Ways to Increase Chakra

The Land of Rain's early morning air was so moist it felt like it could be wrung out.

After last night's not-so-secret secret training session, the atmosphere within Team Five had eased up a bit.

Although Uchiha Fugaku still had a stern expression, the look he gave Nishikawa Tetsu held less of the disdain he usually reserved for a burden.

"Today's lesson is divided into two parts."

Uchiha Fugaku stood on the muddy open ground, arms crossed, his gaze sharp. "Taijutsu combat, and... a training session specifically to improve one person's Chakra levels."

Nishikawa Tetsu, knowing himself well, raised his hand. "Senior, you could just ask for my ID number, it'd be the same."

Uchiha Fugaku ignored his quip and immediately assumed a starting stance.

"We'll start with Taijutsu. In this battlefield, you won't always have 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 go first. Attack me with your fastest speed."

"Yes!"

Namikaze Minato's eyes sharpened, and he instantly became a golden blur.

"Whoosh!"

In the blink of an eye, Namikaze Minato's whip kick swept towards Uchiha Fugaku's neck.

The strike was fast, accurate, and vicious, carrying a whistling sound that cut through the air, possessing a force no mere Genin could muster.

However, Uchiha Fugaku didn't even activate his Sharingan.

He merely tilted his head slightly, his body shifting back by an infinitesimal amount, and the whip kick grazed past the tip of his nose.

Immediately after, Uchiha Fugaku flipped his wrist and precisely grasped Namikaze Minato's ankle.

"Too straightforward," Uchiha Fugaku commented coldly, then used the momentum to throw him.

Namikaze Minato was flung backward, but his reaction was swift. He executed a beautiful backflip in mid-air and landed steadily.

"Your speed is impressive; that's certainly your talent," Uchiha Fugaku said to Namikaze Minato, his tone serious.

"But your movements are too obvious, your intentions revealed too early. In front of a true Sharingan, every step you take would be within my prediction."

"You need to learn feints and tempo changes, not just blindly pursue speed."

Namikaze Minato nodded thoughtfully, a flicker of contemplation in his azure eyes. "Tempo changes, breaking the rhythm?"

Teaching a genius felt good; they understood instantly.

"Precisely."

"Next, Nishikawa Tetsu."

Uchiha Fugaku turned, his gaze like a wolf eyeing a lamb.

Nishikawa Tetsu sighed and adopted the basic Taijutsu stance taught at the ninja academy.

He knew the next few minutes would likely be a one-sided beatdown.

As expected.

Five minutes later.

"Bang!"

Nishikawa Tetsu was once again slammed into the mud by Uchiha Fugaku's over-the-shoulder throw.

"Too weak," Uchiha Fugaku looked down at the panting Nishikawa Tetsu. "Your strength is insufficient, and your speed is even slower. If I were the enemy just now, you'd be dead."

Nishikawa Tetsu struggled to get up, wiping the mud and water from his face.

Though his body protested, his mind was racing.

"Strength and speed are hardware differences that can't be compensated for in the short term," Nishikawa Tetsu said, gasping for air.

"But I noticed, Senior, that your habit of exerting force always prioritizes protecting your left ribs. Perhaps it's muscle memory from a past injury?"

Uchiha Fugaku froze, instinctively touching his left ribcage.

That was where he'd been injured by a Sand Ninja puppeteer half a year ago. Though healed, the subconscious defensive reflex was still there.

"Good observation."

A flicker of surprise crossed Uchiha Fugaku's eyes. While this kid's eyes weren't the Sharingan, his insight was sharp.

He drew two wooden Kunai from his waist and tossed them to the two. "Taijutsu isn't just about punches and kicks; it also involves weapons."

For the next hour, Uchiha Fugaku began teaching various ruthless killing techniques. It was definitely not a one-sided beating!

Break time.

The three sat under a tree, Nishikawa Tetsu gulping down water.

He felt like Uchiha Fugaku was picking on him. Minato's face was perfectly fine, but his own was bruised and swollen.

"Next, is the main event."

