Tsunade's break only lasted three days.
After just three days of rest, she said goodbye to Hajime and returned to the battlefield.
After seeing her off, Hajime thought for a moment, then created a Wood Clone to find Nawaki, who was playing outside with his friends, and brought him to a quiet, secluded clearing.
"Big Bro Hajime, are you going to teach me a powerful jutsu ahead of schedule?" Nawaki asked eagerly once the clone left.
Hajime nodded. "Yes, I wanted to teach you in advance. Your sister mentioned that after graduation, you'll be training under Orochimaru."
Nawaki scratched his head, looking a bit embarrassed.
Hajime smiled. "Don't worry about that. But you need to be ready—what I'm about to teach you isn't easy to learn."
Nawaki nodded vigorously. "Let's start!"
Hajime extended his right hand, and a Rasengan formed in his palm.
Nawaki's eyes widened. "Whoa… What strong chakra!"
"So this is the Rasengan!"
Hajime explained, "Look at this chakra sphere—and the name I gave this jutsu. One of the core principles is chakra rotation."
Nawaki nodded rapidly, then frowned in thought. "Getting chakra to rotate… that's hard."
Hajime dispersed the Rasengan and crouched down.
Nawaki quickly crouched opposite him.
Hajime used a stick to draw a spiral in the dirt. "You recognize this, right?"
Nawaki nodded. "Big Bro Hajime, are you saying chakra has to rotate like this?"
Hajime shook his head. "That's just part of it."
"The most important part is…" He tapped the center of the spiral with the stick. "Right here!"
"Nawaki, how did the Academy teach you to focus and extract chakra?"
Nawaki answered quickly, "Stick a leaf on your forehead..."
Then realization struck. "You mean… chakra rotation also has to focus toward the center?"
Hajime smiled. "Exactly."
He dropped the stick and led Nawaki to the riverbank.
Boom!
Hajime stomped his foot, causing the ground to sink and form a pit.
Nawaki blinked at the sight. "You're not any weaker than Sis!"
Then Hajime weaved hand signs, and a stream of water surged from the river and filled the pit in front of him.
As Nawaki watched with curiosity, Hajime stirred the water in the pit with his hand, creating a vortex.
"Big Bro, is chakra supposed to rotate like this whirlpool?" Nawaki asked.
Hajime didn't answer immediately. He let go and said, "Look at the center of the whirlpool and the state of the water as it spins."
Nawaki examined it closely and scratched his head. "The center of the vortex is hollow, and the water..."
Hajime, seeing he couldn't put it into words, explained, "You already understood that Rasengan requires chakra to focus on a single point."
"But if you just spin the chakra, it's like this whirlpool—hollow at the center, and the energy spreads outward."
"That means the power gets dispersed, weakening the effect and making it unstable."
"If there weren't a pit here, the water would've scattered everywhere."
Nawaki nodded, thinking aloud. "But even if chakra rotates around a center, won't it still spread outward over time?"
Hajime smiled and nodded. "Correct. That's centrifugal force."
Nawaki quickly asked, "Then how do we fix that?"
Hajime stood up and took Nawaki to a large tree. Raising his right hand, he formed a Rasengan and pressed it into the tree trunk.
Wood chips flew, and air currents swirled violently.
Nawaki shielded his face, but his eyes stayed locked on the sight as the Rasengan slowly drilled through the tree.
"Look," Hajime pointed to the hole left behind in the trunk.
Nawaki hurried over to examine it. He saw the spiral grooves. "The rotational force—the centrifugal force you mentioned—that's part of the Rasengan's power."
Hajime nodded. "Exactly. That's why the chakra in a Rasengan can't spin in just one direction. It has to rotate in multiple directions simultaneously."
"It may look chaotic, but that combination actually compresses the chakra toward a single point."
"The more it's compressed, the stronger the outward tension becomes, and the more destructive the spin."
"So, the power of the Rasengan depends on your chakra volume and how much force you can control."
As he spoke, Hajime raised his hand, palm facing up.
Buzz!
Air vibrated and spun as a Rasengan formed—then rapidly grew under Nawaki's shocked gaze.
The Rasengan, which was previously only the size of a fist, now expanded to the size of a millstone.
"A-Amazing!" Nawaki gasped, trembling with excitement.
This jutsu is so cool!
Hajime dispersed the jutsu. "That was the Big Ball Rasengan."
"Alright, I think you now have a solid understanding of what the Rasengan is about. Time to begin actual training."
This was already his third time teaching the Rasengan, so his teaching experience was well-polished.
A Wood Clone arrived, carrying water balloons—Hajime began the standard training regimen.
Judging from earlier, Nawaki's talent wasn't quite on par with Minato's—he would definitely go through more water balloons and rubber balls.
However, compared to Kushina Uzumaki, Nawaki was clearly stronger.
In the following days of training, his progress indeed outpaced Kushina's.
