Chapter 72: Abilities

What Natsuro felt was cheating wasn't that he suddenly gained a system that maxed out his reaction abilities. It was his current sensory abilities instead. In battle as long as someone's body contained chakra, he could sense it. It was like having a global vision in a game. Normally, after teleporting to the kunai's position with Flying Thunder God, he would need to quickly determine his position relative to the opponent to attack effectively.

But with his sensory abilities he didn't need to figure out the his opponent's location at all. Even after teleporting with the Flying Thunder God, the opponent's position remains fixed in his perception. 

Even if both sides shift positions, as long as the opponent stays within his sensing range, he could accurately pinpoint their location in real-time. Even if both parties change positions, as long as they remain within his sensing range, Natsuro could accurately determine their position relative to himself in an instant.

He only needed to focus on attacking after the teleporting, bypassing the usual decision-making process that was heavily dependent on the user's reaction reflexes.

In situations like this, his kind of pure sensory ability was even more useful than the Byakugan of the Hyuga clan! The Byakugan still requires "sight," and adapting to instantaneous changes in vision isn't that easy.

Over the past three years, his primary improvements have been in the foundation, which he has solidified extensively. But if we talk about the area where he has made the most progress...

It would definitely be his sensory abilities. Natsuro's sensory development had been advancing rapidly, seemingly without end.

Thanks to this, he was able to learn Flying Thunder God so quickly. Additionally, due to his heightened perception, he could also now sense natural energy without even entering a meditative Void State and when he does, the natural energy became so clear to him that it was visible.

There was a time when he couldn't resist asking Fukasaku to supervise him as he attempted to absorb some natural energy.

Fukasaku sternly refused, nearly summoning Jiraiya to lecture him. After all, natural energy isn't something to be trifled with what would of he done if he couldn't suppress the natural energy and was overwhelm.

Due to Fukasaku's firm opposition, he abandoned the idea once again. This wasn't the first time he'd had such thoughts because, in his perception, natural energy might not be as uncontrollable as Fukasaku had warned. But he had never formally learned how to absorb natural energy, and the stone statues clearly indicate the risks involved in doing so. He decided to wait for now.

Natsuro could also even move while in the Void State, at least walking and talking normally.

He still remembered Fukasaku's look of disbelief when he maintained his Void State while walking. If the Great Toad Sage hadn't been asleep, he suspected Fukasaku might have dragged him to meet the sage.

Progress in his Void State has also accelerated other areas of improvement. For instance, he could now keep the Void State up while his shadow clones read, not only enhancing the meditative state but also improving knowledge absorption efficiency.

In short, he became a well-rounded ninja, even though he technically hadn't graduated from the Ninja Academy yet...

As for his ninjutsu.

He managed to get permission to use the Rasengan because when his chakra reached the level of a Chunin, and Jiraiya specifically came to Mount Myoboku to teach him the technique.

He then "learned" Rasengan in just half a day, leaving Jiraiya a bit disoriented.

So, this is the difference in talent? No wonder when Jiraiya boasted about learning Rasengan to Minato, Minato seemed so nonchalant. Was it because, in Minato's eyes, Jiraiya's talent wasn't impressive enough?

Although he had already studied Rasengan before, he didn't spend much time on it. Once his chakra control reached the required level, and knowing the principles behind the technique, he naturally mastered it.

After teaching Natsuro the Rasengan, Jiraiya left with a dejected expression, seemingly struggling to accept that his own talent was "mediocre."

Regarding other ninjutsu, he now needed only one hand sign to perform the Substitution Jutsu. When fully concentrated, he could even use ninjutsu without hand signs, making it extremely practical, even if the effectiveness was limited to before getting hit.

In terms of Wind Release, he took some time to master Vacuum Wave and its variations, such as Vacuum Sphere. He found that Vacuum Wave best demonstrates the cutting power of wind. While Vacuum Sphere focuses more on overall power.

With the cutting properties of wind, Vacuum Wave's destructive potential was terrifying. It had quickly become his most powerful offensive technique, even surpassing Rasengan in some aspects. However, Rasengan's advantage lies in its lack of hand signs and the ability to quickly form and strike, making each technique advantageous in different situations.

Regarding Lightning Release, he finally figured out how to use Chidori, but his use wasn't smooth.

Even though he could sense his opponent's position due to his heightened perception, Chidori was different from Flying Thunder God. The Flying Thunder God doesn't give the opponent any time to react, but Chidori, even with its speed, still gave the enemy some time to counter.

Natsuro tried using it, although his perception allowed him to know the opponent's position, the rapid speed of Chidori made it diffcult to adjust in time, even if he was able to adjust slightly it lead to over adjustments.

Nonetheless, even with these challenges, he could still use Chidori effectively. Though not perfect, he's mitigated its most critical flaws.

However, he wasn't satisfied with this. Although he had some ideas in mind but had not had the chance to experiment yet. Learning Chidori secretly, meant that until he got official permission, using it was unwise. Since he had plenty of other techniques, using Chidori wasn't a neccesity.

Lastly, there was Fire Release.

Yes, he had also learned some basic techniques. Even though he didn't have a fire affinity and his Fire Release wasn't as powerful as those with one. It really didn't matter. He only learned these to complement the toad summons' oil attacks. His role is mainly to ignite the oil, which he could do.

Of course, if his body develops a fire affinity over time with repeated use of Fire Release, that would be even better.

"Old man, old man, that old geezer has woken up!"

At this moment, Shima hurried over, shouting as she approached...

Check out the patreon and get 44 chapters ahead