Chapter Fourteen: Change and Training

Just as Ueno Kei opened his eyes, the entire space began to shake violently.

Ueno Kei watched the space change with calm indifference, showing no surprise. A series of thunderous booms rang out as the whole space seemed to collapse.

It gradually broke apart, piece by piece. Ueno Kei's expression shifted slightly as he watched the changes around him.

"I've passed the sword technique on to you. I hope you'll train hard and make the name of the Wind Wing Sword Technique known throughout the world. Also, from now on, the chakra I left in the Lingyu Blade will vanish completely. From this day forward, the blade is yours!"

Ueno Kei's gaze flickered. Then he bowed slightly in the space, showing his respect for the elder. No matter what, this elder had been a great benefactor to Ueno Kei—and, in the truest sense, his first master.

In an instant, white light flashed through the space. It collapsed around him, and Ueno Kei's figure gradually faded away.

In Ueno Kei's residence in Konoha, he slowly opened his eyes and looked silently at the Lingyu Blade in his hand. A glint of gold flashed in his eyes.

At that moment, Ueno Kei clearly sensed a connection between himself and the Lingyu Blade. Before, the blade had felt like a lifeless object to him, cold and completely unresponsive.

Now, the Lingyu Blade felt like a part of his own body: free, nimble, almost like a living creature. Ueno Kei even had the strange impression that he could always tell what the blade wanted to express.

Only now did Ueno Kei truly feel that the Lingyu Blade belonged to him. It gleamed with restrained radiance, no longer looking worn and battered. Its edge was keen, and its polished surface reflected Ueno Kei's face.

Ueno Kei gently closed his eyes and sensed the Lingyu Blade. Its body gave a soft hum and trembled slightly, as if responding to him.

Heart and blade in harmony; a treasure brought to life! Ueno Kei was certain that everything that had happened was real, not a dream. What's more, his mind now held a clear record of every move in the Wind Wing Sword Technique, from the basics to its most advanced levels, along with the methods of training and the points to watch out for. It even contained the Fengyi Clan Head's personal insights into training.

If Naruto or a teacher from the Ninja Academy had been there, they would have clearly noticed that Ueno Kei had changed. It was hard to put into words. His appearance was the same, and his build had barely changed—though he had suddenly grown more than ten centimeters taller.

But the biggest change was in his presence. Before, Ueno Kei had seemed fairly mature and more composed than others his age because, mentally, he was already an adult.

Now, though, Ueno Kei had an entirely different air about him. He had become more reserved, and that shift in temperament alone made the overall impression he gave people completely different.

Ueno Kei didn't feel much difference in his own temperament, but he could clearly sense the changes inside him. His chakra had changed—not merely in quantity, but in quality.

His chakra had become much denser, and its volume had grown to two or three times what it had been. At this point, if Ueno Kei knew the Hand Seals for the Summoning Technique, he might even have been able to try summoning a creature.

Ueno Kei's guess about the orb of light had been partly right. The Fengyi Clan Head's purest chakra from when he was alive had been contained within it. As it flowed into Ueno Kei, it had gradually transformed into Ueno Kei's own chakra.

It was like refining his chakra, purifying it. In terms of chakra alone, and with the Three Body Technique he had already mastered, Ueno Kei could now just about be considered a capable Genin.

The Summoning Technique, the Lingyu Blade, the Wind Wing Sword Technique, his increased chakra reserves, the qualitative change that made his chakra more concentrated, and the slight shift in his mindset—all these changes had finally given Ueno Kei the chance to become a powerful shinobi in the future.

"Looks like I'll have to change my training plan. Whether it's practicing swordsmanship, increasing my weights, or the other exercises..."

The Fengyi Clan Head's memories contained more than just swordsmanship. They also included techniques for training as a ninja that weren't taught at the Ninja Academy, such as precise chakra control and insights into Taijutsu. These were the reasons Ueno Kei urgently wanted to change his training plan.

With all this, Ueno Kei was confident he could quickly distinguish himself and become one of the best in his year. Of course, he had no intention of showing off. It was necessary to demonstrate his abilities to some extent and earn Konoha's attention, but there was no need to reveal everything.

The Summoning Technique and the advanced moves of the Wind Wing Sword Technique, for instance—he could show those gradually later. For now, mastering the basics would give Ueno Kei plenty to absorb and put to use, laying the foundation for his advantage.

"I can become stronger. Much stronger!" Ueno Kei clenched his fist and murmured in a firm, low voice.

From that day onward, many special training tools appeared at Ueno Kei's training ground in the mountains west of the village. He made most of them himself from materials he gathered in the mountains, copying what he could from examples he had seen. As for the rest, he had originally planned to borrow them from the Ninja Academy, but then thought better of it. Once he became a shinobi, he could earn money from missions and hire craftsmen in the village to make them for him.

For now, his training plan was to focus on the fundamentals of the Wind Wing Sword Technique.

He would spend six years honing his fundamentals. Swordsmanship had originated with the samurai, a profession from ancient times. It was said that before shinobi existed, before the power of chakra had appeared, samurai had been the greatest symbol of military might in the world. Their many profound sword techniques, martial arts, and fighting skills had been what people relied on to dominate the world.

But after the Sage of Six Paths passed down ninjutsu and the method of refining chakra, shinobi gradually replaced samurai as the driving force behind the world's wars. Samurai still existed in this era, but they had become quite weak.

Ueno Kei had heard that the Land of Iron was the only country on the continent where samurai were the dominant force.

So, shinobi hadn't invented swordsmanship. Sword training and the establishment of its fundamentals still followed the samurai's methods. The only difference was that a shinobi's source of power in battle was chakra.

As a result, shinobi adapted their swordsmanship training by incorporating chakra and other shinobi elements—but only at the advanced levels and in how the techniques were applied.

After all, samurai and shinobi relied on different things when using sword techniques.

But the foundations of swordsmanship had been passed down through the same tradition. They involved training to master the sword, understanding its essence, and building a body capable of wielding it freely.

Understanding every basic aspect of the sword was something shinobi had essentially copied from the samurai. The samurai had refined their methods over hundreds, even thousands, of years. There was no need to deliberately change them just to make a point.

Put simply, the shinobi profession placed greater emphasis on efficiency. When carrying out a mission, shinobi used the simplest methods available. Efficiency came before everything else.

That was the fundamental principle!

That's all for now. This is Ye's first novel, written to satisfy some of the frustrations and ideas I had while watching the Naruto anime back in the day. Everyone knows fanfiction can't get a contract on Qidian; at best, it can be published as a bookstore novel, so the chance of making money is very low. Most fanfic authors write to fulfill their own fantasies about the fictional worlds they love. When I wrote this, I basically put myself in the protagonist's shoes, including his personality and the way he handles things. So some readers may not like it or feel it isn't what they expected. All I can do is apologize and do my best to meet everyone's expectations. I hope you'll be understanding. Also, it's winter break, and Ye has to visit the countryside. Getting online there is a pain, and even a wireless card doesn't work well, so updates may stop. The closer we get to the New Year, the more likely that is... I'll do my best to post more. Things should become more regular after the New Year. Thanks for your understanding.