A cold wind blowing from the distant Land of Earth swept through the yellowing leaves, tossing them into the air. Amid this scene, the Senju clan grounds appeared even more desolate and abandoned.
In contrast, the training area within the clan compound seemed remarkably grand, almost extravagant.
"This facility is so new," Kushina, unaccustomed to luxury, ran her hand along the smooth walls. Perhaps too eager, she pinched a small piece from one corner.
"..."
Pretending nothing had happened, she smiled and gently guided Mikoto and Nono to the other side, where the three whispered together in private. Female friendships were curious indeed; though they had only met a day ago, they seemed inseparable.
"Nawaki, your family actually has a training ground like this?" Minato clicked his tongue, shaking his head in disbelief. He had grown accustomed to training in the nearby forest. Life among the wealthy remained a mystery.
"It wasn't always like this," Nawaki admitted, looking confused.
"This must be Tsunade-sensei's doing. Remember the second-year training? She rebuilt the training ground after it was destroyed, got reimbursed by the Third Hokage, and even made a small profit. She probably found another reason to get the village to fund it again," Uchiha Hayashi speculated, his assessment precise.
"Enough talk. Minato, show me your progress with the Rasengan."
Minato nodded, and a sphere of chakra formed in his hand, rotating slowly. Based on his training and previous foundation, he had reached the third stage.
Throughout his practice, Minato hadn't relied on props, and neither had Hayashi. Using props could make the learning process faster, but it would skip the essential steps of truly mastering the technique. While props helped stabilize the Rasengan, they prevented the user from experiencing the full development process. Hayashi wanted Minato to fully grasp every aspect, so props were forbidden.
"Watch closely," Hayashi instructed, signaling Nawaki to observe carefully.
Although Hayashi had only formed the Rasengan a few times himself, the subsequent development into Rasenshuriken had almost crippled his arm. Before mastering Sage Mode, the Rasengan's benefits were modest compared to the potential of the Chidori series.
Under the gaze of Minato and Nawaki, a sphere of chakra took shape in Hayashi's palm. He deliberately slowed its rotation, showcasing his precision.
"This is the first stage. With a solid chakra foundation, anyone can reach this stage," he explained. He paused, then continued, "If the chakra simply rotates in one direction, it isn't truly a Rasengan. This is only the Gyro stage. The next step is to manipulate the chakra's direction."
Minato watched as additional streams of chakra either slowed or reversed their rotation, creating a complex, multi-directional sphere.
"This is the prototype of the second stage. Completing this stage is roughly fifty percent of the Rasengan. At this point, the Rasengan has diverse chakra movements, but it is not yet lethal."
"With mastery, you can even control a kunai simultaneously while maintaining the Rasengan. That's how the Super Strength Kunai Throw is achieved. This is why the technique is considered B-rank," Hayashi added.
He compressed the ball further, the spiral remaining perfectly stable even as its size shrank. Soon, a perfectly formed Rasengan appeared in his hand.
The full process took nearly a minute. With his skill, it could have taken less than half a second, far faster than the five-seal Chidori.
Hayashi casually slammed the Rasengan into a thick wooden stake. The force tore it in half, the cross-section rough and jagged.
"Did you see the difficulty?" he asked, turning to his students.
Nawaki shook his head, bewildered.
Minato smiled faintly, "I saw it, but I don't know if I could reach that level. My chakra control isn't precise enough."
"It's not a problem for you, Minato. This is all about multitasking. Once you can compress a stream of chakra, the rest is practice and patience."
"By the way…" Hayashi's eyes twinkled. "Minato, can you use Shadow Clone?"
"Yes… I've seen you use it. Why?"
"Shadow Clones improve chakra control and help in forming the Rasengan. If you find it difficult, split a Shadow Clone to assist."
Minato hesitated, sensing Hayashi's playful undertone, but trusted him nonetheless.
"And what about me?" Nawaki asked impatiently.
"First, try this," Hayashi said, handing over a milky-white, water-filled object.
Unlike Minato, Nawaki needed a prop to assist him due to differences in skill. Hayashi explained, "This isn't an ordinary balloon. It's specially designed for elasticity."
Nawaki lifted it carefully, curiosity piqued. Hayashi smiled knowingly, then moved toward Mikoto, ready to continue training.
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