Chapter 40

They should hurry up and train a batch of reliable pharmacists, or better yet, set up an assembly line. That would be more dependable.

Mulling it over, Xunjing led Minato to the small training ground in his backyard.

He began teaching him the Shadow Clone Technique.

First, he explained the entire process from start to finish.

Then, step by step, he demonstrated it for Minato in slow motion.

In the end, Minato got the hang of it on his first try.

"Not bad. I knew I hadn't misjudged you." Xunjing gave him a thumbs-up.

Minato scratched the back of his head and smiled a little sheepishly. "Not at all. You're just a good teacher."

"Practice a few more times. Once you've confirmed you've truly mastered it, today's lesson will be over." Xunjing raised a hand.

Minato immediately dispelled his Shadow Clone.

Then he practiced another four or five times.

Minato's control grew steadier and steadier before Xunjing finally called a stop.

"Alright, you've got it. Just keep practicing on your own to solidify it."

He paused, then added, "As for dual cultivation, I'll arrange a time once Kushina's side is settled tomorrow."

"I'll take you home first."

"Alright."

Minato nodded. Once Xunjing had escorted him to the outside of the Uchiha Clan compound, he immediately raised a hand to stop him.

"This is far enough. I can walk the rest of the way myself."

"See you later, Xunjing."

"And... thanks."

After saying that, Minato turned and ran off, his strides swift.

Xunjing watched his retreating figure, the corner of his lips curling slightly.

"That kid."

He turned around, stuffed his hands into his pockets, and leisurely headed home.

After getting home, Xunjing formed hand seals and created three Shadow Clones.

One went to study sealing techniques.

One went to hone chakra control and hand seals.

The last went to practice ninjutsu.

The original body went straight to the Pirate World to meet up with Mikoto and begin sparring.

Their method of training Observation Haki was simple—throw snowballs at each other from the trickiest angles possible.

Chisato had mentioned before that they had to come to the Pirate World to awaken Haki.

The Ninja World lacked the right conditions.

Xunjing figured it was probably because the rules of the worlds were different.

Interestingly, once it had been successfully awakened, training it back in the Ninja World was no problem.

The two grew increasingly wild with their snowball fight.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—"

The sounds of snowballs cutting through the air rang out without end.

Every so often, they were mixed with a cry of pain.

Inside the house, Dr. Kureha frowned as she listened, until she could only shake her head and sigh.

What sins had she committed in her previous life to end up with these two troublemakers?

The more they threw, the more immersed they became, and the faster they went.

Their entire bodies and minds sank into it.

At some point, Xunjing suddenly felt himself enter a strange state.

Everything about him felt incredibly clear.

Every movement within several hundred meters entered his mind with perfect clarity.

Especially the incoming snowballs—they seemed as though someone had pressed pause on them.

His Observation Haki had awakened.

Xunjing effortlessly dodged every snowball thrown at him.

While continuing to throw snowballs at Mikoto, who had yet to awaken hers, he willed up his status panel.

Sure enough, an extra line had appeared in the skill list.

[Observation Haki (1/1000, Beginner)]

"Huh? The proficiency cap for Beginner is actually one thousand? That's ten whole times higher than other techniques."

"Does that mean every stage after this will require at least ten times as much progress too?"

Maybe even more than that.

"If I really want to train it to perfection, or even break past its limits, how much time will that take?"

Xunjing rubbed his temples, feeling somewhat helpless.

But on second thought, this skill was difficult and rare by nature. A higher cap was understandable.

"Hm?"

At that moment, Mikoto also noticed the change in Xunjing's state.

She saw that his dodges had suddenly become effortless and fluid. He could even let his mind wander to other things without getting hit once.

Diverting a sliver of her attention, she called out to him, "Xunjing, did you awaken Observation Haki?"

"Yes!"

While dodging, Xunjing nodded. "I just awakened it. Should we keep training?"

"Keep going!"

Mikoto gritted her teeth, her attitude resolute.

Xunjing had already awakened it. How could she, his older sister, fall behind instead?

As she dodged, she could not help asking, "Is there any trick to it?"

In the end, she had still been provoked by Xunjing and lost focus.

"Stay calm and put all your attention into dodging. That's the only trick."

"Mikoto, your mental strength and talent are both fine. Believe in yourself."

"Next, I'll throw the snowballs faster and from trickier angles. Be careful."

"I believe you can do it. Here I come!"

"Alright!"

After hearing those words, the impatience in Mikoto's heart truly eased a great deal. She took a deep breath, forcibly calmed herself down, and answered.

The next second—

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!!!"

Countless snowballs rained down on her from every direction.

They were more than twice as fast as before, and their angles were absurdly tricky.

She did not even have the energy to throw snowballs back.

Even so, she kept getting hit.

But Mikoto gritted her teeth and endured it.

She kept forcing herself onward, kept focusing her mind.

Her pupils even began to turn red—the sign that her Sharingan was about to activate.

But she forcibly suppressed it.

Because the experience Chisato had shared said that relying on the Sharingan to dodge would not only fail to help awaken Observation Haki, but would instead have the opposite effect.

Focus, focus harder, keep focusing.

Mikoto felt as if she were only separated from awakening Observation Haki by a thin sheet of paper.

Just like that, she had no idea how much time passed. She had even completely forgotten the passage of time.

At some point—

"Buzz!!"

Her mind suddenly roared, and her spirit seemed to ascend.

Then, the entire world changed.

It became unbelievably clear.

She could distinctly capture even the slightest movements within dozens of meters around her.

The snowballs flying at her from every direction seemed to have all slowed down.

She had successfully mastered Observation Haki as well.

"Swish, swish, swish—"

Mikoto's figure blurred as she effortlessly evaded every attack.

Then, the incoming snowballs suddenly stopped.

Clearly, Xunjing had realized she had successfully grasped it and voluntarily stopped.

"Congratulations!"

Xunjing walked over with a smile to congratulate her.

"Phew... phew..."

Mikoto braced her hands on her knees and caught her breath. A smile appeared on her face. "Thanks! If you hadn't helped me, I probably would've been stuck for a long time before figuring it out."

"The method you gave me really works."

"Creak—"

At that moment, the door opened, and the sound drew both of their attention.

They turned and saw Dr. Kureha walk out of the house with a stunned expression. Her gaze swept back and forth between them, disbelief in her voice. "You two actually both awakened Observation Haki? That's ridiculous!"

"How long has it even been? How did you manage that?"

Don't think Observation Haki was easy to master.

Even in the Pirate World, those capable of awakening this ability were extremely rare.

Most people would never even touch its threshold in their entire lives.

Even some experts who had mastered Armament Haki might not necessarily comprehend Observation Haki.

Unlike Armament Haki, which could be developed through grueling physical training, Observation Haki involved mental strength and a sixth sense beyond the five senses.

Its awakening difficulty was on an entirely different level, and the demands it placed on talent were extremely high.

"Heh!"

Xunjing and Mikoto looked at each other and laughed at the same time.

Xunjing said, "We have a special trick."

Dr. Kureha immediately rolled her eyes. "Did you think I didn't hear what you two were talking about earlier?"

"If simply concentrating and dodging around could awaken it, Observation Haki wouldn't be this rare."

"All I can say is that your Uchiha Clan really does have talent when it comes to mental strength and perception."