Land of Water, Kirigakure.
Thunderous rumbling echoed through the valley as a waterfall slanted down from a not-too-tall mountain pass, drawing a silver-white curtain as it crashed heavily into the secluded pool below.
The gaze moved downward.
Beneath that mighty waterfall, a black-haired youth with his upper body bare could vaguely be seen.
His eyes were closed as he sat cross-legged atop a small, slick round stone in the pool. He let the cascading water scour his body freely, yet his figure remained as solid as a rock, utterly unmoving.
The water smashed against his lean muscles and continuously splashed upward, seemingly forming an outline of tiny droplets around his entire body. If the Land of Water were not deprived of sunlight year-round, perhaps a rainbow might have appeared as well.
That person was naturally Araki.
Suddenly, his lips parted slightly as he drew in a deep breath, and a burst of white steam abruptly bloomed around his nose and mouth.
At that moment, Araki felt a slight heat in his lungs. A warm sensation began in his chest and spread throughout his body with his blood.
[Sun Breathing]!
The sensation was familiar. He knew that his physical abilities had been strengthened across the board compared to just moments ago.
But it was still far from the effect he wanted!
These past days, his training in [Rain Cutter Technique] had progressed steadily, and reaching mastery was only a matter of time.
However, his training in combining Natural Energy with Breathing Techniques had not gone smoothly.
He had already mastered Breathing Techniques alone, but after drawing in Natural Energy, he always fell just short of figuring out how to blend it into Sage Mode chakra.
The main factor affecting his progress was his limited chakra. He simply had too few chances