Time is like sand, silently slipping through our fingers. Four years is enough time for many things to happen and many people to change in the Shinobi World.
In Konoha, Naruto Uzumaki, with his brilliant blond hair and blue eyes, finally graduated from the Ninja Academy after many Genin and became a genin. He was assigned to Team 7 with Uchiha, the last of the Kakashi Hatake, and Sasuke Sakura Haruno.
Naruto was still as loud and boisterous as ever, constantly talking about "becoming Hokage," but the loneliness in his eyes had faded somewhat, replaced by a light that seemed to have found belonging and purpose.
Elsewhere in the Shinobi World, undercurrents persist, but a fragile peace is maintained on the surface.
Sunagakure also welcomed a new batch of Genin. Ameno, Sana, Viper, and others successfully graduated and received the Forehead Protector they had always dreamed of.
Temari and Kankuro, as the Kazekage) women, have long surpassed the strength of ordinary Genin, comparable to Chunin, and have begun to take on more important tasks.
Gaara's transformation is perhaps the most heartening thing for the village of Sunagakure.
With the help of Uzumaki Kei, a sophisticated auxiliary seal was applied to Gaara, greatly alleviating Shukaku's erosion of his sleep and emotions.
Although the burden of carrying the Tailed Beast had not disappeared, Gaara was finally able to obtain a brief, true rest.
Of course, all of this is far removed from Shira, who resides deep on the border, in the Cavern of Echoes beside the Heart of the Bedrock.
For Shira, those four years were a transformative period.
He is 12 years old now.
His body, like a tenacious poplar tree sprouting new branches in the Gobi Desert, grows tall and stretches out.
He was a child when he left, but now he is a tall and upright teenager, about 1.55 meters tall. He has shed his childishness, his features are well-defined, and his skin has a healthy, light tan that looks like it has been polished by wind and sand, due to his years of activity in places full of energy.
The hesitation between his brows had faded, replaced by a rock-like composure. Only his eyes remained bright and clear, but when focused, a faint glimmer of bluish-gold, as if reflecting the flowing wind and the faint light of the earth's veins, would flash across them.
The biggest changes come from within.
Qinglin's teaching was less about imparting knowledge and more about providing extremely rigorous guidance and refinement.
For the first six months, Shira spent almost all her time battling the violent drug residue and disordered "qi" within her body.
Qinglin never taught him specific "techniques" step by step. Instead, whenever he was on the verge of collapse due to pain or when he made slight progress in his treatment, she would point out the key. "Qi is like flowing water; it is better to guide than to block. Observe its momentum and follow its nature."
"Your breathing is too deliberate. Breathing is a natural interaction between heaven and earth; why force it? First, listen—listen to the wind rustling through the rocks, listen to the rolling of the sand, listen to the sound of your own blood flowing."
Thus, through endless pain and meditation, Shira rediscovered her body and her breath.
He "heard" the "cries" from the pent-up emotions within his body and learned to use the faintest of intentions, like guiding a stream, to slowly guide the raging energy back into its proper place.
When the energy within his body was finally restored to normal, his injuries were fully healed, and he even benefited from the misfortune by widening and strengthening his meridians, Qinglin began the next step.
"Your breathing technique borrows the vital energy from your own life force. While it may be powerful, it has its limits and can easily damage your foundation."
Qinglin rarely commented on his Seven Heavens Breathing Method, saying, "Between heaven and earth, there is abundant Qi, formless and intangible, infinite and boundless; this is called Natural Energy. Perceive it, accept it, use it to refine yourself, and replenish your source; this is the way to longevity."
What she taught Shira was not the " Sage Mode " of Mount Myōboku or Ryūchi Cave, which requires a high degree of Chakra control and spiritual harmony, but a more ancient, more direct method that was more suitable for someone like Shira, who was rough in Chakra manipulation but had a strong will and keen senses of the body— the Wind Xun Breathing Method.
The key is to adjust the rhythm of one's breathing to resonate with the " Natural Energy " flowing in the surrounding environment.
It's not about forcibly absorbing and devouring, but rather like a leaf merging into the forest's breath, a grain of sand sinking into the desert's pulse, becoming part of the Natural Energy flow, thereby drawing a trace of pure Natural Energy into the body and combining it with one's own life energy (qi).
This process is a hundred times more difficult and dangerous than the Seven Heavens Breathing Method. Natural Energy is violent and chaotic. If you are not careful and inhale too much or lose control, you may suffer burns to your meridians or even become stiff and turn into a natural sculpture.
In her initial countless attempts, Shira failed painfully, her whole body stinging and her muscles spasming, as if she were being cut by invisible wind blades.
