Araki has been training his body, essentially to increase his Chakra. He understands that Chakra is composed of two parts: physical energy and mental energy. Improving either part will likely increase Chakra. Physical energy is the most direct and visible improvement, while mental energy is more ethereal and difficult to significantly improve through effort alone.
For this reason, Araki set the tone for himself from the very beginning: to improve his physical energy through day and night training, and then to make his Chakra stronger so that he could support the use of Wood Release Ninjutsu.
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In this way, Araki's physical attributes would definitely not be low, and he would also make himself appear stronger through this method. In addition, he also had the opportunity to become Tsunade 'Tsunade apprentice, thus honing his Chakra control during the time he was learning Medical Ninjutsu.
Araki now possesses not only exceptional physical attributes but also formidable Chakra control, both of which are crucial elements of Kumogakure's Nintaijutsu.
The essence of Kumogakure's Nintaijutsu is to activate one's own cells through the control of Chakra, making oneself stronger. Ninjutsu is used to assist Taijutsu, thus forming a unique Nintaijutsu where every attack is imbued with Chakra.
In an instant.
Araki suddenly realized that the Nintaijutsu of Kumogakure was very suitable for him at the moment, and could fully utilize his control over his body and Chakra, thus significantly improving his combat effectiveness.
In this way, as long as he uses Nintaijutsu in battle, he won't reveal his other strengths and it can also serve as a form of concealment. More importantly, the use of Nintaijutsu will allow him to continuously train his Chakra control and physical abilities, making him stronger through the complementary processes.
Most importantly...
While enhancing abilities Nintaijutsu does not bring any side effects, unlike opening the Eight Gates Released Formation, which will cause a depletion of one's body for a period of time afterward.
Based on this problem, Araki has realized that the most suitable Ninjutsu for him at the moment is the Nintaijutsu of Kumogakure. Once he masters the Nintaijutsu of Kumogakure, it will be the most suitable fighting style for him.
That's precisely why Araki was so serious after his fight with Little A. Originally, he was just thinking about whether he could find some inspiration in Little A, but after fighting for almost an entire afternoon, he suddenly realized that he could do even better than Little A.
This, in turn, provides Araki with a direction for improvement at this stage.
" Nintaijutsu..."
Araki clenched his fists tightly, carefully sensing the green Chakra filling his body. A slight smile appeared on his lips. He suddenly felt that this trip to Kumogakure was somewhat worthwhile, because he had never found a fighting style that suited him. He preferred to focus on training, so his usual fighting style still relied on prepared poisons. They were effective, but sometimes they were a bit boring.
Especially when he encountered those Kumogakure ninjas before, it has to be said that those people underestimated him to some extent. If they hadn't been provoked and hadn't gathered together, and Araki had revealed a bit of his strength first, it wouldn't have been so easy for him to chase after them if they wanted to escape.
It was from that time that Araki felt he needed some skills that he could show off on a regular basis, because he couldn't always reveal his trump cards in every battle.
After all, poison is the trump card.
However, Araki's current fighting style is that he must use poison in every battle. Poison has become a regular means of combat for him. But his allies and opponents know this and will prepare in advance. Once he takes the antidote, this method can be countered at any time.
To some extent, poison can be used as a means of sneak attack, but it cannot be relied upon as the main method of attack, nor can one claim to be a poison master. Therefore, Araki himself does not have a substantial means of attack that he can actually demonstrate.
"Let me use tomorrow to master the Nintaijutsu of Kumogakure!"
Araki's smile grew even brighter. It wasn't just the excitement of having grasped the direction of the future, but also the feeling of demanding repayment from Kumogakure.
He had frequently witnessed attacks from Kumogakure during this period. Although the target was Kushina, not him, there were still many issues he needed to be aware of, which caused a lot of trouble and fueled his strong resentment towards Kumogakure.
In his view, even their presence here to participate in the Chunin Ninja Exams was part of a conspiracy by the Kumogakure. However, they had always been in a passive position, constantly attacked by the Kumogakure, without ever launching a real counterattack.
If we could learn the Nintaijutsu of the Kumogakure now, it would be a counterattack, and a major one at that.
The night of training passed quickly, and throughout the night, Araki kept imitating Little A's movements.
He had no way of knowing the specific training process of the Kumogakure's Nintaijutsu, but he could try to simulate that state as closely as possible by imitating it, and recreate that state through his control of Chakra and understanding of his body's cells.
Araki was well aware that the Nintaijutsu he had trained might not be the same as the Nintaijutsu of Kumogakure, but it was very likely the most suitable for him.
Moreover, having read many martial arts novels in his previous life, he knew very well that there were no truly fixed moves; everything had to be adapted to the situation. Furthermore, the invention of Ninjutsu was the result of continuous research by generations of ninjas. While Nintaijutsu were indeed very powerful, they did not necessarily prove to be the optimal solution.
