Xue Ge formed hand seals with one hand. He was rather slow, but every seal was precise.
"Transformation Technique." Poof!
After a puff of smoke, Xue Ge took on Danzo's appearance. Another puff followed, and he returned to his original form.
Standing in the courtyard late at night, Xue Ge drew a deep breath and clenched his fist.
It worked!
He had just tested all three parts of the Three Body Technique in succession. Though his execution was still a little stiff, he had successfully cast them all, and almost perfectly at that. This was thanks to his deep understanding of the principles behind these three techniques.
He was also breaking down Hiruzen's teachings, gradually piecing together his approach to modifying ninjutsu. If he could grasp its subtleties, he would be able to start modifying ninjutsu himself.
"Not bad." A voice came from the second floor. Xue Ge looked back to see Danzo leaning on the windowsill, his upper body protruding through the window.
Danzo flicked a scroll out of his sleeve toward Xue Ge, who hurriedly caught it.
"I previously compiled some Wind Release techniques suitable for your current level, but your chakra has both wind and lightning affinities. The ninjutsu in this scroll are all fairly practical techniques I collected from ANBU ninja."
"Now that your ninjutsu training is on track, focus on learning these combat techniques next."
Without waiting for Xue Ge to answer, Danzo closed the window and left. A moment later, the light in his room went out.
Xue Ge tightened his grip on the scroll. Though Danzo always wore a stern expression and said little, he was remarkably meticulous in how he handled things.
He opened the scroll. Most of the ninjutsu recorded inside were D-rank and C-rank techniques, which would not be difficult for him to understand. The real challenge lay in learning to use them. Still, he had other techniques that took priority over Wind Release and Lightning Release right now.
For instance, the Storage Technique.
It was an extremely easy technique. Though it was Space-Time Ninjutsu, it was only slightly harder to learn than the Three Body Technique. Danzo currently kept Xue Ge's spare prosthetic limbs, so whenever one broke, he would have to make a special trip to find him. That was quite a hassle. Xue Ge had long wanted to carry a scroll specifically for storing his prosthetic limbs, but he had been at a loss when it came to the Storage Technique.
He had originally intended to ask Danzo to teach him, but Danzo was usually elusive. Xue Ge could not count on running into him whenever he came home, and this time, too, he had no idea when Danzo had returned. Now that Danzo had gone to bed, he could hardly disturb him. He would find an opportunity in a couple of days.
With that thought, Xue Ge rolled up the scroll. There was no rush to modify ninjutsu. He still needed to study the notes Hiruzen had left him, which were far more valuable to him at this stage than the techniques recorded here.
As for right now...
Xue Ge glanced at the bright moon in the sky and estimated the time. It was probably sometime after ten at night...
Going to bed just after ten. Danzo really was a health-conscious middle-aged man.
He took a light breath. There was still over an hour until his usual bedtime. He intended to use that hour to practice the Rasengan at the small waterfall on the Back Mountain.
He kept feeling that the Rasengan had enormous potential for further development. After all, a pure change in chakra shape already gave it such power. Adding Chakra Nature Transformation would probably make it even stronger.
Combined with its rapid activation and the stealth afforded by requiring no hand seals, the technique suited Xue Ge's fighting style very well.
He sprinted out of Konoha. Just as he was about to reach the small waterfall he had visited before, he suddenly heard a rushing swish from the nearby bushes, like a gale sweeping through stiff grass.
Someone's here?
He frowned, lowered his body, and crept toward the sound. Just as he cautiously parted the bushes, a cold gleam flashed straight at him.
"!"
Almost instantly, he flicked a kunai out of his sleeve and held it before his face. The sharp clang of shuriken striking kunai rang especially clearly through the nighttime forest.
With a rush of wind, Xue Ge saw a leg sweeping toward him.
His expression hardened. Chakra threads danced wildly around his left arm, shifting his forearm aside to expose the Short Sword inside. Without the slightest hesitation, he slashed at the top of his opponent's thigh.
Then Xue Ge heard a faint sound, one he knew well: the slight noise of chakra flowing after hand seals were formed.
The person before him vanished without any warning.
Not the Substitution Technique?
He froze for a moment. In less than a blink, a chill came from above.
Xue Ge looked up to see his opponent already bringing a heel down. Before he could react, the kick struck his spine and slammed him flat against the ground.
"Ugh!" His insides churned, and Xue Ge could not suppress a muffled grunt. That sound also made the stranger stop just as he was about to apply more force.
The moment the stranger lifted his foot, Xue Ge darted away. A few flips put some distance between them, and he drew his Cane Sword, holding one long blade and one short blade across his body. He warily studied the... boy before him?
The boy opposite him twirled the kunai in his hand, then abruptly gripped it. He frowned in thought for a moment before recognition dawned on his face.
"You... right, it's you. You're that, uh, Waterbird River Xue Ge, aren't you?"
"...?" Confusion showed in Xue Ge's eyes.
"That's what happened. I saw your fight with Kakashi that day, too," the boy said, eagerly sidling up to Xue Ge. "I even made a point of asking Lan for your names. Man, I can't believe there are freaks like you in the first year."
Lan? Did he mean... Uchiha Lan?
"Are you an Uchiha?" Xue Ge turned and asked.
"Oh, right. I forgot to introduce myself." The boy who apparently came from the Uchiha clan slapped his forehead. "My name's Shisui Uchiha. Just call me Shisui. I'm a third-year student at the Ninja Academy. Nice to meet you."
The Ninja Academy... a third-year student?
Recalling how effortlessly Shisui had taken him down, Xue Ge felt a little shocked. "Is everyone in the third year as strong as you?"
"Uh, of course not." Shisui hurriedly waved his hands. "Well, to tell you the truth, I'm planning to apply for early graduation next term. I'm probably the strongest student at the Ninja Academy right now, so don't lose confidence just because I beat you."
...Early graduation. Another genius.
After meeting three geniuses in four days, Xue Ge wondered whether something was wrong with him. Kakashi, Minato, Shisui...
Still, that would make next year pretty lively. Including me, three people would be graduating early.
His thoughts wandered for a while
before Xue Ge continued asking, "Do you come here to practice every night?"
"Yeah. There's hardly anyone here, so I can let loose." Shisui nodded. "What about you?"
"To practice ninjutsu."
"Ha, what a coincidence!" Shisui draped an arm over Xue Ge's shoulders and raised a finger. "I'm here to practice ninjutsu, too."