Chapter 16: The First Day of Training (1)

In the morning of his first day of training with his new teacher, Mikumo, Isamu woke up with a mixture of excitement and anxiety filling his heart.

He knew that the coming days would likely be full of challenges, but he wasn't ready to give up. He quickly dressed and headed toward the dojo with unwavering determination.

Upon his arrival, Mikumo was standing in the middle of the open yard, surrounded by an aura of seriousness and authority.

Her gaze rested on him, as if studying every movement and expression that appeared on his face. For a few moments, the atmosphere was charged with silence.

"Are you ready?" she asked in a stern voice.

"Yes, ready," Isamu responded without hesitation, assuming a stance of preparedness.

In the next moment, without uttering another word, Mikumo moved with astonishing speed—so fast that Isamu couldn't comprehend it. In the blink of an eye, before he realized what was happening, she was beside him.

He felt pressure on certain points of his body, but the movement was so quick that he couldn't determine exactly what she had done. When she finished and stood in front of him, her gaze fell on his small frame.

At that moment, he felt something strange. He tried to focus on the chakra inside him, that energy he had always controlled with ease—something he had mastered in his previous training in the world of Naruto—but he found that he could no longer direct it as he normally would.

Although he could still feel the chakra within him, he was unable to channel it to enhance his body.

A wave of shock overwhelmed him. How had this happened? Slowly, he lifted his head toward his new teacher, his eyes filled with clear concern, as he attempted to speak:

"Sensei, this..."

Mikumo interrupted him calmly, observing his confused expression. "I've temporarily sealed some of the channels through which your internal energy flows—what we call 'chi.'"

Mikumo smiled gently, yet there was an undercurrent of fear in that smile, as if she had anticipated this reaction.

Isamu's confusion deepened. "Sealing energy channels?" The concept reminded him of the techniques used by the Hyuga clan .

"Though I don't know why you possess chi at an expert level, there's no doubt that your martial arts skills, based on what I see from your body, don't go beyond those of a beginner—if not less. It seems your previous training focused on rapid strength rather than building a solid foundation. Your body is strong, but it's built on weak fundamentals."

Initially, Mikumo's actions confused Isamu, but her following words shocked him. He hadn't imagined that she could close the energy points in his body, like the Hyuga clan did, and even more surprising was that she did it without having the Byakugan.

Moreover, she discovered that he possessed chi at a level comparable to that of an expert, and she evaluated his previous training, which had been guided by his clan and his grandfather.

As he tried to grasp what she meant by her words, Isamu recalled his earlier reflections. Since arriving in this world, which differed greatly from his previous one, he had constantly compared the ninjas to the fighters here.

Through the memories he had gathered from his past life and the guidance he had received over the past few months from some members of his clan, he began to see the gap in how ninjas and fighters evolved.

In the ninja world, chakra was the core of power, but it wasn't always proportionate to physical and defensive abilities. Ninjas like Madara and Hashirama could use massive amounts of chakra to destroy mountains and control nature itself, but they were still physically vulnerable to sharp weapons or physical injuries unless they used chakra to protect themselves.

This gap between physical strength and energy protection was evident in many battles he had seen or studied through the history of ninjas.

On the other hand, the fighters in this world relied heavily on chi and physical fitness. Their strength and growth went hand in hand—chi strengthened the body, and a strong body enhanced the flow of chi.

He observed that these fighters had a strong and resilient physique, enabling them to endure direct attacks without needing to rely on external energy protection. This made him question his previous training approach.

At the same time, Isamu realized that this general rule wasn't absolute. There were exceptions in both worlds. In the ninja world, Rock Lee and his mentor Guy were prime examples of how physical strength and endurance could surpass the heavy reliance on chakra.

Lee couldn't use ninjutsu or genjutsu, yet through training his body to its limits, he became one of the strongest fighters. His mentor, Guy, was also a perfect example of how the body could become a devastating weapon in its own right without significant dependence on chakra techniques.

In this new world, Mikumo clearly embodied that idea. She possessed strength and control over chi without the need for visual abilities like the Byakugan.

She could block his energy points and assess his training, showing him that she had a deep understanding of how chi balances with physical abilities.

Additionally, despite being a woman in her nineties, and even though she looked young, her current physical condition, while perhaps not at a master's level, still allowed her to be ranked among the great sages due to the enormous amount of chi she controlled and her mastery over it.

Isamu thought for a moment, saying to himself, "Of course, this doesn't mean that one path is entirely wrong. Both have evolved based on specific circumstances, adapting to their users and the surrounding conditions to achieve particular goals."

In the world of Naruto, centuries of war shaped the reality that ninjas lived in. They didn't have the luxury of developing strength over long years; they needed methods that gave them power quickly.

This meant that ninjas had to enter battles at a young age, training their bodies and minds to endure the pressures of combat from childhood. Often, young ninjas didn't have the luxury of gradual growth—the challenges they faced demanded that they become strong as soon as possible. Speed in gaining power was essential for survival.

Isamu realized that ninja philosophy focused on rapid power acquisition, not because it was the best approach, but because they were racing against time. The faster a ninja grew, the greater their chances of surviving in the fierce, merciless wars.

In this harsh environment, there was no room for slow development or balanced training that laid strong foundations for the future. The immediate goal was survival, and survival required swift strength.

But Isamu also began to see the downside of this approach. It was true that ninjas became powerful quickly, but this made their peak period short. In the ninja world, young prodigies like Itachi, Madara, and Hashirama reached the height of their power in their twenties or thirties, but after that, their strength began to decline or stop growing.

The older ninjas who survived long battles often found themselves exhausted from these wars, and as they aged, they became unable to fight with the same power. That's why many ninjas considered those who lived to retirement as lucky.

In contrast, Isamu reflected on the philosophy of chi fighters. Unlike the ninjas, these fighters weren't subjected to the brutal pressure of wars that demanded immediate power.

Instead, they could develop their abilities slowly and steadily, giving them the chance to build strong and healthy bodies reliant on advanced physical fitness alongside chi. Isamu noticed that chi fighters had strength that increased over time rather than diminishing like it did with ninjas.

In the world of chi, the central idea was "solid foundation." Fighters took the time to build strong, durable foundations, combining high physical strength with complete control over the flow of chi. This approach allowed them to maintain their peak strength for longer periods, and in fact, they grew stronger as they aged.

Unlike ninjas, fighters didn't feel drained early in life; their power continued to grow over time, enabling them to fight more effectively even at an advanced age.

Isamu began to understand that these differences weren't just the result of different training methods but reflected distinct historical and social needs.

The ninjas, living in the shadow of constant wars, were forced to speed up the process of gaining strength at the expense of sustainability. Meanwhile, chi fighters, who didn't face those harsh pressures, were able to follow a gradual approach that allowed them to evolve over time without sacrificing the fundamentals.