Under these circumstances, after training all night, Araki had many questions accumulating in his mind. He kept these questions in mind and, when he met Little A again, they worked together to find the answers.
Before long, dawn arrived. Perhaps because Kumogakure was located at the top of a mountain, when the sunlight shone down, there was a feeling that the light was very close to the distance. This peculiar feeling gave Araki a strong sense of warmth.
You're here early!
At the same time, a deep voice came through the sunlight. Araki didn't turn around; he had already sensed the person's presence long before the person spoke.
It was Little A.
Araki and Little A did not agree on a time to meet.
He only didn't return for one night, but Little A arrived very early. Judging from Little A's reaction after yesterday's sparring session, it's clear that she was also in a state of excitement.
"So, shall we begin now?"
Little A's gaze was fixed on Araki. He was very excited about what was happening. Before coming here, he had wondered when Araki would arrive, whether he would have to wait too long, and whether he should knock on the door to find Araki, and so on.
But when he arrived, he found Araki already waiting there, and all his doubts vanished, replaced by intense excitement.
It seems...
The boy shared the same excitement as himself.
This is what it feels like to meet an opponent.
Little A knew very well how difficult it was to have an evenly matched opponent, and he also knew what kind of improvement such an opponent could bring him. He barely slept last night, constantly thinking about why his opponent's punch had such heavy power. He had enhanced the physical activity of his body's cells through Lightning Release Chakra, but what did his opponent have?
With these questions in mind, Little A arrived here early. When he saw Araki, he felt his whole body ignite, and his eyes flashed with surging fighting spirit.
Chapter 59 Stealing a Master
Konoha: Nobody knew I could use Wood Release! Chapter 59 Stealing a Master
"Etc."
Araki raised his hand and gestured in Little A's direction, his expression clearly indicating a stop gesture.
"What's wrong?"
Little A was immediately taken aback, his excitement turning into confusion as he wasn't quite sure what Araki wanted to say. However, he showed Araki full respect. Although they had only spent an afternoon together and didn't know each other well, not even having asked each other's names, he still considered Araki a very good person, at least as an opponent.
There are a few things I'm not quite clear about.
Araki looked at Little A and then voiced his question, "When you use Nintaijutsu, you infuse Chakra into every cell of your body, which increases your speed and strength. At the same time, the overflowing Chakra can form armor. But in reality, this is a huge waste of Chakra. Is there any way to solve this?"
"????" More question marks popped into Little A's head.
"For example, when you enter Lightning Release Chakra Mode, your Chakra forms a layer of armor around your body. However, you need to continuously use Chakra to maintain this armor. But your fighting style is proactive and you won't suffer other damage. So, isn't this layer of armor a bit of a waste?" Araki expressed his doubts again.
"What do you mean?" After hearing it a second time, Little A suddenly realized that what Araki said did make some sense.
"For example, if you control your Chakra in your fist, you can form a Lightning Release Armor similar to a gauntlet. When other parts of your body don't need protection, there's no need to forcibly wear the entire Lightning Release Armor. After all, your fighting style is primarily offensive, and you possess extremely high speed. Even if you're about to get injured, you can easily put on the Lightning Release Armor for defense. Don't you think so?" Araki raised his question again. He knew very well that what he was saying might provide a substantial boost to Little A, but he felt he had to say it. Only by speaking out and taking this step could he obtain more of what Little A needed.
"This..." Little A frowned deeply. He hadn't considered such a question before. In the past, during battles, he simply controlled his Chakra and activated it directly—a rather crude form of Chakra control without much detail; it was basically just brute force. Now, hearing Araki mention such a relatively delicate technique, he fell silent. "I haven't thought about these things carefully."
"I think you can work on this aspect later, because the total amount of Chakra that the human body can mobilize is limited," Araki said seriously. "For example, if you can mobilize a total of ten Chakra, then if you distribute it to every part of your body, the resulting Lightning Release Armor might only be two-tenths of its original strength. But if you can concentrate the total amount of Chakra into one point, you can unleash a Lightning Release Armor Lightning Release Armor with ten times the power."
"This... this..." Little A's eyes widened in surprise, then Tong Kong's eyes narrowed sharply. He suddenly realized something unexpected: this very sentence was the very question that had been troubling him all night. "You mean this is the key to your immense power?"
After Little A asked the question, even her breathing became rapid, because studying other people's fighting styles in the ninja world is a rather taboo topic. Everyone has their own lineage, and the barriers between them are very strict.
Little A spent the entire night thinking about how Araki managed to unleash that terrifyingly powerful punch.
In reality, it's about figuring out how to unleash Chakra Enhanced Strength.
When Araki saw Little A, he immediately sensed the seriousness in her expression, and he understood that she was also deeply troubled by these kinds of questions; they were both competitors.
