The morning air in the Land of Rain was so damp it felt like you could wring water from it.
After last night's not-quite-secret secret training, the atmosphere in Team Five had eased a little.
Uchiha Fugaku still wore a stern expression, but there was less disdain in his eyes when he looked at Nishikawa Tetsu.
"Today's training has two parts."
Uchiha Fugaku stood on the muddy clearing with his arms crossed, his gaze sharp. "Taijutsu combat, and... in particular, chakra-increasing training aimed at one specific person."
Nishikawa Tetsu raised his hand, well aware of his own shortcomings. "Senior, you might as well just announce my ID number."
Uchiha Fugaku ignored his quip and took up a ready stance.
"We'll start with taijutsu. On the battlefield, you won't always get the chance to create distance and use ninjutsu."
"Once an enemy gets close, taijutsu is your last line of defense."
He looked at Namikaze Minato. "Minato, you first. Attack me as fast as you can."
"Yes!"
Namikaze Minato's gaze sharpened, and in an instant he became a golden blur.
"Whoosh!"
Almost before anyone could blink, Namikaze Minato's roundhouse kick swept toward Uchiha Fugaku's neck.
The strike was fast, precise, and fierce, accompanied by a whistle through the air. It was far too powerful a kick for a newly graduated Genin.
Yet Uchiha Fugaku didn't even activate his Sharingan.
He merely tilted his head and shifted his body back by the slightest margin. The kick skimmed past the tip of his nose.
Then Uchiha Fugaku turned his wrist and caught Namikaze Minato by the ankle with perfect precision.
"Too straightforward."
Uchiha Fugaku gave a cool assessment and used the momentum to fling him aside.
Namikaze Minato was sent flying, but he reacted quickly, executing a neat backflip in midair before landing steadily.
"Your speed is impressive. It's certainly your talent," Uchiha Fugaku said, his tone stern.
"But your movements are too obvious, and you reveal your intentions too early. Against a real Sharingan, I can predict every move you make."
"You need to learn feints and changes of pace instead of focusing on speed alone."
Namikaze Minato nodded thoughtfully, a gleam of contemplation in his bright blue eyes. "Changing pace to disrupt the rhythm?"
It was great teaching a genius. He got it right away.
"That's right."
"Next, Nishikawa Tetsu."
Uchiha Fugaku turned to him with the look of a big bad wolf eyeing a little lamb.
Nishikawa Tetsu sighed and assumed the basic taijutsu stance he'd learned at the Ninja Academy.
He knew that the next few minutes would most likely be a one-sided beating.
And sure enough.
Five minutes later.
"Thud!"
Uchiha Fugaku threw Nishikawa Tetsu over his shoulder and slammed him into the muddy ground once again.
"Too weak."
Uchiha Fugaku looked down at Nishikawa Tetsu, who was gasping for breath. "You lack strength, and you're even slower. If I'd been your enemy, you'd be dead already."
Nishikawa Tetsu struggled to his feet and wiped the muddy water from his face.
His body was protesting, but his mind was racing.
"Strength and speed are physical disadvantages I can't make up for in the short term," Nishikawa Tetsu said between breaths.
"But I noticed that when you strike, Senior, you always prioritize protecting your left ribs. Is that muscle memory from an old injury?"
Uchiha Fugaku froze for a moment and instinctively touched his left side.
That was where a Sand Ninja puppeteer had injured him six months ago. It had healed, but the defensive reflex had indeed remained.
"Good observation."
A flash of surprise crossed Uchiha Fugaku's eyes. The boy didn't have a Sharingan, but his powers of observation were remarkably sharp.
He drew two wooden Kunai from his waist and tossed one to each of them. "Taijutsu isn't just about fists and kicks. It involves weapons, too."
For the next hour, Uchiha Fugaku taught them various vicious killing techniques. This definitely wasn't just a one-sided beating!
During their break, the three sat beneath a tree while Nishikawa Tetsu gulped down water.
He couldn't help feeling that Uchiha Fugaku was picking on him. Minato's face was completely unscathed, while his own was bruised and swollen.
"Now for the main event."
