Training Ground Six.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!"
A water dragon burst forth from behind Ren, circled the arena once, and then stopped in front of the two.
"Not bad, release your Chakra."
Kosuke looked at the solid water dragon before him and nodded in satisfaction. At the same time, he was also marvelling at Ren's extraordinary talent.
"Yes."
As the Chakra dispersed, the water dragon also vanished into the air. Ren raised his hand to wipe a thin layer of sweat from his forehead. Continuously controlling the Water Dragon Bullet for a long time consumed a lot of both Chakra and stamina. After just two hours of training, Ren felt that his Chakra remained less than 30%.
"You recover your Chakra first. While you do that, I'll explain how to properly understand and use Water Release."
Ren nodded upon hearing this, sat cross-legged on the ground, and focused his attention on Kosuke while recovering his Chakra.
"First, you need to understand that Water Release is one of the five basic nature transformations, a branch of Ninjutsu, which involves condensing water-natured Chakra for defence or offence. It's usually performed using nearby lakes or places with water. Powerful Water Release Ninja can even use strong Water Release in places without water."
At this point, Kosuke paused, glanced at Ren, and then continued.
"Let's talk about nature transformation counters. Water Release counters Fire Release, but it is countered by Earth Release. It can defeat Fire by lowering its temperature, but it's difficult to penetrate Earth. Each nature has its own compatibility, so having two natures is always more advantageous than having one. That's why most Jonin possess two or more Chakra natures. What are your Chakra natures?"
"My Chakra natures are Water, Wind, and Lightning," Ren replied.
Kosuke was slightly surprised. "Three natures? Have you mastered the Chakra nature transformation?"
"Yes, senior, I've mastered all of them."
"Very good, then we don't need to waste time. Let's get straight to the teaching. Remember, the Ninjutsu I teach you cannot be taught to others. You can only practice it by yourself."
At this point, Kosuke's expression turned serious, and his gaze fixed on Ren.
"Yes!" Ren quickly replied loudly. How could he possibly teach it to others? He wasn't planning to defect. Teaching it to others would be no different from digging his own grave. With his current identity, a Konoha Genin who inherited the Second Hokage's Ninjutsu, who knows how many demons and monsters would target him? Unless he slept in the Hokage Building twenty-four hours a day, he would be kidnapped and exchanged for money in minutes.
Kosuke's expression softened. He walked towards the entrance of the arena, then turned back to look at Ren.
"Follow me, we're changing locations."
"Yes."
Ren quickly got up and followed closely. Maruboshi Kosuke exited the arena and headed towards the forest behind it. Although Ren was puzzled, he didn't ask and just silently followed behind.
"We're here."
Bursting out of the forest, a tranquil lake greeted their eyes. The surroundings were covered in flowers and plants, with trees closely encircling the lake, bordering the forest. By the lake, a large herd of deer were quietly drinking water. They weren't startled by Ren and the other man. After drinking, they lay down on the grass, curiously looking in their direction.
"Those are the Nara family's free-range deer. This area is a small deer breeding base for the Nara family."
Hearing Kosuke's explanation, Ren also recalled that in the entire Konoha Village, the Nara clan was primarily responsible for Konoha's medical system, which was evident in their provision of medicinal herbs. Deer antler was an extremely precious traditional Chinese medicinal material. Coupled with the beautiful scenery and the fact that few people came here, it was no surprise that there was a Nara family deer breeding base here.
"Next, watch closely."
Ren pulled his thoughts back and focused his attention on Kosuke, his gaze fixed on every one of his movements.
Kosuke walked to the centre of the lake and turned around. His hands began to form hand seals rapidly.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!"
With a low shout, Chakra surged around Kosuke. The lake behind him began to boil continuously. In an instant, a water dragon, several times larger than Ren's Water Dragon Bullet, soared into the sky, swirling behind Kosuke, its mouth wide open, letting out a silent roar towards Ren.
The deer herd by the lake, startled, collectively rose and rushed into the forest, disappearing from sight.
"This..."
Ren's eyes were filled with shock. Both were Water Dragon Bullet, but was the difference really that great? It seemed he truly lacked experience. As expected, it was Water Release inherited from the Second Hokage, with both simplified hand seals and greatly increased power.
Releasing the water dragon, it turned into water splashes and fell back into the water. Kosuke calmly walked in front of Ren and began teaching.
"This is the Water Dragon Bullet improved by the Second Hokage-sama. The increase in power is secondary; the most important thing is the greatly reduced number of hand seals. If I'm not mistaken, you performed six seals earlier, an improved version, right? Although it's already fast, it can be even faster."
After speaking, Kosuke extended his hand, forming hand seals while explaining.
"Rat - Dragon - Rabbit - Tiger. This is the final improved Water Dragon Bullet by the Second Hokage-sama. The Chakra's flow path is like this..."
Ren jotted down Kosuke's words while simultaneously adjusting his Chakra flow. As he formed hand seals, he continuously gathered Chakra.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!"
As Chakra fluctuated, a water dragon burst forth from the lake in front, circled in the air for a bit, then plunged back into the lake, causing water to splash and ripples to spread across the surface.
"Not bad, you learn quickly."
Kosuke couldn't help but clap softly. Learning with just one instruction and mastering it after one attempt, this child's talent in Ninjutsu was probably no less than that of the Third Hokage-sama.
"Thank you for the compliment, Senior Kosuke. Shall we continue?" Ren rubbed the back of his head, looking at Kosuke and asking tentatively.
"Not so fast. First, review what I taught you today, then adjust your condition and fully restore your Chakra. What I'm going to teach you next is all high-level Ninjutsu. One careless mistake could potentially harm your body. Haste makes waste."
"Yes."
Ren walked to the side, closed his eyes, and sensed the Chakra flowing within his body. He began to extract physical and spiritual energy from his cells to restore the Chakra he had consumed earlier.
"Who are you? What are you doing here?"
Ren opened his eyes and looked with Kosuke in the direction of the voice. A figure emerged from the forest, with pineapple-shaped hair and wearing a Konoha Chunin vest. His left hand was near his Ninja tool pouch, and he was looking at the two with caution.
Nara Choumei was the person in charge of this deer breeding base. Earlier, while patrolling the forest, he saw the startled deer herd and followed the direction they fled, which led him to the two practising Ren.
"Excuse me, we are training here. We apologise if we disturbed you. This is my Ninja ID."
Kosuke explained and apologised simultaneously. Nara Choumei listened while approaching and observing the two. Upon seeing Ren, Nara Choumei fell into thought, then spoke with an uncertain tone.
"Are you... Ren?"