Born with the soul of an adult, Higashino Makoto had spent years training with discipline and determination. With a decent physique, his parents' selfless guidance, and a "tiny" boost from Natural Energy, he'd grown incredibly strong. He'd long since left his classmates so far behind they couldn't even see his taillights.
In terms of raw strength, he might have already surpassed his father, Higashino Jiro. He was just lacking in combat experience. If they fought with everything they had, the outcome would be hard to predict.
After all, a ninja battle wasn't a contest of stats.
Higashino Makoto held back during the school's sparring matches. He didn't want to become some great demon king looming over his classmates. He was a gentle soul, and usually fought seriously for a while before defeating his opponent.
Fighting classmates was like being in a relationship: you couldn't focus only on your own feelings. You had to let the other person feel involved, make them believe they could win if they just tried a little harder.
That way, they'd go home and train hard, improving their strength. Even a small improvement might save their lives in some future battle.
Only when he fought Uchiha Shisui did he let himself cut loose a little. The kid really was talented, with first-rate reflexes.
And that was without even activating his Sharingan.
Teacher Inoue Kuroiwa had probably noticed the issue, because after that, he often paired the two of them against each other, so the other students could watch and learn.
Even so, Higashino Makoto couldn't use his full strength. Shisui still wasn't his match.
He stood out among the New Generation, but his skill was still within the bounds of normal.
If he showed what he could really do, Teacher Inoue Kuroiwa might recommend that he graduate early.
Higashino Makoto had promised his mother he'd spend a few more years at school. Besides, he needed time to train. He was at a crucial stage in his Nature Transformation training, and graduating now would disrupt his plans.
Unlike the kids who were always thinking about graduating as soon as possible and becoming ninjas so they could contribute to the village, Higashino Makoto preferred to spend his time on himself.
He'd come to experience the exciting, colorful life of the Shinobi World, not to become a workaholic.
About twenty days passed in the blink of an eye.
That afternoon, it was time for another sparring match between the two of them. Other students were still fighting on the field when Shisui quietly approached Higashino Makoto and whispered, "Makoto, be careful when you go on the offensive later."
Higashino Makoto blinked, then understood. "Don't tell me you're a Shadow Clone?"
Uchiha Shisui nodded. "That's right. The clan elders thought there was no need to waste time at the Ninja Academy and that I should focus on improving my strength under the clan's guidance. But I think school is where you build bonds with everyone, so I still wanted to come. That's why I've been learning the Shadow Clone Technique lately."
As he spoke, he seemed to remember something and asked, "Makoto, you figured out so quickly that I'm a clone. Does that mean you're also...?"
"What do you think?"
They shared a knowing smile, having reached an understanding. Soon it was their turn to spar. Their fight was dazzling, but whenever their fists or feet struck the other's body, they held back.
The students watching were utterly captivated, eagerly absorbing every bit of knowledge from their fight. They imagined what they'd do if they were in either fighter's shoes, without noticing anything strange.
Even Teacher Inoue didn't catch on.
The two sneaky guys breathed a sigh of relief. From then on, they started slacking off as part of their daily routine.
The Training Ground near the Higashino Family home was unusually quiet.
It was wartime, and the number of ninja in the village had dropped dramatically. It also wasn't a school holiday, so no students came here to train. Only a few three- or four-year-old kids who hadn't enrolled in school sometimes ran over to play, but they never stayed long.
In the woods, three Higashino Makotos were quietly training in Chakra Nature Transformation. The original sat in a tree, while his clones practiced nearby.
He only made three Shadow Clones at a time to help with training. One went to school, while the other two and the original focused on their studies here.
Three was already his limit. That was what he'd concluded after several tests. Any more, and he wouldn't be able to handle the danger of all the memories and experience flooding his mind at once when he released the clones.
Higashino Makoto had a good Chakra Amount, thanks to the way Natural Energy had nourished his body. At six years old, he had nearly as much Chakra as a standard Jonin. But he still didn't have the freakish recovery abilities of an Uzumaki Body, much less two great dads to help shoulder the side effects.
Besides, the more clones he made, the less Chakra each one received. They wouldn't be able to train for long before vanishing.
The original focused on training in Wind Release Nature Transformation. That was the attack type he'd chosen.
