Dan stood at the edge of the giant hole, looking at the water flowing from the new waterfall, filling the depths with a constant roaring sound.
A year and a half.
It took him a year and a half to finish this project. Digging channels, splitting underground and overground waterways, connecting everything to the original river, and ensuring the flow was correct.
And now, the project was complete.
Water flows from the new waterfall into the hole, filling the steps one by one, then exiting through the lower and upper channels to return to the river. A continuous, living, clean flow.
Dan felt a bit of pride.
Dan isn't the type to usually boast about his achievements, but this project was different. He accomplished it with his pure physical strength, with his chakra control that reached an unbelievable level, and with his sweat, blood, and determination. He truly considered it a real achievement reflecting his improved strength.
But he didn't stand long to enjoy the view. Today, he would begin his first underwater exercise.
Dan took a deep breath, then jumped.
He fell through the air for seconds, then pierced the water's surface powerfully. The cold hit him immediately. The water was very cold, coming from the mountains and melted snow.
But he didn't stop. He continued descending, swimming toward the depths, toward the fifth step.
Fifty meters.
When he reached this depth, he stopped. He stood on the stone step, his feet firm on the ground. And he felt the pressure. It was strong, much stronger than he expected. The water pressed on his body from every side—heavy, suffocating, making every movement difficult.
Even breathing... no, there was no breathing. Instead, he had to hold his breath.
Dan decided that the first step must be getting used to this level of pressure and training to hold his breath for as long as possible. He wouldn't be able to train physically effectively if he had to go up every minute to breathe. Although his ability exceeded an average human's, it wasn't enough for what he wanted.
So, he simply started by standing in place, in the depth, holding his breath, feeling the pressure, forcing and squeezing his body.
The first minute was relatively easy. The second minute started becoming hard. His lungs began to burn, demanding oxygen. The third minute was more difficult. Every cell in his body screamed, asking for air.
After six minutes, he couldn't continue. He kicked the ground and ascended quickly toward the surface. He came out of the water gasping heavily, filling his lungs with air greedily. Only six minutes. It was a decent performance for his current strength level, but not enough yet.
He wasn't discouraged. He took a short break, then dove again.
He continued this way for days. Every day, he dove to a depth of fifty meters, held his breath, stood there resisting the pressure, and forced his body to adapt. In the beginning, he couldn't last more than six minutes. But with time, he started to improve.
Eight minutes. Then nine. Then ten. His body was adapting, learning how to use oxygen more efficiently and how to endure pressure.
After three full months, he could hold his breath for 13 minutes at a depth of 50 meters. After two more months, he reached seventeen minutes. An unbelievable level compared to a normal human.
Dan decided this was enough. Seventeen minutes was a reasonable period to start actual physical training, plus he would improve over time.
He began the exercises he had planned. A variety of punches and kicks: horizontal, side, circular, and straight. Every type of strike he could imagine. But underwater, everything became different.
A punch that was fast on land became slow underwater. The resistance was immense. Every movement required much more effort. At first, he was frustrated. His punches were weak, slow, and ineffective.
But he continued.
Every day, he dove to fifty meters and trained. He punched the water hundreds of times, kicked, and moved, forcing his body to work against the huge resistance. Slowly, he started to improve. His movements became faster, stronger, and more precise. His muscles were adapting, building compressed explosive power.
Dan didn't settle for physical training alone. He also decided to train using weapons underwater. He chose his favorite weapon: daggers. They were small, easy to control, and didn't consume much chakra when formed. Perfect for his fighting style that relies on precision and speed rather than raw power.
Underwater, he formed two chakra daggers in his hands. Faint blue, solid, and sharp. He began training on stabs, cuts, and quick movements with the daggers. The difficulty was greater with the daggers. Every stab required extra effort to maintain the daggers' shape and sharpness against the water pressure.
But he continued. And slowly, he became better. His stabs became faster, more precise, and more effective.
Another two months passed quickly. Two months of continuous underwater training at a depth of fifty meters.
The results were noticeable. Dan became able to hold his breath for eighteen minutes easily, getting used to the pressure, the cold, and the resistance. His physical strength improved significantly. He noticed how his muscles became more defined and more solid. But more importantly was the explosive power.
On land, when he punched or kicked, his strikes were much faster and stronger than they were two months ago. Underwater training builds a different kind of strength: concentrated, explosive, and effective. His speed also improved. His movements became smoother and more fluid.
Despite the immense difficulty of the training, despite the pain and exhaustion, Dan's resolve to continue burned brighter. Because he saw the results and felt himself becoming stronger every day.
He didn't neglect his other training. Every morning, he still practiced his physical routine on land as a warm-up before diving. Military calisthenics and fast mountain climbing. He cared for his small flock of domesticated sheep, gathering food for them, ensuring they were healthy, and sometimes using them for seal experiments.
At night, he refined chakra as usual. He noticed something interesting recently: his chakra reserves were increasing at a decent pace. The reason was clear—the strong increase in his physical strength. As he had known for a long time, chakra consists of physical energy and spiritual energy. The stronger the body, the greater the physical energy, and thus a larger amount of chakra. Underwater training builds his body quickly, therefore increasing his chakra reserves too.
This made him progress in all aspects.
Regarding his research into seals, Dan felt he was very close to achieving a breakthrough. Every day, he studied the Fuinjutsu seal, analyzed it, deconstructed it, and understood every part of it. He experimented on the sheep, trying to modify the seal, trying to separate its effect on movement from its effect on chakra.
At first, all his attempts failed. But with time, he began to understand the problem more deeply. He saw how chakra flowed into the seal, how it targeted the body and energy together, and how the two processes and the seals responsible for each part were linked. Slowly, he began changing them through multiple experiments to find a way to separate them, making the seal target chakra alone.
Dan lay in his hut, looking at his hands before sleeping. The improvement was noticeable. But he knew this was just the beginning. Fifty meters was only the first stage. Before him were forty-nine other steps, down to a depth of five hundred meters. Every step would be harder than the previous one. The pressure greater, the resistance stronger, and the challenge bigger.
Then he looked through the window overlooking the hole filled with water, with the small waterfall pouring into it, shining under the moonlight.
And he smiled. Because at least he felt now that he was on the right track.