Two days earlier, he had thought he would still need plenty of time to refine it. He had never expected an insight during today's training to let him complete it outright.
Thinking about it, Sasuke was still filled with emotion and a tremendous sense of achievement.
First, he couldn't practice this jutsu openly. He could only work on it in secret in the basement.
Second, his proficiency in this aspect of Wind Release had been poor at the outset. To complete this jutsu, he had copied quite a few Wind Release techniques with his Sharingan.
Third, he still didn't have quite enough chakra, so he could only practice a miniature version of the Rasenshuriken.
Fortunately, there wasn't much difference between the miniature Rasenshuriken and the full-sized version. The biggest difference was simply how much chakra he put into them.
With this jutsu completed, Sasuke's mastery of Wind Release could now be considered second to none in all of Konoha.
Hearing Sasuke's words, Neji was pleasantly surprised. He truly hadn't expected Sasuke to actually complete this jutsu.
"Not bad, Uchiha Sasuke!" Neji gave him a thumbs-up.
"Hmph!" The corners of Sasuke's mouth lifted as he said smugly, "Don't underestimate the power of the Uchiha, especially an Uchiha who has awakened the Sharingan!"
"Yes, yes, the Uchiha Clan's power really is incredible!" Neji obligingly played along.
Receiving Neji's praise left Sasuke feeling much better.
"Unfortunately, I have too little chakra. By my calculations, I can only use the completed Rasenshuriken once with my current reserves. It's powerful, but it isn't practical for me," Sasuke said regretfully.
Neji glanced at him. "You're still young. You'll be able to use it normally once you grow up."
"Heh!" Sasuke scoffed. "I've already thought of a way to use it normally as I am now."
Neji considered it, then ventured, "I'm guessing you miniaturized the jutsu! Am I right?"
Sasuke wasn't surprised that Neji had guessed about the miniature Rasenshuriken. After all, his circumstances were limiting: he couldn't practice in a wide-open space, and his chakra reserves didn't support training with a full-sized Rasenshuriken.
With his Byakugan, Neji could easily see all of that.
Sasuke nodded. "You guessed right. It's a miniature Rasenshuriken!"
Neji readily gave him another thumbs-up. Sasuke really was a genius when it came to ninjutsu. In the original story, after Kakashi taught him the A-rank Chidori, he had developed a whole series of Lightning Release Ninjutsu, including the powerful S-rank Lightning Release: Kirin, which harnessed the natural energy of the world.
Now, after Neji taught him the Rasengan and explained the approach to developing Wind Release: Rasenshuriken, he had completed this jutsu as well.
"That's a very good approach. Even miniaturized, this jutsu is still incredibly powerful. Almost no one could take a hit from it," Neji said approvingly.
Sasuke shook his head. "It's only a stopgap. My body is still holding me back."
With that, he glanced at Neji, who stood a head taller than him, and sighed helplessly.
He was only a year older, so how was he so much taller? Sasuke Uchiha had been doing his best to eat plenty, too.
Neji, who was practicing Sealing Jutsu, looked up at him. "Everyone is different. You probably just haven't reached the age for your growth spurt yet."
Sasuke nodded in agreement. He was around twelve now, so it was certainly possible that he hadn't entered puberty.
"Once you hit puberty, your strength will take a big leap. Don't overthink it. Besides, you don't need a jutsu meant for large-scale killing here in Konoha," Neji said.
"I hope so," Sasuke said with a hint of anticipation.
"Then what are you planning next?" Neji asked without looking up.
"Nothing in particular for now. I feel like I've pretty much hit my limit with ninjutsu. I'll see whether the Jonin assigned to lead us after graduation can help improve my Taijutsu and Lightning Release," Sasuke said after some consideration.
Neji looked at him. "True. For you, Lightning Release and Taijutsu complement each other. Those are both areas worth improving."
Sasuke nodded. That was exactly what he had in mind.
Watching Neji concentrate on studying Sealing Jutsu, Sasuke said, "I won't disturb you, then. Help yourself to anything you need. You know your way around here anyway."
Neji certainly wasn't going to stand on ceremony. He simply nodded, then immersed himself in the world of Sealing Jutsu.
To Neji, the world of Sealing Jutsu now seemed wondrous, especially after he had learned the Six-Combination Seal.
It drew on chakra just like other techniques, but unlike conventional release techniques, Sealing Jutsu wasn't divided according to the yin-yang five elements. Pure chakra alone was enough to use it, regardless of type or rank.
Sealing Jutsu appears to be a form of ninjutsu, but it's already showing signs of developing into a separate system, Neji thought. This was an insight he had gained through studying Sealing Jutsu.
And the strength of a Sealing Jutsu seems to be closely tied to its caster... Neji felt as though he was beginning to understand something.
That day, Neji studied until well past midnight before dispelling his Shadow Clone.
As the Shadow Clone dispersed, a wave of exhaustion washed over Neji, as though he had stayed awake for two days and two nights.
Utterly exhausted, Neji fell straight into bed and slept until his internal clock woke him the next morning.
After waking the next day, Neji couldn't help marveling at how wonderful it would be to have a cheat like the Nine-Tails. If he were a jinchūriki, he would have long since created eighty or a hundred Shadow Clones to train. He wouldn't have to be so cautious with just two, terrified of exhausting himself to death.
For the following week, Neji used Shadow Clones to accelerate his training. Every morning, he sent a Shadow Clone to the Uchiha Clan to practice Sealing Jutsu until late at night.
Just as Neji mastered the Five Elements Seal and was about to ride that momentum to fully master the Four Symbols Seal as well, a notice arrived from the Main Family.
The servant sent by the Main Family told him that they would leave for Kirigakure in three days to visit the Kaguya Clan, and that Neji needed to prepare.
What a shame. I've only just started making headway with the Four Symbols Seal and the Yin Seal, Neji thought regretfully.
At his current pace, there was virtually no chance of learning either the Four Symbols Seal or the Yin Seal before departure.
Both were exceptionally difficult S-rank Sealing Jutsu, even harder to learn than S-rank ninjutsu. Even Neji estimated that he would need about a month to learn them.
And that estimate depended on Neji's extraordinarily precise chakra control. An ordinary Jonin lacked sufficient chakra control to learn the Yin Seal at all.
Unfortunately, my mastery of Sealing Jutsu is still nowhere near enough. Even when I try working it out in my head, I have no idea where to start, Neji thought.
He had thought of this when he first encountered the Yin Seal. Once he formally began trying to learn it, Neji started attempting to remove the portion of its functions related to Medical Ninjutsu.
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