Cultivation
The next morning, Shirō woke up early and rushed to the training ground to continue his cultivation.
Today, Nakamura was supposed to teach him Wind Release: Divine Gale, and Shirō was determined to learn it before the upcoming exam—an ambitious goal, considering the technique's complexity.
Still, having a clear objective was a good thing. It helped him track his progress and reinforced his determination to continue training.
Of course, it would be even better if that goal could be achieved without too much effort.
Lost in thought, Shirō arrived at the training ground—only to find that even Shikamaru had already begun cultivating. It seemed he was the last to arrive.
"Haha, Shirō, I thought you were always the early bird. What happened? Had a revelation and decided to start learning from Shikamaru?" Nakamura teased, clearly amused by the uncharacteristic delay.
"Uh, not quite. Shikamaru's lifestyle is definitely tempting, but I lack his intelligence. I'd starve to death if I tried to copy him."
"Haha, alright, enough joking around. Here—this is the ninjutsu you'll be learning next." With that, Nakamura handed him a scroll.
Shirō took it with a puzzled expression. "Captain, what is this?"
"This is Wind Release: Thousand-Faced Wind. It suits your chakra nature and fighting style more than Divine Gale. I don't actually know this technique myself, so I exchanged a favor to get this scroll for you. Unfortunately, I won't be able to guide you much."
So the Divine Gale hand seals I practiced all yesterday are useless?
Shirō was a bit frustrated, but he could see Nakamura had gone out of his way to help. No matter how annoying the setback was, he had no choice but to accept it.
Besides, Nakamura must have paid a significant price to obtain this technique. Thinking of that, Shirō quickly bowed deeply. "Thank you, Captain."
"Haha, we're all part of the same squad. What's the point in thanking me? Helping you helps the team. Now go and get to it. Like I said, you'll have to rely mostly on yourself for this one."
"Understood, Captain. I'll start training now."
"Good. Off you go."
The two then went their separate ways to cultivate. Although Nakamura was a jōnin, he had plenty of room to grow, and given the team's structure, he wasn't required to oversee each member's training too closely.
After all, Shirō and Shikamaru were training in unique Secret Techniques, while Taiyi focused more on genjutsu enhanced by his Sharingan.
This left Nakamura with relatively fewer responsibilities, allowing him time for his own development. When needed, he offered advice, but much of their advancement relied on personal effort—or clan guidance, in Taiyi and Shikamaru's case.
As for Shirō, he was the sole practitioner of his unique art. If he didn't train himself, no one else could.
That said, Nakamura's extensive combat experience remained a valuable resource.
Meanwhile, Shirō headed to a quiet corner of the field. He first summoned a Shadow Clone and tasked it with continuing his study of Barrier Magic, while his real body began practicing the hand seals for Thousand-Faced Wind.
He sighed. If Nakamura had taught Divine Gale, he'd probably already have the hand seals down. But life rarely followed such convenient paths.
He had no choice but to start over. While he had briefly looked over Thousand-Faced Wind before, that prior exposure offered only minimal help now.
After exhausting his chakra, Shirō didn't immediately dispel the Shadow Clone. Instead, he sat down, retrieved the scroll, and began studying its contents in detail—cross-referencing the written instructions with the instincts and magical principles he had acquired.
He knew he'd be training all day, and careful time management was crucial.
Besides, ninjutsu wasn't as simple as just performing the hand seals. If that were true, the Sharingan's copy ability wouldn't be so feared.
Hand seals were merely a tool—a way to channel and shape chakra. With enough understanding, one could shorten or even eliminate them entirely.
That's why Shirō wasn't rushing things. He wanted to thoroughly comprehend the chakra flow and structure of Thousand-Faced Wind.
And this was also part of why he had avoided trying to learn the Rasengan.
After all, in the original series, the Rasengan only detailed external chakra rotation. It lacked an explanation of internal chakra dynamics.
Shirō could understand why. If Kishimoto truly knew how chakra worked, he probably wouldn't be drawing manga.
So for Shirō, learning Rasengan would be even more difficult than it was for Minato—who, unlike Shirō, had a deep foundation in ninjutsu.
This highlighted the value of a good teacher. Even if Shirō had access to the experiences of a thousand Genin, they couldn't compare to the guidance of a single seasoned jōnin.
True, "stones from other mountains can be used to polish jade"—but only if you were jade to begin with.
Attempting to master Rasengan now would be a waste of energy. By the time Minato completed his development of it, Shirō would likely be well past its usefulness.
For now, his plan was working well. His training was efficient, and he hadn't forgotten the crushing fatigue he'd felt the last time he dispelled a clone mid-session.
So after two training rounds, Shirō finally dispelled the clone. Any more, and he feared the feedback might kill him from exhaustion.
One step at a time. That was how you eat a meal—and that's how you cultivate.
Still, when the fatigue from the clone finally hit, Shirō nearly collapsed. Training his main body and his clone simultaneously had pushed him to his limit.
But thankfully, after nearly three years of persistent training, he was no longer the weak-willed shut-in he once was. He endured.
Even so, he was clearly in no shape to continue for now. It was nearing noon, and seeing his state, Nakamura announced an early end to the morning's session.
An early lunch break was declared.
Taiyi and Shikamaru didn't object. In fact, they could probably train more effectively at home. But building camaraderie among teammates was also important.
That was the reason Taiyi and Shikamaru continued to join squad training sessions at all. Returning home early meant they could ask their elders for help with whatever issues they encountered during training.
It was a contrast to Yamada Squad, whose members were all from civilian backgrounds. They usually rested together and relied solely on each other and their jōnin.
That said, this didn't mean Taiyi and the others had weak bonds. Taiyi had even awakened his Sharingan during a mission with the team.
A typical Uchiha response to emotional stress.
Not like Obito, that anomaly who awakened a Mangekyō from love. That was just absurd.
Shirō didn't eat with them after training, nor did he return home—because if he did, he'd likely eat his family into poverty.
As mentioned before, ninja-related supplies were incredibly expensive, and that included high-energy food.
If he relied on home cooking, he'd be bankrupting the household.
That's why he preferred eating out.
After all, if he went home, Keiko and the others wouldn't let him pay a single coin.