Chakra Mountain Range

The next day, at a place called "Whispering Stream Trail" more than ten kilometers outside Konoha.

This area was, of course, still within Konoha's territory, with scattered settlements nearby. However, this location was already rarely visited. Instead, it was filled with various large training grounds used by Konoha for different purposes.

Whispering Stream Trail was a rift over three kilometers long, with an average depth of two hundred meters and a narrowest point of only five meters. Because it was narrow and shaded from the sun, a stream flowed at the bottom, originating from a waterfall, making the area exceptionally cool and damp.

At this moment, Yuhara was in a spot at the bottom of the valley, with a bonfire in front of him and a pile of luggage to his right.

Although Yuhara was eager to improve his strength, it didn't mean he was impatient. On the contrary, he was acutely aware of the importance of "fundamentals." Therefore, the first thing he needed to do was learn to control his chakra more thoroughly and smoothly.

The specific training method was to climb the sheer cliff face before him using only his hands.

The cliff walls on both sides of the rift were wet and slippery, almost vertically steep. However, the greater difficulty lay in the fact that the degree of slipperiness varied at different points. Therefore, to climb in such a place, one had to adjust the output of chakra with almost every step.

A ninja's physical condition was different from that of an ordinary person, so Yuhara set a rather exaggerated passing time... 30 seconds. If he could climb to the top within 30 seconds, it would mean he had completed this training.

After washing his face with the cold stream water, Yuhara decided to begin his training.

According to his original plan, if he didn't rush and climbed slowly, reaching the top of the cliff shouldn't be too difficult. But things didn't seem to be as simple as he had imagined... The rock face, covered in various mosses, was genuinely hard to grip.

If he used an excessive amount of chakra for gripping, the difficulty of this training would be greatly reduced. But that would defeat the original purpose of the training... Outputting the appropriate amount of chakra under appropriate circumstances, that was the goal of the training.

Yuhara climbed more than ten meters like a gecko, then suddenly lost his grip and fell into the stream below... Well, that description flattered him a bit.

His performance was far inferior to that of a gecko.

The cold stream water soaked Yuhara's entire body. He shivered violently and then started muttering, "Now I understand why I decided to make a bonfire here."

He took off his soaked outer clothes and placed them by the bonfire to dry, then forcefully wrung out the moisture from his inner clothing, and then... the training continued.

Honestly, this kind of training felt unpleasant because he touched something sticky and gooey with every movement.

After a good portion of the day had passed, Yuhara's chakra was mostly depleted, so he had to stop and rest temporarily. He ate something to replenish his energy, then took out his Ninja Academy elementary textbooks and began to study diligently... This could be considered a unique form of combining work and rest.

Incidentally, Yuhara's textbooks weren't bought from a ninja tool shop; they simply didn't sell such items. He had borrowed the books from Jian Dong, as Jian Dong was a legitimate Konoha Ninja who had graduated from the Konoha Ninja Academy.

At the same time, the training location where Yuhara was currently was also something he had learned about from Jian Dong.

It turned out that elementary textbooks were indeed useful. After reading them, Yuhara could at least memorize the hand seals.

Thus, he alternated between climbing, reading, and resting. By the end of the first day, Yuhara had managed to climb to a height of just over thirty meters. When night fell, he didn't return to Konoha. Instead, after a simple cleanup, he slept directly at the bottom of the valley.

When morning came, Yuhara's training method changed slightly. He began climbing with equipment. His custom-ordered "ninja tools" had arrived yesterday... This wasn't for weight training to further increase the difficulty, but to prevent him from falling to his death if he climbed too high.

For Yuhara, carrying half a ton of metal was "as light as a feather."

The principle was very simple: he magnetized these two pieces of equipment and adjusted the direction of their magnetic poles to repel the Earth's magnetic field, thus naturally lifting them up... Well, Yuhara didn't quite understand the principle himself. In short, if he could do it, he could do it.

Days passed, and it wasn't until a week later that Yuhara finally reached the top of the cliff for the first time. Although there were several times during this period when he almost fell and was unable to get up, he managed to resolve the crises with his abilities, emerging from each situation shaken but unharmed.

Since he could now accomplish this, the remaining task was simply a matter of efficiency. Yuhara's training naturally shifted from "difficulty challenge" to "speed challenge."

At the same time, he began to develop his own ninjutsu... He had no choice; no one was teaching him ninjutsu, so he had to develop and innovate on his own.

In fact, he already had some ideas, otherwise, he wouldn't have specifically ordered two ninja tools.

Under normal circumstances, given the combat intensity of ninjas at this stage, Magnet Release was definitely a powerful weapon. Otherwise, the Third Kazekage wouldn't have been called the strongest Kazekage.

Specifically for Yuhara, firstly, unfortunately, limited by his body's chakra level, he couldn't perform those widespread, massive techniques. Secondly, in delicate applications, he could do far more than what was conventionally understood as Magnet Release.

Based on these two points, the basic development idea for his techniques was formed: small and exquisite, as insidious as possible.

Yuhara sat by the long-burning bonfire. He spread his right hand flat, and a ball of mercury floated in the air. The ball of mercury pulsed little by little, much like the mercury oscillation reactions he had seen in his previous life.

Yuhara had to admit he had a considerable degree of confidence in his ability to control metal. Otherwise, with prolonged contact, the naturally volatile mercury would have poisoned him to death.

As Yuhara's right fingers gradually tightened, the ball of mercury began to twitch more violently, and then... Yuhara swung his arm and threw the ball of mercury out.

Following that, the mercury fell to the ground with a splat.

"Chakra intensity, speed of elemental transformation, and instantaneous burst power seem insufficient..."

Naturally, Yuhara failed. He waved his hand, and the ball of mercury floated back.

Compared to the stalled development of this technique, the development of another one was proceeding very smoothly, because it wasn't a technique.

Yuhara caused the "Sword Crate" behind him to silently dissolve. Then, the black steel, like flowing water, slowly covered his arm, chest, and a part of his back.

This layer of steel appeared very thin, but it possessed considerable hardness and toughness. Although its effectiveness against blunt force attacks was debatable, its effectiveness against stabbing attacks was nearly perfect.

"Absolute defense," who wouldn't want that? As someone who feared death, Yuhara naturally prioritized equipping himself with a layer of turtle shell.