Chapter 3

Training in chakra control and manipulation could take place in two locations: outdoors, if the weather was good, or in the training hall, if the weather outside was unfavorable. If there was a storm outside, no training sessions were held. If it was just cold, the teachers were happy to take us outside — for hardening, as they called it.

Whether this was effective or not, it was hard for me to say. But it was clear and understandable that the students were getting used to it. Today's weather was really good. Though the morning was a bit cool, the afternoon promised to be warm. The sun stood high in the sky and diligently tried to warm the earth before the onset of winter.

"Students, grab your leaves and sit down for training," said the teacher.

Demonstrating with his own experience, he was the first to pluck a small leaf from a tree and showed how he could control its movement. His leaf trembled, then began to glide across his body. It all looked so simple and natural that it wasn't even surprising.

"Now it's your turn again," he said, and the leaf continued to twirl around his body.

We all took our leaves, sat down, and tried to do something. Of course, most of us didn't succeed very well. But many could already mix spiritual and physical energies, creating chakra. I could do that too, but my problem was that my skills were inherited from the past Suzuki, who couldn't boast of large reserves of physical and spiritual energy. For me, it's different.

I have an enormous amount of spiritual energy, and I understand that perfectly. As soon as I slightly closed my eyes and focused on my inner self, I felt not just a large amount of spiritual energy but a gigantic and incomprehensible reserve. At the same time, I had very little physical energy. This will be difficult, but there are options.

My first attempts to create chakra by mixing spiritual and physical energies failed, as did the second and third. Taking a deep breath and exhaling, I focused even harder and took different proportions of spiritual and physical energies. After that, I started to succeed at something.

Maintaining a mental focus on the task, I began to move balls of chakra through my chakra system. We had studied it in one of the lessons. Suzuki had listened to it and memorized it very carefully. So now I have a basic understanding of what it is and how it works. The sensations from the chakra were strange, but it was unexpectedly pleasant to feel as if something was stroking you inside along some invisible paths. Besides this, it is important to be able to maintain this chakra and finally learn to automatically perform the process of mixing spiritual and physical energies, not just during meditations.

I don't think the skill of mixing is difficult because we use it every day. With such training, this skill becomes so habitual that you don't even think about it. You don't think about it until some problems arise.

My first progress in moving the leaf appeared towards the end of the lesson. It began to move very slowly, following the flow of chakra. The chakra flow itself was weak and intermittent, indicating very poor control of this energy.

"End of the lesson," the teacher clapped his hands.

This caused many students to have spontaneous chakra bursts, sending the leaves flying far to the side. The students began to get up. Some looked exhausted, like squeezed lemons, while others seemed as if nothing had happened. The best in chakra control among us was Neji. He managed to move the leaf calmly over his body, not particularly worried about it flying away.

Getting up, I felt a slight dizziness in my head, and then I swayed a little to the side. At the last moment, I managed to keep from falling to the ground. It was unexpected and somewhat unpleasant.

After this, the students didn't have much strength or desire to do anything, but the teacher had completely different plans. We moved a little to the side, and he said:

"And now, as you probably already understand, we will move on to the practical part of the lesson. I believe that in a healthy body — there is a healthy spirit."

Physical development is one of the main pillars of any shinobi's strength. Without this, it is impossible to become truly strong and join the elite. A strong shinobi is not necessarily large in body size. No. Very often, they do not differ much from all the others, but as soon as you encounter them, all their strength becomes visible and understandable.

Sometimes there may be a situation where there's little chakra, but you need to survive somehow. That's when good physical condition can play an incredibly significant role. Then many begin to thank their teachers for forcing them to engage in physical training.

After spending a lot of physical energy due to our poor chakra control, there is an opportunity to push your body a little further and higher than seems possible. In such a case, it is not the most pleasant activity.

