Continuing weighted training

The council hall in the Uzumaki Clan compound was considerably quieter than outside.

Ryuto stood below the seat of honor, looking at the Uzumaki elder seated there. The old man's hair was graying, but his eyes were bright as he listened to Mito Uzumaki's report.

"...That's the situation." Mito finished and stepped aside. "Ryuto completed all three border defense assignments. On the last one, the Uchiha were clearly after him. They set an ambush to collect data on his fighting abilities."

The elder tapped his fingers against his armrest and looked at Ryuto. "Young man, is everything Mito said true?"

"It is." Ryuto nodded.

"Hmm." The elder considered for a moment. "We of the Uzumaki Clan honor our promises. You helped defend our borders three times. As agreed, we should help you refine your training methods."

He turned to Rena Uzumaki, who stood in attendance nearby. "Rena, go fetch them."

"Yes!" Rena's eyes lit up, and she jogged out of the council hall.

She soon returned, carrying three scrolls. Each was a different color: one light gray, one dark gray, and one nearly black.

"Elder, here they are." Rena placed the scrolls on the low table in the middle of the room.

The elder pointed at them. "Ryuto, take a look."

Ryuto walked over. The three scrolls looked unremarkable, but complex sealing formulas were drawn on them in ink. He could sense something very heavy and dense sealed inside.

"These are...?" He looked at Rena.

Looking a little pleased with herself, Rena picked up the light gray scroll. "Mr. Ryuto, weren't you looking for training equipment like weights? Our Uzumaki Clan's Sealing Jutsu can do exactly that!"

She unrolled the scroll and pointed at the symbols. "Look, this isn't an ordinary weight-increasing tag. It simulates a 'gravitational field.' Once you activate it and stick it on your body, it doesn't affect the weight you're carrying, but the gravitational pull your body itself experiences! Simply put, it makes your body feel heavier without changing its actual mass, so it won't damage the ground or your clothes."

Ryuto was a little bewildered, but he got the general idea. "So...it gives me a debuff?"

"A dee...what buff?" Rena blinked.

"Uh, a condition that makes it harder for me to move," Ryuto rephrased.

"Yes, exactly!" Rena nodded. "That's what I mean! These three scrolls have different gravity multipliers sealed inside. This light gray one is the lightest. It makes your body feel roughly twice as heavy. This dark gray one is three times. And the black one...is five times."

She paused, her expression growing a little more serious. "The elder said you absolutely mustn't try the black one yet. Something could go wrong. Start with the light gray one and gradually work your way up once you've adjusted."

Ryuto picked up the light gray scroll. It felt a little cool to the touch. "How do I use it?"

"It's simple. Feed a tiny bit of chakra into it...oh, right, your ki works too. Activate it, then stick it wherever you want. Your limbs, your torso, anywhere. It takes effect when you stick it on and stops when you peel it off," Rena explained.

"Let me try." Ryuto was getting a little impatient.

He fed a wisp of ki into the scroll.

The symbols on the scroll glowed faintly, then the entire scroll became like an adhesive sticker. After a moment's thought, Ryuto stuck it on his right arm.

The instant it stuck, his right arm sank sharply!

It wasn't the sensation of an external weight, like strapping on lead blocks. Instead, it felt as though the arm's own "mass" had increased, every cell filled with lead and dragging downward. He instinctively tried to lift it, but the movement was several beats slower than usual and took tremendous effort.

"How does it feel?" Rena asked.

"...Heavy." Ryuto squeezed out the word. He tried swinging his right arm, his movements sluggish as slow motion. "And the flow of ki...seems more noticeable?"

Under that heavy pressure, his perception of every tiny movement and gathering of ki inside him became extraordinarily clear. It was like hearing his own heartbeat and blood flowing in an absolutely silent environment.

"That's right!" Rena clapped her hands. "Pressure makes your body and energy more 'sensitive.' That's one of the purposes of this training! But covering your whole body feels different from covering just one part. If you put even these lightest ones all over your body, you might struggle just to walk."

Ryuto peeled the scroll off his right arm, and the arm instantly felt light and nimble again. He hefted the scroll in his hand, now having a better idea of what it did.

This thing was definitely an incredible training tool.

"Ryuto," Mito Uzumaki spoke up. "The Uchiha have been making frequent moves lately. They clearly have their sights on you. Although the clan compound is safe, there are too many eyes and ears here, and training isn't convenient for you either. There's a quiet cave in the hills behind us that our clan members used for secluded training. It's empty now. Why not stay there for a while and focus on adjusting to this weighted training? You can avoid the Uchiha's eyes and ears and train without distractions."

Ryuto looked at the elder.

