Naruto: The Scientific Ninja

Chapter 38: Balance Training

I really envy these three kids, Sasuke thought, watching Tekudō and the others train nearby. He sighed. Why couldn't I have had a dedicated and responsible chūnin captain like myself back in the day, someone to teach me and help me improve my strength?

Since he had developed his infrasonic radar and solved their security problem, the entire squad had entered a high-intensity training mode. Tekudō had finally mastered water walking, which had greatly improved his chakra control. He was now practicing a new tool manipulation ninjutsu, and his progress was good. He could be considered a low-tier chūnin combatant.

Chōmi, born a civilian, had average talent overall, but she had proven to have a gift for chakra control. Lacking any medical ninjutsu scrolls to give her, Sasuke could only have her continue to work on the fundamentals. He had her practice the only D-rank Lightning Style jutsu she knew until her chakra was almost completely exhausted, then had her begin the sharp-stone balance training.

This was an advanced chakra control exercise, a step beyond tree climbing and water walking. It seemed simple, but it was not easy. The user had to sit on a wooden board placed atop a sharply pointed stone and maintain perfect balance. It simulated the interference of complex terrain in a real battle, forcing the user to strengthen their ability to make emergency adjustments and thus improve their chakra control. It required an error rate of less than one percent in chakra distribution to succeed.

"I didn't expect this sharp-stone balance training to actually speed up chakra and physical recovery," Sasuke mused. Theoretically, it should consume energy, but he discovered that once mastered, sitting on the board and clearing one's mind could actually restore chakra and stamina about ten to twenty percent faster than normal. Over time, that was a considerable advantage.

Compared to the slow improvement of Tekudō and Chōmi, Ryo, born into the Inuzuka clan, had progressed by leaps and bounds. He could now easily control the B-rank ninjutsu, Man-Beast Hybrid Transformation: Two-Headed Wolf, and had become proficient with C and D-rank techniques like Fang Over Fang and the Four Legs Technique. He was now practicing Garōga.

Garōga, or Fang Wolf Fang, was an advanced version of Gatsūga. It was a B-rank offensive ninjutsu where he and Akimaru would combine to form a giant rotating cone with immense piercing power. Ryo's strength had now fully reached the chūnin level. Sometimes, you had to admit, a gifted bloodline was just that unreasonable.

"Garōga!"

Not far away, the chakras of Ryo and Akimaru intertwined into a spiral storm, piercing through a boulder like a black whirlwind of blades.

"He's improved again," Sasuke noted, his infrasonic radar having already exposed the principles of the secret technique to his perception. He now understood that the Inuzuka's mimicry techniques involved not just advanced transformation, but also the principles of Yang Release. If I had developed the infrasonic radar earlier, he thought with a twinge of bitterness, I wouldn't have needed to spend months mastering the Transformation Technique just to replicate the summon's abilities.

But then he reconsidered. If he hadn't worked so hard on the Transformation Technique, he never would have developed the ultrasonic radar from the water bats in the first place. And without that experience, how could he have developed the infrasonic radar from the tiger research data?

Just as he was lost in thought, a sharp cry came from the distance.

"Captain, watch out!"

Tekudō, like a six-armed Guanyin, unleashed a high-speed volley of kunai and shuriken. It was an exquisite display, predicting not just Sasuke's current position, but his next landing spot as well.

But against Sasuke's absolute intuition provided by his ultrasonic radar, it was useless. He easily dodged the attack.

"All of you, come at me together," Sasuke said, a mysterious "I want to fight ten people" impulse rising within him. It was a perfect chance to test the training results of his three subordinates, and at the same time, to suppress Tekudō's growing arrogance.

"Ryo, you're the main attacker. I'll be the auxiliary. Chōmi, you act according to the situation," Tekudō immediately took on the role of vice-captain and gave orders.

"Garōga!" Ryo and Akimaru used their ultimate move right from the start.

Faced with a B-rank ninjutsu, Sasuke could only dodge, using a basic Body Flicker to evade the attack.