Suzuki's physical weakness did not particularly stand out against the background of other clanless children. This gave a sense of some comfort and security. But this feeling is false because all clan students have greater endurance, and when we are already breathing heavily and trying to catch our breath, they can still continue as if they hadn't even started. Hyuga outpaced everyone in this respect because he could keep running even when other clan members fell from exhaustion. Compared to him, the clanless students were like children.

So, my goal is to reach his level by the end of the school year or even try to surpass him. Of course, I don't know much about chakra and various techniques, just as I don't know much about physical development, but I suppose I just need to do exercises, primarily for endurance and agility.

In general, I need to run and run some more.

When all the students were already exhausted, the teacher continued the lesson. Next was the practice of throwing kunai.

"This is optional," he said. "If you can't stand, then rest. You can train during tomorrow's morning session."

The clanless and even some clan students sighed with relief. There was no need to strain and exhaust themselves further. But I understand that this is faulty thinking. So, forcing myself and overcoming the pain in my muscles, I got up.

Grabbing kunai, I joined Neji, Tenten, the Yamanaka twins, and the girl from the Nara clan. They were the most resilient and didn't need a long rest after such a run. Throwing kunai is quite a relaxing and even somewhat meditative exercise. Throwing kunai, one after another, then going to retrieve them, and then throwing again.

While the others rested, we all continued to work on improving our own skills... and I turned out to be the worst among them all. Of course, none of the students who were throwing kunai said a word to me.

"Suzuki," the teacher addressed me. "You are applying too much force when you throw. There's nothing wrong with that, but first and foremost, you need to develop the correct throwing technique. After that, you can modify it as you see fit."

"Yes, teacher," I nodded.

I will try to control my movements and throws. I spent half an hour on this, but so far there were no significant improvements. I'll have to work on this too. So much needs to be done, and there are only twenty-four hours in a day.

After the throws, we resumed physical exercises, but this time it wasn't just running, but sprinting with squats, push-ups, and jumps. And so it went on for several dozen minutes. After two minutes, the clanless students, including myself, began to lag behind. The students lacked endurance and the desire to continue.

"I need to keep going," I muttered to myself and tried to keep running.

My breathing was completely off. My lungs burned a bit, and my side ached. But I ignored it and continued doing what I had to. The clan students had long since gone ahead, but I paid no attention to that. Mentally, I forced myself to keep moving, no matter how slow it was or how bad I felt.

Then the lesson ended, and the students started heading home. With trembling hands and equally trembling legs, I made my way home. No one was home yet because my parents were at work. I quickly cleaned myself up and headed to one of the Academy's training grounds. I will train there to quickly get myself into the necessary shape.

I started with a run, then moved on to other physical exercises that I knew from my previous life in another world. My body felt weak, sometimes sending signals to my brain like, "What are you doing? Stop torturing me!"

Ignoring these signals, I continued repeating the exercises one after another. To diversify the training, I began practicing chakra control, trying to improve the movement of the leaf. Of course, I didn't manage to achieve success on the first day. After chakra training, I returned to physical exercises, noticing that the sun was slowly starting to set behind the horizon.

Returning home, I surprised my parents with my condition.

"What happened to you?" my mother asked.

"I was training," I replied calmly. "I realized that in some areas, I've fallen behind the other students."

"Is it that serious?" my father asked, looking at me with great concern in his eyes.

"Not exactly very serious," I replied. "But the clan students have long since advanced in many skills."

"If you want, I can hire you a tutor," my father offered.

"Thank you, Dad," I replied. "But it's not necessary for now. I just need to train every day, like today."

"Alright," my father nodded with slight respect. "If you need anything, you will come and tell us. Agreed?"

"Yes," I nodded. "If I need anything, I'll let you know."

My mom remained silent at that moment, as she had nothing to say on the matter, and simply asked:

"Will you always come home like this now?"

"Possibly," I replied.

"Then be careful, and if anything happens, go to your sensei immediately."

