Solidify the Foundation

Back in the woods, Hyuga Nichigetsu began a new round of training. Next up was the practice of throwing hidden weapons.

Nichigetsu considered shurikenjutsu quite important. After all, hidden weapons were excellent tools for sneak attacks, distraction, disrupting movement, and probing enemy intentions. Suppose an enemy threw a dozen shuriken at you at once; if you couldn't dodge, you would have to expend a massive amount of chakra to perform a Eight Trigrams Palms: Heavenly Spin. However, if you possessed high-level throwing skills, you could neutralize the enemy's attack by launching the same number of shuriken—or even fewer—thereby saving a significant amount of chakra.

Nichigetsu didn't know the Uchiha clan's "red-eye" technique of throwing weapons to collide in mid-air and change trajectory. He had to start from the basics. He began by throwing at a single target, and once he ensured he could hit it, he increased the count to three, then six, nine, and finally twelve. Twelve targets was the limit Nichigetsu set, representing a circle of enemies surrounding him, each capable of attacking without interfering with one another.

He progressed from throwing one at a time to launching two kunai simultaneously, gradually increasing the count to twelve. Eventually, he reached a point where he could hit twelve targets arranged at varying heights around him with a single twelve-kunai throw. Nichigetsu practiced step-by-step according to this plan. Finally, he replaced the nine stationary targets with moving ones to better simulate real combat.

But what about enemies hiding in blind spots? Nichigetsu pinned his hopes on shuriken; after all, a shuriken could fly in an arc if spun correctly in the air. Once he finished his basic shuriken training, he began practicing various methods for throwing curved shots. With his understanding of fluid dynamics, his shuriken trajectories gradually became tricky and bizarre. S-curves, J-curves, C-curves, boomerangs, falling-leaf patterns, and more—the variety was endless. Nichigetsu couldn't help but marvel that these ideas were learned from the God of Gamblers' card-throwing skills; he doubted the God of Gamblers himself knew how to play with shuriken this well.

The use of the Three Body Technique was also of paramount importance, as it was the foundation of all ninjutsu.

The Substitution Technique was an excellent life-saving maneuver. A standard substitution allowed one to instantly swap places with an object or animal to evade an attack. If mastered, it could save one's life, so this jutsu had to be practiced until it could be cast instantaneously at any moment.

Just imagine: a dense barrage of shuriken flying toward you—Substitution Technique! The shuriken would all embed themselves in a wooden log. Primary Lotus! Just as you were about to be bound by bandages—Substitution Technique! The thing slammed into the ground was just a log. A Great Fireball came flying—Substitution Technique! You could even use the opportunity to find a place to hide. When combined with various clone techniques, the Substitution Technique was like adding wings to a tiger. Nichigetsu demanded of himself that he be able to use it in any situation—whether in mid-air, underwater, lying on the ground, or even while standing upside down, he practiced it relentlessly.

The Transformation Technique allowed one to turn into other people or simple objects to confuse enemies. In high-intensity combat, small tricks often caused enemies to let their guard down; after all, in a tense state, the simplest ruses were often the most effective because they were the least expected. Look at how flashy Naruto's transformation technique was... ahem! Don't get the wrong idea; I'm talking about Naruto turning into shuriken, kunai, rocks, Akamaru, or Sasuke. Ahem! Don't get the wrong idea...

Was the Clone Technique useless? Was it a "chicken rib" technique? Indeed, the clones produced were rigid, lacked attack power, only performed simple movements according to the caster's control, and vanished after a single hit. The Clone Technique was worlds apart from the Shadow Clone Technique, but it was a training jutsu. Much like tree-climbing or water-walking, it was excellent for exercising a ninja's chakra control.

When using the Clone Technique, one had to make the clone look exactly like the original to make it indistinguishable. If too little chakra was used, the clone would collapse on the ground or become miniature, like Naruto's, and be seen through instantly. If too much was used, it was a waste, and the excessive smoke would give it away. The technique itself was a fundamental way to train chakra control, which was why it was a requirement for the Ninja Academy graduation exam. Because of the Nine-Tails' chakra interference and his own poor control, Naruto's attempts were a cycle of failure after failure.

Therefore, the Clone Technique had to be mastered. In his plan, Nichigetsu aimed to reach a level where he used the absolute minimum amount of chakra to produce high-quality clones, and he wanted to control the amount of smoke at will to confuse enemies without wasting a single drop of chakra. Once he achieved this, his chakra control would reach a whole new realm.

"There are no useless ninjutsu, only people who can't use them well," Nichigetsu thought, before burying himself back into his practice of the Three Body Technique.

Nichigetsu was also constantly exploring the uses of chakra. For instance, adhering chakra to the soles of his feet allowed him to walk on trees; applying it to his arms increased his strength; applying it to his legs allowed him to jump further and run faster—this was the Ninja Footwork. Coating the body's surface could provide a degree of protection. Through this exploration, his chakra control improved significantly.

