The Tree-Climbing Training

Although Ino had never shown her feelings for Chen, Ino, who liked him too, could see right through her. So Ino was always picking on her and going out of her way to oppose her. After all, she would never let anyone else have Chen. Anyone who dared set their sights on him was her enemy.

Later, Ino finally understood why Ino was always giving her such a hard time. Ino had found out that she liked Chen and was afraid she would steal him away.

That was the last straw for Ino. Chen-kun wasn't yours! You liked Chen, and so did she. If Ino wanted to give her a hard time, then she'd give Ino a hard time right back. Let's see who backed down first.

In the end, the two girls, who hadn't crossed paths in the Original Story, became rivals. Every day, they traded barbs and taunts, and they'd get into fights, neither willing to yield. Ino had been a shy girl, but little by little, their rivalry changed her. She became as cheerful and bold as Ino, and she stopped hiding her feelings for Chen. Instead, she expressed them as boldly as Ino did. The two became bitter enemies, much like Sakura and Ino in the Original Story, and turned the classroom into a stage for their daily battle over Chen. It was common to see Ino and Ino each tugging on one of Chen's hands, pulling him back and forth like a tug-of-war and refusing to let go. Chen, caught between them, found it exasperating. But he didn't mind—in fact, he rather enjoyed it.

But a little over a year ago, after the Uchiha clan was wiped out, Chen had suffered such a severe mental shock that he became a helpless idiot, unable to take care of himself. So he dropped out of school and stayed home to recover. At first, everyone visited him, but when they saw that he showed no signs of improving, they gradually forgot about him. Ino and Ino, however, never stopped believing he would get better. They visited him every few days. Chen never remembered them, though, so they always left disappointed.

In the end, because they often visited Chen together, the two girls came to understand how the other felt. Little by little, they went from competing with each other to understanding each other. They comforted and encouraged one another, and gradually became close friends. They both firmly believed Chen would recover. They prayed for him, hoping he would return to the way he used to be, and quietly waited for him.

"Ino and I will keep waiting for Chen to get better!" Ino told Sakura with a smile, her gaze unwavering.

"You and Ino? D-don't tell me you two...?" Sakura looked from Ino to Ino, her eyes full of disbelief.

"Mm! That's right. Ino and I don't fight over Chen anymore. We understand how each other feels about him, and neither of us is willing to give up. Besides, the most important thing now is waiting for Chen to get better."

"Have you gone crazy? How can this be okay?" Sakura thought Ino had to be crazy to say something like that. "No one would ever approve of something like this. Ino, wake up! Stop obsessing over Chen. Forget about him."

"I'm not crazy. I know exactly what I feel, so you don't need to say anything else, Sakura." Ino... "Y-you...!" Sakura was so stunned by Ino's words that she couldn't speak.

"All right, let's get back to our seats. Teacher Iruka will be here to start class any moment," Ino said, heading for her seat.

"Crazy. She's really gone crazy! No, I have to talk some sense into Ino. This is ridiculous!" Sakura couldn't accept it. She thought Ino was just confused for the moment, and that if she kept talking to her, Ino would come around.

Just then, Iruka arrived in the classroom to begin the lesson. Sakura had no choice but to return to her seat, but she couldn't hear a word Iruka said. All she could think about was making Ino forget Uchiha Chen, no matter what it took.

Meanwhile, Chen had gotten up when Sasuke left. After eating the breakfast Sasuke had left for him, he planned to return to the Laboratory and continue training.

This time, though, it wasn't as much trouble as the day before. After obtaining the Flying Thunder God Technique yesterday, Chen had placed a Flying Thunder God mark in the Laboratory. He had also placed one in his room, so he could travel freely between the Laboratory and his room.

"I should make some preparations, so Sasuke doesn't panic if he comes home unexpectedly and finds me gone. I'll leave a clone in the room." Chen thought for a moment. "A Shadow Clone would be better. It's more useful than the Clone Technique, and Shadow Clones are important—they can be used for training and even as a means of attack. They're really practical. I have to get one."

A clone created by the Clone Technique wasn't solid; it was an illusion that could only fool ordinary ninja (those with the Sharingan or Byakugan could see through it), and it couldn't attack.

