Water Release: Spiral Small Water Ball

Kakashi was in a very good mood today.

His father had vanished early in the morning, but he had prepared breakfast for him and left behind a little note.

"Your old man's off to work. Things might get busy lately, so you'll have to sort out your own lunch and dinner!"

His old man's concern was as greasy as ever, but what truly made Kakashi happy was that his father had finally pulled himself together.

Kakashi understood better than anyone that although his father appeared unaffected, the mission's failure and the village's negative judgment of him were still weighing on him.

White Fang had not left its sheath in a very long time...

But things were better now.

His father had regained his spirit. Before long, that invincible old man of his would surely return.

After breakfast, Kakashi slung his high-quality imitation White Fang over his back and headed out. Today, he was going to receive a new mission with Minato-sensei.

He went along the mountain road, through the park, and past the bustling market.

Kakashi could still hear people talking about his father, but he no longer cared.

Yes, it was not that he had grown used to it. He simply did not care. Misunderstandings would eventually be cleared up, and life had to go on.

Kakashi finally arrived at the meeting spot—Konoha's Number One Park. It was Konoha's largest park, located close to both the Hokage Building and the Ninja Academy.

Before long, Kakashi spotted Ying Shu sitting on a rock in a corner of the park.

As always, Ying Shu had arrived early. Kakashi could only admire his absolutely punctual habit.

"Morning, Ying..." Kakashi stopped halfway through his greeting because he noticed that Ying Shu was unusually serious at the moment.

A bun was still clenched between his teeth. Oil and saliva were dripping down, yet he seemed completely unaware, staring downward with intense focus. In his hand was a ball of chakra that he was trying to condense.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. It felt like a Rasengan, but it also did not quite seem like one.

"What is he... doing?" Kakashi muttered. Wasn't Ying Shu already quite proficient with the Rasengan?

At that moment, a gentle and familiar voice sounded beside Kakashi's ear.

"He is undergoing chakra shape transformation. More specifically, he is trying to use Water Release through the Rasengan's method."

Kakashi was startled and quickly turned around. "Good morning, Sensei!"

"Shh." Minato gestured for silence and lowered his voice. "Let's not disturb him. Let him..."

"Yo! Good morning, Minato-sensei! Kakashi? You got here pretty early too! You're actually not late today! Hahahahahahaha!"

Spiky-haired Obito came over waving, instantly blowing up the entire scene.

Kakashi's face darkened. Minato's smile froze as well, and he hurriedly looked toward Ying Shu before sighing. "It's over."

The little chakra ball in Ying Shu's hand burst apart with a pop. Minato had been right—it really was a chakra water ball. Water splashed directly across Ying Shu's face, making his whole body jerk.

With a whoosh, Minato flashed to Ying Shu's side. The speed made Kakashi inwardly gasp.

"Uh..." Obito scratched his head. His instincts told him that he seemed to have caused trouble.

"What happened?"

Kakashi rolled his eyes. "Nothing, genius. You're just too outstanding."

"Huh?" Obito immediately looked at Kakashi suspiciously. "You know?"

"...Know what?"

"Of course, Uchiha Ruohuo's challenge letter... Wait, you don't know?"

"How would I know about matters within your Uchiha clan?"

"Tch."

"Tch!"

Kakashi and Obito were still bickering.

Minato had already reached Ying Shu's side and quickly checked him over with his eyes for any injuries. "Are you alright, Ying Shu?"

"I'm fine. It's just a shame about my bun. Sigh!" Ying Shu said regretfully.

"It's good that you're alright." Minato sighed in relief and comforted him, "You're very talented. Since you mastered the Rasengan in such a short time, you should be able to figure out other chakra nature shape transformations quickly too."

"Don't lose heart. I'll teach you what I learned while developing the Rasengan, but before that, I have a suggestion..."

As Minato spoke, he spread open his palm, and a Rasengan instantly formed.

But he failed to notice the flicker in Ying Shu's eyes...

"The Rasengan works by using chakra shape transformation to make chakra flow in a particular pattern and compress it, thereby unleashing tremendous power."

"Your direction is correct—you want Water Release chakra to manifest through the Rasengan's method. But I suggest you start by perfecting your own Rasengan first, because..."

Minato's instruction came to an abrupt halt.

Ying Shu, standing before him, had also spread open his palm. The dispersed water ball condensed once more, spinning continuously as it rapidly took shape.

It was unmistakably a Spiral Small Water Ball!

"Uh..." Minato was no longer calm. It was still somewhat rough, but there was no doubt that Ying Shu had succeeded!

"You found the method?!" Minato cried out.

Ying Shu raised an eyebrow, and the water ball in his hand immediately dispersed. He sighed, looking far from satisfied.

"It's not what you think, Sensei... I can only incorporate Water Release chakra, and this doesn't seem very powerful either?"

After using Water Dragon Bullet last night, Ying Shu felt as though his mind had suddenly opened up.

This morning, inspiration had struck in waves, so he tried to see whether he could copy Naruto's Wind Release: Rasenshuriken using Water Release instead.

The process had gone fairly smoothly. Since he could use Water Dragon Bullet, his control over Water Release chakra had to be at least passable—or so Ying Shu believed.

But the result was disappointing...

Naruto's Rasengan had become a forbidden technique the moment it incorporated Wind Release chakra.

As for the Rasengan infused with Water Release chakra... Ying Shu had no idea whether he was using the wrong method or whether something had gone wrong somewhere.

Overall, it felt no different from a spinning Water Release: Small Water Ball Technique.

Ying Shu had also tried to see whether he could push Hydrogen Release straight into its second stage.

Yang Release, that all-purpose chakra, worked fine without much issue, but no matter how hard he tried, he could not force out any Lightning Release chakra.

That left Ying Shu feeling rather gloomy.

After all, with his record of learning the Rasengan in less than a month and using Water Dragon Bullet through sheer brute force after fewer than ten attempts, Ying Shu had thought he was the sort of peerless genius one only saw once in a generation.

But reality gave him a lesson.

His success with Water Dragon Bullet probably relied entirely on his massive chakra reserves. He had simply piled enough chakra into it to make it work.

And as for the Rasengan, there was no need to mention it. He had watched Shippuden and Boruto too, so he counted as an old student himself.

"Sure enough, it's better to keep your feet on the ground," Ying Shu sighed.

Some wicked thoughts were indeed better left unentertained.