This advice was useful because I really shouldn't forget about such a resource as my teacher. He definitely has a lot of knowledge and skills that he can pass on to us, his students at the Academy, or simply direct us to where these skills can be acquired.

In my room, I sat down with the study materials that I had but never opened all this time. It was evident by the clean pages and scrolls that didn't have any smell. If the scroll were to ask me right now, "Dear, where have you been?" I would burn it.

The morning greeted me with cold light penetrating through the curtains and aches in every limb of my body. From my toes, rising up through my battered muscles, to the back of my head—every joint and muscle made itself known. Getting up from the soft, cloud-like bed, which seemed to invite me to stay, was not appealing at all, but my goal and desire to develop called me forward. Rising and taking a few steps on the cold floor, it felt as if someone had pumped my body with thick, viscous oil. It felt like this oil was slowly flowing under my skin, creating a sensation of heaviness with each movement.

Turning on the hot water, I felt the steam begin to fill the bathroom, enveloping me in its warm embrace. The sound of the water hitting the tiles was soothing, and I gradually started to come to life, feeling the warmth seep into my tired muscles. The pain, though slightly eased by the hot water, still seemed to mock me in the corner of my mind, promising to return as soon as I stepped out of the shower. And I was absolutely sure of this, anticipating the inevitable return of discomfort after such a brief respite.

"Good morning," said I slowly.

"Good morning, sweetie," Mom replied, turning to me with a warm smile. Her hands were busy preparing breakfast, and the aroma of freshly baked pancakes spread from the kitchen. The morning sun shone brightly behind her, making the kitchen particularly cozy. She was cooking again, and I could hear the light sizzling of the pan and the melodic bubbling of the kettle. "How are you feeling?"

"It could be worse," I replied. "I could be feeling nothing at all."

"Hmm," my father grunted and simply shook his head. "Everything hurts?"

"Yes," I answered him. "But I think after a few more days like this, the pain will go away."

My father nodded and didn't pursue the conversation further.

Today started with a geography lesson about the Land of Fire and continued with chakra control theory. We received information in doses because we could only remember a certain amount at a time. Then it was lunchtime, after which we went back to chakra control training.

"This time you should try adding a second leaf," the teacher said. He attached two leaves to his forehead and then began to slowly move them around his body. The students watched this with great interest. I still had a long way to go to reach that level. "Try it."

We started with great enthusiasm, which quickly began to wane. I barely managed to handle one leaf, let alone two. In general, before I start working with two leaves, I should learn to manage one properly.

Then there were physical training sessions, which began with a run until all the students were on the ground, followed by practicing martial arts kata. Neji, who practiced the Hyuga clan style, was also training in the general group. It was quite interesting because I thought that if his clan had a more advanced style, it would be much more beneficial for him to practice it specifically.

I have some experience in martial arts from my past, as I trained for several months in different sections, but that's far from enough to be considered a martial arts master. I am very far from that prestigious title.

"Ha-a!" I exhaled, feeling the fatigue accumulating more and more in my body. Of course, a warmed-up body copes quite well with the pain from training.

"Excellent work," the teacher nodded after the students had fallen to the ground from exhaustion for the second time. Of course, many didn't want to do this because they were lazy. "Now I want us to proceed to sparring practice."

At this moment, a short woman, also one of the Academy's teachers, joined us. She gave all the students a slightly skeptical look and then silently waited for us to finally start our sparring.

"Is everyone ready?" the teacher asked us.

"Yes, Ichigo-sensei," came the unanimous reply. The students were ready to work with each other a bit.

"Excellent," he nodded. "Then I will call out names in turn, and you will come forward. Remember the gesture of respect."

Neji was the first to come forward against some clanless guy. The latter tried to do something, but he couldn't do anything against our class genius. Neji simply and unpretentiously intercepted the strike, swept the guy's legs, and threw his opponent over his back. The opponent landed painfully on the ground, hitting it so hard that his jaw clicked.

