Shangguan Yue sensed the faint chakra fluctuations that had suddenly appeared nearby and were drawing closer to him.
"Hmph. Let's see what kind of secret technique this is, to be so well concealed.
"There was nothing I could do before, but now my mental strength has broken through and reached the minor mastery stage. It's stronger than an ordinary Chunin's, to say nothing of a Jonin's.
"This is the perfect chance to test my new ability. Its range is only two meters, but if I gather it and focus it in a single direction, it can reach five meters. I refuse to believe I still can't catch you this time."
Shangguan Yue held his breath and focused. As soon as the other party entered range, his mental strength formed a needle and shot toward the faint chakra he sensed.
His vision followed his mental strength. Shangguan Yue watched as his telekinetic needle pierced a clump of weeds, whereupon the chakra vanished.
Shangguan Yue looked at what he'd pierced, his brow furrowing slightly.
"Is this a chakra bug? The Aburame Clan?
"How did I get mixed up with the Aburame Clan? That doesn't make sense."
Shangguan Yue couldn't make heads or tails of it. Meanwhile, sensing that his bug had died, Aburame Torune immediately fled without hesitation.
"Damn it, how did my bug die?"
Based on the last information the bug had transmitted, Aburame Torune couldn't figure out what method the other party had used.
"To kill my bug in an instant without leaving a trace... They must be extremely powerful."
No one knew what happened after Aburame Torune returned to Root. As for Shangguan Yue, he hadn't sensed anyone watching him since that incident.
"Hm? They're gone. They're cautious."
Shangguan Yue closed his eyes and sensed everything around him. The chakra fluctuations farther away had disappeared too.
"Looks like they recalled all their bugs. Whatever. I won't dwell on it. Strength is what matters.
"Good thing I have spiritual sense. I never expected the God-Slaying Art's method of cultivating mental strength to be so unusual.
"My mental strength can extend beyond my body. I can use it to sense things or give it a physical form and attack.
"Now my mental strength has turned into particles that cover the area around me, with a range of fifty meters. Too bad I can only sense things, not see them.
"When I share my vision, my limit is only five meters. If only I could reach the legendary realm where a single thought reveals everything happening in the Three Realms."
Shangguan Yue kept fantasizing about all the amazing things he'd do in the future. After a while, he finally collected himself.
"Hm, no one's here now. I've been sensing the area for ages and haven't found any new watchers, so it looks like they've given up. Let's see what Tsunade gave me."
Shangguan Yue withdrew his mental strength and sat cross-legged. He channeled chakra into the scroll, and with a bang, it unfurled.
"Holy crap, this thing is huge!"
As Shangguan Yue opened the scroll, it rolled out across the ground for twenty meters. It was densely covered in writing about the development of Medical Ninjutsu from its earliest beginnings to the present day.
"This... Tsunade really is casual about this. She just gave it to me?"
Shangguan Yue grinned so widely he was practically drooling. This was incredibly valuable. If another village found out he had it, spies and bounty hunters would be knocking on his door before the day was out. He began reading carefully.
"I don't want to be a healer, but medicine and martial arts go hand in hand. A foundation in medicine will make martial arts easier to learn. I refuse to believe I can't develop Void Step."
...Time passed...
It wasn't until evening that Shangguan Yue finished skimming through the Medical Ninjutsu scroll.
"Crack, pop."
Shangguan Yue stood and stretched, moving his joints until they cracked.
"I never knew chakra control worked like this.
"Ordinary ninjutsu just makes the chakra in your body follow hand seals, forming different techniques that you release from your mouth.
"But because it's done unconsciously, the chakra just carries out the technique without controlling the amount. That's why training is so difficult.
"You have to control the quantity, but chakra control is hard. Without knowing what you're doing, all you can do is practice one technique after another to get the hang of it.
"Even after you've learned a technique, the amount of chakra it uses is still only within a certain range. It's like knowing how to do it without having truly mastered it.
"It's easy to get started, but hard to master—and even harder to improve.
"Still, once I've trained my chakra control, learning any other ninjutsu will be twice as easy. It'll also be easier to improve Void Step, so I'd better hurry up and get to training.
"But Tsunade really thinks highly of me. This chakra training method starts with controlling cells. That's insane."
That's right: he had to manipulate cells, using his own chakra to control the chakra in a test subject and heal wounds.
Shangguan Yue glanced at the fishbowl beside him. It had appeared when the scroll unfurled, and several little fish were swimming around inside.
"This... Fine. I'll just follow the scroll's instructions step by step."
Shangguan Yue had no idea where to start, so he figured he might as well give it a shot. The whole thing seemed practically magical to him.
He channeled chakra into the nail of his right index finger, grabbed a fish with his left hand, and slashed it with his right, cutting a gash into its side.
Looking at his handiwork, Shangguan Yue nodded with satisfaction. "Chakra really is a cure-all. I just need to get better at using it."
Shangguan Yue channeled chakra into both hands and pressed them against the fish. "All right, let's see how this works."
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