…
The space in front of Murakami's palm shuddered. For a brief instant, nothing happened.
Then suddenly, the air collapsed.
BOOM.
A cone of compressed force erupted forward, ripping through the training ground. The earth split open in a jagged trench. Dust, shredded grass, and loose stones were violently scooped up and hurled ahead of the shockwave like shrapnel
Hideki and Sora stood in shock, neither of them had time to move as the shockwave reached them.
The impact was raw and heavy, like being rammed by a charging horse.
Hideki's feet left the ground instantly; his body flew backward before smashing through a thick wooden training post with a loud crunch of splintering wood.
Sora's balanced stance collapsed instantly as he was launched back, skipping hard across the dirt several times before rolling to a stop more than ten meters away.
Both boys were launched backward.
One crashed through a wooden training post, the other skipped violently across the dirt before rolling to a stop several meters away.
Silence slowly returned as thick dust billowed into the air and torn leaves drifted down.
Murakami lowered his hand with measured calm, his expression cool and slightly dissatisfied. "Still too wide."
The cone had spread more force than necessary along the outer edges. The central pressure was stronger than the crude D-rank bursts used back in the academy, but the compression wasn't tight enough at the final release point.
Too much chakra dispersed laterally instead of staying focused in the primary direction.
He had applied Wind nature to give it explosive propulsion, and Earth nature to add to the dense impact, but the balance was still off.
He made a mental note of it. It was a remarkable improvement from the D-rank version from the academy but it still wasn't much of a Shinra-Tensei.
More compression of Chakra and a sustained propulsion after release would be required to achieve that level of power.
This was progress, but far from satisfactory. In real combat during these turbulent times, such inefficiency could easily cost lives, his own included.
Only after reaching this conclusion did he turn his attention to the settling dust cloud.
Groans emerged from within it. Murakami nodded faintly. Good. At least neither of them had been knocked unconscious.
In the shinobi world, especially with the First War already raging, failed defenses rarely ended so mercifully.
Hideki stumbled out first, coughing dirt, his clothes covered in dirt and a dry leaf plastered to his cheek. He looked equal parts stunned and irritated.
"...What."
Murakami waited.
Hideki pointed accusingly. "What was that? You just blasted us halfway across the field!"
Murakami acknowledged the question with a nod. "A technique."
Hideki stared at him and Murakami stared back. A few seconds passed like this till Hideki huffed. "...Thank you for that groundbreaking explanation."
Murakami offered no immediate response. His gaze shifted as the second boy emerged, adjusting his crooked glasses which had one lens completely popped out.
His expression wasn't filled with shock like Hideki's. It was focused. Analytical. Trying to break down what he had just experienced.
Murakami noticed immediately and nodded inwardly. 'Good.'
"What happened?" Murakami asked. "I told you both to defend."
Hideki threw his hands up immediately. "Defend against that?! You launched us like ragdolls with almost no warning!"
Murakami ignored him and kept his eyes on Sora.
The bespectacled boy remained silent for a long moment, brushing dirt from his sleeves as he replayed the exchange in his mind.
When Sora finally spoke, his tone was thoughtful rather than angry. "The pressure was building… I saw the air distorting around your hand and the leaves trembling. But the moment it released, it was still too fast. By the time the shockwave actually hit us, there was almost no window left to defend."
Murakami gave a small nod of acknowledgment. "Exactly."
The buildup was visible if one was watching carefully, but the transition from compression to release was still too abrupt.
Murakami noted that he needed to refine the final layering and tighten the chakra more before letting it go.
He flexed his fingers, feeling the slight strain lingering in his pathways. His control was already well beyond most Genin his age, but pure chakra techniques like this still required constant refinement.
This wasn't about a flashy technique, it was about building something reliable.
He rolled his shoulders once, shrugging off the minor strain building from recoil from using the Shockwave Jutsu.
"Again," he said calmly. "This time, try to sense the moment the chakra starts condensing in my palm. Defense has to begin before the technique is executed."