Since he was so curious about why Little A's strength was comparable to his own, Little A must have the same question, especially since the other party had already used Nintaijutsu.
Araki didn't seem to care about revealing certain things. As for Chakra Enhanced Strength, they are difficult for those who don't know them, but easy for those who do. The most essential core factor is the subtle control of Chakra.
The Chakra Enhanced Strength requires wrapping Chakra around one's fist and then unleashing a powerful strike during combat. It may seem like a simple and straightforward technique without any fancy moves, but it actually involves very delicate control over Chakra.
Even if Araki explained all of this to Little A, she would not learn it easily. The fighting style of Kumogakure is too crude, and the subtle control of Chakra is not easy. Moreover, in the entire ninja world, there are very few people who can master the level of Chakra control that allows them to control Chakra Enhanced Strength. Therefore, Araki is not worried at all that Aiolia will learn it.
That's why.
Araki felt it was better to just say it outright.
This actually earns Little A some respect.
"That's right."
Araki nodded heavily after hearing Little A's question. His eyes were open and honest, showing no evasion, and he said with great sincerity, "I concentrated all my Chakra into my fist. If you have a layer of Lightning Release Armor on your body, it's like I have a Chakra gauntlet on my fist. That's why you felt the power of my fist was so strong."
"I see." Little A suddenly realized. He had thought about many things all night, but he hadn't thought of this. Now, with Araki's hint, everything suddenly became too clear, and he understood the whole situation.
Little A instantly fell into deep thought, silently pondering how to concentrate all his Lightning Release Chakra in his fist instead of scattering it throughout his body.
The Lightning Release Chakra Mode has this problem: this Ninjutsu is very powerful, combining speed, attack power, and defense, but the problem is also very clear: it consumes a huge amount of one's own Chakra.
Under such consumption, he couldn't easily control the use of each Chakra. Instead Chakra, he simply and brutally unleashed all the Lightning Release Chakra in his body, filling every corner of his body and enhancing every part of his body in a very direct way.
"If that's the case..."
Little A's instinctive thought was that he couldn't do it; he felt it was too difficult. In fact, focusing on controlling his body during battle was already a very difficult thing, and he had always trained in this way when practicing the Nintaijutsu of Kumogakure.
Even now that he understands the principles behind Araki's ability to unleash such power, he cannot easily try it out, much less change it. He sees it as a struggle between two schools of thought.
but...
Araki, on the other hand, didn't have as much mental burden; he was thinking about the various ways to use the Nintaijutsu of Kumogakure.
At least in his mind, he felt that it was definitely not as simple as spreading the Chakra within his body to form a so-called armor to solve the problem. After all, that was just the most superficial application, and there would still be some internal issues.
"I also have a few questions I'd like to ask you. During my cultivation process, I've encountered a few things I don't understand..."
Just then, Araki slowly spoke. He didn't ask Little A about the Nintaijutsu of Kumogakure, but instead told her about the difficulties he had encountered during his training the night before.
Of course, the problem he encountered was precisely the problem of practicing Nintaijutsu. However, this was not a standard Nintaijutsu, but a replica based on his own understanding. Some problems were discovered in the process, and his way of speaking made the matter seem like a clash of experiences between two Taijutsu ninjas.
"Oh, this..."
After hearing the questions Araki raised, Little A's expression became serious. He didn't sense that Araki was learning the Nintaijutsu of Kumogakure; he just felt that the questions Araki raised were ones he had encountered before.
If Araki were to ask him a question directly, he certainly wouldn't answer, because he felt that they could only be considered rivals at most, not friends, and were far from reaching the stage where they could discuss cultivation.
But Araki had just resolved his inner doubts and shown him how to compress and release his power.
Given this situation, he felt that if he didn't speak up, it would make him seem narrow-minded. Besides, those questions were just minor ones, without any major principles to discuss. He didn't think that revealing these small concerns would expose any secrets of the Kumogakure, at least that's what he thought.
Subsequently, over the next period of time, Little A Ai very readily resolved the doubts that Araki had in his heart.
Araki wasn't idle either. After Little A finished answering the questions, he immediately started trying them out and gained a lot. For the parts he didn't understand, he asked again.
Faced with this situation, Little A still chose to answer, and at the same time expressed her doubts, asking Araki how to concentrate Chakra in her fist.
In other words, it refers to the method of using Chakra Enhanced Strength.
Araki explained it very readily, after all, the Chakra Enhanced Strength is not difficult in essence, the difficulty lies only in the control of Chakra.
Gradually, the two began to discuss things more and more. What they had imagined would be another day of sparring turned into a day of mutual learning and exchange.
As time passed and night fell, Little A realized with a start that time had quietly slipped away when she saw the dark sky.
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