Chakra Control

Having finally solved the problem of his cheat, Yichen was filled with anticipation for his future.

Previously, his only talent had been his powerful Mental Power, leaving aside any potential talent for genjutsu and the like.

At this stage, it only offered significant help with Chakra Control training.

And because his physique was average and his Chakra was limited, that advantage was nothing compared to the truly gifted.

But things were different now. After successfully extracting Quasi-Yin Attribute Chakra, the physical energy in his Chakra accounted for roughly one-tenth of what it did for others. In other words, he could extract ten times more Chakra than he normally could.

With that amount as a foundation, Yichen would not find himself in the same predicament as before anytime soon.

It was time to begin practicing control. Chakra Control was the foundation of using Chakra; whether enhancing taijutsu or performing ninjutsu, neither could be separated from control.

The slowest students in Yichen's class had already been practicing control for two months. People like Shinohara, who had extracted Chakra even before enrolling, had long since been able to use it in actual combat.

Leaving aside everything else, one could tell from the strength they displayed while practicing shuriken, kunai, and the like in combat class that they were already capable of applying Chakra to taijutsu.

The speed and strength their bodies displayed were also becoming less and less like those of Ordinary People.

Yichen felt a sense of urgency. He knew that although Shinohara and the others were among the best of their class, they were only ordinary geniuses when viewed across the entire ninja world. At Kakashi's age, he should already have had the strength of a Genin, right? There was still a long road ahead.

Still, having successfully installed a cheat for himself, Yichen was brimming with confidence. He believed that he would eventually catch up to and surpass them.

Not wasting any time, Yichen first recorded all his cultivation insights and speculations. After all, he had promised Ōnoki that this would serve as payment for the scroll he had received earlier.

The next day, after arriving at school, Yichen handed his notes to Teacher Ishikawa before beginning his Chakra Control training.

"Mubuki, you did pretty well yesterday. Once I become Tsuchikage, I'll have you and Fujino guard the village gates. With the strength you two have, I'm sure you'll be more than qualified for the job. Hahahaha!" Taniya shouted smugly at Mubuki.

This guy had completely crushed Mubuki and Fujino in yesterday's shuriken practice and had been gloating about it all day.

According to Tana, Taniya's clan was a famous taijutsu clan in Iwagakure, specializing in swordsmanship. They had special training methods for fundamentals such as shuriken throwing.

The elders in Mubuki and Fujino's families, on the other hand, specialized in ninjutsu, so Taniya had gradually pulled ahead of them in shuriken throwing.

During the early stages of a ninja's career, before everyone had mastered ninjutsu, taijutsu was the only means of attack. Thus, Taijutsu Ninja had a huge advantage early on.

In fact, because of Chakra limitations, most Ninja could only perform one or two ninjutsu even after reaching adulthood. To conserve Chakra, they used them cautiously and would not employ them unless absolutely necessary.

So scenes of ninjutsu flying everywhere like those in his memories of his previous life only appeared among the protagonist's circle.

Most Ninja remained Genin until the moment they died in battle, and the only ninjutsu they might use in combat were the Three Basic Jutsu.

Taniya's shuriken throwing had already been better than the other two's, but for some unknown reason, he had made a tremendous leap forward a few days ago, instantly widening the gap between them.

It could be said that in a one-on-one duel now, Taniya could steadily overpower both of them. Don't be misled by manga plots where kunai never hit anyone and Fire Release never kills anyone. That was only for the sake of the story.

Kunai were extremely powerful in battle. Ninja had high offense but low defense; generally speaking, if a vital spot was struck by a kunai, there was basically no saving them.

Though shuriken were less powerful, their smaller shape made them more flexible and versatile, making them another major weapon on the battlefield.

Furthermore, when throwing shuriken and kunai, a Ninja's strength was enhanced by Chakra. Once thrown, they traveled at astonishing speeds. In the early stages, they were difficult to evade unless one could predict them in advance.

As for throwing a shuriken after an opponent had thrown one and knocking theirs away, only someone whose strength and reaction speed vastly surpassed their opponent's could accomplish that.

At the Genin stage, unless they were Konoha Genin or Iwa ninja Genin, that was simply impossible.

Among the students of this class, Taniya's current combat ability should rank within the top five. Shinohara and Tana were also strong contenders for the top five.

Shinohara was incredibly strong, and the explosive speed brought by that strength was equally astonishing. Yichen estimated that based on strength alone, Shinohara might already be close to the minimum standard for a Genin.

As for Tana, the little girl was surprising. She was excellent at using Chakra to assist her taijutsu, which made her exceptionally nimble. She was promising material for agility-based Nintaijutsu.

Yichen guessed that if Tana and Shinohara fought, it would probably turn into an awkward situation where one could not catch the other while the other could not hurt him.

In this class, there was only one person who could completely suppress Tana, Shinohara, and Taniya: the little boy Ikura.

Sometimes, comparing yourself to others really could make you furious. Being good-looking was one thing, but he was talented too. That guy was already practicing the Three Basic Jutsu.

His Chakra Amount and Chakra Control both ranked first in the entire grade. If Yichen had not surpassed him in the theory tests, he would have achieved a clean sweep.

Oh, by the way, if they competed in kunai and shuriken throwing now, he might lose to Taniya.

As for Yichen, his combat strength was currently at the bottom of the class. After all, he was the only one who had never practiced Chakra Control.

