Chimera Crow Tengu

The cedar trees on both sides of the dirt road were already a head taller than they had been three years ago, their tips swaying gently in the morning breeze.

Naruto walked at the front of the group, the sleeves of his orange jacket rolled up to his elbows, revealing several faint scars on his forearms left over from training.

"Finally going back!" Naruto turned around, walking backward as he waved his arms at the others behind him.

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

"This time when I go back, I'm definitely going to give Iruka a shock!"

Sakura walked behind him with her rucksack on, her ponytail a good deal longer than it was three years ago, hanging down past her shoulders.

"Naruto, can you please just walk properly?"

"I'm just too excited! Aren't you, Sakura? Once we're back, we'll be genin!"

Sakura didn't respond, tilting her head to glance at Sasuke, who was walking to her right.

Over these three years, he had shot up in height, his shoulders had broadened, and the baby fat on his face had completely faded away.

"Sasuke, do you have any plans once we return to the village?" Sakura asked.

"I'm going to the library to look something up." Sasuke's voice was a bit deeper than it had been three years ago, his tone as indifferent as ever.

"Then I'm going to find a friend; there are some things I need to ask of her."

"You really don't care about anything other than business, do you?" Sakura sighed, though a smile played on her lips.

Tsunade walked behind Sasuke, her long golden hair draped over her shoulders, a small sake flask in her hand.

She let out a yawn and glanced sideways at Jiraiya beside her.

Jiraiya still bore the faint traces of a hangover, clearly visible in the bags under his eyes.

"Jiraiya, if you keep going like this, even the Toads won't recognize you anymore."

"Mind your own business... this is the charm of a mature man." Jiraiya rubbed the corners of his eyes before glancing ahead at Naruto's back.

"But come to think of it, this kid's chakra reserves have grown to an absurd level. Last year I could still estimate how many Kakashi it was worth, but now it's impossible to count."

"It's just his ninjutsu that's still lacking," Tsunade noted helplessly.

"He can't remember the hand seals, and he can't master nature transformation either."

"That's exactly why we came up with that research," Jiraiya said with a grin.

"Chakra compression and coating, combined with vibration—relying purely on raw power."

"It's not just brute force." Tsunade tucked her sake flask into her coat, turning uncharacteristically serious.

"Coating the body surface in a way similar to a chakra scalpel and then increasing the destructive power through high-frequency vibration—that is extremely difficult."

"Naruto can master it because his chakra reserves are vast enough, and because of that, his recovery rate is also higher than others."

"If anyone else tried this training, their meridians would have been shattered long ago."

Jiraiya nodded.

"In terms of output, there's really nothing to complain about. It's just that his precision is still lagging."

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

"Chakra compression and vibration are perfect for Naruto. Not everyone is as energetic as he is; even if others learned it, they wouldn't be able to sustain it."

"A fair summary." Tsunade raised an eyebrow.

Sakura, walking beside Sasuke, hesitated before speaking.

"Sasuke, the chakra precision control that Tsunade taught me seems to have some common ground with cursed energy extraction."

"When separating spiritual energy, if you extract the physical energy from the chakra first, the remaining spiritual energy converts directly into cursed energy with much higher efficiency."

"I've tried it a few times, and it improves the efficiency by about fifteen percent."

"Fifteen percent." Sasuke paused for a moment. "You figured this out yourself?"

"Yes. Last time at the hot spring inn, Tsunade mentioned it to me, and I gave it some thought."

This girl's talent was truly exceptional. It wasn't just the Strength of a Hundred Technique from Tsunade; her ability to manipulate energy with such precision was just as impressive.

He and Tsunade had been researching cursed energy refinement for three years, improving it by about fifty percent, yet Sakura had managed to boost it by another fifteen percent in one go.

Naruto, up ahead, suddenly stopped and turned around.

"Hey! What are you guys whispering about back there!" Naruto stood with his hands on his hips, blocking the middle of the road.

"And Sasuke! That stuff about cursed energy extraction you mentioned last time—I practiced it several times and couldn't learn it at all! How exactly does that thing work!"

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

"What do you mean too chaotic! My chakra is clearly very strong!" Naruto caught up and walked shoulder-to-shoulder with Sasuke.

"You're talking about that spiritual energy thing, right! I tried so hard to sense it while I was refining!"