A Shadow Clone was made by dividing one's Chakra equally to create a clone identical to the original. It could attack and act independently. Since Chakra was evenly distributed, the Byakugan couldn't tell it apart from the real body, though the Mangekyō Sharingan could (after special training, Madara could see through Yamato's Wood Style clone). When a Shadow Clone was dispelled, the original could gain the experience the clone had accumulated.

The Multiple Shadow Clone Technique wasn't fundamentally different from the Shadow Clone Technique, but it could create a terrifying number of clones. Since Chakra was divided evenly among them, anyone without a constitution like Naruto's could very well die from using it. That was why it was a forbidden technique.

"System, how many Points does it take to exchange for the Shadow Clone Technique?" Chen asked.

"Response to host: Shadow Clone Technique. Item type: skill. Item rank: B-rank. Points required: 2,000. Insufficient Points. Exchange unavailable."

"Not enough Points? Fine, I'll use the Clone Technique from the Three Basic Ninjutsu Techniques for now. It's just in case Sasuke comes home early. It shouldn't be a problem. Danzo isn't sending anyone to watch me anymore, and with Sasuke's strength—he isn't even a Genin yet—he shouldn't be able to tell." With no other choice, Chen used the Clone Technique to create a clone, then had it lie down on the tatami and pretend to sleep.

"Mm, that should do it. Now I don't have to worry about Sasuke finding out I'm not in my room." Chen nodded at the clone lying on the tatami. "All right, I can go."

Then Chen focused his thoughts, and his whole body suddenly vanished from the room. When he appeared again, he was in the Laboratory.

"Starting today, I'll practice Chakra control!" Chen decided to train using Kakashi's method from the Original Story: Water Walking and tree climbing.

"Ding! System task: Master the tree-climbing technique within two days. Reward for completion: 300 Points. Penalty for failure: none. Accept?" The long-awaited task notification rang out, exciting Chen.

"I finally have a task! How long has it been? I'd almost forgotten the system could issue tasks!" Chen said excitedly. "Accept, of course! It's rare for the system to issue a task. No matter how hard it is, I'll take it."

If you think tree-climbing training is simple, you couldn't be more wrong.

Chakra is the energy a ninja needs to use Ninjutsu. It can also be shaped into threads to bind an opponent or cut through things made of Chakra.

Simply put, Chakra is the energy needed to use Ninjutsu. Broadly speaking, this energy comes from two sources: 1. The physical energy drawn from each of the body's 130 trillion cells. 2. The mental energy cultivated through experience and accumulated training.

In other words, Ninjutsu is performed by drawing these two kinds of energy from the body, refining them (a process called Chakra extraction), and then activating them through the steps known as Hand Seals!

Though Chen could already use Ninjutsu, he still hadn't mastered Chakra control. Extracting Chakra meant drawing out physical and mental energy, then mixing them inside the body. The amount extracted and the balance required varied depending on the Ninjutsu being used. Chen still couldn't use Chakra effectively. Even if he could extract a large amount, failing to control the balance would greatly weaken the technique or even prevent it from working. And wasting energy would leave him unable to fight for long.

This tree-climbing exercise wasn't ordinary climbing that used both hands and feet. It required concentrating Chakra in the soles of the feet so they would stick to the tree trunk, allowing him to walk straight up it.

The purpose of this training was to gather the right amount of Chakra in the right place. The amount needed for tree climbing was very precise, and the soles of the feet were the hardest place to gather Chakra. In other words, if you could master tree climbing, you could learn any Ninjutsu—in theory, at least.

The second part of this training was maintaining the Chakra you had extracted. Most ninja extracted Chakra in the middle of battle, when controlling and maintaining it was much more difficult.

So, if he wanted to grow stronger, tree-climbing training was essential. Since he couldn't practice it in the Laboratory, Chen left and went to the woods outside to begin training.

Chen emerged from the cave and found a tall tree with a straight trunk. "Tree-climbing training... I can't remember how Kakashi taught it. But I know I have to gather Chakra in my feet. I'll give it a try!"

With that, Chen formed Hand Seals, gathered Chakra in his feet, and sprinted toward the tree. He stepped onto the trunk and ran upward.

But after only five steps, he broke off a chunk of the trunk and fell.

"Did I use too much Chakra?" Chen studied the broken spot on the tree, deep in thought.