"Whew... It felt like so many days had passed in the blink of an eye!"
It was midday again. Chiba emerged from the entrance to the Underground Medical Laboratory after finishing his morning Forbidden Jutsu training. Once he had concealed the entrance, he looked at the trees all around him, already withered by winter's arrival, and could not help taking a deep breath. Cold but refreshing air filled his lungs, invigorating his mind.
Under the bright sunlight, Chiba stretched deeply.
More than half a month had passed since Itachi's two visits. The weather had thoroughly turned cold, and winter had been here for quite some time.
During this period, no one had come looking for Chiba. He had spent a long stretch of dull yet fulfilling days doing nothing but training, training, and more training.
Thanks to his unceasing diligence, just yesterday Chiba had finally brought his new Forbidden Jutsu up to combat standards. Other than the daily practice needed to consolidate and familiarize himself with it, he no longer had to focus excessively on training the Forbidden Jutsu. He had even canceled his afternoon training sessions, replacing them with practice in Chakra Nature Transformation.
Although the Forbidden Jutsu could now be used in actual combat, that was only crossing the threshold. To truly bring out its greatest power in battle, Chiba still needed to keep practicing and familiarizing himself with it, until he could use it the instant he wanted to. Unlike now, when he still needed nearly a minute to convert all his Chakra into Forbidden Jutsu Chakra before he could fight.
If he were still in this state during battle, he might die countless times.
Of course, all he needed now was familiarity. He had already overcome every difficult part.
Moreover, perhaps it was just an illusion,