"Other than the palace, there's nowhere here that you humans can easily set foot," the Three-Legged Golden Crow explained.
"These Cloud Islands... they're all made of real clouds..." Yashui pinched his own cheek and felt the pain. Then he asked the Three-Legged Golden Crow, "Master, I'm not in one of your illusion worlds, am I?"
"This is reality!" The Three-Legged Golden Crow set Yashui down on a relatively small island. "Humans really are so narrow-minded."
Yashui learned from his mistake. He'd stepped into thin air when he wasn't paying attention just now, so this time he walked very carefully, even inside the palace.
"Go ahead and walk normally. This is the palace. You can walk on it even without using any chakra." The Three-Legged Golden Crow pointed with a wing toward a pond in the middle of the palace.
The pond had lotuses, goldfish, and a man-made hill. The combination was quite elegant.
"Practice walking on the water over there. Once you've mastered it, I have another gift for you." The Three-Legged Golden Crow kept the surprise to himself.
Yashui nodded and gently placed one foot on the water. His weight was still on the foot resting on the ground.
He closed his eyes and carefully focused on what he could feel beneath his foot. He could sense the ripples in the water and the fish swimming below.
Yashui applied a little chakra to the sole of his foot while shifting part of his weight onto the foot resting on the water.
"I'm using too much chakra." Yashui could tell he was overdoing it; the water was already churning. So he reduced the amount of chakra a little.
"Splash."
There was too little chakra on the sole of his foot, and Yashui fell into the pond. Without a word, he climbed out and tried again.
The second time, Yashui learned from his first attempt and managed to steady himself on the water.
"Master, I did it!" Yashui turned and happily called out to the Three-Legged Golden Crow.
The Three-Legged Golden Crow waved a wing without even opening his eyes or looking.
He was a huge bird, and the gust from a single flap sent all the water in the pond surging into the air. Yashui lost his footing and fell in again.
"I heard you succeeded?" the Three-Legged Golden Crow asked, opening his eyes.
The Three-Legged Golden Crow was picking on him, but Yashui didn't feel wronged. He understood what his master meant. The pond had been too calm, and walking on its surface had felt no different from walking along a rock face.
But the water couldn't stay calm forever. One day, Yashui would face wind and waves. Staying on the water through a storm—that was the real skill.
Walking on water was a dynamic exercise that required constant adjustments based on the current, the height of the waves, and other factors. It was much harder than tree climbing.
Yashui stepped onto the water again and said to the Three-Legged Golden Crow, "Master, please flap your wings again."
The Three-Legged Golden Crow flapped his wings once more. This time, Yashui constantly adjusted the amount of chakra attached to the soles of his feet. At last, he managed to stay on the water without falling in.
Although he completed the exercise, Yashui hadn't mastered it perfectly. In the wind and waves, he made several mistakes while adjusting and nearly fell into the water. Fortunately, nothing bad happened.
"You can train on your own from here... You've got the general idea. But you'll have to practice until you've perfected it." The Three-Legged Golden Crow nodded in satisfaction. "Next, I'll teach you a ninjutsu."
"Ninjutsu? You're finally going to teach me ninjutsu?" Yashui asked excitedly. He'd been learning from the Three-Legged Golden Crow for a whole month, but his master had only taught him the basics. "Have I finished all my basic lessons?"
"Dream on. You'll work on your basic lessons next time you come." The Three-Legged Golden Crow asked Yashui, "What do you think a ninja's battle is?"
"A ninja's battle?" Yashui thought for a moment. Fighting as a ninja was indeed very different from fighting other people. Rather than relying on combat techniques, a ninja needed a bit of cunning.
"I think a ninja's battle is about deception," Yashui replied.
"Mm." The Three-Legged Golden Crow smiled. "I didn't expect you to understand this much about ninjas before even becoming a Genin. That makes things easier. Plenty of ninjas treat combat like a samurai's duel. They don't deserve to learn this technique."
"Listen carefully, Yashui. I'm telling you this because I consider you my student." The Three-Legged Golden Crow spoke seriously. Yashui had never seen him this serious before. "The Ninja Academy teaches you to sacrifice yourself for the village. But that's not what a ninja should do."
"A ninja's mission isn't to sacrifice himself, but to survive. If you meet a powerful enemy you can't defeat, you shouldn't rush to the front lines for the village. If you need to retreat, then retreat. As long as you survive, you'll have plenty of chances to turn things around. If you die for something as vague as 'the village,' then your life will have been worth nothing. If you find yourself in a difficult position, I won't look down on you even if you become a rogue ninja." The Three-Legged Golden Crow spoke earnestly.
What the Three-Legged Golden Crow said didn't quite fit the overall message of the Naruto manga. Naruto promoted friendship, effort, victory, and loyalty to the village.
But that didn't necessarily mean the Three-Legged Golden Crow was wrong. There were actually very few people in Naruto who could truly be called "ninjas." Most of them liked to face their opponents head-on, like samurai. Several members of the Akatsuki had died because they were too stubborn to run.
"Master, I'll remember what you said." Yashui nodded.
"Good. Now I'll teach you..."
At last, the day of the Ninja Academy graduation exams arrived.
All the examinees were called into a classroom set aside as a waiting room.
"Who's that guy?"
"I heard he's graduating early."
"Isn't that a genius? I thought Sasuke Uchiha was supposed to be this year's genius..."
As soon as Yashui entered the classroom, everyone greeted him with questions. He didn't take it to heart and simply found a seat.
This was the first time Yashui had seen all the graduates who would change Konoha's future gathered in one place.
Uzumaki Naruto, Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno, Choji Akimichi, Shikamaru Nara, Ino Yamanaka, Hinata Hyuga, Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame... Nine of the Konoha Twelve would graduate that day.
Yashui looked everyone over, but he wasn't in a hurry to greet them. He'd have plenty of chances to talk to them later.
"Yashui? You really came to take the graduation exam?" As soon as Naruto saw him, he shouted excitedly. "I thought you were just bragging the other day..."
"Naruto, do you know that guy?" Shikamaru asked listlessly.
Before you continue