Chapter 21: “We continue working”

I returned home, closing the door behind me. I put the shopping bag on the table, took off my shoes, and went to the bathroom.

Today, I wasn't planning to try the main medication—it was still too early to take risks. But the relaxing tonic looked safe and promised to accelerate recovery.

I took a small bottle out of the bag, tightly sealed. The label read:

"Tonizing bath concentrate. Relaxes muscles, fills the body with chakra, restores inner balance. 10 drops per 50 liters of water."

I twisted off the cap, carefully inhaling the scent—a faint, herbal, slightly minty fragrance. Pleasant, not sharp.

"Alright, first the water..." I mumbled, starting the hot water stream.

While the bath was filling, I counted the required number of drops—ten, no more. The liquid slowly spread in the water, giving it a barely noticeable greenish tint, like an herbal infusion.

I turned off the tap and checked the temperature—warm, but not too hot. Just right. I gently lowered myself into the water, submerging up to my shoulders.

It had been almost an hour since I'd been in the bath, occasionally running my hand through the water, hoping to feel some difference. But honestly, apart from the slight warmth and faint herbal scent, nothing special was happening.

My muscles may have relaxed a little, but not enough to say, "Yes, this is it!" I had expected more—at least a sense of lightness or clarity in my head. Instead, it was just the usual feeling, like after any hot bath.

"After all, their marketing is the same as ours," I muttered to myself, looking at the barely noticeable green tint of the water. "They promise mountains of gold, but you get copper with a hint of mint."

I sighed, getting out of the bath, drying myself with a towel, and thinking that next time I'd actually bother to read the ingredients more carefully. Though, honestly, after a workout, even a regular warm bath feels better.

Now was the perfect time for reading. I laid out two books in front of me that I had taken from the library—one about medicinal substances, the other about herbs and their interaction with chakra.

Maybe they would help me understand better what exactly I had bought, and whether I should use those pills at all.

Flipping through the pages, I tried to find familiar component names, cross-checking them with what was written on the packaging. So far, everything seemed relatively safe.

I leaned back in my chair, taking a deep breath. Tomorrow, I planned to start studying the technique of C-rank. Maybe it was too early, but we were running out of time.

The war is ongoing, and I'm not sure how long we'll be allowed to stay at the academy. Who knows, maybe in a month they'll start sending us on missions. Delay could cost too much.

So, even if I'm not completely ready yet—it's time to move forward. Better to be a step ahead than to regret not starting earlier.

The next day began in the morning. It was a day off—both at the academy and at work, which gave me the opportunity to focus entirely on training. All I needed was time and space to work on my skills and study the technique I planned to master.

Waking up at 7 a.m. was already a routine. After opening my eyes, I got out of bed, feeling the tension disappear from my body. I quickly washed my face, brushed my teeth, had a small snack so

I wouldn't train on an empty stomach, and, dressed in comfortable gear, started preparing to leave.

All I needed to take was a pouch with tools and equipment that I could always carry with me.

After finishing my morning preparations, I headed out. Today, I didn't need to run around the city or complete any postal tasks. I was fully focused on my goal.

My path led me into the forest. But not just into the forest—into the training ground my father used. This place was perfect for training—secluded and safe, far from prying eyes.

At times like these, I appreciated it, as here I didn't have to worry about unexpected onlookers who might catch me off guard.

No one disturbed me, no one distracted me. This was the place where I could fully immerse myself in training and work on improving my technique without any interruptions.

First of all, I should mention that I was about to master the Wind Style: Great Gust. This is a C-rank technique, and it's basic for all users of the wind element, just as Fireball is for shinobi who use fire.

Almost everyone who masters wind starts with this technique, and that's no accident—it provides a solid foundation for further improvements.

To begin, you need to understand the structure of the technique itself. The Great Gust consists of five main hand seals, but experienced users can reduce their number.

For example, my father could perform this technique using just one seal—concentration—but it required not only a high level of skill but also a deep understanding of how chakra flows and transforms when using the technique.

Once you understand how it should move inside, you can significantly simplify the process. But for now, it was important for me to just master the technique itself, and I'd think about reducing the seals later.

I broke down the entire process into stages to make it easier to follow. The first step was performing the seals. I started with Tiger, then moved to Ox, followed by Dog, then Rabbit, and finally Snake.

All of this had to be done quickly and smoothly so that the chakra could gather in the right place at the right time. While performing these seals, my attention was focused on gathering chakra inside, in the area of the stomach.

This was an important moment because it was there that the energy began to accumulate and concentrate, ready to be released.

Once the chakra had gathered, I had to carefully exhale it out of my mouth. It was at this moment that the actual "gust" occurred.

I expected more, but in reality, all I did was slightly sway the branches of the nearby trees. I probably used about 5 percent of my chakra, and that was clearly not enough for the technique to show its full potential.

Maybe I need to invest more energy to achieve a stronger effect?

And so, my experiments with this technique began. I gradually increased the amount of chakra, trying to find the right balance that would allow me to create a more powerful gust of wind, without wasting too much energy.

Every time I exhaled chakra, I could feel it flowing freely, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't achieve the desired result. The branches still only moved slightly.

Experienced users can master this technique not only for offense but also for defense. For example, the gust of wind can be used to push an enemy back, knock them off their feet, create a barrier that absorbs attacks, or even bend the trajectory of flying objects.

The power of such wind depends on the user's level, and experienced shinobi are capable of uprooting trees or breaking stone walls.