The Naka River flowed gently, sunlight filtering through the leaves onto its banks as a breeze brushed the water and stirred faint ripples.
Far from Konoha's bustle, this quiet, peaceful spot was Shinichi, Tsunade, and Orochimaru's "secret base."
It had witnessed their leisurely hours of slacking off, as well as the growth no one else knew about.
Shinichi lounged on a smooth rock, his head propped on one hand and a blade of foxtail grass between his lips. His gaze drifted over Tsunade and Orochimaru beside him, and a knowing smile curved his mouth.
He suddenly spoke, his tone casual but tinged with mystery. "Tsunade, Orochimaru, have you ever heard of... Handless Jutsu?"
Tsunade was trying to spear a fish. At his words, she frowned and thrust her spear almost carelessly. Water splashed, but the fish darted nimbly away. She clicked her tongue in annoyance, tossed the spear onto the bank, and turned toward Shinichi with her arms folded.
"Handless Jutsu? Don't be ridiculous! What jutsu can you use without forming hand seals?" Tsunade looked thoroughly skeptical.
Orochimaru was much calmer. Sitting cross-legged on the grass, he rested his chin on his clasped hands, his golden, slit-pupiled eyes narrowing slightly as though considering the deeper meaning behind Shinichi's words.
"Big Brother Shinichi, do you mean guiding chakra directly to perform a jutsu without relying on seals?" he asked slowly, his tone probing.
Shinichi nodded with a smile, lazily extended one finger, and gave it a casual flick.
Whoosh—
The air shivered. A barely visible blade of wind suddenly appeared and swept soundlessly over the water in an instant, slicing a floating leaf precisely in two. Then the wind blade dispersed, and the water fell still again.
Tsunade's pupils contracted as she stared at the cleanly severed leaf in shock. "Wh-what?! Just now... you didn't form any hand seals?!"
Orochimaru's breath caught as well. His slit pupils trembled slightly as he stared intently at Shinichi's fingertip, his eyes filled with excitement and yearning.
This was no ordinary jutsu. It was... a way of using chakra that completely defied common sense!
Shinichi casually shook his hand, the corners of his mouth lifting as he said offhandedly, "That's Handless Jutsu."
For a moment, Tsunade was too shocked to speak.
She was the eldest granddaughter of Hashirama Senju, the God of Shinobi. At the insistence of Second Hokage Tobirama Senju, she had received systematic ninjutsu training since childhood, studying the theory and practical techniques behind all kinds of jutsu.
As far as she knew, aside from the handful of people who truly stood at the pinnacle of the Shinobi World—Hashirama Senju, Madara Uchiha, Mito Uzumaki, and Tobirama Senju—almost no one could perform Handless Jutsu so effortlessly.
Yet the miniature wind blade Shinichi had just released, though not particularly powerful, had appeared instantly without a single seal!
That meant this was no inherited jutsu, but a technique Uchiha Shinichi had developed himself!
Tsunade stared at Shinichi in shock, her mind thrown into turmoil.
This lazy bum had somehow mastered a jutsu that went so far beyond the norm?!
Senju Toka, secretly watching from a distance, was also stunned by Shinichi's Handless Jutsu. Her gaze sharpened, and her fingers tightened unconsciously in the shadows.
"He can actually do that much..."
She had thought this Uchiha boy was merely exceptionally gifted, with astonishing chakra reserves. She had never expected him to possess such advanced chakra control!
No wonder Brother Tobirama took this Uchiha brat so seriously...
Senju Toka's gaze grew more intent. Her surveillance assignment seemed to have become even trickier... Meanwhile, Orochimaru narrowed his eyes and murmured to himself, "If you could master this completely... wouldn't that mean you could cast every jutsu instantly?"
"In theory, yes." Shinichi nodded lazily. "As long as your chakra control is precise enough, you can skip the complicated seals and guide the chakra directly."
Tsunade drew a deep breath, trying to calm herself, and demanded through gritted teeth, "How... how did you do that?!"
Shinichi's smile grew even more relaxed. His gaze swept over Tsunade and Orochimaru as he slowly asked—
"Want to learn?"
Tsunade and Orochimaru: ...Obviously! Of course we do!!
And so, Shinichi taught Orochimaru and Tsunade how to practice Chakra control through tree climbing and water walking.
Tsunade took to it effortlessly. After all, she had received personal instruction from Tobirama Senju since childhood, and her Chakra control was already superb.
Even in the future, Tsunade's Chakra control would remain among the very best in the Shinobi World. After all, she would become its strongest Medical Ninja!
Flawlessly precise Chakra control was the foundation of her path to the top.
With his exceptional talent, Orochimaru mastered the techniques in little more than ten minutes. Though he fell slightly short of Tsunade, his speed was already astonishing.
