Chapter 7

The surface walking technique consists of several levels of difficulty. The first level is learning to move using chakra on horizontal, solid surfaces. This includes general chakra manipulation to enhance the body while running, as well as for jumps to cover greater distances in a short time.

Training at this stage was difficult because I had to consciously use chakra while walking on the ground, running, or doing other activities. Everything was several times harder, but with each day of practice and extended chakra usage, I got better and better. Now I no longer hit my head on the ceiling from standing up too quickly.

In the first days, this would happen. Running with chakra is much more convenient and enjoyable. Of course, a different stance is needed. Hands relaxed and slightly thrown back. In this format of movement, you can quickly draw a kunai or shuriken and throw it or parry an enemy attack. Convenient, overall.

The second stage is much more difficult because incorrect execution can result in bruises or, in the worst case, fractures. This stage teaches how to climb a tree, how to stay on it without falling, and how to move around. It's the most challenging stage, and I had to give my all to reach the ability to calmly climb vertically up a tree.

My chakra control, which grew not by days but by hours due to these exercises, helped me understand and perform all these movement techniques better and faster. I know they will become part of my shinobi life. I see the first two techniques used by shinobi every day. This is especially noticeable when they move quickly, jumping across rooftops, walls, and surrounding trees.

The third stage is standing and moving on water surfaces. This is a slightly safer method of movement if you know how to swim. I can swim and am not afraid of water. When I started this stage, I came home wet every day, like some kind of fish, but it was still a wonderful and very useful skill. Walking is the simplest part of this stage if you can move well enough on walls and trees. It becomes more challenging when you need to jump on water. You need to compensate for your weight and inertia to avoid sinking. Even more difficult are flips on the water, but constant training makes achieving good balance on water a matter of time.

For now, I had enough time, so I progressed, honing these skills. To complicate things a bit more, I started practicing Academy techniques while moving on water or some wall. This immediately increased the difficulty, but it also gave a good boost to my overall development and chakra control improvement.

It seems to me that at the moment, among my classmates, I have the best control, which is already a reason to be proud. My training in movement techniques hasn't become particularly well-known among the other students. Of course, maybe someone knows something, has seen or noticed, but no one approached me to discuss it, no one asked for help mastering any of these skills. And I'm not going to impose myself on others because I understand well that unless they really need it, any offers of help will be met with resistance, or I'll be blamed for something later. I don't see any point in this at this stage of life.

My taijutsu skills were also growing, but still couldn't compare to Neji's. He still defeated me. Although sparring with him was no longer as easy as in the early days, I couldn't manage to beat him. This allowed the younger Hyuga to look at me with a kind of disdainful smirk.

After one of these sparrings, where I lost again and was trying to get up, he said to me:

"Give it up. If you don't have talent, you'll never reach the heights of others. Better do something else. You're weak."

Only Ichigo-sensei, who had been training me all this time, heard this. He knew that in practice sparrings, I didn't use chakra or any movement techniques, unlike sparring with him. But sensei said nothing and just shook his head.

For any student, such words could lead to two different paths. He could quit training or try to overcome the words spoken and take revenge. It didn't affect me at all. Because yes, I understand that I'm not up to his skill level, but... you have to look at everything, not just one fight or fights with the same person. I'm already in second place in taijutsu among all the students in our class, only lagging behind Neji. And at the beginning of the school year, I was very far from such results.

But oh well.

"Don't think to much about Neji's words," Ichigo told me during another sparring session.

"I'm not," I shrugged. "To reach his level, I'll just need to put in even more effort. But... that doesn't mean I don't have other strengths."

"That's the right way to think," the teacher relaxed a bit. "By the way, your movement techniques are coming along nicely. What stage are you at now? The third?"

"Well," I began to draw out, thinking how to say it. "Yes, the third stage, but I've started training to perform academy techniques while using movement techniques simultaneously."

"Oh?" Ichigo was surprised. "Is that so? Maybe you can demonstrate them for me? Then we can start learning genjutsu?"

"Yes, sensei, let me show you what I've achieved."

Without much thought, I jumped onto a tree branch about six meters off the ground. It was thick, solid, and very sturdy. I began to walk around it slowly. At one point, I was hanging completely upside down. After a few more steps, I returned to the initial position and started walking down the trunk, descending. Near the ground, I paused. I looked at the teacher and started climbing back up.

Almost reaching the top, I leaped to the next tree, then to a third and fourth. Looking back, I returned and ran down to the ground.

