Chapter 163: Exhaustion

Even the two people, Minato and his companion, who were just about to leave, stopped in their tracks and looked at Tōshirō with curiosity.

"Kakashi, the Lightning Release jutsu I'm giving you is called Chidori. Although it's powerful, the jutsu's shortcomings are quite apparent. If your dynamic vision and reflexes aren't excellent, you shouldn't use it lightly!"

"Otherwise, you could easily injure yourself!"

"Injure myself?"

"Yes. When this jutsu is executed, a large amount of high-density Lightning Release chakra gathers in your hand. Simultaneously, it stimulates lightning properties within you, causing you to burst forth with incredible speed. It's very likely that you won't be able to control the jutsu well and might end up hurting yourself instead."

Furrowing his brows slightly in thought, Kakashi nodded to Tōshirō, signaling that he understood. He had confidence in his speed and didn't take Tōshirō's words too seriously.

Seeing this, Tōshirō didn't say much more. With Kakashi's talent as the original creator of the technique, Tōshirō thought, there shouldn't be any major problems.

In his previous life, Tōshirō had always found one thing odd. Why was Chidori, with its obvious sound and visual effects, classified as a stealth assassination technique? But such small issues weren't worth overthinking. Right now, it was more critical to think about how to survive the cruel Third Ninja War.

Unlike Obito and Kakashi who had the luck to stay in the village of Konoha doing simple ninja missions, Tōshirō, already twelve years old, was truly beginning to face harsh front-line battles. If it weren't for his 'Mountain Recluse Technique,' he wouldn't even have this brief respite time.

Recent heavy casualties among his clan members on the front lines forced the Uchiha clan to send more ninjas over twelve to the harsh battlefields, and Tōshirō, who had awakened the Sharingan at the age of eight, inevitably matched this standard. It wouldn't make sense for someone like him not to be sent to the front.

"Ah! It really is... so relaxing!"

After just eating, Tōshirō didn't hurry home but instead went to the street with the hot springs to unwind. He needed a good relaxation session. Years of monotonous training and brutal battlegrounds had his nerves stretched to their limits. Taking rests appropriately would greatly alleviate his condition.

He didn't even train his Shadow Clones today, giving himself time to relax. Even though Shadow Clone training had many advantages, the fatigue would unknowingly accumulate, so he needed to allow himself these relaxation sessions periodically.

He had already increased the number of Shadow Clones for training from the previous single digits to more than twenty, three or four times higher than before. Unlike the past when chakra constraints limited his ability to make more clones, the addition of natural energy had removed this limitation.

However, his mental endurance capacity, which he hadn't paid much attention to, seriously limited his growth rate. Even with his Sharingan, maintaining over twenty clones for long periods posed a significant mental challenge.

When he dispelled the clones, he did it one by one. He had tried dispelling around twenty clones at once before. Despite being mentally prepared, he still fell asleep immediately and didn't wake up until the next afternoon, feeling utterly deflated and lethargic for the next three days.

Even Uchiha Mika noticed his state and wanted to check his condition, but he managed to evade her scrutiny. Given that he was on the front lines where anything could happen, such a lapse at a critical moment could mean the end for him.

He couldn't help but marvel at Naruto Uzumaki's sheer advantage. Born from the Uzumaki clan and being the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, his vast amount of chakra and immense mental energy were borderline unfair. Naruto could support a thousand Shadow Clones simultaneously, without any apparent fatigue—something that seemed almost impossible.

Tōshirō found himself puzzled and unable to comprehend this anomaly. He comforted himself by acknowledging that Naruto, being the protagonist, had his unique advantages, and he might find his own way suited to him.

At last, Tōshirō decided to look into fuinjutsu (sealing techniques)! If it were only about sealing memories and chakra, he could manage it himself. Years of training with Shadow Clones had greatly improved his skills, and coupled with the Uchiha family's collections, he could easily pull it off.

But simple sealing wasn't effective in the long term. Once the seals were lifted, all the fatigue and memories would surge back. He couldn't possibly seal them one at a time—that would be too costly.

He planned to explore uncharted territory, modifying existing fuinjutsu to open a small outlet. This way, the memories and fatigue accompanying the returning chakra would slowly drip back into his system, alleviating the problem.

Realizing this solution, Tōshirō couldn't help but applaud his own cleverness! However, when it came to implementation, he encountered substantial difficulties. Learning a complete sealing technique was already a significant challenge, even an S-rank technique wouldn't daunt him, thanks to his extensive theoretical knowledge.

But poking a 'hole' in a complete sealing technique while maintaining its effectiveness was much more complicated, surpassing a complete new development. Recently, he had lost untold amounts of hair over it without finding a proper solution.

Today, he ran into two sealing masters. Without much hope, he decided to ask for some insights. Thankfully, the exchange earlier didn't disappoint him.