"Show me your Fire Release," Orochimaru commanded.
They stood in a large training hall, underground. Stone walls, high ceiling, perfect for jutsu practice.
Sasuke formed the hand seals. "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"
A large fireball erupted from his mouth, crossed the hall, and exploded against the far wall.
Orochimaru looked unimpressed. "Standard Uchiha technique. Adequate power, decent control. But nothing special."
"What did you expect?"
"More." Orochimaru formed his own seals, much faster. Fire erupted from his mouth, but instead of a ball, it formed a spinning wheel. The wheel flew across the hall, carved through three stone pillars, and dissipated.
"Fire Release isn't just about raw power," Orochimaru explained. "It's about shape manipulation. Control. Creating techniques your opponents won't expect."
He formed different seals. This time, fire emerged as multiple thin streams. They wove together in complex patterns, forming a cage in midair.
"Copy this," Orochimaru said.
Sasuke activated his Sharingan. Three tomoe spun, recording every detail. The hand seals. The chakra flow. The shape manipulation required.
He formed the same seals. Focused his chakra. Fire emerged—
And immediately fell apart. Just scattered flames instead of organized streams.
"Again," Orochimaru ordered.
Sasuke tried again. And again. And again.
On the tenth attempt, he managed to form two streams that held their shape for about three seconds.
"Better," Orochimaru assessed. "But still insufficient. You're relying too much on your Sharingan to copy the form without understanding the principles."
"What principles?"
"Shape manipulation requires constant chakra adjustment. You're maintaining a fixed output. The technique needs dynamic control—more chakra here, less there, constant micro-adjustments."
Orochimaru demonstrated again, this time with his hands glowing with chakra. Sasuke could see the fluctuations with his Sharingan. The constant tiny changes in chakra flow that maintained the technique's shape.
"Now you try. But this time, don't just copy. Understand."
Sasuke formed the seals again. This time he focused not on replicating the exact movements, but on understanding the concept. Dynamic control. Constant adjustment.
Fire emerged. Multiple streams. They wavered, almost fell apart—
Sasuke adjusted. More chakra to the left stream. Less to the right. Compensate for the wobble in the center.
The streams stabilized. Held their shape. Wove together into a simple pattern.
Not as good as Orochimaru's. But functional.
"There," Orochimaru said with satisfaction. "That's actual learning. Not just copying."
He pulled out more scrolls. "We'll spend the next month on shape manipulation. Master this, and everything else becomes easier."