Uchiha Fugaku looked at Nishikawa Tetsu, his expression growing especially grave.
"Nishikawa Tetsu, your tactical thinking is excellent, but your chakra reserves are a fatal weakness."
"Your theory about the Great Fireball last night was ingenious, but it depends on having a certain amount of chakra to begin with."
"What should I do?" Nishikawa Tetsu set down his canteen and asked earnestly.
In this world, chakra reserves nearly determined a shinobi's potential.
"Chakra is a combination of physical and spiritual energy."
Uchiha Fugaku held up two fingers. "The simplest and most effective way to increase your total reserves is to push past your limits."
"Exhaust your body. Exhaust your mind."
He pointed to a boulder nearby. "Use up every last bit of your strength. Then, when you're so exhausted you can barely think, force yourself to mold chakra. Make your body adapt."
"It's painful, and it's dangerous. This method can increase your chakra, but everyone has a different constitution and different physical limits."
Uchiha Fugaku's voice was low and serious.
"And if you don't control it properly, you could injure yourself. That's why I'll keep an eye on you with my Sharingan."
"I see."
Nishikawa Tetsu quickly translated the theory into a scientific model in his mind.
Physical energy = the ATP-producing efficiency of the cell's mitochondria.
Spiritual energy = the focus and willpower of the nervous system.
The limit-breaking method = exhausting glycogen through intense anaerobic exercise, forcing the body into emergency compensation, while making the nervous system maintain high-frequency firing under pressure.
In simple terms, it was like treating the body as a battery and repeatedly deep-charging and discharging it to eliminate the memory effect and force its capacity to expand.
"Understood."
Nishikawa Tetsu got to his feet, his gaze resolute.
He knew he didn't have the constitution of the Uzumaki Clan, or a Tailed Beast as an extra power bank.
If he wanted to survive in this world full of overpowered monsters until the end, he needed more than brains. He also needed a body that could take a beating.
"Then let's begin."
The next two hours became hell for Nishikawa Tetsu.
Push-ups, weighted runs, climbing trees until his chakra ran out and he fell.
Whenever Nishikawa Tetsu thought he'd reached his limit, unable to move even a finger, Uchiha Fugaku's cold voice would ring in his ears.
"Now! Mold chakra! Don't let your body rest!"
It felt like trying to squeeze water out of a bone-dry sponge. Every chakra pathway ached.
Namikaze Minato trained alongside him, but he was clearly much more at ease.
His constitution was already better than most people's, and this level of training was more like a warm-up for him.
But Namikaze Minato didn't act as if it was easy. Instead, he stayed beside Nishikawa Tetsu and encouraged him. "Che! Hang in there! Breathe—find your rhythm!"
Finally.
After Nishikawa Tetsu had lost count of how many times he'd gotten back to his feet, he shakily formed the Seal of the Ram. He felt a faint but warm new thread of chakra well up from the depths of his parched core.
There wasn't much of it, but it was purer than any chakra he'd ever produced.
"Stop."
Uchiha Fugaku's voice was like music to his ears.
Nishikawa Tetsu collapsed onto the muddy ground, his chest heaving. Sweat and rain blurred his vision.
"How do you feel?" Uchiha Fugaku came over and handed him a bottle of Ration Pills.
"Like... I died once."
Nishikawa Tetsu swallowed a pill and felt his strength slowly returning. Despite his exhaustion, he managed a smile. "But I think I'm starting to get the hang of it."
He closed his eyes and focused on the subtle changes within him.
Before, the proportions in which his chakra combined had been haphazard, so much of his physical and spiritual energy dissipated before they could merge.
Now, in that extreme state, his body had instinctively found the most efficient balance in order to protect itself.
It wasn't just an increase in capacity—it was purification, too.
"Good."
Uchiha Fugaku looked at the boy on the ground. Though he was in a sorry state, his eyes remained clear, and Fugaku nodded.
"At this rate, your chakra reserves should reach the level of an average Chunin within a month."
For a civilian without a Kekkei Genkai, that was astonishing progress.
"All right. Rest for ten minutes."
Before you continue