"And what did you sense?"

"It was just... just that feeling, like something was spinning around in my gut, but when I tried to make it listen, it wouldn't, and then it just ran around everywhere—"

"That's a lack of control." Sasuke cut him off. "The cursed energy system isn't for you. The chakra compression and vibration that Tsunade and Jiraiya designed for you is already your optimal path."

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

Sakura leaned in from behind.

"Naruto, did you know that Jiraiya said your chakra reserves have already surpassed his—"

"Really?!" Naruto whipped his head around, his eyes gleaming. "Did the Pervy Sage really say that?"

"He did. But let me finish." Sakura held up a finger.

"He also said your ninjutsu hand seals are still at the genin level, your nature transformation is basically non-existent, and if it weren't for the combat style Tsunade designed for you, you wouldn't even be able to beat a decent chunin right now."

Naruto's face fell, and his mouth twitched twice.

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

The training ground was just ahead.

Training Ground No. 3, about a half-hour walk from the gates of Konoha.

Three wooden posts stood in the center of the field, the ground covered in packed sand and dirt, surrounded by a ring of low bushes.

Naruto tossed his backpack onto the ground, walked to the center of the field, and turned to face Sasuke.

"Sasuke."

"Yeah?"

"Before we head back, spar with me."

Sasuke looked at Naruto, saying nothing.

"For the last three years, you've been busy with your own things—researching cursed energy, studying Shikigami, and discussing things I don't understand with Granny Tsunade."

Naruto clenched his hands into fists.

"I know you're strong, and I know you've been improving. But have you seen my progress?"

"I have," Sasuke said.

"Just saying 'I have' isn't enough!" Naruto's voice rose sharply, echoing across the empty training ground.

"It's not about standing on the sidelines, taking a glance, saying 'Oh, Naruto, you've gotten stronger,' and then turning back to your own business!"

"You have to feel it yourself! With your fists, your ninjutsu, and those messy summoning beasts of yours—come and feel for yourself just how strong I am!"

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

Jiraiya leaned against a wooden post at the edge of the field, arms crossed, unusually silent for once.

Tsunade walked past Sakura, stood by the other side of the wooden post, and gave a slight nod.

Sasuke pulled his hands out of his pockets.

"Fine."

The expression on Naruto's face shifted from anger to a more pure, unadulterated excitement.

He grinned, revealing a row of white teeth.

"That's more like it!"

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

Naruto formed the Ram seal with both hands.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

White smoke erupted in succession.

Four shadow clones burst from the smoke simultaneously, flanking Sasuke from the left and right.

Sasuke reached for his ninja tool pouch with his right hand, pulled out two shuriken, and flicked his wrist toward the right.

The two shuriken collided with the shadow clone lunging from the right, forcing it to dodge sideways.

At the same time, he formed the Tiger seal with his left hand, his chest expanded, and a Great Fireball erupted from his mouth, striking directly at the real Naruto in front of him.

The Great Fireball carved a charred trench into the ground, the wind pressure from the flames kicking up all the sand and dirt in the vicinity.

Naruto's chakra instantly coated his body, compressed and vibrating rapidly; the Great Fireball slammed into him, but couldn't knock him back.

The flames were torn into embers by the chakra barrier, the scattered sparks trailing behind Naruto.

"Is that it? Is that all you've got!"

Naruto raised his right hand, fingers held like a blade, chakra compressed and vibrating violently along his arm, causing the air around his skin to distort.

"Boom!"

The chakra blade cleaved through the flames, aiming straight for Sasuke's face!

Sasuke dodged to the side, stomped his toes into the sandy ground, and used an explosive burst of chakra beneath his feet to leap backward, retreating three paces.

"It's not over yet!"

The shadow clone on the left had already closed in on his flank.

Naruto's shadow clone, also coated in compressed, vibrating chakra, threw a punch toward Sasuke's midsection.

Sasuke pushed off with his right leg, springing into the air and rotating ninety degrees. He released a shuriken that struck the Shadow Clone square in the face, sending it flying.

The Shadow Clone vanished, dissolving into a puff of smoke.

The remaining three Shadow Clones and the original body attacked simultaneously from four different directions.

Retreat. Block. Dodge.

Sasuke was using nothing but taijutsu.

