Practicing Again

The next morning

After trying to form an Ice Needle yesterday, he had also started thinking about how to further improve his ability.

So, during the morning session when he followed his mother in learning the basics of secret techniques, he told her about his idea for an Ice Needle.

Of course, he didn't tell her everything. He was afraid something might go wrong. Sometimes, you had to play dumb—like a certain grade-schooler who always went, "Yare yare," whenever something happened.

During a break in their practice, Ning Xue looked at the little ice flower he had just formed in his palm. Its edges were still a bit rough. He raised his head and asked Hyuga Yuki with feigned innocence,

"Mother, can ice only be made into little shapes like this? Could it be made... thinner and sharper? Like... a needle?"

He deserved an Oscar for that performance.

Hyuga Yuki paused, looking at her son in surprise.

"A needle? What made you think of that shape, Ning Xue?"

She was curious about why Ning Xue wanted to make it needle-shaped.

Ning Xue knew his chance had come, but he didn't dare reveal his real motive.

That would be an accident waiting to happen.

He blinked his pure white eyes, trying hard to look like an ordinary child full of curiosity.

"Because I often see Father using a needle to sew clothes, and I think it's amazing. It's so small and sharp. It feels like it could sew anything together."

Forgive me, Father. This is the last time.

Just kidding. It was no big deal; he was only using it as an excuse.

Hyuga Yuki smiled warmly when she heard that and patted Ning Xue on the head.

"I see. That's a very interesting idea, Ning Xue."

She didn't suspect a thing. Instead, she thought her son had a vivid imagination.

"In theory, as long as you have fine enough chakra control, you can shape it into something sharper. Shinobi from the Land of Snow sometimes shape ice into shuriken or kunai and throw them, but that requires strong chakra control. And objects made purely of ice are usually quite brittle, not as sturdy as real steel."

"Shaping chakra into something smaller and sharper is indeed a very advanced chakra shape transformation exercise. It requires extremely precise control. If you want to learn, you can start with senbon."

"Senbon?"

Ning Xue tilted his head in confusion.

He really had no idea what a senbon was.

Hyuga Yuki smiled gently and patiently explained,

"A senbon is a ninja tool that's thinner and longer than a shuriken. It's a bit like an oversized needle." As she spoke, she used her fingers to indicate its length and shape.

"Oh~" He suddenly understood.

Then he started kicking himself over it again. Right, why didn't I practice by making the needle bigger first? Wait, I don't think I can control that much water.

After he stopped overthinking, he asked his mother,

"Mother, how do you use water to make something like this? Can you make one?"

Seeing how curious her son was, Hyuga Yuki smiled warmly and demonstrated.

"Of course. Molding water into shape is the foundation of many Ice Release techniques. Watch closely, Ning Xue."

With that, she formed a drop of water in her palm.

"First, you guide and shape it."

Hyuga Yuki explained softly. As she spoke, the bead of water in her palm began to stretch and narrow, gradually forming a slender stream of water about ten centimeters long and slightly thicker than an embroidery needle.

"During this process, your chakra needs to wrap around and permeate the water evenly. It's like gently kneading it with your hands, letting it change shape according to your wishes rather than forcing it to bend.

"Focus your mind and imagine what you want it to become."

The stream of water trembled slightly in her palm but maintained an incredibly stable needle-like shape. Its surface was smooth, and it showed no sign of collapsing.

It was so much better than the quivering thing Ning Xue had been making on his own.

Ning Xue was incredibly excited. After all that, he was finally learning something useful.

"Next, we freeze it." As Hyuga Yuki spoke, Ning Xue saw clearly this time as chakra flowed into the senbon.

Ice flowers spread bit by bit from inside the whole senbon, unlike the way his own ice had formed as an outer layer.

Just like that, a perfect senbon was formed.

"Did you understand?" Hyuga Yuki dispelled the Ice Senbon, turning it into a puddle of water.

"I did!" Ning Xue nodded quickly.

Seeing him nod, Yuki continued,

"The key to forming a senbon is precise chakra control over the water. Keep the shape steady, then freeze it quickly. If you want to try, you can get a basin of water and practice."

"Mm-hmm." Ning Xue replied, already filled with anticipation.

Seeing how excited he was, she still reminded him,

"It'll take a lot of practice to master, Ning Xue. Don't rush. Take it one step at a time."

"I understand, Mother! I'll practice hard!" Ning Xue's voice brimmed with enthusiasm.

After completing his mother's basic training in the morning and his Taijutsu training in the afternoon, he eagerly brought over another basin of water.

With his mother's demonstration to guide him this time, his progress was obvious.

He formed the water needle faster, and its shape was more stable. It was still nowhere near his mother's level, and the ice he formed was far from perfect, but compared to yesterday, it was a huge leap forward!

After watching his mother's demonstration, he knew where he had been going wrong.

So this time, he formed it much more carefully, mimicking his mother's technique throughout. Instead of using chakra to forcibly pull it into shape, he slowly guided it with chakra.

This time, it looked smoother and straighter than yesterday's.

"Now!" Ning Xue abruptly infused it with Ice Release chakra, and the chakra began to freeze it from the inside.

"I did it!" Ning Xue couldn't help letting out a quiet shout.

The Ice Senbon continued to radiate cold from his fingertips. It lasted for nearly a minute before showing the first faint signs of melting—far more stable than the flawed one he'd frozen from water yesterday!

And so he continued, using his Byakugan to observe as he formed, shaped, and froze one after another.

As he practiced with complete focus, he gradually got closer to achieving the best result he could manage.

When his mother came to call him in for dinner, she saw the senbon he had formed and was surprised.

She couldn't help asking Ning Xue,

"Ning Xue... is this... something you just made?"

When Ning Xue confirmed it, her surprise gave way to warmth and pride.

She hadn't expected her son to have such talent. After all, even though she hadn't had the talent to become a shinobi, she had still practiced the family's secret techniques for over ten years.

Then she crouched down, patted Ning Xue on the head, and praised him.

"That's amazing. You learned much faster than I expected."

Then she changed her tune.

"But it's time to take a break. Dinner's ready."

And so, Ning Xue was led back home by his mother for dinner.