Training time always passed quickly. In the blink of an eye, Uchiha Kiyoshi had already been training in Konoha for half a year.
With no classes to attend, he devoted all his time to training. Coupled with Orochimaru's guidance, Uchiha Kiyoshi had made considerable progress over those six months.
Uchiha Kiyoshi quite enjoyed such peaceful days of training. Compared to carrying out dangerous missions every day and seeking breakthroughs between life and death, he preferred this tranquil kind of cultivation.
Unfortunately, some people simply did not know how to appreciate such a safe way of training.
Having been effectively placed under house arrest for half a year, Nawaki had long since reached his limit. He kept clamoring to leave the village and carry out missions.
To him, days spent unable to take missions were simply too boring. Besides, if he never took missions, he would have no mission record. How was he supposed to become Hokage then?
"Teacher Orochimaru, just let us take a mission already. This half year has practically suffocated me. I still need to become Hokage, you know. Don't hold me back."
Perhaps Nawaki's request had won approval, or perhaps Orochimaru truly felt that the three members of Team 3 needed tempering. He agreed to find them a C-rank Mission soon and let them return to regular mission life.
Uchiha Kiyoshi had no choice but to pause his research into Substitution Body Flicker.
Although Uchiha Kiyoshi preferred quiet training and disliked fighting and killing, since it was somewhat dangerous, it was undeniable that progress came fastest during battle, especially battles between life and death.
Here, "between life and death" could mean facing death itself, or it could mean both sides fighting with the intent to kill. It did not necessarily mean experiencing a genuine threat of death.
The former was simply more effective, but also more dangerous. One careless mistake could mean death.
Uchiha Kiyoshi's means of preserving his life had now improved greatly. Not to mention his defensive Ninjutsu, the initial completion of Substitution Body Flicker had also given him tremendous confidence. So long as the actual gap in strength was not too great, Substitution Body Flicker was now enough to keep him alive.
As for using this Secret Jutsu in combat, Uchiha Kiyoshi still could not manage it.
After initially completing Substitution Body Flicker, he had wanted to try using it the way Minato Namikaze used Flying Thunder God in the original work. Only then did he realize where the true difficulty of that tactic lay.
Even if an instantaneous change in position did not cause the stiffening effect of the Body Flicker Jutsu, the sudden shift still made it difficult to adapt immediately.
This was especially true on a rapidly changing battlefield. After teleporting, not only his position changed, but also his perspective and other factors.
To truly use such a tactic in battle, he had to ensure that after every substitution, he could react instantly and attack at the fastest possible speed.
Most critically, substitution did not merely swap positions; it also swapped states of motion. After switching over, Uchiha Kiyoshi would inherit the kunai's trajectory and speed from before the swap. Going directly from stillness to high-speed movement was even more troublesome to adapt to.
That was why Minato Namikaze had made Flying Thunder God what it was. His unparalleled reaction speed was the key to using Flying Thunder God with such mastery.
After realizing this, Uchiha Kiyoshi gave up on developing in that direction. At the very least, he could not use that method to attack.
Uchiha Kiyoshi could only think of other methods himself. Having read all sorts of novels, he was not lacking in wild ideas, so he was not too worried.
They were both Space-Time Ninjutsu, but they did not necessarily have to be used the same way. Uchiha Kiyoshi could combine Substitution Body Flicker with solid clones. That way, he could "shift forms and exchange shadows." So long as he replenished his clones in time, his enemies would never be able to hit him.
It could be considered a rather shameless tactic.
Another option was to max out his proficiency with the Sealing Formula, allowing him to inscribe formulas in an instant—the level Minato Namikaze had once reached in the original work.
Once Uchiha Kiyoshi maxed out his proficiency, became skilled at casting this Sealing Formula with his feet, and trained the hand seals for the Substitution Technique until he could omit them entirely, then wherever he stepped, there would be a replacement object.
