Gathering Momentum

Two months later, Konoha Training Ground 77.

A boy of about seven or eight years old, with two intersecting scars on his chin, faced a large tree a dozen meters away, his hands weaving through seals with swift, practiced movements.

He then extended his arms, tilted his head slightly back, and puffed his cheeks out like a toad, spraying a dozen invisible air bullets from his mouth!

"Wind Style: Vacuum Sphere!" After a dense series of impacts.

A dozen deep bullet holes instantly appeared on the tree, which was thick enough for one person to hug, and a cloud of wood shavings drifted into the air.

"Are you a monster? We've only just started learning the Three Basic Jutsu! You've already mastered a C-rank Wind Style ninjutsu!" exclaimed a boy nearby, who had two streaks of greasepaint on his face and was struggling through push-ups.

"Truly a genius. You've even mastered chakra nature transformation in just two months," commented another boy with shoulder-length black hair and fair skin, who was practicing shurikenjutsu against a target nearby, smiling as he spoke.

"Heh heh... You two are pretty impressive, too. You've already successfully extracted chakra." The scarred boy's lips curled upward, clearly satisfied with the destruction he had caused.

On the other side, a bowl-cut boy wearing terrifyingly heavy weights while doing continuous squat jumps muttered to himself: "One thousand squat jumps in twenty minutes. If I can't do it, I'll do two thousand push-ups..."

These were Xian Yu, Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Might Duy.

Knowing that the body is the foundation of future strength, Xian Yu had consciously organized his friends to engage in extreme training early on.

Considering the limited resources of Jiraiya and Orochimaru, Xian Yu provided them both with plenty of precious medicines—some for healing muscle strains, some for physical nourishment, and others specifically for scrapes and sprains.

Regardless, Xian Yu was wealthy now; spending a few hundred thousand on supplementary training medicine every month was just an early investment.

With a solid physical foundation, a strong physique, and a constantly tempered spirit, his chakra reserves would grow like a rocket every year as he aged. In the future, when he practiced various ninjutsu, having abundant chakra to burn would naturally yield twice the result with half the effort.

Conversely, if the body were weak and the foundation poor, one would be a write-off by adulthood, reaching only the level of a Mizuki.

After all, chakra is extracted by combining spiritual energy and physical energy. The physique is the vessel, and it is of the utmost importance.

Since two months ago, Spirit Rice had completely replaced Xian Yu's daily diet.

Now, at less than six years old, Xian Yu was already as tall as a seven or eight-year-old, becoming the tallest among them.

Not only that, but his current chakra reserves were three times what they had been before, which was why he could master a C-rank Wind Style so quickly.

This was thanks to the extreme training during this period, the nutritional supplementation of the Spirit Rice, and the healing properties of the large quantities of precious medicinal herbs.

After all, there is a gap between reality and the anime of his past life. In reality, if anyone were to train as desperately as Might Duy, Might Guy, or Rock Lee without being from a wealthy background or having money for medicine and nourishment, they would have died long ago.

This was no longer a question of willpower; if the body collapses and is trained into ruin, can firm willpower be eaten as medicine?

Having tasted the benefits of the Spirit Rice, Xian Yu now pushed his body to its limits every day just as hard as Might Duy. Because he had the Spirit Rice! With large amounts of precious herbs to support his training, he had the confidence to push himself to the brink of death.

He had been in the Naruto world for over five years, and especially after coming into contact with Might Duy, Xian Yu realized that this family of "Might" probably possessed some hidden Otsutsuki bloodline.

He had seen with his own eyes how Might Duy, after training with masochistic intensity, would have severe muscle strains all over his body. Yet, what was the result?

Without using any healing medicine, supplements, or tonics, he would simply eat a full meal of plain food, sleep, and be full of energy again the next day...

Perhaps it was the influence of this special constitution that prevented this family from practicing chakra.

Just then, a blonde girl and a white-haired boy walked over from outside the training ground.

"Xian Yu-kun, your strength is improving so fast. Why don't you spar with me?" The blonde girl, her hair tied back with a ribbon, walked over from afar, her eyes shining with eagerness.

