Training in the Backyard

The aroma of dinner wafted out of the kitchen. The moment Takuma stepped through the door, he caught the scent of his mother's specialty: miso soup.

"You're back?" His mother poked her head out of the kitchen. "Go wash your hands. Dinner's almost ready."

"Where's Dad?"

"Out back." His mother nodded toward the backyard and lowered her voice. "Hiding out to smoke again. Keep an eye on him for me. Last time I caught him hiding three packs of cigarettes, and confiscated them all."

Takuma nodded, holding back a laugh. In all these years, his father had gotten so good at hiding cigarettes to evade his mother's sharp eyes that he was almost at a ninja's level.

Mori Kazuki sat beneath a tree with a half-burned cigarette between his fingers. At the sound of footsteps, he reflexively hid it behind his back. When he turned and saw Takuma, he relaxed.

"It's you, kid." He brought the cigarette back out, took a deep drag, and savored it. "You startled me."

"How was training today?" Mori Kazuki asked casually.

"Not bad. Tenten helped me design a batch of special kunai, simplified versions that conduct chakra." Takuma rolled his shoulders. "Then Guy-sensei happened to pass by and gave me some pointers on taijutsu."

"Just happened to?" Mori Kazuki raised an eyebrow. "How many times did he knock you flat?"

"...Three."

"Only three? Guy was holding back."

Takuma fell silent for a moment, then looked at his father with a strange expression.

"Dad, you know Guy-sensei?"

"I do." Mori Kazuki's tone was casual. "He bought a book from me when he was a kid. Passionate Youth Training Manual, an inspirational novel about training in taijutsu."

Takuma imagined a young Guy clutching an inspirational book with tears in his eyes. Somehow, the image fit perfectly.

"Then do you know how he trains?"

"I do." Mori Kazuki's mouth twitched. "He tried every training method mentioned in that book, then added even more. At the time, I thought he'd either become a legend or train himself into the hospital. Turns out he managed both."

Takuma remembered wondering if he could train in the Eight Inner Gates. But after watching Guy's daily routine once, he'd silently given up. That wasn't training. It was suicide.

"Wise choice." Mori Kazuki gave him a rare compliment. "You need a conviction like Guy's to master something like the Eight Inner Gates. You may be able to heal yourself, but your mind couldn't withstand that kind of pain."

"Physical injuries can heal, but mental torment builds up." Mori Kazuki gazed at the persimmon tree in the yard, his voice growing somber. "Every gate you open with the Eight Inner Gates feels like tearing your own soul apart. Guy can endure it because he has a pure heart of youth... though I don't really understand what that means either."

"What I taught you before was only the most basic of basics. Tonight, we'll work on something real. The Senju Clan excelled at Water Release and Earth Release, and most of the clan's skilled shinobi mastered both chakra natures. The First Hokage went a step further and combined them to create Wood Release, the pinnacle of Kekkei Genkai."

"How good is your Water Release?" Takuma couldn't help asking.

"Good enough to teach you, I suppose. There were still a few jonin in your grandfather's generation, but they all died in the wars. By my generation, the Senju bloodline had thinned until all we had left was our chakra reserves and physical constitution."

He placed a hand on Takuma's shoulder, and a gentle stream of chakra flowed into his body, as if probing him.

"But you're different."

Mori Kazuki withdrew his hand, a complex look flashing in his eyes. "Your chakra reserves are far beyond normal for someone your age, and they're still growing. Your healing ability is even stronger than that of the pure-blood Senju recorded in our clan genealogy."

He paused, seeming to choose his words carefully.

"It's strange. The bloodline should grow thinner with each generation. There shouldn't be this kind of reversion in your generation. It's as if some outside force activated your Senju bloodline."

"I don't know either." Takuma kept his voice as natural as he could. He couldn't exactly say that his body had a Healing Factor mixed into it. "Maybe I'm just lucky."

"Lucky." Mori Kazuki repeated the word, then suddenly smiled.

"But talent is one thing; skill has to be earned. No matter how strong your recovery is, you'll still run out of strength eventually. A real battle isn't about who can take more hits."

"Enough of that." Mori Kazuki patted the scroll. "Let's get started. First, learn the Hand Seals for Water Release: Water Wall. There are six in all. Follow me."

Takuma focused and followed his father's example, forming the Hand Seals.

A curtain of water rose before him, about a meter tall and less than two meters wide. The flow was so thin it looked like a veil.

