A couple of days later
A couple of days later, I was already thinking about why I didn't have Shadow Clones—then I could have done everything much faster. These couple of days, I had literally been trying constantly to cut the leaf, but the result from the last attempt hadn't really moved much.
But there was one advantage: since the beginning of the training, I realized that my chakra control had improved overall. All these attempts to switch the neutral chakra into the wind element helped me manage its flow better. Fortunately, this skill didn't take much chakra, so I could train in other aspects without losing productivity.
Now, I'm starting to understand a bit why not all shinobi can master at least two elements. This skill requires a great predisposition, and if I'm having this much trouble with my main element, what will happen when I try a secondary one?
Although… maybe the wind is just one of the hardest elements? I thought, trying to justify myself.
Wind is one of the rarest elements, and controlling it requires a special approach. Unlike fire, which expands, or water, which adapts, wind demands subtlety. You don't just direct the chakra; you have to make it split like a sharp blade.
I sat down on the ground, holding a small green leaf in my palm. Remembering how Naruto mastered his element, I carefully placed the leaf in the center of my hand and focused.
First, I had to feel the regular chakra. I took a deep breath, letting the energy flow inside me, filling every cell of my body. Regular chakra is neutral—it just circulates until you give it a shape.
Then comes the tricky part—the transformation. I tried to imagine how the chakra in my hand became sharp, like the edge of a blade. Directing the flow, making it thin, like a blade.
The leaf fluttered slightly but didn't tear. I focused harder, imagining it cutting… Nothing. A few more attempts. After half an hour of training, there was only a barely noticeable cut.
"I feel like, as usual, this is going to take a lot of time…" I thought with frustration, but it would be better to switch to something else. If you spend every day on what's not working, you'll just get tired and give up. So, from time to time, it's important to switch to something that brings progress, and I do have a technique for body flicker!
I started learning the technique a couple of days ago, but because I remembered the nature of chakra, I switched to focusing on that, so it was time to practice it now.
The body flicker technique uses a sharp burst of chakra to accelerate movement and temporarily lighten the body. This reduces air resistance and decreases muscle strain, allowing for much faster movement. Essentially, it's not true teleportation, but a technique that allows a shinobi to almost disappear from the opponent's sight. It's more useful for retreats.
I formed the tiger seal and tried to remember everything I had heard about this technique.
The principle is simple:
Concentrate chakra in the legs and distribute it evenly.
Release it in a burst, creating a sharp acceleration.
At the same time, lighten the body by reducing its weight with chakra to minimize resistance.
Control the impulse to maintain balance.
But in reality, it was more complicated. As soon as I tried, I felt that I wasn't distributing the chakra correctly—the leap was too sharp, and I barely managed to stay on my feet. The chakra was unevenly spread, and instead of smooth movement, I resembled a falling log.
I exhaled, took a step back, and formed the tiger seal again. I needed to focus. Now, I imagined how the chakra not only pushed me forward but also made my body lighter, reducing the load on my muscles. Focusing again… Boom! Chakra burst! This time, my body moved more smoothly, but I still felt unbalanced.
The next step was improving control. I decided to break the training into several parts:
Learn to just maintain balance using a small amount of chakra.
Gradually increase speed while keeping the movements precise.
Add sharp maneuvers, changing direction at the last moment.
For the next few hours, I tried to achieve stability. At first, I made small jumps forward, trying not to stumble. Then I practiced stopping instantly by using chakra in my feet as an anchor. There were mistakes, but I started to feel progress.
I think this is one of the most useful D-rank techniques. Remembering how Shisui earned the title of Shisui of the Body Flicker, it becomes a little clearer why. The technique may seem easy to learn in the early stages, but reaching the level where you can move not just in a straight line but control the movement perfectly is really hard. I think using the Sharingan, which significantly improves reflexes, makes the process easier, but that's no excuse. Enough complaining—time to train harder!
I decided to make the training harder. I started with short bursts, trying to maintain balance. The first attempts were awkward—the speed came suddenly, and I often lost control of my movements. But with each try, I learned to better distribute the chakra, releasing it not all at once, but in a measured way, like pressing the accelerator pedal.
After a couple of hours, I could move confidently over short distances. Now, the new challenge was not just to move quickly, but to do so consciously, with control. I began combining the technique with maneuvers—sharp turns, dodges, stopping at the last moment. My body began to adapt, and the movements became smoother.
"If I can control the technique over longer distances and with different maneuvers, I'll be able to adapt quickly to any situation on the battlefield," I thought, getting up from the ground after another round of training.
Night fell, and I felt a light fatigue, but along with it, a sense of satisfaction. There had been progress, and that was what mattered. I took a deep breath, felt the chakra circulating in my body once more, and focused again. Tomorrow would be another day for training, and thus—another step forward.