Rapid Progress

"Foot Shave String!!"

But Yu's movements didn't stop. His body spun in midair, using the momentum to whip out a powerful kick.

Eight nearly transparent, thread-thin strings shot from the tip of Yu's foot.

"Rumble!!"

The enormous boulder in front of Yu rumbled.

Chunks of stone flew everywhere as Yu's kick split the boulder in two from a distance.

The force didn't stop there. His attack even carved a long trench into the ground before him.

"Your progress is astonishing..."

"In just one year, you've developed the String-String Fruit's abilities to this degree?"

The sultry voice of the demon suddenly spoke in Yu's ear without warning.

Over the past year, Yu's strength had advanced by leaps and bounds. He had not only trained Single-Color String until he could use Five-Color String,

but had also gradually developed other abilities and techniques of the String-String Fruit. Foot Shave String was one of them.

Foot Shave String—eight nearly transparent, thread-thin strings were created at the toes. The sharp strings delivered a straight-line kick powerful enough to send an opponent flying with a single blow.

The technique was somewhat like a kicking version of Five-Color String. It could split a building in two, and even the strongest armor couldn't fully defend against it.

"Tch..."

"This is nowhere near enough."

Despite the demon's praise, Yu still seemed dissatisfied.

His clear, amber eyes held an endless drive to pursue greater strength.

"This is the height of the Third Shinobi World War..."

"Facing the battlefield, that cruel meat grinder, no matter how strong you are, it's never enough!"

"Water Style: Hard Vortex Water Blade!!"

Thinking of the brutal, intense battlefield outside, Yu clenched his teeth, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.

As usual, a blue-glowing Vanishing Rasengan formed in the palm of his right hand.

Once the Vanishing Rasengan had formed, Yu carefully infused it with the water-nature chakra inside his body.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!!"

A tremendous roar of rushing water rang out. The Vanishing Rasengan in Yu's hand underwent an incredible transformation.

A highly compressed lance of water formed in his right hand, like a spiraling water dragon, enveloping his entire hand.

A deafening roar came from it without pause, as if Yu were holding an entire, tightly compressed waterfall in his hand.

"What is this?!"

"Have you gone crazy?! Stop it, now!!"

"You're not ready to use this technique yet!!"

Seeing the violent transformation of the Vanishing Rasengan in Yu's hand, the demon cried out in alarm.

Bang!!

But it was too late.

Before Yu could even celebrate, the highly compressed, high-pressure spiral of water in his hand exploded.

The terrifying force sent his entire body flying.

"So I failed again..."

"Damn, that hurts."

Yu sat up after being thrown a long way.

His right arm was torn open with countless wounds, streaming with blood.

Mystical Palm Technique!!

Without hesitation, while his arm could still move, Yu formed hand seals.

A mass of green chakra gathered in his left hand. Under the effects of this incredibly refined Medical Ninjutsu, Yu's bloodied right arm quickly healed.

Mystical Palm Technique—a Medical Ninjutsu of a higher level than the ordinary Healing Technique.

It could use emitted chakra to achieve a remarkable rate of healing for both internal and external injuries, and could even treat a target from a distance of one meter.

It could also disrupt the flow of chakra within another person's body, inducing a state of sleep, among other things. This extremely advanced technique had immense destructive power over the human body, which was why it was known as a combat Medical Ninjutsu.

However, because it required an exceptionally high level of chakra control, very few people could use it. It had almost vanished entirely. Even among the many medical ninja, only a tiny minority could perform the Mystical Palm Technique.

It could activate all the cells around a wound and heal it in just five minutes. In the original story, even Tsunade, one of the Legendary Sannin, found it difficult.

But after a year of practice,

Yu, whose talent for ninjutsu was exceptional, had mastered this advanced Medical Ninjutsu at the age of six.

If anyone outside found out, they would probably regard him as an astonishing monster.

"Do you want to lose your arm?!"

"If you keep recklessly pushing yourself like this, you'll lose your life too!!"

Seeing the severe injuries on Yu's arm finally begin to heal under the Mystical Palm Technique's powerful effects,

the demon's agitated tone made it clear she was still furious.

Hard Vortex Water Blade—Yu had developed this original technique based on the S-rank ultimate Water Release Ninjutsu used by the Second Hokage Tobirama Senju in the game Ultimate Ninja Storm, which he had played in his previous life.

This technique didn't exist in the Naruto World Yu now lived in. It could be used in both close- and long-range combat. It created a water vortex in the hand, compressed it into a water javelin, then spun it rapidly in unpredictable directions across multiple layers.

When thrown with force, it created a massive waterspout upon contact with a target. It was an incredibly powerful, devastating, and dazzling technique—the strongest known Water Release Ninjutsu.

"Uh... if I died just like this..."

"Wouldn't you be able to devour my soul?"

The severe injuries to Yu's arm had finally healed completely under his refined Medical Ninjutsu.

But sensing the demon's mix of worry and anger, Yu couldn't help feeling bewildered.

"You!!"

"You're going to be the death of me!"

Seeing Yu's wooden reaction, the demon was so exasperated she could barely speak.

She simply let her voice fade from Yu's ear and returned to her slumber.

"What's that supposed to mean..."

"Are you really angry just like that?"

Feeling the demon's anger fade, Yu stood where he was, utterly perplexed.

"I really don't understand women... They're more trouble than training in ninjutsu."

"But..."

After gathering his thoughts, Yu looked at the sleeve of his right arm, which had been completely torn away, and gave a wry smile.

"I'm not even at the level of an elite jonin, and I'm already trying to infuse the Vanishing Rasengan with chakra nature transformation. Of course it was too much."

"After all, I'm no freak like Naruto, who has both the Nine-Tails and the Uzumaki Clan's physique..."

A year had passed. Now six years old, Yu had grown a little taller than the year before.

His white hair shone like moonlight, his eyes resembled amber, and his youthful face had grown even more handsome and refined.

A year of training without a break had brought tremendous gains not only in his String-String Fruit abilities and ninjutsu,

but also in his chakra level, which had just reached the level of a Chunin.

The Paramecia Devil Fruit's alteration of his body had also given him a chakra reserve that far surpassed that of an ordinary Chunin.

Yu made a rough estimate. Ordinary Chunin were no match for him now, and even against an elite jonin, he could at least ensure his own safe retreat, even if he couldn't win.