"Good," he nodded. "Can you demonstrate the use of an academy technique?"

"Yes, sensei."

Jumping back onto the tree, I began to move and formed several hand seals. Already in the air, two illusionary clones formed beside me, mirroring my movements. I landed on a branch, made three strikes in the air, and then jumped back to the branch where I had started.

"Excellent, excellent," the teacher said, also jumping onto the branch. "Follow me. I want to see the third stage."

"Yes, sensei."

We moved slowly along the branches, sometimes jumping onto rooftops, until we reached a small pond. The first experience of such movement was amazing. For a moment, I even felt like a true shinobi... Although, of course, I still need to pass the academy exams to become a shinobi in my own right.

Ichigo-sensei jumped onto the water and waited for me. I didn't need to be asked twice.

With a sharp movement, I also landed on the water. I quickly regained my balance and looked at the sensei. He nodded and started walking on the water. I began to follow his movements.

"Alright, now let's spar," he said.

I jumped forward and pushed off the water again. A kick that the teacher calmly blocked. Then I pushed off with my other foot, using chakra, and flipped over the teacher. Landing, I crossed my arms and barely held back from a powerful kick. My feet slid across the water, but I still hadn't fallen through.

The sensei began attacking himself. A quick exchange of blows. They were all heavier than during sparring on the ground. Because of this, I started missing them and trying to dodge more. It seems taijutsu on water is not the same as taijutsu on land. Good thing I realized this now, not later.

A few hand seals, and illusionary clones appeared beside me again. Together we attacked, but the sensei, already familiar with my tactics and actions, easily dispelled the illusionary creations, and then with a skillful move, flipped me over, twisting my arm. According to his plan, I should have fallen into the water, but that didn't happen.

I rolled over and got up again.

"Good," he nodded. "Excellent demonstration of movement techniques. Let's head back to the Academy."

He jumped from the water straight onto a tree. I followed him, almost losing my balance at the last moment. It wouldn't have been great if I had fallen. Besides getting all my clothes wet, it would have shown that I didn't completely master this technique. Of course, I don't master it perfectly, and the teacher understands that... but still, it would have been unpleasant.

When we returned to the training ground near the Academy, Ichigo-sensei sat on a tree and started tapping it with his fingers.

"Alright, tomorrow I'll give you the scroll with genjutsu, but now I want you to experience it yourself."

"What?" I was surprised.

Our eyes met, and then I felt a cold and unpleasant stream of foreign chakra invade my chakra circulation system around my head. In one second, everything around me started to blur with colors. The ground also seemed unstable. I felt like I was being swallowed by quicksand. In my previous life, I knew well that too much movement in quicksand was bad. After that, I lost my sense of personal orientation. I started swaying from side to side, and the space around me blurred even more. I felt like I was standing somewhere not on solid ground. This is what it feels like when someone uses the Mist Genjutsu on you. Now I understand.

But... it felt like I could easily break its influence. I continued to feel the manipulation of my own chakra using foreign chakra. It was somewhat strange, like thousands of tiny bugs crawling inside my body. And to get rid of them, I just had to wish it. But I didn't do it, instead remembering how the teacher controlled this genjutsu. At one point, all these "bugs" disappeared, but my chakra in my head still moved as directed, leaving me inside the genjutsu.

The space around continued to spread and stretch. I felt someone touch me, and then the teacher's chakra burst into my channels, creating slight chaos. The genjutsu dispelled, and I realized I was lying on the ground, my body aching a bit.

"Ohhh," I groaned, starting to stretch.

"Well? How was it?" he asked with a smirk.

"Interesting, to be honest," I replied after a moment of thought. "How much time passed?"

"Two seconds," he chuckled.

"It felt longer," I was surprised. "Amazing."

"Heh," the teacher chuckled, pleased. It was clear he appreciated such praise for his skills, even from a student. "Alright, think about everything you felt, and tomorrow I'll give you the scroll with new information."

"Thank you, Ichigo-sensei," I thanked the teacher. Another tool that could help me survive in a difficult situation.

Returning home, I decided to relax a bit. Several weeks of active work, day after day, without breaks or weekends, had allowed me to grow significantly in strength. But sometimes, you also need to rest. This should be one of those days.

"Don't you have training today?" my mother asked, noticing that I was just lying on the couch doing nothing.

"Yes, today is a rest day," I replied. "Tomorrow, back to training."

"That's good," she nodded. "Can you bring some buns over to Minako-san?"

"Alright," I nodded. "No problem."