But with his tenacious will and desire to survive, he gradually figured it out, and with Qinglin's occasional guidance, he finally grasped that mysterious resonance frequency.
When he successfully drew a cool, vast, and vibrant Natural Energy into his body for the first time, merging it with the scorching life force generated by the Seven Heavens Breathing Method, an unprecedented sense of fullness and power filled his entire body.
A fleeting glint of cyan-gold light flashed in his eyes, his skin glowed with a warm, jade-like luster, and his senses were amplified to the limit, as if he could "hear" the flow of the earth's veins deep within the rock walls and "see" the trajectory of every wisp of wind in the air. However, this state was extremely unstable and could only be maintained for a single breath at first.
For the past four years, he has spent the vast majority of his time inside and outside the Cavern of Echoes, engaging in extremely monotonous cultivation.
During the day, they practice swordsmanship under the scorching sun and in the wind and sand, trying to integrate the extraordinary perception and instantaneous energy enhancement brought by the Wind Xun Breathing Method into their sword moves, or, at Qinglin's instruction, use a wooden sword to "cut" the specified airflow, or pierce specific grains of sand flying in the wind.
At night, I immerse myself in deep meditation, consolidating the Wind Xun Breathing Method and constantly striving for higher levels of the Seven Heavens Breathing Method.
Through countless near-limit-pushing experiences and the daily refinement of Natural Energy, his physical strength reached an astonishing level.
Finally, on a day when everything was in the right place, he broke through that barrier.
Seven Heavens Breathing Method - Third Activation, Activated!
Unlike the violent eruption of the Second Activation volcano, the Third Activation is more like a deep-sea undercurrent, with surging yet restrained power. Speed, strength, endurance, and recovery are all elevated to a new level. Furthermore, control is greatly enhanced, and as long as the body can withstand it, the duration of the effect far exceeds that of the Second Activation.
When activated, the surrounding air no longer distorts violently, but forms a stable and dense micro-aura, with faint bluish-gold veins flowing beneath the skin.
He combined the Third Activation with the " Wind Trigram State " that he had just mastered. Although it was far from reaching the power of a true Sage Mode, it allowed him to gain terrifying physical abilities, perception, and energy boosts comparable to Kage Level in a short period of time.
With a single swing of the sword, the sword energy appears and disappears, easily slicing through rocks; with a single punch, the fist wind solidifies, capable of shattering targets from a distance.
His sword was no longer the same as it used to be. Under Qinglin's guidance that "the wind has no fixed shape, and the sand has no fixed form," he abandoned fixed sword moves. His swordsmanship incorporated the composure of his teacher Kenmei, while also gaining more of his own insights—swift thrusts as all-pervasive as the wind, relentless and oppressive strikes like a sandstorm, and a penetrating force that incorporated the concept of pressure points into the tip of the sword, specifically designed to break through weaknesses and defenses.
When combined with active or Wind Trigram State, its power is terrifying.
Every so often, when Shira completes a stage of training or makes progress in the Wind Xun Breathing Method, Qinglin will allow him to write a letter to Sunagakure.
The letter was brief, simply stating that the person was safe and sound, following a senior practitioner in a secure location, and that progress was going smoothly; the person should not worry.
He couldn't reveal the location or Qinglin's presence; it was an agreement. The letter was sent by Qinglin in an unknown way.
Shira didn't know how his parents and friends felt when they received these vague letters that proved he was safe, but that was all he could do.
On this day, Shira finished her morning "sparring" with the raging wind, sheathed her sword, and stood on a towering wind-eroded rock outside the Cavern of Echoes.
Four years have passed, and the scenery remains the same, but he is no longer the boy he once was. The strong wind billows his simple gray training clothes, outlining smooth and powerful muscle lines.
He gazed in the direction of Sunagakure, his eyes distant.
It's time. Wind Xun Breathing Method is now stable, his Third Activation technique is running smoothly, and his swordsmanship has a direction. He can no longer linger here.
Sunagakure, parents, Captain Reppu, Asuka, Sada Sasori, Ameno, Granny Chiyo, and... Gaara.
He had too many concerns, and he had reasons to go back.
The situation at the border, the village, and the cause and effect behind the mysterious woman who took him away—all these are things he needs to face and resolve.
Shira turned around and walked towards the cave entrance that exuded a cool aura.
He knew that Qinglin must have sensed his decision.
Four years passed in the howling of wind and sand and the throbbing of the earth's veins, forging a dying Genin into a young man with a destiny to immortality, wielding extraordinary power and a resolute gaze.
Shira of Sunagakure is about to depart.