Tree Climbing, Water Walking

Just once!?

Hiroki managed to control his chakra at the soles of his feet to adhere to the wall or tree bark on his very first attempt? Hiroki's chakra control was that precise?

Just for a split second? Just one single try?

Nawaki's brain couldn't quite wrap itself around it.

Is this reasonable?

This isn't reasonable at all! Shouldn't a ninja be about passion, hard work, and struggle?

How is there a guy here who talks about data and units, and succeeds on the first try?

This isn't like Naruto at all!

Isn't ninja training supposed to rely on failure after failure, trial after trial, and then shouting each other's names with opponents while progressing together?

How did it become a one-try success with Hiroki?

If he were a novel protagonist, where would the plot conflict even come from?

On the other side, Uzumaki Kushina also widened her eyes.

Hiroki—how on earth did he do it?

Kushina's mind echoed with Hiroki's previous question.

Can chakra be calculated? She looked down at her own feet, wondering if she could also manage to control the exact amount of chakra she wanted, just like Hiroki said.

It wasn't just the two children who were shocked; their instructor, Orochimaru, was equally stunned. His golden snake-like pupils constricted slightly, locked firmly onto Hiroki's ankles.

He succeeded.

Not only did he succeed, but he did it on the very first try.

No, it wasn't just a one-time success based purely on talent.

More importantly, he had verified his own realization.

Chakra could have quantifiable standards; the training experience of one person could be more completely replicated in another.

Chakra could also be like his various laboratories, where all sorts of indicators could be measured.

Chakra shouldn't be based on empiricism, nor could it be.

It could be concrete, quantified into specific methods, deduced according to data, and summarized with more detailed theories!

This was what Orochimaru saw in an instant!

This was a victory of methodology.

Orochimaru's thinking expanded in that moment.

If this method could be replicated and popularized, the efficiency of ninjutsu instruction would be subverted.

A ninja's talent would no longer depend solely on their vague "chakra sensing ability," but could be precisely evaluated through data.

The development of ninjutsu would also shift from countless trials and errors to precise construction guided by theory.

To give a simple example, teaching the Transformation Technique or Substitution Technique in the past might have involved teaching how to imagine things in one's head, and how to mobilize chakra, but future instruction might look like this:

What the head should transform into, the estimated number of standard chakra units to consume, and how many standard units are appropriate to use.

Assessments would also change: under the condition of using a specific number of standard chakra units, completing and executing a Transformation Technique, and what the target of the transformation is would determine if one passes!

A brand new era seemed to be right before his eyes.

Orochimaru couldn't help but lick the corner of his mouth.

Even the Root and Anbu ninjas hidden in the shadows fell into silent shock.

They were experienced elites whose "feeling" for chakra had seeped into their marrow, becoming a part of their instincts. They had spent their entire lives honing this instinct.

Many of them were already twenty or thirty years old; they had experienced far more than Kushina and Nawaki, and they saw much further.

Therefore, they were even more capable of realizing the impact of Hiroki's performance.

Hiroki succeeding at tree-climbing on his first try wasn't necessarily an earth-shattering talent.

Although it was indeed outstanding, among Anbu elites, there were some who could do it. But Hiroki was different—he succeeded on the first try after listening to Orochimaru's instruction, and when he first started adhering to the surface, the chakra he used was clearly less than what he used afterward, yet the effect remained good.

It is imaginable that without Orochimaru's guidance and the specific chakra amounts shared by Orochimaru, Hiroki would never have succeeded on the first try.

He might have had to spend two, three, or even five or six times the effort.

He might have even had to spend an entire afternoon!

But he succeeded on the first try—what did that mean?

It meant that the instincts they had spent their entire lives honing were likely a complete waste of youth.

Today, a child, with an extremely simple question that no one had ever asked before, told them that they actually didn't need to spend so much energy honing their instincts at all.

Could it be that they were simply missing a standard unit for chakra?

If someone had told them exactly how much chakra to extract and how many standard units to use when performing a ninjutsu, perhaps they could have succeeded on the first try as well—

Even if they couldn't manage it on the first attempt, they might have been able to save a vast amount of wasted time—

Inexplicably, the Anbu ninjas couldn't help but feel a sliver of resentment, though they couldn't even say for sure who that resentment was directed toward.

Perhaps, they too once had the chance to succeed on their first try just like Sawada Hiroki?

Right in the midst of this eerie silence, Sawada Hiroki moved. He lifted his other foot, outputting chakra with the same precision, stepped firmly onto the wall, and took a step upward.

His movements were somewhat stiff, but every step was exceptionally stable.

Just then, the cat sitting in the tree seemed startled by Sawada Hiroki; its fur stood on end, it hissed fiercely at him, then scurried a few steps along the branch and leaped!

In an instant, the cat vaulted over a calm, small stream.

Orochimaru didn't say much, quickly leaping over the wall and running directly across the water.

Running across the water!?

Yes, that was exactly it—running across the water! This was the advanced technique of tree climbing.

Nawaki and Kushina were still stunned, but Sawada Hiroki had already reached the stream. He looked at the water's surface, still calculating the required amount, when Orochimaru spoke up:

"Two-sixths of a Transformation Technique, twice that of tree climbing."

Orochimaru was concise, his eyes burning as he stared at Sawada Hiroki, his intent perfectly clear: he wanted to know if Sawada Hiroki could replicate his success just as he had done before!

Nawaki and Kushina's gazes also snapped toward Sawada Hiroki!

Could he succeed again?

Sawada Hiroki took a deep breath, and a new program was quickly written.

Chakra began to be refined and consumed at a rate of 24 units/second, twice the consumption of wall climbing!

The next moment, Sawada Hiroki stepped out!

Although there was still some instability and wobbling, Sawada Hiroki's foot truly felt a powerful sense of support!

It seemed it still wasn't quite enough?

Increase the output!

25 units/second!

He stood steady!

Continue increasing the amount, 26 units/second!

Sawada Hiroki boldly began to run! It was as if he were walking on flat ground!

Had he succeeded once again?

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