His understanding and adaptability were enough to astound anyone!
Azure Chakra rapidly gathered and spun in Uchiha Shinichi's palm. Surging energy took shape at his fingertips like raging waves, soon forming a densely concentrated sphere of light—the beginnings of a Rasengan.
Dazzling blue-white light burst between his fingers, sharply illuminating his stern profile. The surrounding air stirred under the Chakra's influence, giving off a low hum as visible currents swirled around his palm.
The Rasengan gradually stabilized and grew, patterns like miniature tornadoes flowing across its surface. Its violent power seemed ready to burst free at any moment.
Shinichi's gaze sharpened. Drawing a deep breath, he swung his arm forward and drove the Rasengan straight into the thick trunk of the ancient tree before him.
The instant the Rasengan touched the trunk, even sound seemed to vanish, and the air went still.
Then a deafening boom! shattered the silence!
Brilliant blue-white Chakra erupted at the point of impact. Energy poured out in a sudden torrent, like a tiny blue sun exploding against the trunk.
A violent shock wave spread in every direction from the point of impact, striking with thunderous force.
The thick trunk twisted violently under that immense force, then broke apart inch by inch—its fibers shredded as though by an invisible hurricane.
Countless wood splinters shot outward with the shock wave like arrows, while branches and leaves whirled through the air in the raging wind.
The entire tree groaned under the brutal impact. A jagged hole opened in the center of its trunk, cracks racing along its length until, with a sharp crack, the upper half snapped off and crashed down, throwing dust high into the air.
The earth itself seemed to tremble beneath that strike. Distinct vibrations rolled through the ground underfoot, and the branches and leaves of nearby trees rustled from the force.
Tsunade and Orochimaru, watching from a distance, were also stunned by the sudden impact.
A fierce blast of air struck them head-on. Tsunade instinctively raised an arm to shield herself, her golden hair whipping wildly in the wind.
Her eyes widened as she stared at the scene in disbelief.
Such devastating destructive power left her speechless for a moment, her heart seeming to skip a beat.
The dust slowly settled. A faint scorched smell and the scent of wood splinters lingered in the air, and the aftereffects of that earth-shaking strike had yet to fade completely.
Tsunade was the first to recover. She whipped her head toward Shinichi, her brows drawing tightly together as she asked in disbelief, "Hey, Shinichi! When did you learn to do something like that?!"
Having trained under Tobirama Senju since childhood, she knew very well how difficult Chakra control was.
Spinning and compressing Chakra to this degree was beyond an ordinary ninja. Even advanced ninja might not be able to release it successfully without external aids.
But Shinichi... wasn't this guy always ridiculously lazy? How on earth had he done it?
Shinichi merely shook out his hand with an easy expression, as though that terrifying strike had been nothing more than a casual little trick.
The corners of his mouth lifted into that lazy, infuriating smile. "Well, I worked it out recently... not bad, right?"
A vein bulged at Tsunade's temple, and she clenched her fists in anger. This bastard's attitude was practically begging for a beating!
"Not bad?! You nearly obliterated that tree!" Tsunade roared, pointing at the broken tree.
Orochimaru, standing nearby, did not join in her complaints. He was still staring at the fallen trunk, his eyes flickering and the corners of his mouth slightly raised, seemingly pondering something.
He slowly reached out and brushed his fingertips over the trunk's broken surface, carefully examining the damage. These were not merely marks left by external force, but traces of a complete collapse in the internal Chakra structure.
Orochimaru murmured excitedly, "This is... pure destructive force created by spinning Chakra at high speed and compressing it to its limit... an entirely different method of releasing jutsu..."
Shinichi tilted his head toward him and smiled leisurely. "Orochimaru, looks like you've already figured out the secret."
Orochimaru slowly straightened, his golden, slit-pupiled eyes narrowing slightly as a rare spark lit his face. "Big Brother Shinichi, could you teach me... this jutsu?"
He had never been so interested in a jutsu before!
At Orochimaru's words, Tsunade snapped out of her daze and stared at Shinichi expectantly. "Right! Didn't you say you'd teach us more advanced jutsu? This one counts, doesn't it?"
Shinichi shrugged with a smile and drawled, "Of course it counts, but..."
He paused, looking over both of them, his smile becoming even more leisurely. "You'd better be prepared. This isn't something you can just pick up without effort."
Tsunade clenched her fists without hesitation, her eyes resolute. "Enough talk. Hurry up and teach us!"
Orochimaru licked the corner of his mouth, his gaze deep and brimming with a thirst for knowledge. "Big Brother Shinichi, I'm really looking forward to this..."
Watching their reactions, Shinichi's lips curved into a knowing smile.
Their training had only just begun.
Before you continue