"Uh... Lady Tsunade, if you want to spar, you should find Jiraiya... he's more durable..." Xian Yu's mouth twitched, and he immediately changed the subject: "By the way, Hiruko, have you made any progress on what I mentioned last time?"

These two were Tsunade and Hiruko, who had transferred in a month ago.

The white-haired boy seemed a bit shy; he wore a white robe and kept his hair in a ponytail, looking down as he whispered: "There are still a few key issues I haven't been able to resolve, but I'm working on it."

"Hmm, it's fine, no rush. If you need any materials, just let me know." Xian Yu smiled gently.

Hiruko, as a person, actually didn't have bad talent. At the very least, he was better than Xian Yu before he started eating Spirit Rice.

More importantly, he had perseverance and enjoyed thinking and researching. Like Orochimaru, he had a reliable, mature, and calm personality. He was a bona fide scientific talent!

The reason for his tragedy in the anime of his past life was mainly due to "choosing the wrong friends."

After all, not just anyone could be friends with the future "Sannin."

The fact that he could hang out with the Sannin in the beginning was, to a certain extent, proof that he was excellent himself.

And then, the Third Hokage, whom he admired, simply didn't think much of him.

Watching his close friends grow stronger, more imposing, and more famous one by one, while he, despite his desperate efforts, found the gap widening further and further until he could only look up to them—anyone would feel unbalanced by that.

And then... his mentality shattered.

"I've practiced enough ninjutsu, so I'm heading out. You guys keep up the good work!" Xian Yu said and ran off.

He had to run; he was genuinely a bit afraid of Tsunade, that violent girl.

That one time, it was clearly Jiraiya the peeper who was asking for trouble, and he had just been passing by. Yet, he had been treated as an "accomplice."

She was always finding excuses to beat him up lately...

Have you ever tried being cornered by a cute little girl, only for her to punch the wall behind you and bury you alive?

I have... Student Xian Yu: 〒▽〒

Returning home, Xian Yu went straight to the bathroom and sat cross-legged.

This was the place where he pushed his body to its limits every single day.

Uh... don't get the wrong idea.

After sitting cross-legged for a few minutes, faint thunder began to crackle and electric sparks flickered across his exposed skin. Sweat started to bead on his forehead, and a trace of pain appeared on his face.

"I really didn't expect the Five Thunders Method could be used this way, having an effect similar to lightning body-forging. It squeezes the body's potential at the cellular level. It's far more efficient than any weighted training."

Ever since he accidentally discovered this ability a week ago, Shimura Xian Yu had persisted in pushing himself until he couldn't move every single day.

Normally, this method of training would be very dangerous. However, with Spirit Rice providing sufficient nutrition to replenish his body and chakra, supplemented by a soak in the Shimura Clan's secret medicinal bath for strengthening the body afterward, it was no longer an issue.

The brilliance of this training method lay not only in its more efficient extraction of physical potential, but also in how it honed chakra control while constantly consuming chakra.

With his physical fitness improving and his chakra being continuously depleted and naturally replenished, the speed at which Shimura Xian Yu's chakra reserves were growing was like riding a rocket!

At his current rate of progress, he was confident he could keep pace with the top geniuses of his generation.

For instance, the Sannin, or that six-year-old Hatake Sakumo who had already skipped to the third grade and would graduate next year.

In other words, relying on the Spirit Rice and the Five Thunders Body-Forging Technique, he was confident that when the White Fang of Konoha made a name for himself in the ninja world, and when the Sannin became world-renowned, there would surely be a place for him, Shimura Xian Yu, in that same ninja world!

"This feeling is truly great. Is this the self-confidence of the strong? The helplessness of the upper-limit Mizuki, that oppression, that powerlessness... today, I have finally shaken it all off!"

One minute and thirteen seconds—chakra exhausted. Shimura Xian Yu gritted his teeth, struggled to stand up, and climbed into the medicinal bath barrel that had been prepared beside the bathroom.

"Four seconds longer than last week. Not bad." As his whole body was submerged in the medicinal bath, feeling the extreme fatigue in his cells slowly recovering, Shimura Xian Yu rested his head on the pillow at the edge of the barrel and drifted off to sleep.