Heavenly King Covers Earthly Tiger, Pagoda Suppresses River Demon

In the simple training ground, six small figures were currently sweating away.

Three of them were Shadow Clones, while the remaining three were the real Chishima Chiba, Tsunade, and Hatake Sakumo.

Fortunately, Chishima Chiba's Shadow Clone did not cause trouble. He stood obediently beneath Tsunade's Shadow Clone, protecting her as she practiced Tree Climbing.

With Tsunade's delicate control over Chakra, climbing trees was ridiculously easy. But simply climbing up was not the limit of Tree Climbing training.

At that moment, Tsunade's Shadow Clone had reached the canopy. She stood on a branch no thicker than two fingers, hanging herself upside down in midair and swinging vigorously.

Chishima Chiba and Tsunade themselves did not feel much, but Chishima Chiba's Shadow Clone was incredibly nervous, afraid that Tsunade's Shadow Clone might suddenly fall and vanish from injury.

Shadow Clones possessed independent personalities and thoughts. Though he would not entertain improper thoughts about the original, he was quite fond of Tsunade's Shadow Clone and took extra care of her at every turn.

Fortunately, Tsunade's Shadow Clone encountered no problems while practicing Tree Climbing. Chishima Chiba's Shadow Clone sighed in relief, then turned and had Tsunade's Shadow Clone protect him while he trained.

The training was in full swing, and Chishima Chiba and Tsunade themselves were not about to sit idle.

"This is so hard!!!"

Tsunade was deeply frustrated. She crushed the paper spinner in her hand, tossed it angrily onto the ground, then gave it two more kicks to vent her irritation.

"Have a little patience." Chishima Chiba gave a dry laugh, not daring to press Tsunade too much.

Mainly because this "Fingertip Spinner" training method had been proposed by Chishima Chiba.

As the name suggested, the Fingertip Spinner Training Method involved placing a paper spinner on one's fingertip and using Chakra to make it spin.

Once it reached a certain speed, Chakra was used to slow it down. When the paper spinner was finally about to stop, Chakra was used again to make it spin once more.

Spinning once, stopping once, then spinning again counted as one set. The goal the two had set for today was three hundred sets.

Although that did not sound like much training, the spinner was made of paper and was even more fragile than bark. If the Chakra released from their fingertips was even slightly excessive, the paper spinner would deform at best and fall apart completely at worst.

Often, after only five sets, various factors would weaken their control over the Chakra in their bodies, causing them to destroy the paper spinner spinning on their fingertips.

After going back and forth more than a dozen times, Tsunade finally could not hold it in any longer.

"Haa... hoo...!" Tsunade took a deep breath, then let it out heavily. Her mood gradually settled. "I feel much better after letting it out. Again!"

Her unwillingness to admit defeat returned. Tsunade's bright brown eyes gleamed as she picked up a fresh paper spinner and gently placed it on her fingertip.

Chishima Chiba gazed deeply at Tsunade's serious little expression. A doting smile curved his lips as he nodded and resumed his own practice.

Unlike Chishima Chiba and Tsunade, who were practicing their Chakra control, Hatake Sakumo remained focused on practicing his family's swordsmanship.

The same went for his Shadow Clone. It did not matter that he lacked the White Light Blade; he simply chose a branch roughly equal to it in weight and length to make do for now.

"Let's stop here."

Once half an hour had passed, Chishima Chiba reminded the two of them and casually released the Shadow Clone Jutsu.

Poof.

With a soft sound, Chishima Chiba's Shadow Clone reluctantly turned into a puff of smoke. The experience and memories he had gained during that time instantly flooded into Chishima Chiba's mind.

Buzz~

There was a soft buzz in his head, as though someone had given him a neither-light-nor-heavy tap on the skull. He felt a little dizzy and bloated.

After steadying himself, Chishima Chiba turned to observe Tsunade.

From Tsunade's expression, he could tell that she had also felt uncomfortable for a moment. What puzzled him, though, was why her face was slightly red.

"Tsunade, are you all right?"

Tsunade's little face was still somewhat flushed, but she merely shook her head without speaking. Only after Chishima Chiba turned to ask Hatake Sakumo did she seize the chance to glare fiercely at his back twice.