Nichigetsu constantly condensed and then depleted his chakra. He would coat his legs with it and run long distances, or perform the Three Body Technique repeatedly to drain his reserves, or climb trees until he was exhausted. Once his chakra was spent, he would begin refining it all over again, repeating the cycle of depletion and refinement.

Meanwhile, Nichigetsu had become an invisible person within the Hyuga clan. He was too young, so naturally, he didn't need to attend clan meetings. Whenever there were regular gatherings or the clan head called for an assembly, Nichigetsu would use excuses like his lingering illness to decline. He rarely went, and if he did, he would hide in a corner, keeping an extremely low profile.

Whether it was the original Nichigetsu or the current one, he had no fondness for the Hyuga main house. He was naturally immune to the brainwashing education they peddled. He was cared for by Mizuki's family from the branch house. Mizuki's parents were ordinary people who only told Nichigetsu to treat his family well, to love his home, and that the entire Hyuga clan were his kin.

Mizuki knew the pain in Nichigetsu's heart and would never tell him to be loyal to the main house or that branch house members should be ready to sacrifice themselves for the main house at any moment—she didn't even believe those words herself. This was because members of the Hyuga branch house had the Caged Bird seal carved into their foreheads from childhood, living under the ruthless control of the main house. Did they all loyally serve the main house like beasts of burden? Not at all! In fact, many in the branch house loathed the main house, even hated it; even if they didn't say it aloud, they held no affection for them in their hearts. Mizuki was the same, and she respected Nichigetsu's father, so she naturally wouldn't demand that Nichigetsu spend his life fighting to protect the main house.

Nichigetsu maintained his ultra-low profile, spending every day desperately training his physical fitness, hidden weapons, chakra refinement, and the basics of the Three Body Technique. He ignored the monotony and boredom, practicing and repeating it over and over again. He did this until his body completely memorized these movements, making them as simple as moving his fingers—something he could do the moment he thought of it.

Following days of grueling training, Nichigetsu's chakra reserves slowly increased, and his body gradually grew stronger. Thanks to the reasonable nutritional diet and sleep schedule he had designed for himself as a doctor, his physical development was on a great trajectory; his complexion was no longer pale, and he was much healthier and stronger than before.

Next, Nichigetsu began integrating these exercises into actual combat. After all, based on his experience from his past life, things in the laboratory eventually had to be applied in a clinical setting. No matter how proficient you were in practice, if you couldn't use it on the operating table, it was as good as useless. Moreover, ninja combat was slightly different from an operating table: if you made a mistake in surgery, you cost the patient their life; if a ninjutsu failed, you cost yourself your life.

Nichigetsu felt he needed a teacher—someone to instruct him, spar with him, and pass on more practical combat experience. However, he wasn't in a hurry. Once Sister Mizuki returned, he could ask her for guidance, including the use of the Byakugan, the basics of Gentle Fist, and combat experience. For now, it was best for Nichigetsu to focus on building a solid foundation himself.

The days of hard work passed quickly. Before he knew it, two months had gone by. Aside from a few trips to Mizuki's house for meals and buying daily necessities, Nichigetsu had been training diligently. The level of his dedication was something most genin probably couldn't even reach halfway.

Nichigetsu's Three Body Technique was now very proficient. He could attack six targets simultaneously with his hidden weapons. His physical fitness had also increased significantly; without using chakra, he could do 40 push-ups without issue, which was quite remarkable for a four-year-old child. His chakra reserves had also grown; he estimated that he now had enough to support the cost of a Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique.

Currently, Nichigetsu was training in tree-climbing—adhering chakra to his soles and slowly walking up the trunk until he reached the canopy. He was already very skilled at this. However, because he was growing quickly, he had to adjust the amount of chakra in his soles every so often to adapt to his increasing weight. This, in turn, further trained his control over chakra. Nichigetsu planned to start mountain-climbing training later, ideally with a heavy load, just like Jiraiya, who carried a large basket of rocks while climbing to the summit on foot.

Water-walking training was also progressing step-by-step. Nichigetsu started in a pond, then moved to a river, a hot spring, a waterfall, and finally, a calm lake. In truth, the calm lake was the most difficult, because Nichigetsu demanded that he be able to run across the surface without creating a single ripple, as if stepping on a mirror. This required that when he stepped on the water, the chakra in his soles provided enough buoyancy to offset his weight, his footing had to be extremely steady, and he had to exert a secondary force against the water to cancel out the impact of his step and smooth out any ripples. This required a very even distribution of force and extremely precise chakra control. To leave no trace on snow and create no ripples on water—this was the standard Nichigetsu set for himself.

Feeling his own progress, Nichigetsu continued to work hard.

"Keep it up, Hyuga Nichigetsu. In this world, no one will be able to bully me!"