The other two clones trained in Water Release and Earth Release Nature Transformation. He planned to focus on defense with those two elements.
The original pressed his hands together, then quickly spread them apart. The leaf in his hands had been cleanly sliced in two. He was strengthening the sharp cutting property of Wind Release.
When he was done, he casually picked another leaf from beside him and repeated the exercise, over and over. As always, he needed to train until it became instinctive—to the point that he could switch properties at will, without hand seals, and complete the Nature Transformation with just a thought.
Naruto had managed it in just a few days, but only by using hundreds or even thousands of Shadow Clones to train all at once. The guy was a beast.
Higashino Makoto wouldn't dare try that. It had taken him nearly a year to get the basics down, which showed that he had pretty good talent. Of course, Natural Energy deserved some credit, too.
The longer his body was transformed by Natural Energy, the faster he seemed to improve at controlling Chakra and training in Nature Transformation.
No wonder it was his cheat. It was an all-purpose amplifier.
"It looks like I've gotten pretty good at controlling the sharp cutting property. Next, I should move on to the next step and find a waterfall to train at."
Higashino Makoto silently planned his next move. He'd learned this method from Naruto in the future.
Once he'd settled on his course, he shifted and jumped down from the tree, landing lightly on the ground.
This was another property of Wind Release Chakra: Light Flow.
This was the Shinobi World. People could soar freely through the sky like birds. How could Higashino Makoto pass up such a miraculous ability? He'd dreamed of flying for as long as he could remember.
A ninja who could fly was at least three or four floors higher in terms of sheer coolness.
Mu and Ōnoki of Iwagakure could fly by training the gravity property of Earth Release Chakra to its utmost limit. This was the Earth Style: Light-Weight Rock Technique, or, in the opposite direction, the Earth Style: Heavy Rock Technique. The Ultra-Light-Weight Rock Technique could even stop the enormous meteor Madara summoned with Tengai Shinsei in its tracks. It was absurd.
Pain, on the other hand, could fly by using the Rinnegan to control repulsive force with Shinra Tensei.
Higashino Makoto was still searching for a direction in his training of Earth Release's gravity property. He didn't have those ringed eyes, so if he wanted to fly, he'd have to work on Wind Release Nature Transformation.
Fortunately, he thought this approach could work.
He still couldn't fly, but by training the Light Flow property, he'd already learned to let his body blend somewhat into the wind. While leaping through the air, he could make simple adjustments to his movements, and his speed had increased considerably.
When he reached the clones, he saw one of them holding a lump of earth he'd made with Earth Release Chakra. The clone fed it Chakra, steadily increasing its hardness and turning it toward stone.
He was training Earth Release's heavy, solid properties.
There were plenty of techniques that used this property, such as Kakuzu's Earth Spear Technique, which could harden any part of his body and provide both offense and defense.
The deeper his mastery of this property, the stronger the defenses of his Earth Style Wall would be, and the harder it would be to destroy.
At the same time, Higashino Makoto hoped he might find a clue to the gravity property while training in heaviness and hardness.
The other clone was training the flexibility of Water Release. This property could strengthen a Water Style Wall's defenses, and it could also shape water into a rope to bind people with the Water Whip Technique.
That was one of the directions he was currently training in: strengthening the properties of his three elements.
In truth, any element's Chakra Nature Transformation could be used for both offense and defense when mastered to the extreme. But he didn't have the energy to work on too many elements right now, so he had to choose carefully.
His other two areas of training were the second stage of Chakra Control and Medical Ninjutsu.
As for Natural Energy, that was something he worked on every night after falling asleep.
He could keep training even while asleep. How could his strength not improve? Wasting talent was shameful, and it would bring retribution. He'd learned that lesson the hard way in his previous life.
Suddenly, memories flooded into his mind. The clone at school had finished its task.
Higashino Makoto processed the memories, then waited a little while before having the other two clones release themselves one after another.
The huge influx of training memories made his head feel slightly swollen, but he adjusted quickly.
If all three clones returned at once with a full day's worth of memories and training experience, he'd feel mildly dizzy.
This showed that he could actually endure the side effects of using more clones. But Higashino Makoto didn't want to do that.
The body was the foundation of everything. He couldn't let short-term gains lead to lasting harm.
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