Chapter 111: Training Room in the Tower
Genki quickly finished his boring explanation. His eyelid twitched when he realized that none of the three genin were interested. After he finished speaking, he asked, "Do you have any other questions?"
Mieko asked, "Do we need to wait for the other teams in the tower?"
Genki nodded. "Yes, I think they'll send someone to explain the details."
Hodaka had no questions. Kaito thought for a moment and had an idea. He suddenly asked, "Sensei, you said we broke the record, right?"
Genki nodded. "Yes."
Kaito asked, "Then do we get any rewards?"
Sweat immediately broke out on Genki's forehead! He remembered Kaito asking the Third Hokage for a wind chakra metal sword. He quickly said, "No, there's no reward for this, but it might help you get promoted to chunin."
Kaito frowned and muttered softly, "The village is really stingy!"
When Genki heard this, he thought, I don't think Lord Third will let you ask for a reward again.
However, Kaito was thinking, After this stage ends, Hiruzen will give another speech. Should I ask for a reward then?
As Kaito was thinking, Genki said, "Alright, that's all from me. See you later."
Then he disappeared in a puff of smoke.
Kaito continued to analyze, If he refuses then, he'll be embarrassed. Refusing talented young people who work hard for the village would affect his reputation. Although he's thick-skinned enough, he shouldn't refuse by then.
As he was thinking, his gaze shifted to Mieko. He thought, That's right! The elders and the Uchiha Clan are at odds. He might give a reward to show that he's rewarding young Uchiha and is impartial toward them. He might even hope this will ease the tension.
That said, if Genki is also present, should I still ask?
He thought for a moment, then shook his head. It doesn't matter if he's there or not. The path of shamelessness must endure! Especially considering how shameless they are. If he still refuses, I'll put on a sad expression and act very upset.
After I become a chunin, I'll ask him for the wind chakra metal sword he promised me before.
Mieko and Hodaka noticed Kaito was deep in thought. Hodaka asked, "What are you thinking about?"
Kaito replied, "Oh, nothing. What do we do now?"
As Kaito asked this, a chunin instructor appeared in their room. He said, "Congratulations on passing the second round. For the next five days, you'll stay inside the tower until this round is over."
Mieko complained, "5 days? What do we do here for 5 whole days?"
Hodaka and Kaito also nodded in agreement. It was unreasonable to make them stay here for five whole days.
The chunin replied, "It's the rule. If you leave the tower, you'll be disqualified from the exam."
Mieko pointed at the chunin and exclaimed, "Hey, that's unreasonable!"
Hodaka nodded. "Yeah, it is unreasonable."
The chunin dismissed their complaints. "There are many facilities in this tower, including several training rooms. You can train for the next five days."
This quieted the genin.
Kaito asked, "What about food?"
The chunin said, "It'll be prepared for you. You can eat at the restaurant on the first floor at 8 AM, 12 PM, 4 PM, and 7 PM."
Then he explained some other details, such as their sleeping arrangements, and then left.
The genin looked at each other and said, "Let's go check out the training rooms."
They also left.
The training rooms were on the second floor. Most of this floor was enclosed by walls, forming a central circular area. Kaito realized, The other side must be where the preliminaries are held.
These rooms were located on the outer side of this floor, with a one-meter-wide circular passage leading to them.
The genin checked the nameplates of all the rooms. There were 2 Meditation Rooms, 2 Evasion Rooms, 1 Taijutsu Room, 1 training room for each of the 5 elemental natures, 1 Shuriken Training Room, and some other rooms.
Hodaka said, "I'm going to the Taijutsu training room."
Mieko said, "I'm going to practice shuriken."
Kaito thought for a moment. "I'm more interested in the Meditation Room. I want to see what's there."
Kaito entered the Meditation Room. The room was almost empty. A few lights were on. Several candles were placed in spots on the walls. Several incense sticks were also placed around the room. In the center of the room, there was a mat.
Kaito picked up the instructions placed by the door and read them:
This is a Meditation training room. Meditation here will be easier and more effective. For best results, please follow these instructions:
Light all the candles in the room.
Light one incense stick at a time.
Turn off the lights.
Sit on the mat in the center of the room.
Please return all items to their original positions when leaving.
Before leaving, extinguish the candles and trim the burned portion of the incense.
Kaito lit the candles and incense. They began to emit a very pleasant fragrance.
He turned off the lights, sat on the mat, and began to meditate.
An hour later, he emerged from his meditation, thinking, Incredible! The effect of meditating here is at least 5 times better than when I meditate at home or at the Academy.
He analyzed it and concluded, This is good, but it still can't compare to the benefits I get from practicing the Strong Fist style. However, I'll still do some meditation every day. Although the effect isn't obvious, if I can get such a meditation environment at home, there will still be some small improvements... How can I create such an environment?
He thought for a moment and came up with two solutions.
I haven't decided what reward to ask Hiruzen for yet. So I can ask him to build such a meditation environment in my home. However, this method isn't foolproof. If he refuses despite his thick skin, I won't get it.
A better way might be to create such an environment at home myself. This place has many inscribed seals, which probably aid in meditation. These should be made with fuinjutsu. I should be able to make them too—the only problem is that I don't recognize most of the seals.
He thought for a while and decided, I'll draw every seal in this room and record their positions. After I become a chunin, our team should disband. By then, I'll have time to learn fuinjutsu. If these seals are in the library, I can build such a room too.
He immediately took out a large sheet of drawing paper from his scroll and drew the entire room on it. He drew all the sealing formulas and symbols, recording the distance between each seal in absolute values and relative to the room's size.
He grabbed an incense stick nearby and took a bit of wax from a candle on the wall.