Methods of Chakra Control

There were only three days left. Hyuga Iwa had yet to gain Duy's approval and the chance to learn the Eight Gates. He also did not know what would happen after enrolling in the Ninja Academy, or whether he would still have time to train with Might Guy.

Wait, that was not right. Hyuga Iwa suddenly realized—did Might Guy not need to go to school?

Might Guy seemed to be a year older than him, right? Or was the Ninja Academy not held every year?

Hyuga Iwa had truly never paid attention to this, but then he thought: It was fine. He could ask later.

When Hyuga Iwa asked Might Guy about it that afternoon, Might Guy looked at him in surprise and asked back.

"Ninja Academy? What Ninja Academy?"

"You don't even know about the Ninja Academy?" Hyuga Iwa was instantly stunned!

"I don't," Might Guy said casually.

Had Duy never told him about it? Had he never heard anyone else mention it either?

Just then, Might Duy returned from outside, so Hyuga Iwa asked him about it.

"Oh, I only just found out too. So Guy is already old enough for the Ninja Academy!" Duy looked sentimental, as though he had fallen into memories, and he even wore a blissful expression!?

Hyuga Iwa shuddered unconsciously. Even Might Guy beside him could not stand watching anymore.

"Hey, Dad, how could you be like this? If Iwa hadn't asked you, I would've missed my chance to attend the Ninja Academy!"

Hey, don't worry. With your dad's skills, it'll be done in no time." Duy waved a hand carelessly, but under Might Guy's stare, his gaze faltered and drifted elsewhere.

"Alright, you two train. I'll go to the school and ask what it takes to enroll."

"Yeah, hurry up, Dad."

"Got it."

Duy waved his hand and fled without looking back.

Hyuga Iwa shrugged. "Okay, let's train."

"Yeah."

"Oh, right. I thought of another good method today. It can make our training twice as effective with half the effort."

"Tell me, tell me! What good method is it?"

"Actually, it's similar to what we did before. It just adds one more step."

"What step?" Might Guy tilted his head at Hyuga Iwa, his eyes full of curiosity.

Hyuga Iwa held up a finger. "Chakra control."

Hyuga Iwa continued, "We ninjas need chakra to use ninjutsu, and chakra control is the most important part of it. So if we can practice controlling chakra while training our bodies, wouldn't that make our efforts twice as effective?"

After hearing Hyuga Iwa's explanation, Might Guy lowered his head sadly.

Hyuga Iwa seemed to realize something and carefully asked, "You don't know how to control chakra either, do you?"

Might Guy did not speak, but his clenched fists and tear-filled eyes were full of pain and unwillingness.

Realizing he had said the wrong thing, Hyuga Iwa hurriedly apologized. "Sorry, sorry, it's my fault. I really didn't know you..."

Hyuga Iwa froze, then quickly covered his mouth, afraid that he would say something wrong again.

"Alright, don't be sad. It's only chakra. I'll figure something out." Hyuga Iwa wrapped his arms tightly around Might Guy and shook him hard a few times.

"You have a way?" Might Guy looked at Hyuga Iwa in delight, hope shining in his eyes.

Hyuga Iwa felt rather embarrassed under Might Guy's gaze. He scratched his head, thought for a moment, and said, "I did think of a method, but it'll take a lot of time, and I don't know whether it'll work for you. Do you still want to try?"

"Yeah!"

"Alright, but let me make this clear first. If you really want to learn, you have to listen to me in everything and stick with it. You can't give up halfway through, or I won't talk to you anymore."

"I'll listen to you in everything, and I won't give up. I believe you. Since you said it can work, I know it can!"

Might Guy's expression was exceptionally resolute. As long as there was a way for him to learn chakra control, he was willing to do anything!

"Okay, then let's train like usual today. After we're done, I'll tell you the method."

"Alright!"

Filled with energy, Might Guy started running alongside Hyuga Iwa.

A ten-kilometer run, one hundred push-ups in ninety seconds, one hundred sit-ups in ninety seconds, and one hundred frog jumps in one minute—those four exercises made one set. They did two sets each time, then finished with a thousand-meter swim...

