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In the underground training ground.

Thud.

With a whoosh as his fist cut through the air, Shinji punched the wooden dummy in front of him. It toppled easily with a dull thump.

"Not right."

Shaking his head, Shinji moved two steps to the right and punched another wooden dummy.

A wider view of the underground training ground would have shown wooden dummies scattered all over the floor.

Thud.

Another dull thump, and the wooden dummy fell!

There was no joy on Shinji's face. Instead, his brow furrowed.

"Is the rhythm of my breathing wrong?"

"Or is Chakra stimulating my heart and lungs too soon?"

"Or are my muscles not contracting enough?"

Pondering the problem, Shinji walked up to a new wooden dummy.

He had paid a fortune to have all these dummies made from ironwood grown in the bitterly cold northern lands, such as the Land of Lightning and the Land of Iron.

Ironwood was as hard as ironstone, yet more flexible, making it the best material for wooden dummies used in Taijutsu training.

Looking at the dummy in front of him, Shinji didn't rush to throw a punch this time. According to Ryuhei Ubuyashiki, breathing is only the outward form. The real key to a Breathing Technique is coordination and resonance throughout the body. It's a way to unite all the body's organs. My one-sided focus on stimulating my heart and lungs seems to have had the opposite effect.

Shinji began to understand that the essence of a Breathing Technique was coordination. Breathing was merely one way to bring the body's organs into harmony.

Once he understood that, his thoughts began to wander.

"Unlike swordsmen, I'm a ninja with Chakra. I can use it to help stimulate every organ in my body. I don't have to fixate on 'breathing.'"