The elder nodded. "Mito has a point. That cave is quiet and fully equipped. Rena, take him there."

"All right!" Rena answered.

Ryuto cupped his fist toward the elder and Mito. "Thank you. Sorry for imposing during my stay. If the Uzumaki Clan ever needs my help, just say the word."

He meant every word. Whether for the friendship he had built with Rena and the others during his stay, or for having a place where he could train in peace and freely seek out the Uchiha to "spar" and grow stronger, he had to make that promise.

Mito inclined her head slightly. "Focus on your training for now. If we need anything, I'll come find you."

Rena led Ryuto out of the council hall toward the hills behind the compound.

Along the way, Rena kept talking. "Mr. Ryuto, you really mustn't rush this. You have to adjust to the weights gradually. Walk today, jog tomorrow, and increase the amount little by little. Don't cover your whole body right away and try practicing that high-speed movement of yours. You'll get hurt!"

"Got it, Teacher Rena." Ryuto smiled.

"Oh, don't call me teacher!" Rena looked a little embarrassed. "I'm just...worried you'll do something reckless."

The hills weren't far away. Vines half concealed the cave entrance, and inside it was quite dry, with a stone bed, a stone table, and even a small spring. The accommodations were indeed pretty good.

"Here we are." Rena stood at the entrance. "I'll bring you food and supplies regularly. Train hard!"

"Thanks." Ryuto walked into the cave, looked around, and was very satisfied.

Rena waved and turned to leave.

The cave fell quiet.

Ryuto took out the light gray scroll and activated it without hesitation, then tore it apart-the scroll could actually split into several small pieces according to his will. He stuck them on his arms, legs, chest, and back.

Humm-

A heavy pressure instantly enveloped his entire body!

Ryuto felt as though he had suddenly been thrown into deep water. Every movement meant fighting tremendous resistance. He tried taking a step, and his foot landed heavily, leaving a deep footprint in the dirt. Walking became like moving in slow motion, and his breathing involuntarily grew heavier.

"Damn...this is only double gravity?" Ryuto bared his teeth. He remembered Goku running around with even heavier weights as a child in Dragon Ball. They really were monsters.

But he didn't stop. Instead, he began pacing slowly around the cave while extending his ki perception to its fullest, carefully feeling every slight change in his ki under the heavy pressure.

Just as Rena had said, the pressure sharpened his perception. He could "see" how his ki worked harder as it flowed through him to support and move his heavy body, and how it gathered more tightly in his muscles and bones to provide strength.

Only after a dozen or so laps did he adjust slightly to this sluggish pace.

"Just walking won't do." Ryuto stopped to catch his breath. He recalled the new fighting method he had conceived earlier-combining a protective barrier with high-speed movement.

Practicing high-speed movement at his current "turtle pace" would be a joke. But he could practice other things.

He tried raising his arm. A movement that normally took only a thought now required him to drag his muscles up by force.

Squats: bend his knees until his thighs were parallel to the ground, hold for a second, then stand.

Push-ups: lower his body, the added weight pressing entirely onto his shoulder blades, as though someone were holding him down.

He gritted his teeth and pushed himself back up.

On the fifteenth repetition, his arms gave out, and he smacked flat onto the ground.

Ryuto lay on his stomach and panted a few times, then rolled over onto his back. He pressed a hand to his chest, feeling his heartbeat under the weight. Ki still flowed through his body, but far more slowly than usual.

Yet he could feel that when his ki passed through those sore, swollen muscles, he knew much more clearly than usual which muscle ached and which tendon was taut.

After five minutes of rest, he got up and continued.

Only when it was completely dark outside did he peel off all the weighted patches, panting heavily.

Instantly, an indescribable lightness swept through his entire body!

He instinctively took a step forward.

Whoosh-

He was already at the other end of the cave, moving fast enough to stir a gust of wind.

"This feeling..." Ryuto looked at his hands. His body, so unbearably heavy just moments ago, now felt light and nimble, as though it weighed nothing. He even had to control himself deliberately to avoid crashing into a wall by using too much force.

Briefly removing the weights seemed to have released some of his body's potential.

He knew this was only the beginning. Adjusting to the lightest weights was merely the first step. Threefold and fivefold gravity still awaited him. Moreover, he needed to remaster every combat skill, including high-speed movement, while wearing the weights.

But Ryuto didn't find it tedious in the slightest.

He walked over to the stone bed and sat down, took a drink from his waterskin, and looked at the three scrolls on the stone table.

The Uchiha wanted to study him?

Once he could leave afterimages even under fivefold gravity, they would see who was studying whom.

Outside the cave, moonlight spilled down in silence.

Inside the cave, Ryuto rested for a while, then picked up the light gray scroll again.

His training had only just begun.