That looked painful. I wouldn't want to land like that.

"Next. Suzuki Grandvitara and Ayame Nara."

I stepped onto the field and waited for the girl from the Nara clan to join me. I could already sense that I was about to get beaten. Well, that's nothing new for me. I just need to be careful with her.

The girl looked quite plain, but it was already clear that she was growing into a rather pretty young woman. She tilted her head slightly, as if studying me and waiting for me to make the first move. Placing one hand in a gesture of respect, I bowed. Ayame responded in kind and took a step back, increasing the distance between us.

So, she's giving me the chance to attack first, planning to act defensively. Overall, I see no problem with this, so let's proceed.

I took a step forward and attempted a straight punch, right out of boxing. The style we were learning also had such moves, but they weren't considered particularly effective because shinobi have techniques and other arts. Nara calmly stepped toward me, assuming a somewhat unusual stance. With a light, circular motion, she intercepted my strike. Grabbing my wrist, Nara yanked my arm toward her. I followed through, noticing at the last moment how her sharp knee was about to strike my ribs. Quick and unexpected.

I then intentionally began to fall, narrowly avoiding her knee. Rolling and getting onto all fours, I tried to back away. Nara wasn't fast enough, so I managed to dodge her heel aimed at my back.

"Phew!" I exhaled, standing up and dusting myself off. "That was close."

"Don't expect to get lucky like that a second time," she said. "I won't fall for that trick again."

"Of course you won't," I agreed. "You're a Nara."

"Hey!" she exclaimed with mild irritation.

A second later, she rushed toward me. She moved quite quickly. I barely dodged her swift punch and then put up a block. Her heavy kick landed right on my arms. Painful.

Failing to break my defense, she continued her attack. Somehow, she executed a feint with one leg, then the other landed directly on my jaw. The hit was so painful that it knocked me out for a moment.

As I landed, I felt the grass and dirt on my teeth. Getting up, I pressed my hand to my jaw, feeling the pain slowly intensifying. A woman approached me and leaned down. Her hand glowed with a green light. She touched my jaw, and I immediately felt the pain begin to subside.

Oh, right, I remembered. This woman is one of the medics who work at the Academy and always treat students if they get any injuries. The most common injuries are fractures, followed by cuts. There aren't many other types of injuries among the students, though I'm sure that in real shinobi life they face too many different problems to be prepared for everything.

"Thank you," I said to the medic.

She just nodded and returned to her place, waiting for someone else to get a fracture or another serious injury.

"How are you?" Ayame asked me when I had fully recovered.

"Could be better," I replied, shrugging. "But I'm okay."

"You just positioned yourself so perfectly that I couldn't resist," she said. "Sorry again."

"Ah," I waved my hand dismissively. "It's my own fault. I'll be more careful next time."

"We'll see," she chuckled and returned to her clanmate, who had somehow already managed to fall asleep.

Well, fine. I continued to carefully watch the other students, who were either getting hit or winning. Overall, the students were given the opportunity to train and improve their own skills. Ichigo-sensei had been quite smart in pairing talented and particularly troublesome students against strong opponents who could overwhelm them with their experience or skills.

After that, we were all dismissed, allowing us to reflect on our own mistakes and understand how we could become better. I headed home, cleaned myself up, and then returned to the training ground for another day of practice. Physical training alternated with chakra control exercises and then back to physical training. So far, there wasn't any significant progress, but I know that you can't expect it on the first or second day.

Returning home and talking with my parents, I then went to study the theoretical material that had accumulated. I think that in a few months, I'll be able to catch up with the average clan classmates in terms of knowledge and chakra control. For martial arts skills, I'll need to train to reach the level of an average clan member, but I believe that with constant hard work and practice, I can catch up to them.

My advantage over all the other students was my large reserve of spiritual energy. This should give me the opportunity to gain an edge in learning techniques and grow faster in the future. But I still have to reach that point.