"You call this a Water Wall?" Takuma stared at the "water gauze curtain" he'd summoned, his mouth twitching.

"That's how it is for beginners." Mori Kazuki poked the curtain with a finger, which went straight through. "Your Water Wall can't stop a kunai yet, but it'll do fine against leaves and dust."

"...What's the point, then?"

"You can water the flowers."

Takuma repeated the Hand Seals for Water Release: Water Wall over and over. The water curtain gradually improved from a "veil" to a "thin cloth" and then to a "curtain." It was still a long way from a battle-ready "water wall," but the speed of his progress secretly surprised Mori Kazuki.

"Enough. Switch to Earth Release." His father stopped him before he could use up more chakra. "Water Release demands precise Hand Seals, while Earth Release relies more on steady chakra. Try Earth Style: Earth Flow Wall. It only has three Hand Seals, but pause for half a second at each step and let your chakra sink."

Takuma followed the instructions and formed the seals. Earth Release did feel different. Instead of flowing, his chakra sank underground like a rock, then burst back out through the ground. A low wall rose up, about half a meter tall, though fairly thick.

"That's more like it." Mori Kazuki rapped on the earthen wall. "Better than your first Water Wall."

"Is it because Earth Release suits my chakra nature better?"

"No. It's because you found the knack for chakra control while practicing Water Release." His father sat down beneath the eaves and took out that cigarette again. This time, he finally lit it and took a satisfied drag. "Although the Senju Clan excelled at Water Release, everyone had their own inclinations. You seem to suit the rhythm of Earth Release better: steady, solid, unhurried. It fits your fighting style, too... You tend to take a hit first, then counterattack. Earth Release is defensive by nature."

"Dad, you said the Senju Clan excelled at Water Release and Earth Release. What about Wood Release?"

"Wood Release is a Kekkei Genkai, not just Water and Earth combined." He spoke slowly. "It requires both Water and Earth chakra natures to reach an extremely high level of purity and fuse naturally. It also requires a talent that can't be put into words. The First Hokage was unique because he had that talent. We descendants may have Water and Earth affinities, but we'll never be able to conjure that wood."

"I'm telling you this not so you'll pursue Wood Release, but because I want you to give up on the idea entirely. In history, people who tried to force a fusion into Wood Release either went mad or were consumed by it. It isn't something you can achieve through hard work alone."

Takuma nodded. He knew he was still far from that level. For now, all he needed to do was build a solid foundation in Water Release and Earth Release.

Takuma began forming the Hand Seals again. Once, twice, three times. The earthen wall gradually grew, from half a meter to seventy centimeters, then from seventy centimeters to a meter. The effort of using chakra brought beads of sweat to his forehead, but his Healing Factor was also speeding up his recovery, letting him last longer than an ordinary person.

Mori Kazuki watched silently from the side without offering any advice. The essence of training was for the body to remember the feeling, not for the mind to remember the theory. With every failure, Takuma fine-tuned the rhythm of his chakra output. That ability to correct himself was true talent.

When the Earth Flow Wall finally reached a meter and twenty centimeters, Takuma braced his hands on his knees and panted heavily.

"...That's enough, right?"

"Enough to meet the bare minimum for keeping yourself alive." Mori Kazuki nodded in satisfaction. "That's all for today. Starting tomorrow, come to this yard every night. I'll continue teaching you advanced applications of Water Release and Earth Release."

Mori Kazuki tucked the scroll into his clothes. "Go rest. Come out for dinner in a bit."

Takuma nodded and turned toward the house.

As he closed his eyes, a system notification suddenly rang out in his mind.

[Event detected—"Father and Son's Late-Night Training"]

[Witness assessment: The Senju Clan's legacy secretly continues in the backyard of Morimiya Bookstore.]

[Reward: 1 draw]

Takuma silently made his draw.

[Draw result: Buzz Lightyear's wings (toy version)]

[Item description: A green-and-white glider with a 1.2-meter wingspan. It can carry one person for a short glide lasting about 30 seconds.]

[Note: This isn't flying. It's falling with style.]

Takuma looked at the comically over-the-top glider and fell silent for a moment.

It wasn't a powerful ability, but at least it was more useful than milk that never expired. Escaping from a height, crossing terrain, launching a surprise attack—thirty seconds of gliding could come in handy at a critical moment. As long as he didn't get shot out of the sky by a kunai.