One round of such high-intensity training took up half their day, and this was merely the beginning stage of Hyuga Iwa's plan!

Because of factors such as their age and physical limitations, Hyuga Iwa's current training plan was mainly meant to build a foundation. His goal was to push their bodies to the limit without harming them as much as possible.

Of course, as they grew, this amount of training would definitely no longer be enough. But that was a matter for the future. Every few days, Hyuga Iwa assessed both their physical conditions, and whenever he deemed it necessary, he increased the training load.

Still, the physical capabilities of people in this world were truly absurd!

With the amount they were training now, even an adult in his previous life might not have been able to keep it up!

Hyuga Iwa could clearly feel his physical abilities improving at a visible rate.

Besides that, Hyuga Iwa had discovered something unusual:

The first situation: every day, after finishing physical training, Hyuga Iwa's mind and body were both exhausted;

The second situation: if he only practiced chakra that day and exhausted all of it.

Under these two identical conditions, after resting, recovery in the first situation was faster than in the second, and the difference between them was quite obvious.

Hyuga Iwa had not figured out why this happened yet. He had discovered it only by chance, and he did not know whether others experienced the same thing. There was nowhere he could even ask about it.

Still, he had a guess. He simply had no way to prove it for now, so he kept it in the back of his mind.

After completing their usual training for the day, Hyuga Iwa slowly revealed his method under Might Guy's expectant gaze, though many people would have found it utterly unbelievable.

That method was the practice Hyuga Iwa performed every day to empty his mind! He had given it an elegant name—Zen Meditation!

Although it did sound unbelievable, Might Guy ultimately decided to trust Hyuga Iwa!

"Guy, my method is simple, but it's also difficult. The key is perseverance; it isn't something you can accomplish overnight! If you can't keep it up or don't believe what I say, you don't have to do it. I won't blame you, as long as you don't think I'm wasting your training time."

"I won't! Iwa, you're my best friend. I believe you wouldn't lie to me!"

Moved by Might Guy's words, Hyuga Iwa nodded. "Right, I won't lie to you, because I've been practicing this way too."

"Really?"

"Of course. Why would I lie to you?" Hyuga Iwa truly had not lied to Might Guy, but it really did take a great deal of time. He had practiced this way since shortly after birth, and only recently had he begun to see some initial results. The difficulty was easy to imagine!

As the evening glow dyed the western sky red and the sun gradually sank behind the distant mountains, Might Duy returned to the little riverside house, exhausted from head to toe.

Hyuga Iwa had already gone home, leaving Might Guy alone inside.

When Duy opened the door, he immediately saw Might Guy sitting cross-legged on the only bed in the house, his eyes closed and his hands folded together, palms facing upward.

"What are you doing?" Duy was full of question marks when he saw Might Guy's posture.

Might Guy did not answer. Though his eyelids twitched fiercely and his expression looked strained, he still did not open his eyes.

"Hey, I'm asking you!"

Seeing that Might Guy did not answer, Duy walked over and slapped the back of his head.

"Hiss! That hurts, Dad! Why did you hit me? I'm training."

"What kind of training is this? Don't think I'll believe you're slacking off."

"It's real, I really am training. Iwa taught me this." Might Guy covered his head unhappily, looking distressed. "But it's really hard. I found that I can't do it at all the way Iwa described."

"Oh? He taught you?" Duy thought about it doubtfully. "Did he say where this method came from?"

"Iwa seemed to say that he invented it himself. Iwa is really amazing. He really is a genius!" Might Guy praised him from the bottom of his heart.

"He invented it himself? Then it's fine. As long as it isn't a secret technique of the Hyuga Clan, there's no problem."

Might Guy might not have been aware of it, but Duy knew that if Might Guy truly learned a secret technique of the Hyuga Clan, it would definitely draw the Hyuga Clan's displeasure, perhaps even their hostility!

In the Shinobi World, the greatest taboo was learning someone else's secret technique without the owner's or a major clan's permission. That would absolutely invite their hostility, and in serious cases, they might even arrange an assassination in secret!

That was how cruel the Shinobi World was. For the development of their own clans, every clan was capable of doing anything!