On the first day, he successfully burst the water balloon—a result not just of his slightly better talent, but also due to the improved teaching method developed by Hajime.
By the third day, Nawaki managed to rupture the rubber ball.
…
In the Forest of Death, beneath a large tree, Hajime sat with eyes lowered, calmly absorbing natural energy as he attempted to produce senjutsu chakra.
Suddenly, his legs began to transform—turning to wood.
Nearby, a Wood Clone holding a wooden staff immediately struck him on the head.
Startled, Hajime snapped out of his trance, ceased absorbing natural energy, and quickly refined the energy already inside him into senjutsu chakra. The wood-like transformation on his legs vanished at once.
"Sage Mode really is hard to master…"
Hajime sighed.
This was despite being enhanced by his [Total Concentration] state, which gave him incredibly precise control over his power.
Even so, once natural energy entered the body, it became extremely difficult to control before it was refined into senjutsu chakra.
There was no way to immediately refine all the absorbed natural energy. And if you failed to do so in time, it would start eroding your body.
Absorbing natural energy wasn't like breathing—it didn't simply enter through the mouth or nose. Instead, it passed through every part of the body.
Of course, it was difficult…
But Hajime was confident that he could gradually master it step by step.
It would just take time.
"Maybe I should find a better technique," he murmured.
The Wood Clone suggested, "Something like chakra refinement techniques?"
Hajime nodded thoughtfully. "You're right, we need a shortcut. Just powering through like this is too inefficient."
"The problem lies in the lack of control over natural energy and the body's low resistance to it."
"But I've noticed… my body seems to be adapting more and more to it."
The Wood Clone replied, "Makes sense. Otherwise, someone like Jūgo wouldn't exist."
"Humans—or life itself—naturally adapt and change to suit their environment."
Hajime nodded. After a moment, he said, "Maybe I can refine senjutsu chakra in layers."
The Wood Clone immediately understood: "Start refining the moment natural energy touches your skin—once you've formed a protective layer of senjutsu chakra on the surface, your skin can resist further erosion."
"Then work deeper, layer by layer—muscles, cells, and so on…"
Hajime smiled. "Exactly!"
"Let's test it out!"
He closed his eyes and once again began to absorb natural energy.
As soon as the flow started, like opening a floodgate, natural energy from all around surged into him.
The moment it touched his skin, Hajime combined it with his physical and spiritual energy, refining it into senjutsu chakra.
It worked—smoothly.
Then came the next layer.
But before long, Hajime couldn't keep up. The incoming natural energy began to overflow and corrode his body again, triggering wood-like transformation.
Another knock from the clone brought him back to his senses. But Hajime wasn't discouraged.
"The method works. I just need more practice."
"Again! Let's keep going!"
With lowered eyes, Hajime resumed his training—again and again being knocked on the head by his Wood Clone before the transformation could go too far.
On the other side—
With another Wood Clone accompanying him, Nawaki gritted his teeth and continued his own training, trying to rupture the rubber ball in all directions rather than just puncturing one hole.
Compared to Minato, his training progress was slower.
But compared to Kushina, he was already much faster.
Meanwhile—
Kushina, currently on break, was under ANBU supervision as she quietly studied sealing techniques in her room.
During breaks, she occasionally thought about Hajime, who hadn't visited her in a while.
But soon, she would return to her sealing practice.
She hoped that when she saw Hajime again, she'd be able to teach him everything she'd learned.
"…I just don't know when I'll see him next."
The girl thought to herself, gazing absentmindedly out the window.
…
Back beneath the tree, Hajime trained tirelessly, completely immersed—before he realized it, night had already fallen.
Suddenly, the Wood Clone holding the staff narrowed its eyes. "Did it work?"
There, seated in meditation, markings began to appear on Hajime's face—the distinct face paint of Sage Mode.
It was identical to that of Hashirama Senju.
But soon, the clone noticed something strange—after the markings appeared, Hajime's skin also began to change.
"…What the?"
The clone froze.
Hajime's skin… was turning into something like aged tree bark.
So ugly!
The Wood Clone couldn't help but feel a little disgusted.
At that moment, Hajime opened his eyes and gently pressed down with his feet—the ground instantly sank, and even his shoes exploded off his feet.
"Sage Mode really is something else!"
He grinned from ear to ear.
The Wood Clone threw away the staff and reminded him, "You might want to take a look at yourself first."
Hajime quickly formed hand seals, performed a Water Release jutsu, and gazed at his reflection in a puddle under the moonlight—his expression froze.
Okay, so his control over senjutsu chakra… needed work.
He looked like he was on the same level as Jiraiya.
"Well, whatever. Ugly is ugly—power is what really matters. It's not like I need to look good while I'm in Sage Mode anyway."
Hajime quickly adjusted his mindset.
"How long can you maintain it?" the clone asked.
Hajime raised a hand and signaled the duration with his fingers.
(End of Chapter)
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