Dawn on Myoboku's training ledge arrived with a brutal clarity. Jiraiya's definition of "drilling the basics" involved less instruction and more trial-by-searing-feedback. Kaito sat cross-legged on the smooth stone, the wind whipping his damp hair (courtesy of a pre-dawn ice-cold plunge Jiraiya insisted was "invigorating"), his focus entirely inward. The Nature Chakra Perception was now a constant hum at the edge of his senses. He could see the golden-green river of raw life-force swirling around him – in the steam rising from the hot spring, riding the mountain wind, pulsing deep within the rock itself. It was beautiful, terrifying, and utterly overwhelming.
"Focus, brat!" Jiraiya barked, circling him like a hawk. "Perception is step zero! Now, gathering. Thread by thread. Remember the balance point? Find it. Hold it. Don't force the river into a teacup!"
Kaito inhaled, syncing his breath with the mountain's deep pulse. He released a tiny stream of his own blue chakra, letting it radiate gently from his core to his outstretched palm. He reached out with his perception, not grabbing, but inviting. A shimmering thread of wild, golden-green energy drifted closer, drawn by the steady resonance of his own energy. It touched his palm. The moment of harmony – the perfect, fragile equilibrium – sparked. << Nature Chakra Gathering (Basic) >> He held it… for two heartbeats. Then, the wild nature chakra twitched, the balance shattered, and a jolt of chaotic energy snapped back up his arm. << HP: 53/100 >> He gasped, muscles seizing.
"Too rigid!" Jiraiya snapped. "It's a dance, not a statue! Flow with it! Again!"
He tried. Again. And again. Each attempt mirrored the first: a fleeting moment of harmony shattered by the inherent volatility of the nature chakra or his own minute lapse in concentration. The feedback jolts were cumulative, draining his stamina and chipping away at his HP. << Stamina: 40/80 >> << Chakra: 40/50 >> << HP: 50/100 >> Sweat plastered his hair to his forehead, mixing with the lingering mineral scent from the spring.
'Harmony… flow…' He pushed through the fatigue, the pain. He recalled the feeling from the hot spring – the quiet resolve, the beacon of purpose. He released his chakra, radiating calm determination. A thread of nature chakra responded, drifting closer. Touched. Balanced. Held… for three heartbeats this time. He felt the exhilarating potential, the raw power humming at his fingertips. 'More… I need more…' Driven by desperation and a flicker of hope, he instinctively reached for a second thread of nature chakra while trying to maintain the first.
DISASTER.
The fragile balance imploded. The first thread, destabilized by his divided focus, recoiled violently. The second thread, drawn by his sudden surge of uncontrolled will, slammed into his chakra stream like a rogue wave. Nature chakra, raw and untamed, surged into him, bypassing the delicate external harmony point.
<< WARNING: NATURE CHAKRA INTRUSION! >>
<< Chakra Imbalance Detected! >>
Agony exploded. It wasn't the sharp jolt of feedback; it was a deep, grinding, petrifying sensation starting in his core. His veins felt like they were filling with liquid stone. His muscles locked. His vision blurred, tinged with grey. A terrifying stiffness seized his joints. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't scream. He could only feel the relentless, cold weight spreading.
'Stone… I'm turning to stone… Hana…'
A calloused hand slammed down on his shoulder. Jiraiya's chakra, vast and controlled, flooded into him – not gentle, but a focused tsunami. It didn't fight the nature chakra; it isolated it, forcibly corralling the invading wild energy into a seething knot deep within Kaito's abdomen before violently expelling it back outwards. Kaito was thrown backwards, gasping like a landed fish, the petrifying sensation receding as quickly as it came, leaving behind deep muscle tremors and a bone-deep chill. << HP: 45/100 >> << Status: Chakra Exhaustion (Severe) >> << Petrification Averted! >>
Jiraiya loomed over him, his face grim, all traces of gruff amusement gone. "Idiot!" he roared, the sound echoing off the cliff face. "What part of 'ocean into a teacup' did you not understand?! You forced it! You tried to take more than your vessel can hold! Sage Mode isn't stolen power, it's earned balance! Your chakra capacity is a thimble trying to contain a waterfall!"
Kaito coughed, trembling uncontrollably on the cold stone. The taste of blood was in his mouth. The near-petrification had been horrifyingly real. "I… I felt the balance… I just… needed more…"
"More?" Jiraiya scoffed, kneeling beside him. He didn't offer a hand up. "Your 'more' nearly made you a permanent fixture on my ledge! Look at your reserves!" He tapped Kaito's chest none too gently. << Chakra: 5/50 >> << Stamina: 25/80 >> "Pathetic. A newborn academy student has better reserves. Gathering nature chakra requires immense focus and a solid foundation of your own energy to resonate with it, to create the stable equilibrium point outside your body before even thinking of internal fusion. Your vessel is cracked and leaking!"
