Konoha: I Have a Gravity Training Room

She even unconsciously imagined what it would be like to live here in the future, unable to stop herself from smiling.

It did not take long to cook. The freshly prepared dishes were soon brought to the table, and Shino eagerly picked up a bowl of Winter Melon Pork Rib Soup, his face full of bliss.

It was Tenten's first time tasting Xia Mu's cooking, and she was delighted by surprise after surprise.

"I never knew Xia Mu was such a good cook!" Tenten praised.

"As long as you like it. You'll be in for plenty of good food from now on," Xia Mu added.

"Plenty of good food from now on..."

Tenten immediately blushed. She could not help feeling that Xia Mu had said it on purpose, as though he was subtly confessing to her. Still, every dish suddenly tasted sweet, even though there should not have been any sugar in them.

By the time they finished eating, it was already getting late.

Shino was very tactful. After saying goodbye, he vanished in a flash.

Xia Mu seized the opportunity and took Tenten's hand. "It's getting dark. I'll walk you home."

Tenten blushed again, but she did not refuse. The two of them walked hand in hand at an unhurried pace, as if they were taking a stroll after dinner, yet also as if they were on a date. That feeling of being more than friends but less than lovers was wonderful and heartwarming.

Unfortunately, they were both still too young. Otherwise, their relationship might have gone a step further.

After walking Tenten home, night had completely fallen. Xia Mu briskly made his way down the road, occasionally hearing faint footsteps nearby. If nothing unexpected had happened, it was probably Anbu ninja passing through.

Xia Mu did not dwell on it. Based on his usual behavior, Danzo should not have set his sights on him.

Unless an invader from another village had infiltrated the area. If he ran into one, he could only consider himself unlucky.

Still, Xia Mu was not weak now. Although he had learned few things and the techniques he had created had never been tested in real combat, his physical strength was formidable and he possessed plenty of Chakra. As long as he did not encounter a jonin, his life should not be in danger.

Fortunately, Xia Mu returned home without incident.

Still, he had constantly felt eyes on him along the way. The gazes were unfriendly and made no effort to hide themselves, as if someone was wondering whether a little kid wandering around outside so late at night might be a spy.

Konoha looked peaceful, but it was actually a mess.

Before the Uchiha clan massacre, Danzo's Root had dared to run rampant throughout the village. Although Root was disbanded afterward, without the Uchiha guarding it, the village was like a sieve. Spies could enter Konoha as easily as returning home. Especially after the Third Hokage died, the village Tsunade inherited was already full of holes. Any random nobody could stir up chaos in the village.

Tsk, tsk. It was truly hard to watch.

Of course, complaining was one thing, but Xia Mu still needed to be careful.

He especially had to remind Tenten and Shino. He could not let his future girlfriend or good friend come to harm.

"Sure enough, without strength, I'll always be worried. I should hurry up and train so I can become stronger as soon as possible."

Xia Mu decisively entered the Gravity Training Room and used his mind to adjust the gravity to three times normal. In an instant, it felt as though pressure covered his entire body, even dragging his blood downward.

Although he had not trained in this room for very long, he had already adapted to double gravity.

He could still endure triple gravity after increasing it, but he had to worry whether he would be able to grow taller in the future. After all, he was still far too young.

Xia Mu took out two scrolls.

One contained the C-rank ninjutsu Water Style: Water Colliding Wave. He had traded his Transformation Jutsu: Kami-e with Shino for it.

The Aburame Clan excelled at insect control, but they were not particularly good at taijutsu. Kami-e was extremely practical for Shino. If an enemy got close, he could use Kami-e to evade attacks and prevent himself from being injured, buying time for his insects to counterattack or for his companions to rescue him.

The other was the Shadow Clone Jutsu, which he had borrowed from Shino. Xia Mu simply had a special idea he wanted to try, and afterward, he would share the results of his research with Shino as payment.

Although Xia Mu considered Shino a good friend, he would not take advantage of him.

If he borrowed something, he had to return the favor. Otherwise, how could he have the nerve to borrow from him again next time?

Water Style: Water Colliding Wave

"Then I'll start learning first. I'll try the idea in my head on the first of next month."

Xia Mu first read through the Shadow Clone Jutsu, then began forming hand seals. The next second, he heard a bang, and a Shadow Clone identical to himself appeared beside him.

Sure enough, his talent really was impressive. He had learned it in one try.

Looking at his Shadow Clone, it was indeed exactly the same as him. For a girlfriend, perhaps that would mean double the happiness.

He just wondered whether Naruto and Hinata had ever used the Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu after getting married, and how many Shadow Clones they used each time. After all, Hinata was famous for having a big appetite.

Ahem, ahem. He was getting off track.

Xia Mu continued practicing. An hour later, he had not only completely mastered the Shadow Clone Jutsu, but also become proficient in One-Handed Seals.

That was the trouble with knowing One-Handed Seals. Whenever he learned a new ninjutsu in the future, he would have to consider whether it could be performed with one hand, and he had to become proficient at it. After all, he never knew when it might come in handy.

Then, Xia Mu settled on his first research project for the first of next month:

Whether the Shadow Clone Jutsu could be modified into the Four-Faced Fist!

The Four-Faced Fist was Tien Shinhan's technique from Dragon Ball. It grew two extra arms from the user's back, giving one person the advantage of having four arms.

They said two fists could not beat four hands. With four arms, one would have an advantage in taijutsu. Since the Shadow Clone Jutsu could create a physical clone, why could it not create a pair of clone arms on the body?

The Shadow Clone Jutsu had an obvious weakness: it was fragile and would disperse as soon as it took damage. Therefore, it could basically only serve as a distraction.