Her Shadow Clone was just as smooth-tongued as the original. Every time he opened his mouth, he had something pleasant to say, and he never repeated himself.

And her Shadow Clone seemed... rather fond of hearing it, too.

It was so annoying.

Chishima Chiba had also absorbed the experience and memories his Shadow Clone returned when it dispersed, but he was nowhere near as perceptive as Tsunade.

Besides, Chishima Chiba did not think it was anything. He was merely saying a few pleasant words; it was not as though he was being obnoxious.

It was just subtle influence, not the kind of shameless pestering that refused to let up.

When Chishima Chiba turned his head again and looked at Hatake Sakumo, he was startled.

Hatake Sakumo's face had gone somewhat pale, and tiny veins throbbed at his temples. Clearly, he was having trouble processing the flood of information that had instantly poured into his mind when he released his Shadow Clone.

"Sakumo, take deep breaths. Try not to think about too many things."

"Mm..." Hatake Sakumo answered in a trembling voice. It took him roughly two minutes before his mind truly cleared.

"Hoo..." He exhaled a foul breath. "Just now, it felt as awful as having a bad cold. It felt like my brain didn't belong to me anymore."

"That serious?" Tsunade came over as well. "It shouldn't be that bad, right? Sakumo, could there be something wrong with your training?"

"It isn't that Sakumo's Shadow Clone trained incorrectly. It's because of Sakumo's Physical Constitution."

Chishima Chiba hit the nail on the head. Hatake Sakumo nodded along with his words. "It really is that my body is not quite suited to this kind of training. Right now, I feel more exhausted than after a long-distance run."

Tsunade glanced back at Chishima Chiba, then carefully sensed the changes in her own body. She could not quite understand why Hatake Sakumo described his current exhaustion that way.

"Sakumo, rest for a while." Chishima Chiba stepped forward and patted Hatake Sakumo's shoulder, truly acting like an older brother. "Based on your performance just now, thirty minutes is just right for the Shadow Clone-Assisted Cultivation Method. Forty minutes should be your limit."

"So you can't use Shadow Clones to assist your training anymore today. Continue tomorrow."

"I understand, Chiba." Hatake Sakumo nodded, and for the first time, envy appeared in his eyes.

Chishima Chiba and Tsunade's Physical Constitutions were truly strong. If he possessed such a constitution too...

With a sigh in his heart, Hatake Sakumo adjusted his mindset. After resting for a while, he continued practicing his family's swordsmanship.

Meanwhile, Chishima Chiba and Tsunade resumed their cultivation. Each created another Shadow Clone, intending to increase this session's duration from half an hour to one hour.

"Heavenly King Covers Earthly Tiger!"

The moment Chishima Chiba created his Shadow Clone, it immediately pulled a stunt. Both the original and Tsunade froze, while the memories entering their minds told them what had happened.

"Pagoda Suppresses River Demon!"

Tsunade's Shadow Clone answered excitedly, her little face full of delight. "Wow, I didn't expect us to meet again! I thought that after the original released the Shadow Clone Jutsu, the next Shadow Clone would be a different person!"

"Luckily, I'm still me, and you're still you." A trace of emotion flashed through Chishima Chiba's Shadow Clone's eyes.

"Mm-hm." Tsunade's Shadow Clone nodded like a pecking chick, stars shining in her eyes.

"Then, my Shadow Clone Tsunade, we have one hour together this time. Please take care of me."

"Please take care of me too, my Shadow Clone Chiba."

The two Shadow Clones happily ran off some distance away. From time to time came Chishima Chiba's Shadow Clone's chatter and Tsunade's Shadow Clone's cheerful laughter.

Unable to resist, Chishima Chiba glanced at Tsunade beside him.

"Why are you looking at me? They're Shadow Clones, not us..."

"I'm looking at you because the time we can spend together is far more than one hour." Chishima Chiba smiled brightly. "That's really wonderful. It puts me at ease too."

"Go... don't say weird things..." Tsunade's eyes flickered as she kept looking away. "Hurry up and train!"

Without bringing it up again, Chishima Chiba picked up a paper spinner from the ground and placed it on his fingertip. Through the gaps of its spinning, he secretly glanced at Tsunade.

The next second, their eyes met.

At the same time, the paper spinners on their fingertips burst apart, turning into scraps that scattered through the air...