Beginning Cultivation

"That's right, this is the place!"

After walking for about half an hour, Yu finally arrived at the training ground he had been searching for.

It was a low-lying valley with a clear stream flowing through the center and a spectacular waterfall constantly pouring down from the mountains above.

The area for a kilometer in every direction was devoid of human presence, and surrounded by dense forest, there was no need to worry about prying eyes.

"Before I start training, I should check what my chakra nature is."

Yu reached into his ninja tool pouch, pulled out a piece of chakra test paper, and held it in his hand.

He focused his mind, channeled his chakra into his hand, and infused it into the test paper.

Soon, Yu watched as the paper in his hand began to change; after the chakra was introduced, the paper first became damp, then crumpled into a ball.

"Water and Lightning nature transformations, huh?"

Looking at the changes on the paper, Yu muttered to himself, lost in thought, "If I can fuse them together, that would be Storm Release—lightning that can be controlled as freely as water."

Storm Release is a Kekkei Genkai formed by the fusion of Water and Lightning chakra nature transformations.

It can be understood as 'electrified water' or 'flexible lightning,' and it is an incredibly powerful Kekkei Genkai ability.

For instance, in the original series' final Great Ninja War, Six Paths Madara Uchiha used Sage chakra to perform Storm Release.

He spat out a laser-like technique from his mouth—Sage Art: Storm Release Light Fang—which had enough power to snap the Yin-Yang Release black rods created by Naruto Uzumaki after he inherited the Six Paths Sage Mode.

Because he was a transmigrator.

Once he knew his chakra attributes.

Yu naturally began to imagine how to better develop his abilities right away.

"However, that level of Kekkei Genkai chakra nature transformation isn't something I can consider for the time being."

"I'd better focus on training and developing the power of the String-String Fruit first."

The imagination is beautiful, but the reality is that Yu is currently just a little kid who hasn't even started at the Ninja Academy yet.

Therefore, working hard to develop the power of the String-String Fruit within his body is the wisest choice for Yu at the moment.

"Single-Color String!!"

He stopped his wandering thoughts.

His gaze focused on the small tree trunk in front of him.

Yu formed his hand into a claw and swung it violently at the small tree before him.

A transparent, invisible, and nearly imperceptible thin thread was created from Yu's fingers.

"Bang!!"

The thread, sharper than piano wire, sliced through the air.

Carrying the full force of Yu's strike, the small tree trunk, as thick as a bowl, snapped instantly.

The cross-section was neat and smooth, as if it had been sliced by an invisible kamaitachi.

"Very good..."

Looking at the tree trunk he had severed with a single blow, Yu nodded with great satisfaction.

To possess such destructive power just after obtaining the String-String Fruit's ability meant that if he trained diligently.

As long as he wasn't facing those overpowered bosses from the later stages, Yu would be able to hold his own in the ninja world just by relying on the power of the String-String Fruit.

The String-String Fruit is an incredibly powerful and heaven-defying Devil Fruit ability.

The user can produce strings from their body, remotely control others like puppets, and attach strings to clouds to fly through the sky.

They can control the limb movements of multiple targets simultaneously and use invisible strings to slice through people and objects, or even cut through metal harder than steel.

If developed to a deep level, one can even use strings to stitch up wounds and automatically repair their own internal organs.

If one reaches the stage of Devil Fruit awakening, the terrifying power can turn all non-living objects in the surrounding area into transparent strings.

Then, one can gather thousands of those strings together to launch an attack that pierces through everything.

Doflamingo from One Piece had already developed the String-String Fruit's abilities to a very high level.

However, what Yu needed to do now was to develop it even stronger and better than Doflamingo.

"Then... Five-Color String!!"

His gaze condensed, and facing the tree trunk he had just cut, Yu continued his training.

He unleashed the power of the String-String Fruit within his body to its limit, raising his hand into a claw.

What Yu intended to do was to create five invisible, sharp threads on his five fingers simultaneously and slice the remaining tree trunk into six segments in a single strike.

Swish!!

But after the strike was swung.

Nothing happened; the space in front of Yu remained empty.

"Tch..."

"Still not working, huh..."

He hadn't managed to pull off the move he had envisioned.

Yu curled his lip in annoyance. "It seems the path of cultivation is indeed a long and arduous one..."

However, Yu wasn't overly disappointed; if anything, he felt even more determined to focus on his training.

After all, he had only just acquired the powers of the String-String Fruit yesterday, and being able to utilize them to this extent was already quite an achievement.

The sun shifted.

Time gradually drifted into the afternoon.

The scorching sunlight filtered through the gaps in the forest canopy, spilling onto Yu.

"Haa... haa..."

Having trained continuously, Yu was soon drenched in sweat.

His chest heaved up and down, and he panted heavily.

"My taijutsu and the String-String Fruit's abilities have been trained enough for today."

"All that's left is..."

After sitting under a large tree to rest for a moment and gradually recovering his stamina and chakra, he stood up.

Yu walked to the edge of a small river, closed his eyes, and attempted to concentrate his chakra into the soles of his feet. Once he felt the chakra gather there, he slowly stepped onto the surface of the water.

"Splash!"

But caught off guard, he failed.

Yu plunged his entire foot into the water, getting splashed in the face.

"Tree climbing and water walking—these are the essential basics for any ninja."

"I mastered tree climbing in half a day, but I haven't been able to get the hang of water walking for so long. It makes no sense!"

He climbed out of the water, looking rather disheveled.

Standing by the riverbank, Yu couldn't help but look perplexed.

Compared to the original story, where Naruto and Sasuke spent nearly a week mastering tree climbing and water walking, the exceptionally talented Yu had been able to walk on trees and walls as if they were flat ground just one day after successfully refining his chakra.

Yet, for some reason, he just couldn't master water walking, the other essential ninja basic.

"Splash!"

"Splash!"

Refusing to give up, Yu tried again and again.

He kept falling into the water, ending up in a sorry state.

"Heh-hahaha..."

Just as Yu was feeling frustrated, someone suddenly couldn't help but laugh.

"Who's there?!"

Hearing the unfamiliar laughter, Yu was startled.

He had been so engrossed in his water-walking practice that he had carelessly forgotten to keep an eye on his surroundings.

"It's not like that; tree climbing and water walking are different."

"Tree climbing is about gathering chakra at the soles of your feet to act like suction cups, anchoring your body to the object."

"Water walking is the exact opposite. You have to gather chakra at your soles and then release it gently to increase the pressure against the water's surface, allowing you to walk across it as if flying."

As the unfamiliar voice continued to speak, Yu turned around.

He caught sight of a boy who looked to be about his own age, sitting on the trunk of a large tree not far away, watching him with a half-smile in his large, dark eyes.