More than half a month had passed since the Crow Ghost incident. Nothing had happened during that time; everything was calm and peaceful. But Houka could feel undercurrents stirring.
I have to get stronger, fast!
Houka once again used a Shadow Clone to handle his schoolwork while he trained like crazy with his real body!
"Houka, here's the chakra paper you asked for!"
On Kage Rock, Might Duy casually tossed over a slip of paper.
Houka's eyes lit up, and he immediately caught it.
Chakra paper was used to test a person's chakra nature.
Guy, who was warming up nearby, came over curiously as well.
Houka channeled chakra into the paper. Half of it immediately caught fire, while the other half crumpled.
"Fire and Lightning Release!" Might Duy said.
Houka nodded. Most members of the Uchiha Clan had these two chakra natures.
Houka's next plan was to learn the Rasengan. He had been worried about not having enough chakra, so he had put it off until now. But his chakra reserves were finally somewhere between a Genin's and a Chunin's!
The Rasengan was a jutsu developed by the Fourth Hokage that required no hand seals. It was not only convenient, but tremendously powerful. Most importantly, Houka knew exactly how to learn it!
Houka had long since recalled the Rasengan's training process. It consisted of four stages.
The first stage was to gather chakra in the palm of his hand!
In the second stage, he would hold a water-filled balloon in his palm and release chakra into it, making the water move erratically until the balloon burst.
In the third stage, he would replace the balloon with a rubber ball, then make the released chakra tangible until it burst the ball!
The fourth stage was to combine everything from the previous stages: gather chakra in his hand, release it continuously and keep it steady, then finally compress it. That was the Rasengan!
After the morning's training, Guy went to class, and Might Duy left to carry out a mission. Houka was left alone on Kage Rock.
"Let's give it a try!"
Houka held out his palm and slowly gathered chakra there. Thanks to his foundation in Medical Ninjutsu, the first stage was very easy for him.
"Now for the second stage!"
Houka took out a balloon he had prepared earlier, found a nearby river, filled it with water, and placed it in his palm.
Chakra slowly flowed into the balloon.
Before long, the water inside finally started to move, though only slightly.
"What's going on?"
Houka could tell something was wrong. He had put in plenty of chakra, yet the result was so weak. He wasn't satisfied.
He closed his eyes and carefully sensed the flow of chakra as he released it. After a long moment, he understood: once the chakra entered the water, it was flowing outward instead of staying inside it.
Now that he knew the cause, Houka quickly adjusted. He closed his eyes and concentrated, keeping the chakra contained within the water in the balloon.
In an instant, the water inside began to churn.
Houka immediately increased the flow of chakra. The water churned more and more violently, but the balloon showed no sign of bursting.
Is it really going to be this stubborn?
Houka gritted his teeth in frustration, then quickly reconsidered and spotted the problem.
"Erratically! Right, I have to make the water move erratically until the balloon bursts."
Houka kept experimenting, but the results were discouraging. Making the water move erratically was extremely difficult. It was like trying to do two opposite things at once: walking left and right at the same time. In reality, once you went left, you couldn't go right, and once you went right, you couldn't go left... Unless there were two of you!
Do I have to make a Shadow Clone like Naruto?
Houka's Shadow Clone was in class at the Ninja Academy right now, so it couldn't come and help.
No, no! Naruto can't do it because his thought process only goes in a straight line. I'm a transmigrator—there's no way my thought process is even more straightforward than Naruto's, right?
He couldn't accept that!
Houka gritted his teeth and practiced like crazy.
It wasn't until dusk that he finally got the hang of it. For a few seconds at a time, he could make the water move erratically!
Houka let out a sigh of relief. "I knew it. There's no way my thought process is more straightforward than Naruto's."
Houka's stomach suddenly growled. He looked up at the sky and realized he'd forgotten to eat lunch.
"If you don't mind, I have some food here."
A gentle voice suddenly came from behind him.
Houka jumped in fright and turned around. Then he froze in embarrassment.
Blond hair, blue eyes, a warm smile, a handsome face, and a tall frame...
Minato Namikaze?!
Holy crap, this was like Li Gui running into Li Kui!
Houka had just been training in the Rasengan. The original creator was the very man standing before him, a great ninja: the Fourth Hokage, the Yellow Flash, Naruto's father, Minato Namikaze!
"Ah, I'm really sorry. I saw you training just now... Um, what jutsu is that? It looks incredible," Minato Namikaze said with a smile.
"Well... My name's Uchiha Houka," Houka replied, completely missing the point.
Minato Namikaze smiled and tossed him a small black pill. "This is a Military Ration Pill. It tastes pretty good. Oh, right, my name's Minato Namikaze. I'm a ninja!"
"Hello." Houka caught the pill and ate it without hesitation. Minato Namikaze had one of the best reputations in the Naruto world. There was no way he would poison him.
Sure enough, as soon as the Military Ration Pill reached his stomach, Houka felt a warm sensation and a feeling of fullness. It was amazing.
"Thanks for the Military Ration Pill."
"You're welcome. Actually, I should be apologizing to you. I just watched you training without asking. I'm sorry," Minato Namikaze said with a gentle smile.
Listening to Li Kui—no, listening to Minato Namikaze apologize, Houka blushed. But it wasn't the first time he'd done something like this—he'd watched Guy's Leaf Whirlwind series—so he soon got over it.
"It's fine. I came up with this jutsu on a whim, and I don't even know if I can make it work." Houka blinked. It suddenly occurred to him that if Minato Namikaze joined him, he might master the Rasengan more quickly. And Minato Namikaze was the Yellow Flash, the future Fourth Hokage. There was nothing wrong with getting close to someone that powerful!
"That's amazing! You came up with the idea of creating your own jutsu!" Minato Namikaze praised him.
"Could you help me refine it?" Houka asked, feeling a little uneasy. After all, he was still so young.
Minato Namikaze considered it for a moment, then agreed. "Of course. I'm looking forward to seeing how this jutsu turns out!"
Houka's eyes lit up. He told Minato Namikaze the four steps for learning the Rasengan, and the two of them practiced and talked together.
Talking with Minato Namikaze made Houka feel completely at ease. It was like chatting with someone his own age as an equal, and for a while, Houka even forgot he was only seven.
By the time the cold moonlight covered the earth, Minato Namikaze had successfully completed the second stage, making the water move erratically until the balloon burst.
With Minato Namikaze's guidance, Houka had also managed to make the water move erratically, but no matter how much it churned, he still couldn't make the balloon burst.
sigh... As expected, Li Gui couldn't compare to Li Kui.
Minato Namikaze seemed to notice Houka's disappointment and reassured him. "It's all right. Just try a few more times. My reflexes are actually very good, so I'm just more sensitive to the flow of chakra."
Houka's eyes lit up.
Just then, Might Duy's voice came from a distance.
Houka jumped, then realized what had happened. "Oh no, I forgot to practice Taijutsu with Uncle Might Duy!" (To be continued)
Before you continue