While speaking, Murakami raised his palm towards them. The air around his palm distorted again, leaves trembling in the invisible grip of building force.
The moment chakra began gathering, both boys reacted.
This time there was no hesitation. Hideki threw himself sideways while Sora's hands flashed through seals.
"Earth Style: Stone Wall!"
A slab of earth burst upward between them and Murakami as the compressed chakra detonated a heartbeat later.
BOOM.
The wall shattered instantly with cracks racing across its surface before the entire structure exploded into chunks of stone and dust.
Hideki still got thrown backward and Sora wasn't spared either.
But unlike before, neither of them went flying across half the training ground.
Murakami lowered his hand as it throbbed with a deep, hot ache.
He estimated coldly. 'Four more full-powered uses before the pathways in my forearm start tearing. Five if I accept minor internal bleeding.'
The strain was already climbing faster than expected. For a C-rank technique, this level of recoil was punishing.
He had compressed it well beyond the basic academy version, but the moment the shockwave left his palm, the compressed chakra wanted to disperse in every direction.
Maintaining cohesion until the point of release required constant micro-adjustments throughout the entire process.
It was less like throwing a jutsu and more like trying to hold a violent beast together until the exact moment he chose to let go.
No wonder Naruto could spam Rasengan like it was nothing, he thought with detached irony. B-rank technique, ridiculous chakra volume, and a literal tailed beast pumping more into him.
Without that bloodline advantage, even the original would have shredded his arms.
He pushed the comparison aside. The comparison wasn't useful.
Complaining about lacking monstrous bloodlines wouldn't improve his own situation.
So they continued.
Each cycle grew faster. Murakami varied the release point from palm to fist, elbow, even a low kick that sent a rolling wave across the ground.
Since he couldn't execute a full blown Shockwave, he decided on minor shock waves in each attack.
Hideki grew more desperate, shouting half-formed defenses. Sora stayed quieter, eyes locked on Murakami's hand, trying to catch the exact instant of final compression.
Progress was visible but painfully slow with one successful partial block after the another.
Still far from reliable.
By the tenth repetition, sweat stung Murakami's eyes. His both arms felt heavy, chakra pathways burning like overworked wires.
'Three more at most,' he judged.
The technique demanded too much for sustained combat right now. He needed better circulation methods, stronger physical conditioning, or superior control techniques.
But the village archives held most of the advanced materials, and his eligibility to enter there was too low, his contribution point abysmal to justify access.
Another reason to keep expanding the Lotus Store. Money bought influence, and influence bought knowledge.
Time passed and the sun climbed higher causing the training ground to grow hotter as the air grew thicker with dust.
By the eleventh repetition, Hideki crashed into the dirt and stayed down longer. By the twelfth Sora's glasses flew off completely this time. By the thirteenth, Murakami deliberately weakened the output to spare his arm, but the mental effort of precise control drained him further.
The Sun soon peaked as noon arrived, Hideki collapsed first, chest heaving, limbs trembling as he lay sprawled on his back. "I… can't…" he gasped.
Sora followed moments later, dropping to one knee before toppling sideways, glasses askew, face pale with exhaustion.
Murakami crossed his hand behind him. His breathing was controlled but heavier than he liked. Winded, yes. But he could still move.
The difference in reserves, stamina and mental fortitude showed clearly.
He walked back toward the small wooden shed at the edge of the training ground, before sitting cross-legged in the shade, he let his shoulders relax slightly while keeping his back straight.
"This should be enough for now," he said quietly.
Hideki groaned something incoherent. Sora managed a weak nod, rolling onto his side.
Murakami closed his eyes briefly, feeling the faint blue presence of his mindscape at the edge of awareness,
There was still much to refine. The bottleneck from earlier still lingered like a shadow at the back of his mind, but every session like this chipped away at it.
"Once you can stand," he added without opening his eyes, "we'll go get lunch."
'The war won't wait for us to be perfect… but we won't survive it by being sloppy either.'
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
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