced back of its hand. Then it used Body Flicker to retreat backward and drew both its wooden swords.
Kaito didn't want to give his Shadow Clone any recovery time, so he lunged at the clone with his sword at maximum speed.
Since the Shadow Clone was still airborne from its retreat, it twisted its palm to face left and released a wind burst that propelled it rightward.
Kaito followed immediately, throwing three wooden shuriken at the Shadow Clone, then used Wind Muffling Technique to silently retrieve his fallen sword while simultaneously closing distance.
The Shadow Clone quickly employed Gale Palm to deflect the incoming shuriken, then engaged Kaito in direct sword combat.
Over these past several months, Kaito had trained extensively in kenjutsu fundamentals.
He had developed a very aggressive and overwhelming fighting style. However, he had also been properly trained to use swords defensively when necessary.
Kaito and his Shadow Clone clashed blades multiple times. Kaito favored aggressive offense, while his Shadow Clone leaned toward defense, frequently using Wind Pushing Technique or Body Flicker to evade strikes.
In the following thirty seconds, the Shadow Clone's blade grazed Kaito's left forearm and right cheek.
However, Kaito quickly seized a critical opening, combined Wind Pushing Technique with Body Flicker for enhanced speed, and successfully struck the Shadow Clone squarely, dispersing it instantly.
Kaito sighed heavily:
"The Shadow Clone was dispersed after only one minute of fighting! And although I successfully dodged two of the clone's attacks, if it had used a real blade, those grazes would have cut my skin. If the sword had been enhanced with Wind Release chakra flow, it might have left deep lacerations, possibly even cutting to the bone. Even worse, if the blade had been poisoned, I might have been completely incapacitated."
So Kaito clearly still had tremendous room for improvement.
In fact, his Shadow Clone had been forced to evade every single attack, because the clone would disperse from any solid hit.
This was actually beneficial—Kaito felt he should adopt the same philosophy. He needed to learn how to avoid being struck while maintaining relentless offensive pressure.
Another problem was that his Shadow Clone had been forced to block sword strikes with chakra-reinforced fists. Although chakra was channeled for protection, if facing a real blade, it would still cause significant injury.
So he should definitely purchase combat gloves with metal plates on the knuckles and back of hand. This would provide another layer of defense.
Kaito thought his taijutsu skills also required upgrading. Although the Academy's taijutsu curriculum was solid, it wasn't sufficient for his needs.
Currently, although he spent considerably less time training pure taijutsu, his kenjutsu had completely overshadowed his hand-to-hand combat abilities.
Kaito also wanted to discover which taijutsu style would suit his fighting approach better.
If he didn't find anything suitable in the next year or two, he felt he could approach Might Guy and request taijutsu instruction.
Although many people underestimated Guy's intelligence, asking him for training guidance should be entirely feasible.
Speaking of Might Guy, Kaito was genuinely surprised he had never encountered him even once! Although he only trained in limited areas of the village, it was still quite remarkable that he hadn't run into Guy over these four-plus years.
Then again, Kaito hadn't encountered many other canonical characters either.
Were they all gathered elsewhere in the village, or was Konoha so desperately short-staffed that everyone was constantly on missions?
Regardless, this sparring session proved extremely valuable.
Kaito felt he should definitely continue this intensive training regimen. He created another Shadow Clone and resumed sparring immediately.
Over the next three weeks, Kaito sparred intensively with his Shadow Clone every single day.
During this period, his practical combat abilities improved dramatically.
After three weeks, he stopped using wooden practice weapons and transitioned to real blades and steel projectiles.
However, the Shadow Clone had to fight with extreme caution to ensure Kaito wasn't seriously injured.
The confrontations became genuinely dangerous after Kaito began using chakra flow to enhance his katana's cutting power.
Over just two months of this brutal training, Kaito had destroyed four swords, thirteen kunai, and thirty-three shuriken due to the intense sparring sessions.
He completely exhausted his collection of salvaged weapons from the training forests and had to purchase replacements from shops.
All in all, he had spent over 120,000 ryo on replacement weapons during this training period.
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