Chimera Beast: Crow Tengu

The cedar trees lining the dirt road had grown noticeably taller over the past three years, their crowns swaying gently in the morning breeze.

Naruto led the group, the sleeves of his orange jacket rolled up to his elbows. A few pale scars from training marked his exposed forearms.

"We're finally going back!" Naruto turned around and walked backward, waving both arms at the others.

"I've spent so little time in Konoha these past three years."

"When I get back, I'm definitely going to surprise Iruka-sensei!"

Sakura followed behind him with a pack on her back. Her ponytail had grown longer over the past three years, falling below her shoulders.

"Naruto, can you walk properly?"

"I'm just too excited! Aren't you excited, Sakura? We'll be Genin when we get back!"

Sakura didn't answer. She glanced to her right at Sasuke.

He'd grown taller over the past three years, and his shoulders were broader. The baby fat had completely disappeared from his face.

"Sasuke-kun, what are you planning to do after we get back to the village?" Sakura asked.

"Look some things up at the library." Sasuke's voice was a little deeper than it had been three years ago, but his tone was still the same.

"Then I'll go see a friend. There's something I want to ask her."

"You still don't care about anything except serious business." Sakura sighed, though there was a smile at the corner of her mouth.

Tsunade walked behind Sasuke, her golden hair falling over her shoulders and a small flask of sake in her hand.

She yawned and glanced at Jiraiya beside her.

Some signs of a hangover still lingered on Jiraiya's face, plain to see in the bags under his eyes.

"Jiraiya, keep this up and even the toads won't recognize you."

"Mind your own business... This is the charm of a mature man." Jiraiya rubbed the corner of his eye, then glanced at Naruto's back.

"Still, that kid's chakra reserves have grown to a ridiculous degree. Last year, I could still estimate how much he had—about as much as Kakashi. Now I've lost count."

"It's his ninjutsu that's still a problem," Tsunade said helplessly.

"He can't remember Hand Seals, and he can't learn nature transformation."

"That's why we came up with that technique." Jiraiya grinned.

"Compress the chakra, coat himself with it, then make it vibrate. It's all about brute force."

"It's not just brute force." Tsunade tucked the flask into her clothes, her expression unusually serious.

"Coating the body in a manner similar to the Chakra Scalpel, then increasing its destructive power with high-frequency vibrations—that's difficult."

"Naruto can learn it because he has enough chakra, and because of that thing, his recovery is better than most people's."

"If anyone else tried training with it, their tendons would've snapped from the vibrations."

Jiraiya nodded.

"There's no denying his output. His precision is still terrible, though."

Sasuke suddenly spoke, his gaze sweeping over Jiraiya and Tsunade.

"Chakra compression and vibration suit Naruto perfectly. Not everyone's as energetic as he is. Even if someone else learned it, they wouldn't be able to use it."

"Well summarized." Tsunade raised an eyebrow.

Walking beside Sasuke, Sakura hesitated, then spoke.

"Sasuke-kun, the precise chakra control Lady Tsunade taught me seems to have something in common with Cursed Energy extraction."

"When separating spiritual energy, if you first draw the physical energy out of the chakra, then directly convert the remaining spiritual energy into Cursed Energy, the process is more efficient."

"I tried it a few times. I think it can improve the efficiency by about fifteen percent."

"Fifteen percent." Sasuke paused for a moment. "You worked that out yourself?"

"Yeah. Lady Tsunade mentioned it at the hot spring inn last time, so I thought it over on my own."

This girl really was talented—not just with Lady Tsunade's Strength of a Hundred Technique, but with fine energy control, too.

He and Tsunade had spent the past three years researching Cursed Energy extraction, and had improved its efficiency by about fifty percent. Sakura had managed to raise it by fifteen percent all at once.

Naruto abruptly stopped up ahead and turned around.

"Hey! What are you guys muttering about back there?" Naruto planted his hands on his hips, blocking the road.

"And you, Sasuke! Last time you talked about extracting Cursed Energy, I tried it over and over, but I just couldn't learn it! How do you even do it?"

"It's normal that you can't learn it." Sasuke walked past him. "Cursed Energy extraction requires you to precisely separate spiritual energy from physical energy. Your chakra is too chaotic."

"What do you mean, too chaotic? My chakra's obviously strong!" Naruto hurried after him, walking beside Sasuke.

"You mean that spiritual energy stuff, right? I tried really hard to sense it when I was extracting it!"

"What did you sense?"