During this period, he had been practicing how to extract Quasi-Yin Attribute Chakra.

Other than practicing Chakra Control for a while on the first day, he had barely trained it at all.

In truth, he had not successfully extracted Chakra many times over the past two months.

On the rare occasions when he accidentally extracted Chakra according to the original proportions, Yichen had immediately wasted it recklessly.

But Yichen also had an advantage: compared to others, his Chakra extraction process was closer to instinct.

Because Yichen had found the Chakra extraction method most suitable for himself, he did not need to concentrate too hard while extracting it.

Though he could not yet extract Chakra while using it in battle, he could still extract it while talking.

At that moment, Yichen was extracting Chakra while deliberately chatting with Tana loudly enough for Shinohara to hear. "Tana, I saw Ikura eating Three-Colored Dango at the Dango Shop yesterday. This is a great opportunity. As long as you wait outside the Dango Shop after school, you can create a chance encounter with Ikura."

Tana stirred at those words, clearly tempted. She turned slightly, secretly glanced at Ikura, then hesitated again.

Shinohara, who had been watching Tana's every move, had long since noticed this. Before Tana could speak, he said, "Tana, don't listen to Yichen. He has no good intentions. No matter where Ikura goes, there are always other girls around him. Even if you happen to run into him, the others will see you."

The moment Tana heard that, she immediately abandoned the idea of putting it into action.

Tana was rather reserved about such things. Yichen had noticed that, and naturally, Shinohara knew it as well. Thus, he struck directly at the biggest flaw in the plan, then turned toward Yichen with a smug look on his face.

Of course, Yichen knew Tana's situation too. He had only dared to egg her on because he had accurately judged her personality. His purpose was simple: to provoke Shinohara.

When one plan failed, Yichen was not discouraged and continued, "It doesn't matter even if other girls are there. It would still be good if you could leave Ikura with the impression that you two share the same hobby. As long as he associates you with dango, maybe he'll think of you next time he wants some."

"And if one day he wants to eat dango but it isn't convenient for him to buy it, might he ask you, a classmate who likes dango too, to help him get some?"

Hearing that, Tana was even more tempted. In a soft voice, she asked, "Yichen, do you think Ikura... he might ask me to buy dango for him?"

Tana had become very familiar with Yichen and Shinohara over the past few days. She also knew they understood her feelings, so instead of hiding them as she had at the beginning, she began asking Yichen for advice.

Hearing the slight tremble in Tana's voice, Yichen knew he had achieved his goal. He glanced toward Shinohara and, sure enough, the boy was so angry that his entire body was trembling.

Yichen added, "It's not certain, but it's still a form of preparation. As long as you leave him with the impression that you share this hobby, you'll be closer to him than the other girls are."

Shinohara was furious but had no way to refute him. He said bitterly to Yichen, "Teacher said that practical sparring will begin next semester. Yichen, please teach me well when the time comes."

Yichen was not the least bit afraid of his threat. There was still a month until next semester. If he got scared now, how would he find any fun in the days ahead?

Seeing that Yichen was completely unfazed, Shinohara had no choice but to start planning in his heart how he would beat Yichen up next semester. He would give him a different beating every day, without repeating a single one.

After bickering with Shinohara for a while, Yichen had reached the limit of his Chakra extraction. There was no helping it. Though he now had ten times more Chakra than before, his total amount was still too low. Limited by his body, it began warning him after only a short while.

Yichen stopped chatting and began practicing Chakra Control.

Time flew by. In the blink of an eye, it had been nearly two years since Yichen and the others enrolled. No longer freshmen, the changes they had undergone over the past year could be called astonishing.

First, they had finally bid farewell to the cultural classes they had hated for so long. Now, aside from one theory class in the morning, they had one practical class in the morning and another in the afternoon.

They generally practiced various fundamentals in the morning, then trained different skills in the afternoon, such as kunai throwing, swordsmanship basics, sparring drills, and so on.

As an Advanced Class, everyone in Yichen's class could already use Chakra to assist their taijutsu in battle. When sparring, wooden shuriken and kunai flew everywhere, and they were beginning to look the part.

A small number of them, including Yichen, could already perform one of the Three Basic Jutsu.

Yichen had chosen the Transformation Jutsu. It was not because he thought it was particularly useful, but simply because it was easy.

The Transformation Jutsu was the only ninjutsu among the Three Basic Jutsu that did not require Chakra to be released outside the body, so its consumption was relatively low.

Over the past two years, Yichen had suffered greatly from his lack of Chakra.

When he had first begun practicing Chakra circulation within his body, he had barely had enough Chakra, because his Mental Power had only just begun engaging with this aspect and became exhausted easily.

But before long, thanks to his strong mental talent, Yichen adapted to this kind of control. As his mental consumption decreased, the weakness of having too little Chakra became increasingly apparent.

The helpless feeling every time he ran out of Chakra once made Yichen recall the agony of watching a countdown after using up all his stamina in a game.

For that reason, Yichen had no choice but to increase both the intensity and duration of his physical training. Fortunately, the village had distributed the compensation funds in time.

With more abundant and nutritious food and medicine than before, Yichen was barely able to sustain his training. Even then, it was only because Tana had freely given him the methods for preparing medicinal ingredients. Otherwise, just a single prescription would have been enough to make Yichen's hair turn white with worry.