The thought of reaching the perfect level with an S-rank ninjutsu was thrilling.
But there was a far more critical issue.
Yuichi stared at the pool he had carved open, widened several times over by his own S-rank ninjutsu.
It wasn't just the time needed to push the Hard Vortex Water Blade to perfection. Even reaching intermediate level demanded a full ten thousand uses.
Ten thousand S-rank detonations? The Valley of the End would probably be flattened before that ever happened.
And the sheer noise of S-rank jutsu wasn't exactly subtle.
Yuichi let out a sigh. "This level of ninjutsu… brushing proficiency isn't going to be easy."
The problems of venue and time had to be resolved before anything else.
"In the short term, there's no way. Practicing this ninjutsu to perfection is impossible. Even reaching intermediate level will be difficult."
Worse yet, until he could improve it, the drawbacks were severe. The primary Water Style version required a pre-existing water source. And the hand seals…
Twenty full seconds just to finish the sequence.
Totally impractical in real combat.
Yes, he could create water first with another technique. But even then, the long hand-seal sequence made it nearly unusable. Unless…
Either an ally pinned the enemy down for him, or he prepared the jutsu far in advance and only launched it once the enemy entered range.
But Yuichi had already tested that theory. After preparing the technique, chakra wrapped tightly around his right arm, condensing water into a high-speed vortex. Even under chakra's protection, the longer he held it, the more his own body began to strain.
Wait too long, and his own jutsu would destroy him before it ever reached the enemy.
That was no better than blowing himself up.
"Unless I can close in instantly after preparing it… but my speed—"
Chakra was not an issue for Yuichi. But his physical training was lacking. In terms of raw fitness, he was barely different from an average genin.
Closing distance quickly was out of the question.
Then, a thought struck him. A jutsu he had only just acquired today.
"The Body Flicker Technique!"
The Body Flicker gathered chakra into the legs and released it in a sudden burst, propelling the user forward like a gust of wind.
Fast enough that the naked eye could barely track it. To ordinary people, it seemed as though the user had simply vanished.
Though a simple D-rank jutsu, in the hands of Uchiha Shisui it became legendary, earning him the name "Shisui of the Body Flicker."
If Yuichi could raise the technique to perfection, then his weakness in physical speed would vanish.
High firepower at long range. Lightning-fast mobility.
The framework of a high-speed, long-range mage would finally take shape.
"With a perfected Body Flicker, even if I prepare an S-rank jutsu from far away, I can instantly close in to deliver the attack."
Continuous use, especially over long distances, would normally devour chakra.
But for Yuichi, chakra reserves were no concern.
The more he thought about it, the more he realized: mastering Body Flicker might be even more urgent than perfecting an S-rank jutsu.
He opened his status panel.
"Elementary Body Flicker… only five hundred proficiency to reach intermediate. That won't take long."
At base, the jutsu took three seconds of seals to activate. Five hundred repetitions would promote it.
In just half an hour, Yuichi had succeeded.
Five hundred flashes later, he understood the joy of it. Chakra gathered into his legs, releasing like a spring, launching him in blinding bursts.
It wasn't constant speed — the body couldn't withstand continuous chakra flow in the legs. Instead, each use was an explosive step, a momentary disappearance and reappearance.
At intermediate level, his range extended, and the seal time dropped to barely a second and a half.
One thousand more repetitions brought him to advanced level. Half an hour later, Body Flicker activated in just half a second — a simple seal, and he was gone.
Yuichi formed a single hand seal, and his body vanished. In the next instant, he was perched twenty meters away atop a thick branch.
From disappearance to reappearance took less than a heartbeat.
"Yes…! At this speed, I can escape instantly, or close distance before an enemy even reacts."
Perfecting it, however, demanded four thousand repetitions.
Yuichi smirked. "Four thousand uses at half a second each… half an hour of grinding. Nothing."
By the time he returned to Konoha, the Body Flicker would be at perfection.
That still left him with hours to polish other techniques.
His Water Style arsenal, aside from the Great Waterfall, was still stuck at intermediate. Functional, but weak compared to their original forms.
They needed to be raised to advanced level to perform at full strength, even without natural water present.
"Water Whip and Water Barrier… an hour each should be enough to bring them up. If not, then close. After that, I'll brush Cataract Technique for another hour, then head back to Konoha."
He couldn't risk being late. Staying out too long might draw unwanted eyes.
And when he returned, he still had to swing by Ichiraku Ramen…
To "accidentally" run into Naruto.