Chapter 68: Restless Heart
Chapter 68: Restless Heart
Is teaching a smart student a blessing or a curse? Mizuki couldn't quite decide. At the very least, Sakura wasn't much of a hassle—he simply had to consider what lessons suited her best.
After more than half a month of training, he felt he had taught her almost everything she could handle. Whether she could master it in combat was another story, but at the very least, she had learned most of it. The rest was up to consistent practice and flexible application.
"Sensei, what do you think about me learning Gaara's fighting style?"
Smart people always overthink when they have free time. Just yesterday, Sakura had been obsessed with studying puppet techniques, and today she had set her sights on Gaara's combat style.
Mizuki shook his head. "Are you sure? That's not something easily learned. Why do you want to use sand-based jutsu?"
"Not sand—it's too dirty. I was thinking of using water instead. It seems strong both offensively and defensively!"
Mizuki sighed. "Even if I wanted to teach you, I wouldn't know how. But more importantly, you're making a fundamental mistake. Even if you master water release's shape transformation, it won't work the way you think. Chakra-formed elements are not the real thing. Gaara's techniques rely on actual sand, not just chakra simulations.
"Unless you're okay with carrying a ridiculously heavy water gourd everywhere like he does—potentially stunting your growth—you might want to reconsider."
Many ordinary people found ninja abilities to be incredibly mystical because they could seemingly conjure fire, water, wind, earth, and lightning out of thin air. However, what they didn't realize was that chakra is still chakra. No matter how perfectly elemental transformations mimic reality, they're never the real thing.
Take Mizuki's fire release, for example. With chakra transformation, he could make it just like natural fire—producing heat, igniting objects, and even merging with real flames for greater effect. But as soon as he stopped controlling it, the flames would vanish into thin air, unlike real fire, which would continue burning.
If Sakura really wanted to fight like Gaara, she'd have to:
1. Perfectly master water release's shape transformation.
2. Carry a large amount of actual water—constantly keeping it infused with chakra to enhance its control.
3. Develop advanced control skills to make it as responsive as Gaara's sand.
It was possible, but not practical.
Mizuki continued, "I assume you're interested in Gaara's style because I mentioned he's the strongest Genin in the Chūnin Exams? No need to be envious. Here's something you probably didn't know—even if you mastered water control, you'd never achieve Gaara's level of power. That's because his automatic sand defense isn't just a jutsu—it's likely a Kekkei Genkai."
"A Kekkei Genkai?" Sakura was surprised. "Like Sasuke's Sharingan or the Hyūga Clan's Byakugan? Or Haku's Ice Release?"
Mizuki nodded. "Exactly. You still have a lot to learn. There are many Kekkei Genkai in the world that are far beyond your imagination."
Gaara's sand manipulation was rumored to be due to his mother's lingering spirit protecting him even after death, and even his name was supposedly inspired by her.
Mizuki dismissed that theory as nonsense. A dead person protecting their child with such absurd precision? Even countering Rock Lee's high-speed taijutsu with expert defense? That was ridiculous.
It was far more likely that Gaara's mother had a similar ability, which he had inherited.
Hearing Mizuki's explanation, Sakura lowered her head in disappointment.
Mizuki sighed. "The final stage of the Chūnin Exams is coming up. I understand why you're feeling restless, but lately, you've been too impatient—you need to calm down and think carefully about your own path."
Over the past few weeks, Mizuki had taught Sakura plenty, but it was primarily meant to give her more strategic options and help her leverage her intelligence in battle.
However, Sakura refused to accept this easily. "I know, sensei… but the exams are getting closer, and I feel like I'm still so far behind."
Mizuki corrected her, "I think you're misunderstanding something. Do you really believe your progress has been slow?"
Sakura hesitated before nodding. "I know the techniques you taught me are valuable, but how can I reach Chūnin level in such a short time? I just don't want to lose."
Despite her long-term decision a month ago—to focus on steady growth rather than short-term power—she couldn't ignore her emotions. Watching her teammates enter the final stage while she had been eliminated made her feel frustrated and powerless.
"She's still just a kid who hates losing," Mizuki thought, rubbing his forehead.
He then dropped a bombshell.
"Sakura, let me put it this way—if this were a month ago, you could already defeat Sasuke."
"WHAT?!" Sakura's eyes widened.
To her, Sasuke was perfect—someone she never even considered surpassing.
"You need to have more faith in yourself and in what I've taught you. Of course, Sasuke is stronger now than he was a month ago. Whether you can defeat him now is uncertain. But make no mistake—you are much stronger than before."
Sakura blinked in disbelief. "I… could actually beat Sasuke?"
Mizuki smiled. "Yes. You feel weak because you've been training against me. I know every move you make before you make it. Every attack of yours is predictable to me—that's why your training matches feel so frustrating.
"But think about this—I'm a Chūnin. Not just another exam participant, but an actual Chūnin. You were never going to beat me using the techniques I just taught you. That's just common sense."
Sakura slowly processed his words.
She had completely misjudged her own strength—because she had only been comparing herself against Mizuki, not her real opponents.
"You're saying… I'm actually much stronger than I thought?"
"Exactly."
Sakura exhaled in relief. So that's why training felt so hopeless—she had been measuring herself against someone leagues ahead of her rather than her actual peers.
She had grown so much, yet all she could see were the endless obstacles ahead—forgetting how far she had already come.
It wasn't that she hadn't improved.
She had simply been too impatient to recognize it.
---
Read up to 20 chapter ahead of time on patreon.com/Legendryweeb
{please give this novel 5 Star review and power stone}
*Thank you*