Chapter 27: Kugutsu
There was a vegetable seller preparing to open his stall, an old man sweeping his yard, and a few small children running around and laughing.
Souta ignored all of that. His focus was solely on his feet, which continued to move along the slightly dusty stone path. Each step sent vibrations through his calves, reminding Souta that he was not yet accustomed to this training.
After about fifteen minutes, Souta's breath began to quicken. Sweat started to trickle down his temples, making his somewhat messy black hair feel a bit sticky. However, Souta refused to stop.
"Just a little more..." Souta murmured to himself.
Every time his mind told him to stop, Souta forced himself to continue. But after a full thirty minutes, his body could no longer withstand the fatigue.
"Ugh... Hah... Hah..." Souta stumbled slightly before finally stopping and bending over, resting on his knees. His breath was ragged, his chest felt like it was on fire, and his legs felt heavy as if weighed down.
"I... need a break," Souta muttered.
Souta's eyes caught sight of a small food stall by the roadside. The aroma of hot soup and freshly baked bread wafted from inside, causing his empty stomach to rumble.
Without thinking twice, Souta stepped into the stall. As he passed through the fabric curtain at the entrance, he was greeted by the lively sounds of customers enjoying their breakfast. There were several adult men who seemed to be workers, an old woman sitting in the corner sipping tea, and a simply dressed ninja sitting at the counter, enjoying a bowl of ramen.
Souta chose to sit in the corner, waiting for a server to come. Once the menu was provided, he quickly ordered a bowl of rice with egg soup and sambal. The food arrived shortly after, still steaming hot.
As Souta began to eat, the warmth of the food spread throughout his body, providing a comforting sensation after running for quite a while. While enjoying his breakfast, Souta thought about his training for the day.
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After finishing his meal, Souta returned to the village streets. His stomach felt comfortable, and his body felt a bit more refreshed after resting. However, on his way home, his eyes caught a sight that left him transfixed.
Across the street, an adult ninja stood with three children who appeared to be around 12 years old. They wore the distinctive forehead protectors of Sunagakure and uniforms that were similar yet slightly different in detail. It was a team of ninjas.
Souta's eyes widened.
"So... this is what it feels like to see them in person."
Souta knew well that in anime, Genin often appeared to be nothing special. But at that moment, seeing them with his own eyes, the feeling was different. They did not look like ordinary children. There was something in the way they stood, the way they spoke, and how they carried themselves.
Unconsciously, Souta smiled slightly.
"I want to be like them one day," Souta thought.
However, another question arose in Souta's mind—what techniques would he use in the future? Would he just be an ordinary ninja, or was there something he could develop on his own?
Souta's thoughts began to explore various techniques he knew from anime. Elemental ninjutsu? Taijutsu? Fuinjutsu? However, his thoughts stopped at one thing—Kugutsu.
Puppet Technique.
Souta remembered how the Kugutsu-using ninjas in anime controlled their puppets with chakra threads, utilizing advanced mechanisms to fight from a distance.
"Puppets... Robots..." Souta murmured.
To Souta, puppets and robots had a similar concept. Both were objects controlled by their users. If Souta could use Kugutsu, then he would be like an engineer controlling his own war machine on the battlefield.
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Chapter 28: Chakra Control Practice Using Leaves
A wide smile formed on Souta's face.
"Alright! I've decided to become the greatest Puppet User Ninja!" Souta exclaimed enthusiastically.
A few people around Souta glanced at him with confused expressions. A young mother carrying a shopping basket stared at Souta for a moment, then chuckled softly while shaking her head. An old man sitting on a bench merely smiled faintly, as if reminiscing about a dream-filled youth.
However, Souta was oblivious to their gazes. All that occupied his mind at the moment was practicing chakra control so he could start learning Kugutsu.
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On his way home, Souta began to think about the first step.
"Before I can control puppets, I need to create Chakra Threads first."
But before that, Souta needed to improve his chakra control.
Along the way, Souta picked up several leaves scattered on the ground. He would use these leaves for basic practice—keeping the leaves stuck to his forehead using chakra.
After arriving at his apartment building, Souta entered his simple little room. Sitting on the cold sandy floor, he placed the leaves in front of him and prepared to practice.
Souta took one leaf, pressed it to his forehead, and began to focus.
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Time passed.
In the last few hours, Souta kept trying and trying. However, keeping the leaf on his forehead was not as easy as he thought.
Every time Souta's chakra became unstable, the leaf would fall. If he used too much chakra, the leaf would be pushed upward instead. However, there was one thing that made Souta feel satisfied—he was starting to understand the pattern behind this technique.
Previously, Souta could only keep the leaf on his forehead for thirty seconds. But after several hours of trying, he could now maintain it for a full five minutes.
Although he was still far from his target of one hour, this was progress.
In between Souta's practice, his thoughts kept drifting to Kugutsu. If he could master this basic technique, the next step would be to create Chakra Threads and then use those threads to move small objects.
After that, Souta would look for a way to obtain a puppet.
Souta knew that this journey would not be easy. It could take months, or even years. But Souta had already decided on his path.
Where Souta would not give up.
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Time continued to pass, and now only twenty days remained before Souta and Pakura officially became students of the Ninja Academy. For most children their age, twenty days might feel short, merely a time of excited waiting or playing. However, for Souta, this was precious time—every day, every hour, even every minute had to be used as effectively as possible to improve his abilities.
Since the first day after Souta learned that he would be entering the Ninja Academy, he began training his chakra control with a simple yet challenging basic exercise: keeping a leaf on his forehead. At first, this exercise felt impossible to Souta.
The first day passed with many failures—the leaf barely lasted more than a few seconds before falling to the ground. Time and again, Souta furrowed his brow, biting his lip, and tried again.
Souta tried to concentrate, imagining how his chakra was supposed to work, but every time the leaf fell, frustration haunted him more and more.
After a full day of practice, Souta's progress was minimal—he could only keep the leaf for fifteen minutes before losing control. However, Souta did not give up. In the following days, he continued to repeat the exercise diligently. Souta's hands often clenched tightly in frustration, but his determination was stronger than the fatigue that began to creep into his body.
Finally, after five full days of relentless practice, Souta managed to keep the leaf on his forehead for a full hour.
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