The Path of Self-Strengthening

"Yeah?"

Sakumo looked at Katsuki with some surprise.

"Judging by the time, the Sand Ninja should be retreating by now... Is this what you sensed?"

"Hmm, more or less. Our troops have already withdrawn, but there seem to be quite a few wounded! Teacher, are you alright here?" Katsuki answered vaguely, then asked in return.

"It's alright, it's alright. Although I am the commander-in-chief, I basically don't concern myself with anything except strategic matters or large-scale battles. The staff can handle that. If I had to handle everything, even the strongest person would be worn out. These are just minor tricks by the Sand Village ninja; there's no need to worry about them."

Sakumo refilled the cup with water, speaking with an air of nonchalance.

"... I don't think you'd say something like that, teacher. I thought someone like you was the type to do everything yourself." Katsuki took the kettle and refilled her cup.

"Haha, illusion, illusion, it's all your illusion. I don't have that much ability. I'm only good at killing. Dealing with things always gives me a headache. Sometimes I wish I could crack open my skull and see if it's filled with mush."

Sakumo laughed and joked about himself.

The conversation between the master and apprentice gradually shifted to some anecdotes and interesting stories.

Time passed unnoticed, and by the time Katsuki was led back to his camp, the sky had completely darkened, but the rain was still falling, seemingly with no end in sight.

"Yo, Katsuki, you're finally back! Have you eaten yet? I left you a few rice balls; take them if you haven't eaten yet. Sorry, because you weren't back, we've missed dinner time..."

Inside the tent.

Nawaki was lying in bed, looking at the scroll in his hand by the flickering candlelight on the low table beside the bed. Hearing the sound of the curtain being lifted, he sat up and, after seeing Katsuki, began to chatter on and on.

"... Um, Nawaki, don't worry about it. I had lunch with the teacher before I got back."

Katsuki stopped Nawaki with a wry smile.

"Ah! That's good... I was just worried you wouldn't be able to make it back in time. Lord Sakumo might be very busy. Didn't the Sand Ninja just launch their attack this afternoon... so..." Nawaki smiled shyly.

"I understand, thank you, Nawaki."

Katsuki expressed her sincere gratitude. Nawaki was a kind-hearted child who, although a bit talkative, always genuinely cared about her companions.

"Just the two of us?"

Looking around, the tent wasn't large, and the interior space was quite limited. Two beds were placed on either side, and a low table was placed at the head of the middle bed, with lamps, cups, and other miscellaneous items on it.

There was nothing else besides that.

"Ah! That's right, just the two of us. It's because you're Chunin. Normally, Genin are separated, Genin four to six Genin in Chunin in one tent. But due to the imbalance in numbers, you were separated, so we were put together."

That sounds reasonable. Katsuki doesn't care about it, or rather, having fewer roommates suits him just the way he wants.

The conversation between the two did not last long, and soon it was time to turn off the lights, and patrol teams moved through the camp.

Although ninjas don't have as many rules as regular armies, fewer rules mean stricter enforcement, and the consequences of making a mistake aren't pleasant.

The night passed peacefully.

When he opened his eyes again, there was already a faint light outside the tent.

The weather in the Land of Rain is truly terrible. Thick, inky clouds hang in the sky all year round, making it difficult to see the sun and moon even in broad daylight. The sky is always gloomy, and the endless rain and dampness make you feel like you're about to grow mushrooms on your body.

"The air... wow... the moisture is really abundant." Lifting the curtain, Katsuki stuck his head out and took a breath. The moist, cool air made him shiver.

The rain is still falling, so cloying it's maddening.

It's no wonder that the troops stationed in the Land of Rain are rotated so frequently. On the one hand, the pressure of the frontline battles is immense, and on the other hand, the monotonous and tedious environment can drive people crazy.

After quickly finishing his washing up, he and Nawaki walked out of the tent and headed towards the training ground set up in the camp.

A wide, high platform built using Earth Release, with four rock pillars standing at the corners, supported a huge canvas in the sky, blocking the rain.

This is a specially set-out training ground. Entertainment options were limited in this era, and since this was a military camp, games like playing cards were prohibited. To prevent the ninjas in the camp from being idle, more than ten similar training grounds were built and distributed throughout the camp, so that the temporarily idle ninjas could have a place to release their excess energy and avoid causing trouble.

It's also a place for morning exercise.

When he was sent back to camp yesterday, he passed by these conspicuous things and found out what they were about, which is why he rushed over early this morning.

Fifty or sixty people were scattered around the half-meter-high platform, all moving their hands and feet and exercising in their own way.

"Wow, everyone's here so early. Looks like I'll have to get up even earlier tomorrow. I'm not going to lose!" Suddenly, Nawaki's emotions were ignited. Full of energy, he swung his fists, rushed up the platform, found a quiet spot, and started to train his body, each punch and kick accompanied by a sharp whistling sound.

"Ah!!"

With a weak sigh, Katsuki had no more energy to complain and simply stretched her body next to the Nawaki.

His punches and kicks were practiced skillfully, his movements agile and nimble, each motion having been honed thousands of times. A faint crackling sound of silvery-white electricity emanated from the electricity, pulsating with his movements and flowing nimbly through his muscles, continuously strengthening his body.

His Taijutsu using Lightning Release Chakra were excellent, and through repeated experiments on himself, coupled with Sakumo's instruction, he devised a training method suitable for himself, although it was still very rudimentary, only having a rough framework...

But what can you do when he has an even stronger vitality than a cockroach?

Relying on this, he boldly began to directly implement this training method. The jumping electric sparks damaged his muscle fibers, which then healed and regenerated, creating even stronger muscle fibers than before. This cycle of destruction, regeneration, and strengthening is the core of the method.

Crude and reckless, to be honest, the method he came up with was not very clever. It was the kind of solution that would have been abandoned very early on, for the simple reason that the gap between ideal and reality was too large.

Even the simplest process becomes anything but simple when repeated a certain number of times.

There are too many unpredictable dangers in the whole process. Such a brutal training method is very likely to cause the body to collapse before any results are achieved.