At Teacher Shin's words, Shikamaru and the other two were taken aback, unsure what to say.
Body tempering had never been part of their training. They only needed to master their inherited secret techniques, and their chakra would naturally increase as they grew older. That was what everyone in their families had taught them.
So this sudden revelation left them at a loss. What their teacher was telling them conflicted considerably with their families' teachings.
After they exchanged looks for a while, Shikamaru was the first to recover. He raised his hand and asked rather uncertainly:
"Teacher, all three of us study our families' secret techniques. Do we still need to learn taijutsu?"
Though Ino and Choji said nothing, they also looked at Teacher Shin. They wanted to know why he would have them practice taijutsu. Wasn't that getting their priorities backward?
Shin Uchiha smiled and shook his head at their question, then said:
"You should know where the chakra in our bodies comes from. It's a mixture of energy from our body's cells and spiritual energy, and chakra is the most important thing to us shinobi.
"So if you want ample chakra, training your body is essential.
"Besides, you may not know this, but apart from a handful of exceptions, everyone who has reached the pinnacle of the shinobi world has possessed superb physical conditioning and outstanding taijutsu. I'm asking you to practice taijutsu so you'll have better prospects in the future.
"Another reason is that if you're ever separated and can't carry out missions as a team, your Ino-Shika-Cho combination techniques will become completely useless.
"Once you're accustomed to relying on your teammates, if you end up separated from them for whatever reason, you'll be weaker than an ordinary shinobi.
"So, to keep you from having such an