Chapter 61

"Small? Then what would you call big?" I chuckled, obediently bowing and accepting the affection. "And it's better to practice Chidori now while I'm still here, to timely heal the burns from unsuccessful attempts. Though your control over the Raiton is higher than mine, you might not need assistance."

Considering that Ma never intended to abandon training with me, expanding her arsenal would benefit her and elevate her from being a middle-strength Jonin, as she currently is, to the category of Kunoichi, whom any opponent must reckon with. In fact, her limited repertoire of elemental jutsu had hindered her promotion to a full-fledged Jonin before the injury. Ignoring the long absence from practice, she could be placed at the upper B-rank level in the search book. And this is despite the fact that in my childhood, she barely reached the top of the C group. Training with Iryo-nin works wonders, and if Ma had a chakra reserve one and a half times larger, she would have easily transitioned to A-rank, alongside Linli, considered one of the best in the elite Jonin group. They're the same age, after all.

***

"Victory!!! Haha, hah..."

Breathing heavily and ignoring the blood dripping from a rather unpleasant wound on my forehead, as well as the body moaning in pain, I still couldn't believe that I had managed to win a fight against Mito Uzumaki for the first time in my life. But the proof was right before my eyes — the red-haired beauty wrapped in a cocoon of golden chains made of Yang chakra. Well, it was more due to surprise multiplied by a near-perfect knowledge of my capabilities, but the fact remains — I won!

"Maybe you could unwrap me now?" Mito irritably distracted me from savoring the victory.

"Huh? Of course!"

Obeying my wish, the chains loosened and began retracting into the bracelets on my arms. There's no point in wasting chakra unnecessarily — I still need to heal.

"I must admit, it was somewhat unexpected and effective even against me," the Kunoichi shook her head slightly in surprise. "Of course, such tactics won't work a second time, but now I'm sure you'll not only withstand serious opponents for some time but also seize the opportunity to escape before sustaining too heavy injuries."

"Or ambush with a similar outcome if the enemy underestimates me," I smirked, relieved as I flopped down on the ground and began treating numerous wounds as usual.

"Perhaps. By the way, how did you manage to release a dozen chains so quickly, considering not long ago your limit was two?" Uzumaki asked interestedly, sitting down next to me and dabbing the blood off my face with a cloth.

"I don't know why, but recently my control has been increasing much faster than before," I shrugged, tending to a rather unpleasant puncture wound from Kunai right above my knee. "What's strange is that I still have the same number of clones engaging in this training."

"Hmm, interesting..."

Mito pondered for a moment, while I returned to interrupted training.

"The only reason I can think of that fits your case is the balancing of energies produced in your source," Uzumaki suddenly said. "Yin and Yang have reached a balanced equilibrium, gradually increasing your chakra control. And you've also become noticeably better at concealing your reserves recently."

"Balanced equilibrium? Is that even possible?" I frowned. "I have doubts about that — with my huge reserve, aiming for excellent control like Iryo-nin is not something worth aiming for, just like everyone else in the clan."

I've got more interesting stuff on patreon (up to 140 chapter)

patreon.com/Chill76