Time flew, and three years passed in the blink of an eye.
Yui sat quietly in meditation with her eyes closed, while little fish swam around her.
Clearly, she was underwater.
Buoyancy sent strands of her white hair and the ribbons on her clothes floating upward.
At sixteen, Yui had begun to fill out, both in figure and appearance. Though a trace of childishness still lingered on her face, her features were gradually maturing.
Suddenly, ripples began spreading through the water around Yui.
Gurgle-
The ripples grew stronger and stronger, radiating outward from Yui.
Pale blue eyeshadow slowly began to appear on her eyelids.
Patterns also began emerging on her forehead.
But within a few seconds, the eyeshadow and patterns on her face gradually faded away.
Nothing remained.
This time, it had lasted four seconds.
"Mm..." She abruptly opened her silvery-white eyes.
She shook her head slightly underwater, then floated toward the surface in resignation.
Splash- After climbing ashore, she let out a soft sigh.
She shook the water from her hair before walking toward the figure ahead.
"Yui, did you succeed this time?" Shobue hurried forward excitedly to ask when she saw Yui come ashore.
"I just sensed some senjutsu chakra."
Yui shook her head dejectedly.
"Only four seconds."
"Shobue, do you think I'm just not suited to learning the Shikkotsu Forest's Sage Mode?"
"Yui, why would you think that?" Shobue asked in confusion.
"I've trained for three years, and I can only last four seconds. Am I useless?" Yui lowered her eyes.
Shobue froze briefly at her words, then stepped forward and gave Yui a hard smack on the head.
"Yui, you're such a fool. You're already learning faster than anyone I've ever seen. I reckon you'll master it in under five years."
"Besides, aren't you trying to