Uchiha Tatsumi sat alone in the training ground, shimmering chakra coating his palm. He meticulously manipulated the energy, carefully dividing the larger mass into five smaller, distinct strands. Each strand snaked its way towards a kunai hole, threading through the narrow openings with pinpoint accuracy.
Tatsumi sighed, a small smile playing on his lips. He'd conquered the fourth stage of Chakra Control. The training manuals only touched on the basics – Water Surface Walking and Tree Climbing. But those methods were far too rudimentary for true mastery. Tatsumi had long since mastered those exercises, preferring to hone his skills by controlling the intensity of his chakra to perform low-level Ninjutsu.
He'd always considered his Chakra Control to be above average. But Tsunade's training had revealed the true depths of this art. She was, without a doubt, a master in this field. Following her guidance, he could now split a large mass of chakra into multiple smaller streams and guide them precisely into the eye of a needle, or in this case, a kunai hole.
Tatsumi felt a noticeable difference. Ninjutsu of equivalent power now required significantly less chakra. His Genjutsu, too, had become more subtle, harder to detect.
Now, he was ready to tackle the next challenge. Another glowing cloak of chakra formed on his hand. He picked up a leaf, carefully placing it within the shimmering energy. The leaf trembled, caught in the oscillating currents, then, with a soft shimmer, disintegrated.
Failure.
Tatsumi focused, concentrating intently on maintaining the delicate balance of chakra. He cautiously placed another leaf into his palm. This time, his control was slightly improved. The leaf twitched within the chakra, but then, the violent energy overcame his control, shredding the leaf into fragments.
Over half an hour passed. The training ground floor was littered with broken leaves. Tatsumi, gazing at the chakra in his hand, smiled in satisfaction. The results weren't perfect, but he was making progress.
This stage focused on controlling the direction of chakra flow. Chakra, by its very nature, was volatile, its internal movements erratic, in constant motion. Directing that energy, forcing it to flow in a controlled, unified direction, was incredibly difficult. Only those with exceptional Chakra Control could achieve this.
In essence, this stage of Chakra Control was a stepping stone, a necessary step to learning something like the Rasengan. Tatsumi wondered how Minato had conceived such a complex technique. Perhaps, after reaching this level of precision, he'd been inspired by the raw power of the Tailed Beast Ball.
Of course, learning the Rasengan and developing it were two very different things. A talented ninja could master a Ninjutsu relatively quickly. Naruto and Sasuke had both learned A-rank Ninjutsu as Genin, simply by following the instructions in the scrolls. But merely learning a technique didn't automatically make them stronger. Their strength remained at Chunin level.
Developing a completely new Ninjutsu, however, was a different beast altogether. Minato had spent three years perfecting the Rasengan. His journey was one of constant refinement, pushing the boundaries of Chakra Shape Transformation and precision control. It was a process of relentless self-study and experimentation. The moment Minato unveiled his creation, his strength catapulted him to the pinnacle of ninja prowess.
It wasn't just the Rasengan itself that made Minato so powerful, but the process of developing it. The constant learning, the relentless pursuit of mastery—that was what truly elevated his abilities. Ninjutsu, while important, wasn't the be-all and end-all.
For Tatsumi, simply replicating the Rasengan using the methods from the manga was pointless. It wouldn't improve his Chakra Control. All he'd gain was an A-rank Ninjutsu and a reputation for being a prodigy. There would be no real, qualitative increase in his strength. Besides, at six years old, his chakra reserves were nowhere near sufficient to sustain a Rasengan.
Tatsumi finished his day's training. It was almost six in the evening, the sun dipping below the horizon, painting the Konoha sky with the vibrant hues of dusk. He packed up, ready to leave the training ground.
He moved cautiously, his senses on high alert. Tsunade had launched dozens of sneak attacks on him over the past few days, ranging from the obvious to the utterly bizarre. He'd learned the hard way that a patch of seemingly innocuous grass could be a cleverly disguised trap, that explosive tags could be hidden inside his bedding (thankfully, they were low-yield).
Tsunade, it seemed, derived immense pleasure from these pranks, claiming it was all part of his ninja training, a way to sharpen his vigilance. Poor Nawaki, Tatsumi thought. Is this the kind of childhood he endured? It explained a lot. Nawaki, while a cheerful boy on the surface, had a certain… vacant quality. It was as if he'd been through some kind of…stupidification process.
Tsunade insisted she was teaching him valuable lessons. But Tatsumi suspected she was simply using him as a guinea pig for her mischievous impulses. However, these constant ambushes and high-intensity "training sessions" had significantly boosted his point total. His trap detection skills had also improved dramatically.
While he couldn't say his overall strength had increased exponentially, his Chakra Control had become noticeably more refined. His ability to anticipate and avoid… certain kinds of attacks had also reached an impressive level. And his escape skills were, without a doubt, top-notch.
…
Tatsumi crept into his room, a sigh of relief escaping his lips. Tsunade wasn't here. She often disappeared at night, claiming he needed his rest. Tatsumi knew the truth. She was likely off gambling with money she'd probably scammed from someone. He'd learned this particular lesson early on. He'd had a small stash of spending money, only to have it pilfered by Tsunade one night. She'd then "generously" repaid him by planting a mini explosive tag in his bed.
Tatsumi was counting down the days until this bizarre training regimen was over.