The Tree Climbing Practice That Transmigrators Cannot Escape

5 AM.

The sky in the Land of Rain remained a dim, leaden gray, not even a sliver of dawn managing to break through.

"Get up!"

A sharp command was followed by a violent kick to the leg of the cot.

Nishikawa Tetsu groggily opened his eyes to see Uchiha Fugaku standing before his bed, fully armed. The dark circles under his eyes seemed even heavier than yesterday, but his gaze was terrifyingly bright.

"You have three minutes to wash up and get ready, then follow me into the woods behind the camp."

Uchiha Fugaku finished speaking, turned, and lifted the tent flap before stepping out. His hurried departure exuded an unmistakable air of "eagerness."

Namikaze Minato rubbed his messy blond hair and yawned, "Fugaku-senpai is up really early."

Nishikawa Tetsu quickly put on his ninja gear, a slight smile playing on his lips. "Perhaps what I said last night kept him awake."

A secluded rocky area behind the camp.

The rain continued to fall, pattering down and polishing the rocks until they were slick and gleaming.

Uchiha Fugaku stood before a massive black boulder, taking a deep breath. He turned to look at the two behind him, his expression so serious it was as if he were performing a sacred ritual.

"Nishikawa Tetsu, watch closely."

Uchiha Fugaku began forming hand seals.

This time, his seals weren't formed quickly; it was as if he were deliberately savoring each seal and the flow of Chakra it guided.

"Snake-Ram-Monkey-Boar-Horse-Tiger."

When the final seal was completed, Uchiha Fugaku didn't immediately expel his Chakra as he usually would.

His cheeks puffed out slightly, but he forcefully suppressed the urge to exhale. Following Nishikawa Tetsu's theory from last night, he began to frantically compress the Chakra's density within his mouth, attempting to alter the ratio of Chakra to air.

A burning sting emanated from his throat – the strain caused by overly dense Chakra.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

"Huuu--"

There was no massive, all-encompassing roar like before.

What erupted from Uchiha Fugaku's mouth was no longer a giant fireball several meters in diameter, but a pillar of flame only half a meter thick, glowing with an eerie, ghostly blue color!

This blue flame was like a high-temperature laser sword, instantly piercing through the rain curtain.

"Sizzle sizzle--"

The moment the flame struck the rock, there was no explosion, only a grating sound of melting.

The hard granite seemed to melt like butter under a hot knife, instantly burning through to create a hole a meter in diameter that plunged into unseen depths.

The fractured surface resembled molten lava, still bubbling with a dark red hue.

A pungent odor filled the air.

"This..."

Namikaze Minato's azure eyes widened, and he instinctively took a step back.

He could clearly feel the terrifying heat contained within that blue flame, far exceeding that of a normal Great Fireball.

Uchiha Fugaku slowly exhaled a puff of scorching white air, touched his slightly burned lips, and gazed at the masterpiece before him, unable to conceal his astonishment.

"I only used this much Chakra," Uchiha Fugaku murmured to himself.

To achieve such destructive power previously, he would have needed to unleash at least the B-rank Great Dragon Fire Technique. Now, a modified C-rank Great Fireball had accomplished it.

He abruptly turned his head, fixing his gaze on Nishikawa Tetsu. "Is this what you meant by complete combustion?"

Nishikawa Tetsu stepped forward, crouched beside the molten crater, observed it for a moment, and nodded.

"Although the mixture ratio isn't perfect yet, causing a bit of discoloration at the flame's core, the temperature has already surpassed 1500 degrees. Fugaku-senpai, congratulations, your Fire Style has become even stronger."

Uchiha Fugaku took a deep breath, calming his turbulent emotions.

He looked at Nishikawa Tetsu, the last trace of condescension vanishing from his eyes, replaced by an acknowledgment of strength – even if that strength wasn't in muscle, but in the mind.

"Since you've proven your theory,"

Uchiha Fugaku's tone suddenly shifted, becoming stern. "Then, it's my turn to correct your weaknesses."

He pointed to the dozens of meters tall giant trees nearby.

"I'm not worried about Namikaze Minato's talent; it's mainly you, Nishikawa Tetsu."

"Your Chakra reserves are low, so every bit of Chakra must be used efficiently. Your current control over Chakra is too crude."

"Climb the tree."

Uchiha Fugaku issued a brief command. "Don't use your hands, only your feet. Channel Chakra to the soles of your feet to climb up. This is the best way to train Chakra micro-control."

At this time, tree climbing and water walking weren't mandatory courses in the Ninja Academy; they were usually secret techniques taught by a Jonin instructor.

"Understood."

Namikaze Minato nodded. Without any hesitation, he took a deep breath in front of the tree before charging forward.

