Five Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique fusing together had astonishingly skipped the first upgrade stage entirely, advancing straight into the second tier.
To reach the third tier, ten Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique were required. If Rei continued saving lives at Konoha's hospital, collecting ten of them shouldn't be too difficult.
Recalling the upgrade rules of Shadow Clone Technique, Rei had already grasped the forging system's requirements.
From basic ninjutsu to the first upgraded version generally required two identical techniques; from the first to the second version, five; and from the second to the third, ten.
Rei estimated that once he had elevated the Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique to the third version, it would finally shed its notorious reputation as a "fireball that couldn't burn anyone to death."
Without hesitation, Amamiya Rei continued upgrading.
[Shadow Clone Technique ×5]
[Would you like to fuse and upgrade Shadow Clone Technique?]
Amamiya Rei clicked on [Yes].
[Shadow Clone Technique is fusing...]
[Fusion successful.]
[Shadow Clone Technique is upgrading...]
[Upgrade successful.]
[Congratulations, Host has obtained Shadow Clone Technique II]
[Shadow Clone Technique II is the second upgraded version. The clones will now possess real, physical bodies. Neither the Byakugan nor the Sharingan can distinguish the original from the clone. Furthermore, the durability of the shadow clones has been greatly enhanced.]
[Continue collecting Shadow Clone Techniques x10 to reach the third upgraded version.]
"Physical shadow clones?"
That was Rei's first reaction. It felt somewhat similar to Naruto's Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu, but these were even more resistant to attacks?
That was how Amamiya Rei understood it.
The other ninjutsu he possessed had not yet reached the threshold for upgrading.
But today's harvest was not limited to just that.
The spores he had learned to cultivate the previous night had already proven their worth in the hospital. He had discreetly planted them into the bodies of countless shinobi he treated.
Even if it was just a mosquito, its meat still counted as meat. And when many small pieces accumulated, they became something vast.
Each ninja only lost the tiniest sliver of chakra, but when all those fragments converged into Rei, the total chakra he absorbed was staggering.
Rei was immensely satisfied with today's gains and even swore to himself that tomorrow he would devour even more.
With such abundant spoils, Amamiya Rei lay down and closed his eyes to rest.
The following day.
Rei once again sparred with Hatake Kakashi in the same small grove where they had trained the day before.
Compared to Kakashi's effortless composure, Rei was in a rather sorry state.
Grass clung to his clothes, streaks of dirt stained his skin, and his long black curly hair, which he had tied up high, was now disheveled. A few damp locks, soaked with sweat, clung stubbornly to his smooth forehead.
Kakashi had not gone easy on him. Every strike, every blow landed on Rei with real force, forcing his body to endure sharp, genuine pain.
Though Rei's uncanny healing speed astonished Kakashi, pain was not something that healing could erase.
Through a grueling, uninterrupted hour of intense combat, Kakashi noticed that Rei's taijutsu had already shown remarkable improvement compared to the previous day.
When Minato-sensei had entrusted him with training Amamiya Rei, Kakashi hadn't held much hope. The girl he had met on the first day appeared weak, fragile, and far too delicate to withstand the harshness of battle.
But in just two days, that same girl had overturned his expectations.
It wasn't simply Rei's talent—Kakashi had seen countless prodigies. What made Rei different, what made him reevaluate her, was her unyielding willpower.
No matter how brutally she was beaten down or how hard she fell, never once had she complained or begged him to stop.
Instead, Rei absorbed each failure, adapted swiftly, and in her next attempt, showed clear signs of growth.
A person blessed with both talent and unshakable perseverance was destined to become strong.
Kakashi had no doubts about this.
He had also glimpsed the truth: beneath Rei's seemingly fragile exterior resided a soul of unbreakable steel.
When their hour-long spar finally ended, Rei wiped the sweat from her brow, panting heavily.
"Kakashi really doesn't hold back..." he thought bitterly.
One day, he swore, he would repay this cruelty—until Kakashi was nothing but skin and bones.
"Not bad."
Kakashi's voice, usually clipped and cool, carried a trace of rare approval.
Rei blinked in surprise. Did he just... hear actual praise from Kakashi's mouth?
Breathing heavily, then offered him a smile radiant through exhaustion.
"I'll do even better next time!" he promised firmly.
For a fleeting moment, Kakashi's gaze met Rei's—her dazzling scarlet eyes shimmered with brilliance, and his own heart skipped before he quickly looked away.
"Next," his tone had already returned to its usual icy firmness, "use your Wood Release against me."
By now, Rei's chakra reserves had grown noticeably compared to the day before.
Thick vines burst forth from the earth, weaving together into a dense net that swallowed Kakashi within.
Darkness closed in around him. Kakashi instantly drew the short blade strapped to his back, stabbing into the writhing vines.
But what happened next startled him—tiny shoots sprouted from the wound, crawling rapidly along the length of his blade, slithering toward his hand.
Kakashi was forced to release the hilt.
Then came the sound—sharp and piercing, like the simultaneous cry of a thousand birds.
Crackling lightning flared, dazzling and blinding, as Kakashi's chakra surged forth.
His body merged with the lightning, flashing forward like a bolt of thunder. In the blink of an eye, he was standing before Rei.
"Defend," he commanded, his voice steady even amidst the deafening crackle of electricity.
But Rei did not raise a guard. She did not even flinch.
Beneath his mask, Kakashi's pupils contracted violently.
He instinctively tried to withdraw his arm, but the torrent of lightning in his palm—sharper than any blade—pressed inexorably forward, aimed at Rei's heart.
Kakashi's heart pounded violently, torn between fear and dread. His Chidori—razor-sharp, absolute, once unleashed, could not be halted. It was a blade destined to pierce.
At the very brink of disaster—
A colossal Wood Dragon erupted into existence, its mighty jaws clamping down on Kakashi's arm.
The dragon roared, siphoning away the lightning chakra until the brilliant glow dimmed and faded.
Only then did Kakashi come to his senses. Looking closely, he realized—this wooden dragon had only one head.
"..."
No one understood the reason better than Kakashi himself.
It wasn't design. It wasn't style. It was simply—Rei didn't have enough chakra.
Amamiya Rei, however, was extremely pleased with his creation.
Yes, it had consumed a lot of chakra. But it looked magnificent.
Magnificence was a lifelong pursuit.
Wooden serpents could stay hidden for now; their appearance would only invite ridicule. But even if his Wood Dragon only had one head, it still radiated grandeur. When his chakra reserves grew, it would become truly awe-inspiring.
Rei dispelled the dragon, and at that moment his chakra surged slightly—an increase of 200, likely the fragment absorbed from Kakashi earlier.
Rei stepped closer, studying him carefully, and asked softly, "What's wrong with you?"
But of course, Amamiya Rei knew the answer better than anyone.
That scene just now—the memory it had evoked—must have frightened Kakashi to his core.
***