My mother quickly handed me several large boxes of buns. On the sides, there were a few symbols suggesting wishes for a good afterlife.

"Did something happen to Minako-san?" I asked with slight surprise.

Minako Kurihara was a close friend of my mother, with two sons. Her younger son became a genin a few years ago, and her older son ran a small carpentry business. They weren't doing exceptionally well, but they were getting by.

"Yes," my mother sighed. "Kinko died on a mission."

"Really? That's very sad."

Kinko was the name of her younger son who became a shinobi. Death always goes hand in hand with the life of any warrior in our village. I don't have a particular reverence for loyalty to the village, but becoming a traitor would not be the smartest decision in my life, especially since I'm not even a genin yet. I wonder what caused his death?

Taking the boxes, I headed towards the Kurihara family's house. With my developing shinobi abilities, carrying a few boxes was no problem. The Kurihara house looked entirely in mourning. Black ribbons, symbols of death, and other signs hinted at what had happened.

The woman didn't look well. It was clear she was in deep mourning and didn't want to talk much. After handing her the boxes, I bowed and returned home. My mother gave me a few bills and let me do whatever I wanted. And what I wanted was to rest and do nothing.

Collapsing onto the bed, I closed my eyes and let my mind relax. Sleep came almost instantly, sending my brain into a reset.

I woke up the next morning with a pleasant feeling of relaxation and rest. After breakfast, I quickly went to the Academy, where everything was the same as on previous days. I listened carefully to what the teachers wanted to convey. But... I was looking forward to meeting Ichigo-sensei, who would bring me several scrolls on genjutsu. That's what was on my mind now.

After classes, I started waiting for the teacher. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a brooding boy from the junior class walking calmly somewhere. On his back was the symbol of the extinct Uchiha clan. I don't know what happened, but they just vanished one day. There were all sorts of rumors: about some demons, about death that looked into this world. And now... only one person remained among the living—Uchiha Sasuke. Was he one of Naruto Uzumaki's friends or not? I don't remember. There are rumors in the Academy about him being another genius student who could rival Neji. Whether that's true or not, I don't know.

"Waiting?" Ichigo-sensei asked me.

"Yes, sensei," I replied.

"Heh," he chuckled. "Here are a few scrolls on genjutsu. We'll be working on the Mist Genjutsu technique."

"Great!" I replied with a pleased smile. "Thank you very much."

"There are a few rules you must follow," he began, drawing all my attention again. "Ready to write them down? It's best if you do."

I pulled out a small notebook and prepared a pencil.

"First rule: practicing genjutsu on Academy students is forbidden," he raised one finger.

That makes sense. No one wants a student practicing technique on other students without the supervision of teachers and mentors. Anything could happen... panic, loss of self, or even psychosis. Having already experienced genjutsu, I know that an unprepared mind can be led very far and deep. No one needs those problems.

"Second rule," he continued. "Practicing genjutsu on ordinary villagers is forbidden."

He showed a second finger. This also makes sense and is right.

"Third rule: do not use genjutsu on other shinobi without their permission," he showed a third finger. "This can be considered an attack, which could lead to unpleasant consequences for you. If you have permission, then there are no problems."

I also wrote this down in my notebook.

"It is forbidden to teach genjutsu to other Academy students without the permission of the teachers," he said, showing a fourth finger. "Be careful with genin as well, but most likely no one will approach you for training. This technique is available to everyone from the rank of genin and above."

"Got it," I nodded. That also sounds very logical.

"There are no other such rules," he said. "You will train and practice this technique during our sparring sessions on me. When I understand that you feel comfortable with this technique, I will invite another Academy teacher to give his final verdict. Understand?"

"Yes, I understand, Ichigo-sensei."

"Any questions?" he asked.

"Not at the moment, but after I study the scrolls, something might come up," I replied, looking over the study materials. "In general, can I practice genjutsu somehow?"

"Not right now," he answered. "Study the theory, then we'll work together, and when I say so... then you can try it. Maybe you'll manage something."

"Alright," I replied. "Thank you, Ichigo-sensei."

"It's nothing," he waved his hand, "you are like a young leaf that will one day shield the tree of our village from the dangerous outside world. It's in my interest to give you as many opportunities, chances, and tools for protection as possible... especially since you strive for this yourself."

I just smiled. Without saying anything, I made a deep, grateful bow.

"Alright, now it's time for sparring," he said with a smile. "Today, it will be without using spiritual energy."

"Understood, teacher."