Seven days passed in a flash.
Kaguya still had not begun training. She stood off to the side, watching Shinji train with the patience of someone waiting for her beloved to return.
Shinji, meanwhile, soaked up the martial arts principles Kami taught him like a sponge.
Kami explained them so thoroughly that he all but redefined Shinji's understanding of "power."
And of himself.
Gradually, Shinji's control over his body grew more precise. Where he had once relied on brute force, he now mastered the smallest movements.
On the twelfth day,
Shinji nearly touched the bottle without disturbing the water inside. Mr. Popo failed to dodge in time,
stumbled, and almost dropped it.
Half a month later,
Whoosh!
Mr. Popo blinked as a breeze brushed his face. He turned blankly toward the wooden stick and found it bare.
He looked around.
Shinji stood holding the bottle. He was perfectly steady, and the water inside had not stirred in the slightest...
At the same time,
before Shinji could celebrate, a faint heat spread through his muscles—no, through every cell in his body.
His expression changed. "Is this... Ki?"
The next second, something worse happened. The immense Chakra flowing through his meridians reacted as though fire had met dry kindling.
It surged violently!
Not good! I was right. Chakra flows through the meridians and is relatively gentle, but Ki runs through every cell and is far more volatile. My Chakra's reacting to it—this is rejection!
I have to expel the Ki now, or something will go wrong!
Just then...
A voice he had not heard in ages rang inside his head. Never had it sounded so welcome.
[Compatible Kekkei Genkai detected: Chakra—Ki. Fuse them?]
[Cost: 100,000 Gold Coins!]
"Kek... Kekkei Genkai?" Shinji stared for an instant, then joy surged through him. "Fuse them!"