Naruto's Multiple Shadow Clones might have looked impressive, with so many clones it was ridiculous, but they could only bully trash like Mizuki. Against an expert, they were practically useless.

But arm clones would be different.

Because the clone arms would be behind the main body, if the opponent wanted to destroy them, they would first have to see whether the main body's fists and feet allowed it.

An extra pair of arms on his back could launch point-blank sneak attacks in taijutsu combat, secretly form hand seals behind him, or even spray an opponent in the face with a water gun. The advantages were considerable. Besides, if he could create one pair of arms, he could naturally create multiple arms, multiple legs, or even multiple heads. That was the result Xia Mu wanted from modifying the Shadow Clone Jutsu.

Name: Four Demon Technique!

But he would have to wait until the first of next month to try it. Outside the Special Laboratory State, timid Xia Mu did not dare to mess around.

Xia Mu put away the Shadow Clone Jutsu scroll, then opened the Water Style: Water Colliding Wave scroll. After memorizing it, he created two Shadow Clones and had them learn alongside him.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Xia Mu and his Shadow Clones formed hand seals together. "Water Style: Water Colliding Wave!"

Pfft! One person and two clones simultaneously spat out enormous columns of water, blasting wildly at the forest ahead. Several large trees were snapped cleanly in half, and even a small patch of forest was flattened.

"Th-this..."

Xia Mu was startled, but immediately understood.

His Chakra reserves were simply too large. On top of that, he and two clones had used the technique together, so naturally the impact was incredibly powerful. If there had been a group of genin ahead, this one move would probably have wiped them all out.

That was the advantage of having more Chakra than others.

A mere C-rank ninjutsu could produce the effect of a major technique, and he would still have energy left after using it many times. Just ask whether his enemies would be afraid.

Moreover, this move would be perfect against Sandstorm Gaara. Gaara's sand would be useless in water, and even his mother's Sand Coffin probably would not hold up.

Then Xia Mu could shout, "Gaara! I'm gonna gaara you!"

Of course, that was just a joke. Gaara would not be so easy to kill. He was the One-Tail Jinchuriki, after all, and once Naruto unleashed his Talk-no-Jutsu, Gaara would become an ally.

Besides, Gaara's sister Tenten would become Shikamaru's wife in the future. If he really killed Gaara, would that not ruin the pairing?

He was getting off track again.

Xia Mu gathered his thoughts and continued practicing Water Release: Wild Water Wave.

He needed to become proficient with both two-handed seals and One-Handed Seals. More importantly, he needed to observe the process of Chakra transforming into water.

The reason Xia Mu had asked Shino for Water Style Ninjutsu was to observe Chakra's Nature Transformation. Water Style was activated by using hand seals to guide Chakra. Once it reached the throat, that was where Chakra underwent Nature Transformation, becoming water that was sprayed outward.

As long as he could understand that process, Water Release Chakra Nature Transformation would become simple.

Before, he had been trying to comprehend it blindly, like water without a source, or an arrogant student who had never studied mathematics but wanted to solve advanced Olympiad problems. Now that he had learned Water Style Ninjutsu, even if it was only one technique, he finally had something to reference.

His second research project for the first of next month was also decided: Water Release Chakra Nature Transformation.

The third project followed closely behind: fusing Water Release Chakra with the Rasengan.

Then there would be more, such as using his experience with Water Release to attempt Earth Release and Lightning Release Nature Transformation, then fusing those Nature Transformations with other Chakra Shape Transformations.

In short, he had plenty to keep himself busy!

Early the next morning, Xia Mu had gotten enough sleep and hurriedly got up for morning training.

It was still milk delivery, but this time the route was longer, the environment along the way was harsher, and he was doing it under triple gravity. It was highly challenging for Xia Mu.

By the time he delivered the milk, he was so exhausted that he nearly collapsed.

But he still had to shower, eat breakfast, and rush to school.

The moment he arrived in the classroom, he sensed something was off. Every girl was staring at him with eyes full of gossip, making Xia Mu's skin crawl. The boys, meanwhile, also seemed confused and apparently had no idea what was going on with the girls.

Fortunately, Shino quietly explained, "Yesterday, Ino saw you and Tenten holding hands while shopping for groceries."

So that was it!

Xia Mu instantly stopped worrying.

He had thought it was something serious. So his classmates had merely seen him shopping with his future girlfriend. What was the big deal?

Then Xia Mu ignored the girls' stares, drew a design diagram for the Four-Faced Fist on paper, and handed it to Shino as he explained his idea of modifying the Shadow Clone Jutsu.

When Xia Mu had asked Shino for the Shadow Clone Jutsu earlier, Shino had handed it over without a second word or even asking why.

Now that was a friend worth having!

Still, Xia Mu had an obligation to explain himself. Besides, the Four-Faced Fist would be a good technique for Shino, who struggled with taijutsu.

Sure enough, after seeing the concept, even Shino's sunglasses gleamed. "Xia Mu, your mind is truly unusual. You actually came up with something like this. This Four Demon Technique is indeed good. It could greatly compensate for my shortcomings in taijutsu."

Xia Mu grinned. "You'll see the results by the second of next month at the latest. Stay tuned."

The second of next month?

Shino suddenly understood. He probably thought Xia Mu had a habit of staying up all night on the first of every month to research ninjutsu. Perhaps Xia Mu's comprehension was at its highest on the night of the first.

But the problem Xia Mu faced was his lack of foundational knowledge.

As the saying went, even the cleverest housewife could not cook without rice. No one could create something from nothing. Otherwise, Xia Mu would not have needed to borrow ninjutsu from him.

Ino's Gossip