Uchiha Fugaku looked at Nishikawa Tetsu, his expression becoming unusually solemn.

"Nishikawa Tetsu, your tactical mind is indeed excellent, but your Chakra volume is your fatal weakness."

"Last night's Great Fireball theory was ingenious, but it was built on a foundation of a certain amount of Chakra."

"What do I need to do?" Nishikawa Tetsu put down his water bottle and asked earnestly.

In this world, Chakra volume almost determined a ninja's upper limit.

"Chakra is the combination of physical energy and mental energy."

Uchiha Fugaku extended two fingers. "The most foolish, yet most effective method to increase the total amount is extreme breakthrough."

"Squeeze your body, squeeze your mind."

He pointed to a large rock not far away. "Exhaust your last bit of physical strength, and then, in that state of extreme fatigue where your brain can't even think, forcibly refine Chakra and let your body adapt."

"This is painful, and also dangerous. Although this method can increase Chakra, everyone's physique is different, and their physical limits are also different."

Uchiha Fugaku said gravely.

"And if you can't control it well, it will damage your body, so I will keep an eye on you with the Sharingan."

"I see."

Nishikawa Tetsu's mind rapidly converted this theory into a scientific model.

Physical energy = ATP production efficiency of cellular mitochondria.

Mental energy = focus and willpower of the nervous system.

Extreme breakthrough method = Exhaust glycogen through high-intensity anaerobic exercise, forcing the body into an emergency compensation mechanism, while simultaneously forcing the nervous system to maintain high-frequency discharge under high pressure.

Simply put, it was treating the body like a battery, repeatedly deep charging and discharging it to eliminate memory effects and forcibly expand the battery capacity.

"Understood."

Nishikawa Tetsu stood up, his eyes determined.

He knew he didn't have the physique of the Uzumaki Clan, nor the cheat-like power bank of a Tailed Beast.

To survive until the grand finale in this world where cheats were flying everywhere, besides his brain, he also needed a durable body.

"Then let's begin."

The next two hours became Nishikawa Tetsu's hell.

Push-ups, weighted running, climbing trees until his Chakra ran out and he fell.

Every time Nishikawa Tetsu felt he had reached his limit, unable to move even a finger, Uchiha Fugaku's cold voice would ring in his ears.

"Refine Chakra right now, don't let your body rest!"

The feeling was like trying to squeeze water from a dried-up sponge, every meridian aching.

Namikaze Minato was also training alongside him, but he was clearly more at ease.

His physique was already superior to the average person, and this level of training was more like a warm-up for him.

However, Namikaze Minato did not appear relaxed. Instead, he kept cheering Nishikawa Tetsu on from the side. "Tetsu! Hold on! Breathe, adjust your breathing rhythm!"

Finally.

When Nishikawa Tetsu got up from the ground for the umpteenth time and tremblingly formed the "Un" hand seal, he felt a faint but warm new Chakra surge from the depths of his dried-up Dantian.

Although the amount was small, this Chakra was more refined than ever before.

"Stop."

Uchiha Fugaku's voice was like heavenly music.

Nishikawa Tetsu collapsed directly onto the muddy ground, his chest heaving violently, sweat and rain mixing and blurring his vision.

"How does it feel?" Uchiha Fugaku walked over, handing him a bottle of Ration Pills.

"It feels... like I died once."

Nishikawa Tetsu swallowed the pill, feeling his stamina slowly recover, but a tired smile tugged at the corner of his lips. "However, I think I've grasped the knack."

He closed his eyes, sensing the subtle changes within him.

If his Chakra mixing ratio used to be random, causing much of the mental and physical energy to dissipate before combining, then now, in an extreme state, his body instinctively found the most efficient point for self-preservation.

Not just expansion, but purification.

"Very good."

Uchiha Fugaku looked at the disheveled but clear-eyed youth on the ground and nodded.

"At this pace, within a month, your Chakra volume should reach the level of an ordinary Chunin."

For a civilian without a Kekkei Genkai, this was already an astonishing rate of progress.

"Alright, rest for ten minutes."