A Sound Excuse

In front of a residential building not far from the Ninja Academy, Veigar, who had been traveling using the Body Flicker Technique, suddenly appeared at the entrance.

Looking at the closed door, Veigar pressed the doorbell.

"Who is it?"

Hearing Tomohisa Ishikawa's voice from inside, Veigar immediately replied, "Teacher Tomohisa, it's me."

"Veigar."

Before long, Tomohisa Ishikawa opened the door, looked at Veigar outside, and asked, "Veigar, what brings you here?"

"Come on in."

Following behind Tomohisa Ishikawa into the house, Tomohisa Ishikawa poured Veigar a glass of water and asked, "What brings you to see me today?"

"Is something the matter?"

Veigar said, "Teacher, I have some questions about training that I'd like to ask you. Please."

Tomohisa Ishikawa agreed without hesitation and said, "No problem."

"Tell me about it, and let's see if I can help."

Lifting his head, Veigar asked Tomohisa Ishikawa, "Teacher, do you know how to train chakra control?"

Facing Veigar's intense gaze, Tomohisa Ishikawa thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "I do!"

Veigar pleaded, "Then please teach me how to train chakra control!"

"I beg you!"

Veigar wasn't actually unaware of how to train chakra control, but he couldn't show it, because he was just a civilian ninja student with no background.

So, he needed a plausible source for his knowledge of chakra control training, and Tomohisa Ishikawa was the breakthrough Veigar had chosen.

Only then could he avoid fear of being found out.

Facing Veigar's plea, Tomohisa Ishikawa, seeming to have some reservations, said, "I can, but you need to tell me, where did you hear that chakra control can be trained and improved?"

Veigar replied, "Teacher, didn't you look at the training notes my father left behind?"

"They mention that precise chakra control not only makes the Body Flicker Technique faster but also lowers the difficulty of training other ninjutsu."

Tomohisa Ishikawa scratched his head, a bit embarrassed, and replied, "Did they mention that?"

"Well, alright then! Since that's the case, I'll teach you how to train chakra control."

If Veigar had been born into a ninja clan or had some background, training chakra control wouldn't have been this troublesome.

But Veigar had none of that, so he had to rely on himself.

Using his foreknowledge, he steadily and step by step made himself stronger as quickly as possible.

At the riverside where Veigar usually trained, Tomohisa Ishikawa said to him, "The method for training chakra control is actually quite simple."

"That is—tree climbing?"

Veigar feigned confusion and asked, "Tree climbing?"

"Isn't that really easy?"

Shaking his head, Tomohisa Ishikawa said, "It's different. Let me show you once, and you'll understand."

"Watch closely!"

With that, Tomohisa Ishikawa stood at the base of a large tree, then used only his feet to "climb" up step by step.

After a moment, hanging upside down from the tree, Tomohisa Ishikawa said to Veigar, "This is what I mean by tree climbing."

"Once you can do it about as well as I can, you'll be halfway done with chakra control training."

Having achieved his goal, Veigar wasn't particularly excited. Instead, he continued asking Tomohisa Ishikawa, "Halfway?"

"What's the other half?"

Tomohisa Ishikawa replied, "The other half is water walking."

Then, after Tomohisa Ishikawa explained the key points for tree climbing, Veigar began his tree climbing training.

"Release."

Gathering chakra at the soles of his feet and holding a ninja sword, Veigar started his first tree climbing training.

But on his first attempt, he only took two steps before falling off the tree.

Standing nearby, Tomohisa Ishikawa saw this and said to Veigar, "At the start of training, you can try running first to get used to the feeling of stepping on the tree."

Veigar turned back and replied, "Yes, thank you, Teacher."

A week had passed since Veigar began tree climbing training, and through his relentless effort, he could now hang upside down from the tree.

Veigar found that after this period of training, both his basic Three Ninjutsu Techniques and the Body Flicker Technique had noticeably improved.

In the blink of an eye, the two-month vacation had passed, and tomorrow was the start of the new school year at the Ninja Academy.

In these nearly two months of focused training, Veigar had not only mastered standing on the water's surface but also practiced his sword technique while standing on the water.

Multitasking.

The sun was setting, and before the new semester began, Veigar prepared to cultivate the Body Strengthening Technique left behind by Viking Koshima.

Sitting cross-legged on the bed, Veigar kept his eyes closed, continuously refining chakra from his body.

The Body Strengthening Technique emphasized using chakra to strengthen the physique, yet chakra itself was energy refined from the cells of the human body.

In theory, chakra and the Body Strengthening Technique were completely at odds with each other.

However, the cleverness of the Body Strengthening Technique lay in the fact that extracted chakra could not be stored permanently.

No matter who it was, chakra refined but unused would slowly dissipate, unless one possessed a special chakra-storing ninjutsu or ninja tool.

As far as Veigar knew, the ninjutsu capable of storing chakra was the Yin Seal.

"Bind."

With a soft shout as Veigar opened his eyes, the chakra that had begun to dissipate was instead bound around his body.

Before long, a faint layer of chakra wrapped around Veigar's body surface, like a garment worn over him.

"Bang."

Yet in the next moment, the chakra coiled around Veigar's body burst like a punctured balloon, exploding with a bang.

And Veigar was instantly thrown onto the bed by the impact from the Chakra Cloak's explosion.

Sitting up slowly, Veigar summarized the reasons for his failure in his mind.

Insufficient control over chakra, too much chakra refined and allowed to dissipate naturally...

Already accustomed to failing during his first attempts at ninjutsu, Veigar, after summing up the causes of failure, began a new round of cultivation.

Once again immersed in training, Veigar felt a bit troubled, because he thought that with his current level of chakra control, cultivating the Body Strengthening Technique was still somewhat of a stretch—he needed more precise chakra control.

After all, forming a Chakra Cloak worn like clothing was merely the first step into the basics of the Body Strengthening Technique.