Half of his pant leg had been grazed by Naruto's chakra-infused hand blade during their first exchange, the fabric shredded by the high-frequency vibrations.

A tear had also been ripped into the shoulder of his shirt.

Naruto was fighting faster and faster.

A chakra-infused hand blade cleaved into a wooden post in the training ground, snapping the log in two. The top half flew over a dozen meters, slamming into the ground and carving a row of furrows into the dirt.

Sasuke stared at the severed log and came to a halt.

Naruto lunged forward, chakra vibrating and compressing violently around his right fist as he smashed it toward Sasuke's chest.

Sasuke concentrated chakra into his right arm to block the blow.

"Thud!"

A dull impact echoed out, and sand and dirt exploded in all directions.

Sasuke's feet skidded across the ground, leaving long drag marks.

"Why aren't you taking this seriously? Are you just brushing me off?"

Sasuke shoved his hands back into his pockets.

"Your compressed, vibrating chakra is truly impressive, Naruto. Tsunade taught it well, and you use it well."

"But is this how you brush me off? Only using taijutsu and Fire Style—where are your techniques?"

Sakura frowned at the edge of the training ground.

She could tell that it wasn't that Sasuke didn't want to use them.

There had been several moments just now where extremely brief, dark ripples had appeared beneath Sasuke's feet, and the edges of his shadow had been trembling violently.

Sasuke suppressed the surging shadow beneath his feet.

Even though Cursed Energy is easier to extract now, it still hurts to use it.

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

"Hurts? Doesn't it mean you acknowledge me if it hurts to use?"

"Since you acknowledge me, why can't you fight me without holding anything back? Do you think I'll be killed by you?"

Naruto's voice echoed across the empty training ground.

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

This kid Naruto, he usually looks like a goofball, but he gets serious whenever it involves Sasuke.

Tsunade took a small sip of sake and tucked the flask back into her robes.

"This brat is just as stubborn as Jiraiya."

Sakura gripped the straps of her backpack tightly.

Sasuke stood on the sandy ground, head bowed, tapping his fingers twice against the seam of his pants.

Summoning a Shikigami was a one-time purchase now, so it didn't consume much Cursed Energy anymore.

However, partial manifestations and the Chimera Beast still caused a constant drain on his Cursed Energy.

Especially the Chimera Beast!

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

Before Naruto could speak, Sasuke had already raised his hands.

He raised both hands and formed the hand seal for a dog.

Tsunade furrowed her brows, and Jiraiya straightened his back against the wooden post.

"Jade Dog." Sasuke's voice was calm.

The shadow beneath his feet began to stretch to both sides, and two dogs stepped out from the darkness. They stood on Sasuke's left and right, their golden eyes locked onto Naruto ahead.

White Dog bared his teeth: "Good luck, blondie, the big one is coming."

Naruto swallowed hard.

"And then."

Sasuke raised his hands again, forming a new hand seal that resembled a bird.

Tsunade narrowed her eyes.

Jiraiya's fingers pressed into the wooden post, cracking the wood.

"Add..."

"Nue."

Black sludge began to gather before him, churning incessantly as it took shape.

The features of the Jade Dog began to blur, its body stretching into a new silhouette as it was pulled toward the mass of black mud.

Within this black sludge, a brand-new form was being pieced together.

Two legs stepped out from the mud; they were avian talons, three toes forward and one back, the tips bearing curved black hooks.

Black feathers spread upward from the legs, growing denser until they formed overlapping layers of covert feathers at the knees.

The torso emerged from the sludge, covered in coarse, hard black plumage.

The chest expanded outward, the ribcage bulging like the pectoral muscles of a bird.

Wing bones popped out segment by segment from the shoulder blades, and two massive black wings unfurled.

The feathers covering the wings appeared harder than those on the torso, their edges glinting with a cold light, like irregularly forged iron plates.

The wingspan reached nearly three meters; with every beat, the gravel on the ground was sent rolling in all directions by the air currents.

The beak was thicker and straighter than that of an ordinary bird, with a short, curved hook at the tip of the upper mandible, its base covered by a bone plate at the bridge of the nose.

The bone plate extended upward, forming a disc-like protrusion on each side of the head, resembling incomplete horns.

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

It was a tall crow-man possessing both limbs and wings.

"Crow Tengu."