Combined with movement techniques and the Clone Technique, it could be considered the beginnings of a unique ultimate move.
Uchiha Kiyoshi had no other choice. His body's talent for spatial perception was simply average. He could only locate his replacement objects through the mutual resonance between his Chakra and the Chakra within them. Otherwise, Uchiha Kiyoshi would definitely be able to make Space-Time Ninjutsu far more versatile.
Minato Namikaze was exactly like that. His exceptional spatial talent greatly expanded the range of Flying Thunder God and also reduced its consumption considerably. At only twenty-five, he had not only learned the Second Hokage's Flying Thunder God, but developed his own tactical system, earned the title of Yellow Flash, and further developed the second and third stages of Flying Thunder God.
Combined with the Sealing Barrier, Minato Namikaze could even transfer away a Tailed Beast Ball.
Who could guarantee that, if he kept living, he would not develop other uses? With his considerable talent for space, if he truly continued to understand and research Space-Time Ninjutsu, it was entirely possible that he could evolve other spatial methods. How about Space Cutting?
Aside from Substitution Body Flicker, Uchiha Kiyoshi had spent the last month asking Orochimaru for guidance in training the Body Flicker Technique.
His physical condition was already sufficient to support his use of the Body Flicker Technique. (It would be referred to as Body Flicker from now on.)
Unlike the Ninjutsu-based Body Flicker Jutsu, which used Chakra to propel the body at extreme speed and instantly reach a certain distance, Body Flicker circulated Chakra to the feet and used an instantaneous burst to move at high speed.
It could be considered a type of Taijutsu.
The principle itself was easy to understand. The hardest part was whether the body could withstand it. Even Jonin generally used it rarely. Though both were techniques that instantly covered a certain distance, the Ninjutsu-type Body Flicker Jutsu spread the pressure throughout the entire body, making it bearable once distributed. The Taijutsu-type Body Flicker was different; the pressure was concentrated almost entirely on the feet. Unless one was highly proficient in Taijutsu and possessed extraordinarily powerful physical abilities, using it too often would leave one's feet unable to bear the strain.
But was Uchiha Kiyoshi an ordinary person?
Clearly not.
Although his physical condition had not yet reached the point where he could use Body Flicker freely, he could still use it once or twice. With his Medical Ninjutsu, he could continue using it after treatment. He could even use the Body Nourishment Technique after battle to nourish himself and prevent hidden injuries.
To a certain extent, that made up for this shortcoming.
This time, Orochimaru did not take them along to receive the mission. Last time, he had only brought them there to let them observe the complete mission acceptance process once.
Of course, there was another main reason: Nawaki was incredibly annoying. He even shouted and hollered, which was utterly embarrassing. Yes, the extremely embarrassing kind.
Uchiha Kiyoshi was confident in Orochimaru's abilities. He probably would not select a mission that was too difficult. He would choose one suited to the abilities of the three of them, since only then would it serve as proper training.
At this moment, Nawaki was also extremely excited.
"Wahahaha! We can finally go out again! This half year has practically suffocated me!"
"Why are you so excited? There wasn't anything particularly great outside last time, was there?"
Faced with Uchiha Kiyoshi's jab, Nawaki froze for a moment before forcing out an explanation.
"What do you mean, there wasn't? Didn't you say last time that those special cities had lots of fun things, or that there were special places? We didn't go anywhere last time, so of course it was boring.
"Besides, I'm a man who will become Hokage! How can I keep not taking missions? If this keeps up, I won't even earn enough merit to advance to Chunin. How am I supposed to become Hokage then?"
Uchiha Kiyoshi thought about it. It actually made sense; he could not refute it.
But hadn't he told Nawaki many times already? Stop constantly shouting about becoming Hokage. It drew too much attention. Keep a low profile, a low profile, understood?
Uchiha Kiyoshi rubbed his forehead and sighed. This kid was beyond saving.
Before you continue