He gestured towards the vast, energy-filled vista. "The ocean is there. Always. But you need a bigger boat, Shade. A much bigger boat. Right now, you can barely paddle in the shallows without drowning." He stood, his expression unyielding. "Your Senju bloodline? Locked. It holds the key to the vessel you could have – immense reserves, vitality, natural synergy. But until you unlock it, or find another way to expand your core capacity significantly, Sage Mode training beyond basic perception and fleeting gathering is suicide. Slow, stony suicide."
The truth landed like a physical blow. His bloodline, the key to the power he desperately needed, was locked behind a Jonin-level wall. And his current chakra pool was a death sentence for Sage progress. The frustration was crushing. "So… what? I just… stop? Wait years?" The thought of Hana waiting in the squalor of Neo-Tokyo while he waited was unbearable.
Jiraiya snorted. "Stop? Hardly. You work on the vessel. You build the damn boat." He pointed towards the training dummies, scarred and ancient. "Chakra control drills. Until you can mold a water balloon with your toes blindfolded. Stamina building. Until you can run up this cliff face ten times without puking. Taijutsu. Until your body moves with the efficiency that conserves every drop of energy. Fuinjutsu theory." He nodded at Kaito's head. "That affinity of yours is the only thing not completely pathetic. Understanding energy flows, containment principles – it's all foundational for eventually handling the ocean. You learn control, you build endurance, you study the theory. You make your thimble into a cup. Then maybe, maybe, you can dip it into the stream without shattering it or turning yourself into gravel."
It was a grueling, unglamorous path. No instant power. Just hard, painful, fundamental work. The mountain's energy mocked him, vast and untouchable. But Jiraiya was right. The near-petrification had been a visceral lesson. He couldn't cheat the ocean. He had to build the boat.
The next days were a blur of aching muscles and mental strain. Jiraiya was a relentless, unforgiving drillmaster:
Chakra Control: Balancing on unstable rocks while maintaining a perfect, minute flow of chakra to his fingertips (<< Chakra Control (CC): 8 >> -> << CC: 9 >>). Condensing water vapor into increasingly complex shapes without spillage. The feedback for failure was usually a sharp rap on the head or an unexpected gout of water in the face.Stamina & Taijutsu: Running brutal obstacle courses up and down the lower slopes carrying weighted packs. Sparring sessions against Jiraiya that were less about winning and more about survival and conserving energy (<< Stamina: 80 >> -> << Stamina: 90 >> | << AGI: 11 >> -> << AGI: 12 >>). Every movement analyzed for wasted effort.Fuinjutsu Theory: Hours spent hunched over scrolls Jiraiya provided, his Fuinjutsu Affinity (+50% Comprehension) the only thing making the dense, complex principles of energy channeling, containment fields, and spatial stabilization somewhat manageable. He saw parallels now between these seals and the mountain's own energy pathways, the principles Jiraiya was hammering into him about balance and resonance.
Progress was incremental, hard-won, and felt insignificant compared to the vast power he craved. Yet, the Chakra Exhaustion status faded. His reserves, while still small (Chakra: 50/50), felt denser, more responsive. His control was sharper. He could hold the basic nature chakra gathering harmony point for five, then seven heartbeats consistently – as long as he didn't get greedy.
One evening, after a particularly grueling session left him collapsed by the hot spring, Jiraiya tossed him a bitter root to chew for the aches. "You're less likely to kill yourself by accident now," the Sage grunted, not looking at him, his gaze on the setting sun painting the forest below in fiery hues. "Still a leaky bucket, but you're patching some holes." He paused, then added, almost casually, "That Hayate… sending you here with that key… he knew the lock, but did he know the key itself was broken? Or did he know you'd break it?" His voice was low, thoughtful. "That seal… it wasn't just a spatial key. There were layers… echoes of something else. Temporal anchors. Possibility threads. Things that shouldn't be woven by any mortal hand." He shook his head, a rare look of profound unease crossing his features. "Be careful what doors you try to open with borrowed keys, brat. Especially keys left by ghosts."
The cryptic warning hung in the air as Jiraiya walked away, leaving Kaito alone with the thrum of the mountain, the bitter taste of the root, and the chilling realization that the path ahead wasn't just about building his strength. It was about navigating the dangerous legacy left by a time-lost ghost whose true game was only beginning to unfold. The ocean of power remained out of reach, but the currents around him were growing more treacherous. Shade stared into the darkening forest below, the first seeds of suspicion taking root alongside his resolve.