Time Flies

Although Lightning Release was also one of Sasuke's primary affinities, he was the second male lead after all and did not receive the protagonist's treatment. Things like his training process had never been described in detail, so Ayato had no way to use the original work as a reference.

Still, he could observe the traits he had previously overlooked during each Lightning Release Massage.

After all, no matter what a trait was, it was inherent to the element itself. Even if one had never thought to use it, it would still be there. It was merely that its effects could not be brought out without deliberately uncovering them.

Learning nature transformation was simply a matter of finding an element's inherent traits and pushing them to their limits.

With that in mind, Lightning's conductivity could later be tested through specially made Ninja Tools. At the start, though, Ayato felt it would be best to use weapons forged from special materials that could conduct Chakra, then switch to ordinary iron Ninja Tools once he had achieved some results.

In the end, he would switch to materials with relatively poor conductivity. If he could still make it conduct through those, then he should have grasped the basics.

As for its accelerating trait, Ayato pondered it. Whenever he used Lightning Reinforcement, his speed did indeed increase more than his strength. He could start from there, then work from within outward, applying the accelerating trait to the external Lightning Release Chakra.

Finally, there was the paralyzing effect. That was an effect naturally carried by lightning itself. Although it could probably be specifically studied and developed, Ayato felt its innate effect should be enough. At most, he would just need a greater amount of it.

After thinking for a while longer, he concluded that should be everything.

Ayato tapped his pen against the paper several times, reviewing his ideas from beginning to end. Sometimes he added something, and sometimes he crossed something out.

When he reached the end, another thought suddenly occurred to him. Lightning Release seemed to have more traits than Wind Style. Did Wind Style really only have cutting?

Wind. When it was fast, it was cold, like the winter wind, raw and bone-piercing as it struck one's face. But what if it was slow? A gentle breeze brushing against one's face?

Or was it elusive and unpredictable? Colorless and formless?

Ayato doodled haphazardly on the paper before finally shaking his head. Forget it. He would practice the things he was certain about first. If he discovered something uncertain during training, he would pay a little attention to it. If not, then so be it. He could study it later when he had time.

Having sorted that out, Ayato read through his plan several more times. Once he nodded in satisfaction, he took out a lighter and slowly set the pages on fire.

What respectable person kept a diary? Especially not a training plan like this. It was enough to remember it in his head. Writing it down now was only to organize his thoughts. What was the point of leaving it behind in this world after he was done?

In the firelight, Ayato also considered the matter of Ninja Tools. Ninja Tools capable of conducting Chakra were not exactly common goods. At the very least, his family did not have any, so he could only borrow one from someone else.

As for which families might have such Ninja Tools, Ayato did not know about the other classes. But quite a few people in this class probably did, since many of them came from prominent clans.

Someone he was somewhat familiar with... Ayato thought of Shikamaru. They were not especially close, but if he asked, he should be able to borrow one. All he needed was an ordinary Chakra-conducting Ninja Tool, not some particularly exquisite one.

As for why he could borrow it, Ayato's talent had already been displayed, and he and Shikamaru got along fairly well. It was only a conductive Ninja Tool. It was not worth much to Shikamaru's clan, so would it not be good to use it to build a relationship?

Still, no matter how little it was worth, it was not something Ayato could obtain at present. He would inevitably owe someone a favor. After thinking it over, Ayato decided against Shikamaru. Then... he thought of Ino, and of the relationship between them.

Ayato sighed. Forget it. He had already been misunderstood, so one more time would not make a difference. He would borrow it from Ino.

There was no rush right now. He would first learn Wind Release nature transformation, then borrow it from Ino after school started.

As for learning by himself without borrowing one, Ayato had no time to waste. Since he knew there was a more convenient path and could obtain it, why not use it?

No matter what, Ayato carried a faint sense of urgency. After all, the time left to him was too short.

After watching the paper in his hand burn to ashes, Ayato slowly rose and walked to the window, raising his head to look at the bright moon.

No matter which world he was in, the moon was always so flawlessly white. But people really did live on this world's moon. The Otsutsuki were real. Ayato sighed. How irritating. What was the point of a bunch of damned people refusing to die and lingering on?

Ayato shut the window. Seriously, he could not even enjoy a simple view of the moon. The moon really ought to be cleaner. Once he knew there were people up there, he could not appreciate it at all. If it were someone like Chang'e, that would be one thing, but the Otsutsuki...

Having lost all interest in moon-gazing, Ayato naturally returned to his bed and ended the day.

Since he had already made his plan, he naturally had to begin the next day. An excellent body also required good rest.

In the days that followed, Ayato began a new round of training.

Training days always passed quickly. Before he knew it, Cold Day's vacation had passed.

When Ayato's Shadow Clone stepped into the familiar classroom, he felt a little dazed, as though time had become dislocated. It felt as though he had still been on vacation just yesterday.

But that was impossible. Ayato shook his head. In any case, vacation and school days were much the same to him. Thinking that way made it better.

However, what Ayato had not expected was that the moment he entered the classroom, some of the girls' eyes immediately lit up.

These were the girls who had seen Ayato on New Year. They all knew what he looked like when properly dressed. Yet now, they could not help frowning. Why was he wearing those shabby clothes again? They did nothing to bring out his handsomeness.

At that moment, they all thought that once they became Ayato's girlfriend, they would definitely correct his habit of not caring about his appearance.

And now, quite a few girls had already surrounded Ayato. After exchanging hostile glances with one another, they began asking after his well-being.

Ayato remained silent. Before long, he put on a stern face and acted aloof, ignoring everyone as he walked toward his seat.

Ino sat at her desk. When she first saw Ayato, she had wanted to go up and greet him too, but after seeing so many people swarm around him, she abandoned the idea. Sure enough, she soon saw Ayato walk out of the crowd with a cold expression.

She had originally been a little upset. During the entire Cold Day vacation, even though they had held hands before, Ayato had not come to play with her even once.

"Morning."

Suddenly, Ino heard Ayato greet her as he passed by her seat.

"Morning, Ayato."

At once, Ino was no longer so angry. Feeling the hostile and envious gazes of the other girls, a proud smile appeared on her face.

Hmph, see that? I'm different!