One step, two steps, three steps...

Only when he reached the branches at the top of the tree did Namikaze Minato steady himself, hanging upside down. He flashed a sunny smile at those below, "It doesn't seem... that difficult?"

"..."

Nishikawa Tetsu and Uchiha Fugaku fell silent simultaneously.

Freak, Nishikawa Tetsu silently grumbled in his heart.

Such one-time success in control was befitting the future Yellow Flash.

Uchiha Fugaku's lips twitched. He then turned to look at Nishikawa Tetsu, his eyes seeming to say, See? That's a genius. What about you?

Nishikawa Tetsu shrugged and walked up to the tree.

He didn't rush immediately. Instead, he pulled out a small notebook and began writing and drawing on it.

"What are you doing?" Uchiha Fugaku couldn't help but ask.

"Calculating."

Nishikawa Tetsu didn't look up. "My weight is 42 kilograms, the friction coefficient of the bark is about 0.6. Considering gravitational acceleration and the slipperiness due to rain, the amount of Chakra I need to output should be maintained at..."

"Stop calculating! Go!"

Uchiha Fugaku finally couldn't stand Nishikawa Tetsu's dawdling and kicked him in the butt.

Nishikawa Tetsu stumbled and charged towards the tree trunk, stepping onto it.

Crack.

The bark under his foot exploded, and he was immediately flung backward, landing flat on his face.

"Too much Chakra," Uchiha Fugaku commented coldly. "You're climbing the tree, not kicking it."

Nishikawa Tetsu got up, rubbed his backside, but wasn't discouraged. "I see. There's indeed a discrepancy between theory and practice. My output just now was 15% too high."

He had mocked Naruto and Sasuke when watching the anime, but now that it was happening to him, he wasn't doing any better.

For the next hour.

The sounds of "crack" and "thump" continuously echoed through the forest.

Namikaze Minato sat at the top of the tree, enjoying the view. Uchiha Fugaku stood below, arms crossed, acting as a supervisor. Nishikawa Tetsu, meanwhile, continuously refined his Chakra output model amidst repeated falls.

Though he looked disheveled, Uchiha Fugaku's eyes showed increasing admiration.

He realized that while Nishikawa Tetsu didn't possess Namikaze Minato's terrifying, intuitive talent, his learning ability was exceptional.

With every failure, he could pinpoint the exact cause and never stumbled on the same mistake twice.

Finally.

When Nishikawa Tetsu, covered in mud, stood on a branch ten meters high, looking down, he let out a long sigh.

"Chakra Adhesion and Gravity Dynamic Equilibrium Model, construction complete."

"Barely acceptable."

Uchiha Fugaku snorted. Although he said it was barely acceptable, he knew very well that it would take an ordinary Genin at least two to three days to master this technique, yet Nishikawa Tetsu had done it in just one hour.

"Since you've mastered climbing the tree, the principle of walking on water is the same. But before that."

Uchiha Fugaku took out two special papers from his ninja pouch.

"Lord Jiraiya entrusted you to me, so I must see this through."

"Now that you understand climbing the tree is about controlling Chakra, the next step is to let you know your Chakra Nature, so you can begin developing Nature Transformation in advance."

He handed the papers to the two of them.

"This is Chakra Paper. Input your Chakra into it. If it's Fire, it will burn; Wind will cut it; Lightning will wrinkle it; Earth will crumble it; Water will dampen it."

Namikaze Minato took the paper and gently infused it with Chakra.

The paper instantly split neatly in the middle, then wrinkled, and finally burned.

"Wind, Lightning, and Fire Nature," Uchiha Fugaku nodded. "Very suitable attributes for you, capable of developing high-cutting ninjutsu."

Next, both their gazes turned to Nishikawa Tetsu.

Nishikawa Tetsu held the thin piece of paper, his mind already filled with conjectures.

He slowly mobilized the meager amount of Chakra within him and injected it into his fingertips.

The paper first wrinkled violently, then became damp, and finally, its edges showed slight signs of crumbling.

"Lightning, Water, and Earth."

Uchiha Fugaku looked at the scene with some surprise. This tagalong also had three natures.

"Three natures? Although the quantity is small, the attributes are quite varied. However, Lightning Nature is primary?"

He looked thoughtfully at Nishikawa Tetsu. "Lightning Style can activate cells to increase speed, and also generate high penetration."

"Combined with your so-called science, perhaps you can forge a completely different path."

Nishikawa Tetsu looked at the crumpled paper in his hand, but his mind was already filled with terms like "electromagnetic induction," "electrolysis of water to produce hydrogen," and "high-voltage current traps."

"It seems my 'Scientific Ninja Tools' development plan has found its energy core."

A smile curved Nishikawa Tetsu's lips.