Chapter 319: 2 months
"Now listen closely, supercharging a jutsu is all about patience, precision, and control. The initial steps are the same as performing a regular jutsu: hand signs, chakra molding, and transformation. But here's where it changes." Shisui paused to emphasize his point.
"In a normal jutsu, once you mold and transform the chakra, it is immediately released. However, when supercharging, you hold the jutsu in its final phase, right before it's executed. While maintaining that state, you repeat the molding and transformation process as many times as you can. The more cycles you complete, the more potent the jutsu becomes. But..."
Shisui's voice turned stern. "This is where the risk comes in. Overdoing it can lead to severe strain on your chakra pathways, potentially damaging them permanently."
Kaida nodded thoughtfully as he absorbed every word. "So, if I understand correctly, each repetition is like stacking chakra layers on top of each other, right? It increases the density and power of the jutsu?"
"Almost, there is more to it, but initially this much should be fine for you," Shisui smiled, then continued.
"The trick is finding the balance. Without a proper amount of chakra, it will be just a regular jutsu which took extra time than necessary. Too much, and you risk more than just wasted chakra. The pathways in your body can only handle so much stress before they start to crack under pressure. Think of it like a water pipe; if you keep forcing more water than it can handle, it'll burst."
Kaida frowned slightly. This sounded a little too dangerous. "Is there a way to tell when you're pushing too far? Like a warning or a signal?"
Shisui nodded. "Yes, but it's subtle. You'll feel a burning sensation along your pathways or a subtle pain which is different from muscle pain. The moment you sense that, stop. It's your body telling you that you're nearing the limit. The more you practice, the more your limit will increase. Best is you start with small jutsu and gradually work your way up to more complex ones."
"So, it's more about precision and control than just raw power," Kaida said, after comprehending each of Shisui's words completely. "I think I can handle that." He said after that with a confident smile.
"Good attitude," Shisui said, patting him on the shoulder. "Now, let's practice. Start with the Fireball Jutsu. Perform the hand signs, mold your chakra, and hold it at the release phase. Once you're there, try to cycle the molding process again, but don't rush it. Feel each step." Shisui said and activated his Sharingan as well, just in case.
Kaida took a deep breath, forming the hand seals with precision. Tiger, Horse, Rat, Snake, Dog, Tiger, his chakra surging as he molded it into the fire nature. Holding the jutsu at the release point, he focused on repeating the molding process, carefully layering his chakra.
"Good, keep it steady," Shisui encouraged, observing closely. Seeing the flow inside Kaida's body clearly, "Feel the flow and make sure it's even. Don't let the chakra spill out of control."
Kaida clenched his teeth as he cycled the process a second time. The molding process was not the one which was difficult; it was holding an almost complete jutsu at its final phase which was difficult. As he completed his second cycle, a faint warmth began to build along his pathways, a warning he immediately noted.
"Brother, I'm feeling some heat along my arms," Kaida said, his voice tense but steady.
"That's your cue to stop the process now, and release the fireball," Shisui instructed, not much alarmed as he could see that Kaida was not at his limit, though he still said to release the jutsu. There was no need to strain the body too much in practice.
Kaida nodded, releasing the jutsu. A massive fireball erupted from his mouth, far larger and hotter than usual. It surged forward, scorching the training ground ahead.
Shisui grinned as the flames dissipated. "Not bad for your first try, Kaida. You managed two cycles without losing control. With practice, you'll be able to go further. But remember, your health is much more important than anything else. Always stop before you reach your limits," he said.
Kaida exhaled deeply, a smile spreading across his face. "Understood, brother," Kaida said.
"Good. Now do you know any other jutsu, a little different from the one that releases in one burst?" Shisui asked.
"I know Great Breakthrough Jutsu and Iron Skin Jutsu as well," Kaida said.
"Excellent, these two should be enough to cover all types of supercharging, as they need a little different approach like..." Shisui said and began explaining how to supercharge different types of jutsu, while also showing it practically from time to time, to make it easier for Kaida to understand.
One hour passed before he was even in the middle of the explanation, but neither Shisui nor Kaida paid any attention to that.
As time went by, Kaida slowly learned all of the ways to supercharge a jutsu. By the time the training ended, it was already 10 pm.
"Shit, mom is going to kill us," Shisui said as soon as he saw the time.
"Let's run and hope that we get away with a few broken bones," Kaida said with a chuckle.
…
(… 2 months)
From the next day, Kaida started going to the hospital in the morning, while learning a jutsu using Contribution points in the evening, though it was occasional as he needed time to at least master the basic version of those jutsu as well.
So in a week, he learned jutsu on two days while training them for the rest of the five days. The only jutsu he was training continuously was the Iron Skin Jutsu. Since he was using shadow clones for the practice, the use of Iron Skin Jutsu was becoming more and more apparent. Now his clones were able to take some hits, which in turn made the efficiency of the training much higher than before.
Also, after supercharging the jutsu, even tanking some B-rank and weaker A-rank jutsu was also possible for the clones during the training. An outrageous idea came into Kaida's mind.
'What if Naruto learned this jutsu, an army of a thousand ninjas each capable of tanking B-rank or lower jutsu?' Just the thought of it was unsettling, obviously from an enemy perspective, but Kaida's thoughts with a cheeky grin on his face were different.
'I have to surely pass on this jutsu to him when he grows up.'
While Kaida was busy with his training and medical work, Shisui was doing one mission after another. The number was so large that he was even rivaling the revenue of the whole bathhouse and shops combined, which after 2 months had reached more than 15 million Ryo per month, thanks to the idea of medicinal baths along with complementing medicines, of course.
This not only helped in healing but also drastically reduced the recovery and rehabilitation time. The efficiency was so high that Hiruzen even booked a bath specially for Anbu Ninjas.
Luckily, Hae had a team of capable assistants to share the workload; otherwise, she may have passed out from all that work. With the bathhouse as an excuse, she even got a meeting appointment with the Hokage, discussing the stadium. Obviously, Kaida and Shisui accompanied her as well.
Initially, Hiruzen was skeptical about this, since their ninjas will fight openly in the stadium, and enemy spies can openly gather data about them, making the preparation of counters against them very easy.
"Lord Third, they will be just spars, and there will be no reason for ninjas to show their full capabilities. Aside from that, it will be an excellent way for ninjas to be always in shape," Shisui said.
"Aside from that, there is this benefit as well," Kaida said, passing a file forward. The file contained all the possible revenue the stadium would generate, along with the village's share of the profit.
After thinking for 10 minutes, Hiruzen nodded his head.
"As Shisui said, this will be an excellent way for ninjas to have experience fighting against various opponents. The pros far outweigh the cons of this." But then a glint passed in Hiruzen's eyes. The share Kaida had written in the file was 15 percent.
"20 percent, and I will allow Anbu ninjas to participate in the stadium as well," Hiruzen said.
"Deal." This time it was Hae who agreed to it before either Kaida or Shisui could say anything.
"Then I give my approval to it." Hiruzen said with a smile.