Rasengan

"When I learned about what happened, a seed was planted in my heart. I didn't want anyone else to lose their parents, their friends, or anyone else the way I had. If my Medical Ninjutsu was strong enough, I could help more people and save more families."

Shimizu spoke at length, delivering an eight-hundred-word explanation in one go.

He had drafted several versions at home to prepare for Hiruzen Sarutobi's questions.

Now, he recited his answer without a single pause.

"Shimizu, you really remind me of an old friend."

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded, satisfied with Shimizu's morals and ideals.

"Who?"

Shimizu asked, feigning confusion.

"You've probably heard his name. He was from the Uchiha Clan—Kagami Uchiha."

"Senior Kagami? I've heard a lot about him from my clan. He's practically my idol."

Shimizu lied without batting an eye.

"Then you really are connected by fate."

Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed.

He asked several more questions, and Shimizu answered each one well.

Hiruzen Sarutobi could now confirm that the information he had received from his son was correct.

Just as Asuma Sarutobi had said, Shimizu's Will of Fire was pure.

"You may go. Your team leader and teammates are waiting downstairs."

"Yes, Lord Hokage."

Shimizu took his leave and closed the wooden door behind him.

"That old fox. How cunning."

The sadness vanished from Shimizu's face. He showed no sign that he had been upset at all.

Fortunately, he had prepared a script at home and thought through what to say.

Otherwise, with Hiruzen Sarutobi's barrage of questions today, Shimizu might really have slipped up and revealed his political leanings.

Shimizu strode down the hallway, ready to meet his newly assigned teammates.

"Hmm?"

After seeing Shimizu off, Hiruzen Sarutobi returned to reviewing the scrolls.

Then he spotted two early graduation applications.

One was Shinku Yuhi's request to let his daughter graduate early. The other was a Chunin instructor's request on behalf of his student, Hyuga Tetsu.

"Konoha's new generation is growing more and more prosperous."

Hiruzen Sarutobi hadn't expected so many people to apply for early graduation.

That had been quite rare in previous years. With the village facing troubled times, an extra pair of hands would be welcome.

After checking the applications carefully and finding nothing wrong, Hiruzen Sarutobi stamped them with his red approval seal.

Back home, Shimizu began practicing the Rasengan.

He had already met his newly assigned teammates. They were both civilian ninja.

One of them had weak fundamentals and was also arrogant.

Shimizu could only respect the course of events and set aside his urge to help.

Weak people were in danger no matter what they did.

Even as ordinary villagers, they could die one day in a sudden, large-scale jutsu attack.

"I'm afraid even Minato Namikaze doesn't understand the Rasengan as well as I do right now."

Shimizu set down a wooden post to use as a target.

Aside from relying on the Simulator, the Rasengan was the fastest way to gain a single-target attack.

It was one of the few jutsu in the original story whose training method was explained in detail.

Shimizu hadn't started learning it earlier because he had devoted most of his energy to Medical Ninjutsu. Yakushi Nonō was essentially a time-limited quest—once the opportunity passed, it was gone.

Now that he had more time, he could begin training.

The Rasengan was a simple, direct jutsu. It required no Chakra Nature Transformation; in essence, it was just a large ball of chakra.

By making chakra flow continuously in different directions and compressing it, the ball could take shape.

The Book of Fighting said that basically anyone capable of producing chakra could learn it.

Of course, "simple" was only relative.

The next line in the Book of Fighting said that even the Fourth Hokage had taken three or four years to master it. It was a jutsu with a very high training difficulty.

Its difficulty was rated A. In theory, an ordinary ninja could still learn it through sheer persistence.

Whether that would take thirty years or sixty was a matter of perspective.

The Rasengan required precise chakra control to compress the chakra in one's hand into a sphere.

The chakra inside spun at high speed. If the user lost control, it couldn't maintain its spherical shape, reducing its power or causing the jutsu to fail.

That was the Rasengan's greatest difficulty.

But Shimizu had already met the prerequisites.

What was the most important skill in Medical Ninjutsu?

Chakra control.

Shimizu might not be particularly strong in other areas, but his chakra control was certainly excellent.

He could reduce the training time to an astonishing degree.

Minato Namikaze had spent three years developing and learning the jutsu. The crucial difference was that he had to develop it himself, constantly experimenting and making adjustments.

Standing on the shoulders of giants, Shimizu didn't need to develop it like Minato Namikaze. He only needed to follow the steps he remembered.

Buzz!

Shimizu skipped straight past the preliminary stages of using a water balloon and a rubber ball. He moved on to the third stage: gathering chakra in his hand!

A blue, oval sphere shimmered and shifted in Shimizu's palm.

Smack!

Shimizu drove the Rasengan into the wooden post. A sharp, grating sound rang out as a wide, spiral-shaped groove sank deep into its surface.

"It's still not perfect."

A standard Rasengan would leave a deep, round crater, not a pattern of grooves.

This could certainly still be used to attack someone, but because the chakra wasn't compressed tightly enough, it might have only a third of the Rasengan's full power.

Shimizu continued gathering chakra in his hand and practicing the Rasengan.

He could learn an ordinary Rasengan in a short time, but that wasn't his goal.

At this stage, he valued the Fire Body Flicker more. The Rasengan was simply quicker to learn.

The best way to use the Rasengan was in combination with the Flying Raijin Jutsu. An instant, hand-seal-free attack could inflict tremendous damage on an enemy in a single moment.

Naruto Uzumaki used the Rasengan in a far too crude way.

He formed one in his hand, then ran over to attack his enemy.

How was that any different from taking an enhanced Kunai into close combat?

Without the Multi Shadow Clone, the Rasengan's effectiveness would be greatly reduced.

The Wind Style: Rasenshuriken developed later addressed this weakness, but it was a forbidden jutsu rated S. Even releasing it placed enormous strain on the body.

"Learning the Rasengan should be enough for now."

Shimizu looked at the blue sphere he had formed again and began another round of training.

The Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu spread its damage too widely and had a long windup, making it a poor fit for Shimizu.

His Body Flicker Technique could already be considered a younger version of the Flying Raijin Jutsu.

Once he developed the Fire Body Flicker, he would be even faster.

Several days later.

At Kakashi Hatake's house.

"Come in."

After Shimizu knocked on Kakashi's door, it opened a crack.

Shimizu took off his shoes in the entryway, changed into wooden sandals, and walked across the floorboards, his footsteps tapping softly.