In the distance, Konoha's pair of "peerless geniuses" watched the scene with boundless envy. "If nothing else works, we could swallow our pride and ask for a bottle to drink. I'm too embarrassed to go. Danzo, you go ask." Danzo's eyes widened. "Sarutobi, why don't you go?" "I already said I'm too embarrassed." "Well, so am I." "Hmph..." "Hmph..." Both snorted at the same time, vanished from the spot, and continued their race to outdo each other.
Time flew, and three years passed in the blink of an eye. That day, Itō Yuying came to the middle of the training ground and clapped to get everyone's attention. Everyone turned to look at him, waiting for him to speak. Itō Yuying put a hand to his mouth and pretended to cough twice.
"Everyone, stop for a moment. I have a few things to say. You've all been training with me for three years now. During these three years, Lord Hokage has also investigated and tested you. You've all performed well, so Lord Hokage has agreed to let me teach you how to cultivate ki. I hope you won't pass it on to anyone else. You can't teach your clan members either."
Everyone listened seriously. They all knew that everything about them had been thoroughly investigated over these three years. Every day, they had Anbu "protection," with constant questioning and assessments throughout. Uchiha Hanyue, in particular, had been questioned so much that he had awakened his one-tomoe.
Given Tobirama Senju's personality, he had been against letting the Uchiha Clan cultivate ki. They were already formidable, and on top of that, the Uchiha all had extreme personalities. Tobirama Senju did not want to create a powerful enemy for Konoha. Only after Itō Yuying vouched for him and the Uchiha Clan paid a heavy price did Tobirama Senju reluctantly agree to let Uchiha Hanyue train under Itō Yuying.
Now, the Uchiha Clan treated Itō Yuying as an honored guest. Every time he visited the Uchiha Clan, the clan leader received him personally, which made Itō Yuying rarely visit them.
Itō Yuying continued, "Now that you all have a foundation, I won't hide it from you: this is only the beginning. What comes next is the crucial part of your learning, so whether you succeed will depend on your own efforts."
Everyone held their breath, not one of them daring to breathe heavily. Itō Yuying glanced at them and held both hands in front of his chest. Before long, a small golden ball appeared between his palms. "Can you see this? This is ki. I'll send this wisp of ki into your bodies. It will speed up your understanding of ki. Once you've grasped ki, you must wrap this wisp in the ki you cultivate yourselves. If this wisp dissipates, you won't be able to draw out ki. Each of you only gets three chances."
"How long each wisp of ki stays in your bodies will vary. That's also why I've made you keep training. Only by training hard will this wisp of ki remain in your body long enough, which will also let you improve your chances of developing your own ki more quickly. I'll only give you ki three times. If you fail to retain the ki I give you all three times, that proves you lack the aptitude to cultivate ki. You understand the rest."
"So now it's time to decide. Do you want me to give you ki now, or would you rather train for a while longer before we discuss it?"
No one spoke. They all lowered their heads in thought. At that moment, Might Duy raised his hand. "Yuying, let me try. Please." Itō Yuying smiled. "All right." Then a wisp of ki entered Might Duy's body. "Close your eyes and slowly feel it." Following Itō Yuying's instructions, Might Duy closed his eyes, slowly sat down, and gradually tried to sense it. No one spoke, afraid of disturbing Might Duy's training. After watching for an hour, everyone went off to train on their own. None of them dared to gamble; they wanted to train for a while longer.
Day after day passed, and another half a year went by in the blink of an eye. Everyone continued training without fail. "Has Duy still not succeeded?" Hyuga Yeyang asked. "Mm-hm. I feel he's close," Itō Yuying said. "Mm." Hyuga Yeyang nodded and went off to train.
Another dozen or so days passed before Might Duy suddenly opened his eyes and said, "I did it!" He had only just stood up, wanting to share it with everyone, when his vision went black and he fell straight to the ground. Everyone rushed over to Might Guy. Itō Yuying took a look and said, "He's fine. He just stood up too quickly, and his blood couldn't keep up." Then he gave Might Duy some Senzu Bean soup to drink, and he woke up a little later.
Everyone bombarded Might Duy with questions. Might Duy smiled confidently. "I feel great. Your training, every blade of grass and every tree around us, the conversation between the two ninja in the distance-I can hear it all, especially clearly. I can even sense the sound of insects crawling underground."
Not far away, Shimura Danzō and Sarutobi Hiruzen looked astonished. They knew that Might Duy was a dead last who could not even extract the slightest bit of chakra, a genin for life through and through. They had never imagined he would become so formidable after learning ki. Another new star was about to rise in Konoha. "We need to work hard too." "Mm-hm," Shimura Danzō agreed.
"Wait, if even Might Guy can sense our location, doesn't that mean our junior fellow student must have known we were here long ago? Oh, my poor old face!" Then he covered his face and fled. "Wait for me, Hiruzen!" Shimura Danzō ran off too.
"They both ran off," Might Duy said. "Who ran off?" Jiraiya asked. "The two ninja who guarded the door at the hospital when Yuying was injured." "Oh, so it was Teacher Sarutobi and Lord Danzo." "Maybe my second grandfather told them to protect us," Tsunade said. Everyone nodded in agreement. Only Itō Yuying smiled without saying anything.
Then everyone began talking over one another again, asking Might Duy for advice.
With a few leaps, Itō Yuying arrived in front of Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzō. When they saw him arrive, both looked a little embarrassed, pushing at each other and fidgeting. "Thank you for all your hard work these past few years, senior fellow students." The two grew even more ashamed and did not dare look at Itō Yuying. Secretly learning someone else's secret technique left them too ashamed to face anyone. "You don't need to worry about that. If I hadn't agreed, I would have said so long ago. I wouldn't have let you stay here for over three years. Come on, I'll give each of you a wisp of ki. You should cultivate ki too!"
"Oh, yes, yes! Thank you. Thank you, junior fellow student," Shimura Danzō and Sarutobi Hiruzen said gratefully. After sending a wisp of ki into each of them, Itō Yuying left.
Itō Yuying returned to his friends and saw that everyone was still gathered around Might Duy, asking him about various details. Just then, Orochimaru and Hatake Sakumo came over to Itō Yuying as well. Itō Yuying said, "I understand what you want. Come on!" Both nodded firmly, and Itō Yuying sent two wisps of ki into Orochimaru's and Hatake Sakumo's bodies, one each. Like Might Duy, the two closed their eyes and sat cross-legged on the ground, sensing the flow of ki. Itō Yuying nodded in satisfaction. The two of them should sense ki sooner than Duy had.
Another three months passed. By then, the remaining few had also begun cultivating ki, one after another.
At that moment, a figure appeared out of thin air beside Itō Yuying. "Teacher, you've succeeded too! Congratulations!" Tobirama Senju laughed. "Keep it low-key, keep it low-key." Itō Yuying laughed too. "You're too modest, Teacher."
Tobirama Senju had begun cultivating ki two years earlier. Ever since Itō Yuying had sent ki into him, he had stopped hanging around with Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzō and found a quiet place to train by himself. It was only a few days ago that he had finally cultivated ki. Tobirama Senju looked at the little ones before him. They were all Konoha's future!
Then he said with satisfaction, "Yuying, thank you for your hard work."
"It's nothing," Itō Yuying said with a smile, scratching his head. The more Tobirama Senju looked at Itō Yuying, the more satisfied he became. Then he gave him a scroll and left. His voice drifted through the air. "Come ask me if there's anything you don't understand."
Before you continue