"Well... It was like something was turning around in my stomach, but when I tried to make it listen, it wouldn't. Then it just ran wild on its own—"

"That's a lack of control." Sasuke cut him off. "The Cursed Energy system isn't suited to you. The chakra compression and vibration Jiraiya and Tsunade designed for you is already your best path."

Naruto puffed out his cheeks and turned his face away, muttering something under his breath.

Sakura leaned around from behind them.

"Naruto, you know how Lord Jiraiya said your chakra reserves had surpassed his—"

"Really?!" Naruto whipped around, his eyes shining. "The Pervy Sage really said that?"

"He did. But let me finish." Sakura raised a finger.

"He also said your ninjutsu and Hand Seals are still at Genin level, and your nature transformation is practically nonexistent. Without the fighting style Lady Tsunade designed for you, you couldn't even beat a decent Chunin right now."

Naruto's face fell, and the corners of his mouth twitched.

"Sakura, when did you get as sharp-tongued as Sasuke...?"

The training ground was just ahead.

Training Ground No. 3 was about a half-hour's walk from Konoha Gate.

Three round wooden posts stood in the center of the grounds. The dirt was packed hard, and a ring of low shrubs surrounded the area.

Naruto tossed his pack to the ground, walked to the middle of the training ground, and turned to face Sasuke.

"Sasuke."

"Yeah?"

"Fight me before we go back."

Sasuke looked at Naruto without a word.

"For the past three years, you've been busy with your own stuff—researching Cursed Energy, researching Shikigami, and discussing things with Granny Tsunade that I can't understand."

Naruto clenched his fists.

"I know you're strong, and I know you've been getting stronger. But have you seen how much I've improved?"

"I have," Sasuke said.

"Just saying you've seen it isn't enough!" Naruto's voice suddenly rose, echoing across the empty training ground.

"You can't just watch from the sidelines and say, 'Oh, Naruto, you've gotten stronger,' then turn around and go back to your own stuff!"

"You have to feel it for yourself! With your fists, your ninjutsu, and those weird Summoning Beasts of yours! Come and see for yourself just how strong I am!"

Sakura stood at the edge of the training ground, holding Sasuke's pack, her lips pressed into a thin line.

Jiraiya leaned against a wooden post at the edge of the training ground, arms crossed. For once, he didn't interrupt.

Tsunade walked past Sakura and stopped on the other side of the post, giving a slight nod.

Sasuke pulled his hands out of his pockets.

"Fine."

Naruto's expression changed, anger giving way to a purer kind of excitement.

He grinned, baring his white teeth.

"That's more like it!"

Sasuke stood in the middle of the training ground, about ten meters from Naruto.

Naruto formed the Ram Hand Seal.

"Shadow Clone Technique!"

Puffs of white smoke burst out one after another.

Four Shadow Clones charged out of the smoke, surrounding Sasuke from both sides.

Sasuke reached into his ninja pouch with his right hand, drew two Shuriken, and flicked his wrist, sending them toward the right.

The Shuriken struck the Shadow Clone lunging in from the right, forcing it to twist aside.

At the same time, he formed the Tiger Hand Seal with his left hand and puffed out his chest. A Great Fireball burst from his mouth, shooting straight at Naruto's real body.

The Great Fireball gouged a charred trench into the ground. The gust of wind from the flames sent the surrounding dirt flying.

Naruto's chakra instantly covered his body. He compressed it, then made it vibrate back and forth. The Great Fireball slammed into him, but couldn't knock him away.

The chakra barrier tore the flames into fragments. Naruto left the scattered sparks behind him.

"That's it? That's all you've got?"

Naruto raised his right hand, fingers together like a blade. Chakra compressed around his arm and vibrated at high speed, warping the air against his skin.

"Boom!"

The Chakra Scalpel cleaved through the flames and struck straight for Sasuke's face!

Sasuke dodged to the side, stamped his toe into the sandy ground, and used a burst of chakra beneath his foot to leap backward, retreating three steps.

"It's not over!"

The Shadow Clone on the left had already closed in on his ribs.

Naruto's Shadow Clone had coated itself in compressed, vibrating chakra as well. It slammed a fist toward Sasuke's midsection.

Sasuke pushed off with his right leg, sprang into the air, and spun ninety degrees. His Shuriken flew from his hand and struck the Shadow Clone in the face, sending it flying.

The Shadow Clone vanished in a cloud of smoke.

