Chapter 48: Growth in Strength
The hidden training ground on the outskirts of the village was shrouded in a morning mist as thick as milk. Trees spaced only three meters apart were reduced to faint silhouettes in the haze.
Beads of dew gathered at the tips of grass and fell onto slabs of blue stone, reflecting the morning light like scattered fragments of gold. The scent of damp earth mingled with the restless flow of Chakra in the air.
Izumo sat cross-legged at the center of the training ground atop a blue stone slab. Fine dew collected in his brown hair, and the calluses on his fingertips—formed from endless hand seals—appeared pale beneath the morning light.
A pale blue proficiency panel floated before his eyes like a stream of water. The list of skills rippled gently with his calm breathing. One month had already passed since the Third Hokage granted him that special three-month leave.
Throughout this past month, he had trained relentlessly.
The first breakthrough came with the Shadow Clone Technique.
After integrating the Shadow Clone Technique into the panel, Izumo discovered that the experience of the basic Clone Technique was slowly decreasing, while the Shadow Clone Technique's experience surged upward.
By the time he raised the Shadow Clone Technique to Master level, the Clone Technique had completely vanished, fully merging into the Shadow Clone Technique.
The panel updated instantly. Amid a wave of blue light, a new line appeared:
[Shadow Clone Technique: Master (1000/10000)]
Originally, the limit of the Shadow Clone Technique was four clones. But after raising the skill to Master level, Izumo discovered its effect was already comparable to the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique.
As long as his Chakra and mental strength could withstand it, he could divide himself as many times as he wished.
For now, eight Shadow Clones was the most suitable upper limit for him.
Izumo took a deep breath, evenly dividing the Chakra within his body like finely combed silk. His hands formed the cross-shaped seal steadily.
"Shadow Clone Technique!"
Eight bursts of Chakra tore through the air simultaneously. Eight figures identical to his original body emerged from the white mist.
With a single thought from Izumo, the clones immediately sprang into action. Two stepped aside near the blue stone to practice Basic Fuinjutsu seals. Three drew Kunai and faced a stone wall to train in ninja tool usage and throwing techniques. Two practiced Water Release Ninjutsu. The last two focused on Earth Release Ninjutsu.
As efficiency continued to rise, the second skill to reach Master level was the Transformation Technique.
[Transformation Technique: Master (1000/10000)]
The Transformation Technique was merely an E-rank Ninjutsu, yet the effect it produced after reaching Master level left Izumo deeply shocked.
The core realism of the Transformation Technique lay in its "deceptive dimension over perception." At the Expert level, it could only achieve basic visual disguise. At Master level, however, it created flawless replication across all five senses. This was a leap from "resemblance in form" to "unity of soul and form."
Most importantly, a Master-level Transformation Technique possessed slight physical realism. Transforming into a weapon could grant actual sharpness. Transforming into an animal could produce corresponding physiological functions.
What did that mean?
If the Transformation Technique continued to improve in the future, he might even be able to transform directly into Ultraman!
The third set of skills to reach Master level were two Water Release Ninjutsu.
Izumo walked to the edge of a small river beside the training ground. The river water in the morning mist shimmered with a pale green glow, and the pebbles at the bottom were faintly visible.
He first pushed Water Release: Starch Syrup Capturing Field to its limit. Integrating his Master-level Chakra Control, he pressed both hands onto the water's surface. Chakra spread to the riverbed like a spiderweb.
"Water Release: Starch Syrup Capturing Field!"
The pale blue current no longer spread evenly across the surface. Instead, it transformed into dozens of adhesive water tendrils as thick as wrists. They shot from the water like serpents ready to strike, coiling around piles of rocks by the riverbank.
Spiral Chakra patterns appeared across the surface of the water tendrils. Their adhesive force tripled. As they coiled, they could tighten and compress on their own, crushing stone until fine cracks formed.
Their surfaces were also coated in a pale blue corrosive Chakra layer, slowly dissolving the minerals within the stone and producing a faint hissing sound.
Just as the notification [Water Release: Starch Syrup Capturing Field: Master (1000/10000)] flashed across the panel, the Water Release: Water Encampment Wall skill beside it surged powerfully as well.
The progress bar, originally stuck at Beginner (50/100), shot upward like a rocket, instantly jumping to [Expert (100/1000)].
Izumo clearly understood that skills sharing the same attribute had a linkage effect. Just like when the Body Flicker Technique reached Master level and accelerated the growth of Chakra Control.
He immediately formed hand seals, channeling Chakra into the river water.
"Water Release: Water Encampment Wall!"
A circular wall of water surged upward instantly from the ground, rising two meters high. Sunlight pierced through the water wall, refracting into a seven-colored rainbow.
At the same time, Chakra consumption for the Expert-level Water Encampment Wall decreased by twenty percent, and the speed at which the wall rose increased by another twenty percent.
As Izumo continued training Water Release: Water Encampment Wall, he noticed that its proficiency increased far faster than when he had previously trained Water Release: Starch Syrup Capturing Field and Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall.
The breakthrough of Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall delivered an especially powerful visual impact.
Izumo returned to the open blue-stone clearing. His feet were set shoulder-width apart as Earth-attributed Chakra surged deep into the ground like buried thunder.
"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"
Unlike the thin earth wall of the Expert level, the ground trembled violently before surging upward. A massive earth wall three meters tall and two meters thick rose upright. Its surface was covered in dense triangular patterns. One glance alone could make enemies lose the will to attack—or even trigger a phobia toward tightly packed patterns.
At the same time, the panel updated in real time:
[Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall: Master (1000/10000)]
The final breakthrough came with ninja tool handling.
Previously, the Expert level only allowed for precise throws. Now, Izumo opened the ninja weapon pouch on his back. Kunai, shuriken, and explosive tags danced between his fingers like butterflies, wrapped in Chakra threads that acted like invisible pulling strings.
With a flick of his wrist, three Kunai shot forward, slicing through the air before embedding themselves into the stone wall in a perfect triangular formation.
The explosive tags at the ends of the Kunai ignited simultaneously. Amid the flickering flames, they were extinguished again under his Chakra control—exactly three seconds before detonation.
He then threw five shuriken in reverse grip. The shuriken collided midair with crisp metallic chimes, instantly altering their trajectories. Each struck five separate tree targets in different directions. Splinters burst from the center of each target like blooming flowers.
Even more impressive, he could remotely control the flight of ninja tools through Chakra threads. With a slight movement of his fingertips, the three Kunai embedded in the stone wall suddenly pulled free, arcing beautifully across a hundred meters before returning to his palm. A fallen leaf struck by morning dew still clung to their sharp edges, the damp sensation faintly reaching his fingertips.
The panel surged once more:
[Ninja Tool Handling: Master (1000/10000)]
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