The three remaining Shadow Clones and Naruto's real body attacked from four directions at once.

Retreat. Block. Dodge.

Sasuke was only using Taijutsu.

During the first exchange, the Chakra Scalpel had grazed half a leg of his pants, shredding the fabric with its high-frequency vibrations.

The right shoulder of his shirt had also been torn open.

Naruto's attacks grew faster and faster.

The Chakra Scalpel struck a wooden post in the training ground. The post snapped in half, its top half flying more than ten meters before crashing down and gouging a row of furrows into the earth.

Sasuke stared at the broken post and stopped moving.

Naruto charged at him, chakra compressing and vibrating wildly around his right fist as he aimed a blow at Sasuke's chest.

Sasuke focused chakra in his right arm to block.

"Thud!"

The dull impact sent sand exploding in every direction.

Sasuke's feet slid across the ground, leaving long tracks.

"Why aren't you taking this seriously? Are you going easy on me?"

Sasuke put his hands back in his pockets.

"Your chakra compression and vibration are impressive, Naruto. Tsunade taught you well, and you've made good use of it."

"But you're still holding back? You're only using Taijutsu and Fire Release. What about your techniques?"

Sakura frowned at the edge of the training ground.

She could tell Sasuke wasn't holding back because he didn't want to use his techniques.

A few times, she had seen fleeting dark ripples beneath his feet, the edges of his shadow trembling violently.

Sasuke suppressed the shadow roiling beneath his feet.

"Cursed Energy's easier to extract now, but I still hate using it."

Naruto froze for a moment, then clenched his fists, his knuckles cracking.

"Hate using it? Doesn't that mean you respect me?"

"If you respect me, then why can't you fight me with everything you've got? Do you think I'll die if you hit me?"

Naruto's voice echoed across the empty training ground.

At the edge of the grounds, Jiraiya leaned against a wooden post with his arms crossed over his chest.

The kid usually acted like a fool, but when it came to Sasuke, he sure got serious.

Tsunade took a small sip of sake, then tucked the flask back into her clothes.

"That brat's as stubborn as Jiraiya."

Sakura gripped the strap of the pack tightly.

Sasuke stood on the sandy ground, head lowered, tapping his fingers against his pant leg twice.

Now that summoning Shikigami was a one-time purchase, it didn't cost much Cursed Energy anymore.

But partial manifestation and Chimera Beasts still consumed Cursed Energy over a long period.

Especially Chimera Beasts!

"Since you put it that way, I'll show you something new."

Naruto was about to speak, but Sasuke had already raised his hands.

He lifted both hands and formed the dog hand sign.

Tsunade frowned, and Jiraiya straightened up from the post.

"Jade Dog," Sasuke said calmly.

The shadow beneath his feet began to stretch to either side. Two dogs stepped out of it and stood on either side of Sasuke, their golden eyes fixed on Naruto.

White Dog grinned. "Keep it up, blondie. Here comes the big one."

Naruto swallowed.

"And then..."

Sasuke raised his hands again and formed a new hand sign that looked like a bird.

Tsunade narrowed her eyes.

Jiraiya pressed his fingers against the post, leaving several cracks in the wood.

"Add..."

"Nue."

Black sludge began to gather in front of him, churning and taking shape.

The Jade Dog's features began to blur, its body stretching into a new outline as it reached toward the mass of black sludge.

Within the black sludge, an entirely new form was being pieced together.

Two legs stepped out of the sludge. They were birdlike talons, with three toes facing forward and one facing backward, each tipped with a curved black hook.

Black feathers spread upward from the legs, growing denser until they formed layer upon layer of plumage around the knees.

A torso emerged from the sludge, covered in coarse, black feathers as hard as armor.

Its chest expanded outward, the area around its ribs swelling like a bird's breast muscles.

Wing bones snapped out one by one from its shoulder blades, and two enormous black wings unfurled.

The feathers covering its wings looked even harder than those on its torso. Their edges glinted coldly, like irregular pieces of forged iron.

Its wingspan reached nearly three meters. With every flap, the air currents sent loose stones skittering across the ground.

Its beak was thicker than an ordinary bird's and straighter, with a very short hook at the tip of its upper beak. A bony plate covered its base where it met the bridge of its nose.

The bony plate extended upward, forming a disk-shaped protrusion on either side of its head, like a pair of incomplete horns.

Two clusters of dark blue light burned deep within its eye sockets.

It was a towering crowlike humanoid with four limbs and wings.

"Crow Tengu."