Chapter 13

[I wish to find the best way to become Tsunade's disciple.]

[20 wishes consumed: Best path to become Tsunade's disciple—self-study Uchiha medical knowledge and medical ninjutsu, build a reputation as a medical genius, show sincere admiration for the Will of Fire, and await the right moment.]

"Twenty wishes? That's not too much!"

Without hesitation, Riku made his wish.

[I wish to consume 20 wishes and become Tsunade's disciple in the best possible way.]

In the next moment, a light unseen by anyone else soared from within Riku's body into the skies above Konoha and quickly dissipated.

Fate itself began to shift—subtle changes unfolding under the influence of the wish's miraculous power.

And with time, those changes would only grow more profound.

...

Ten days later—

"Phew! I've finally completed constructing all the energy pathways in my cells!"

"With my current mastery of the Perfect Chakra Refinement Technique and how thoroughly I've tapped into my chakra potential, in another two days I'll be ready to switch over to the Chakra Circulation Method!"

As he sensed the final cell's channel settle into place, Riku felt a wave of ease and exhilaration flood through his body.

After a few more circulations of chakra, the increase in his refinement efficiency was clear. He exhaled deeply and smiled in satisfaction.

Over the last ten days, not only had his chakra refinement technique advanced rapidly, but the amount of chakra he possessed had increased dramatically. By his estimate, it now matched that of an average chūnin.

And that was already remarkable.

Given that he had fully unlocked his body's chakra potential, improved the chakra utilization efficiency by 50% thanks to the Perfect Chakra Refinement Technique, and possessed a naturally superior physique, this wasn't entirely unexpected—

—but still enough to leave Nobuhiko and his wife thoroughly astonished.

With this in mind, Nobuhiko had already decided to start teaching Riku ninjutsu.

Meanwhile, Riku's martial arts training had also progressed rapidly.

With insights at the Divine level, coupled with a top-tier physical constitution and two rounds of Riku's self-improved herbal bath formula, his body had become over 50% stronger than it had been ten days ago.

He was closing in on the Bright Strength stage.

His stronger body also subtly enhanced his life force and cellular energy, slightly increasing his chakra potential as well.

However, Riku noticed that current gains in physical strength only contributed noticeably to cellular toughness, with limited impact on actual life force.

This meant his chakra didn't double or spike drastically.

Apparently, chakra volume wasn't directly tied to raw physical strength, but rather to life force.

Makes sense—Might Guy had immense physical strength, but not a lot of chakra.

Meanwhile, the Uzumaki clan, known for their potent life force, had vast chakra reserves.

This was further proof.

In the shinobi world, strengthening the body had minimal effect on life force because taijutsu systems here were incomplete and couldn't raise one's life level.

But for Riku, who possessed martial arts, this wasn't a problem.

As he advanced further in martial arts, his life force and life level would steadily rise.

For now, since he hadn't stepped into the Bright Strength level, the changes were still subtle.

But once he reached that realm and began sensing blood and qi, the difference would be unmistakable.

Riku looked forward to that.

"My dad's body has all sorts of hidden injuries that even medical ninjutsu can't erase. Most are from overextracting chakra in the past—excessive cell division, and loss of life force. Martial arts should help gradually restore those, right?"

"That would extend his lifespan and prime years significantly;"

"And if he trains further, he might even greatly prolong his life."

"That's a good thing for me too;"

"Mm! Martial arts have been verified on both my father and myself. I've already adjusted the system to match the physiology of ninja in this world. It's time to pass it on to Mother, and maybe even Big Brother."

Riku smirked to himself.

Fugaku might be a bit of an idiot, but he was still his brother—and had always treated him well.

With proper guidance, he could become a useful assistant and tool.

"And then there's Mikoto-nee... Once the relationship is deeper, I'll consider sharing it with her too."

He couldn't help but think of her.

Although they'd been close before his past life memories awakened, it still wasn't quite where Riku wanted it to be.

Lately, they had seen each other a few times, and with his intentional nudging, their bond had clearly begun to deepen.

...

Two days later

Inside Riku's room—

He sat cross-legged, eyes shut, using his ever-growing mental strength to sense the condition within his body as he began practicing the Chakra Circulation Method.

He carefully operated the method, directing chakra through his meridians in a defined path.

Because this was his first attempt, the circulation was extremely slow.

Half an hour passed before he completed a full cycle through his body and brought the chakra into his middle dantian region.

Under his guidance, the chakra surged into his Shanzhong acupoint, forcing it open—

Instead of dispersing chaotically, it steadily began expanding the acupoint under the influence of his technique.

Soon, a nascent dantian took form.

And as more chakra was funneled in and expanded it further, it stabilized into a full middle dantian.

From now on, every bit of chakra he refined and circulated would nourish and enlarge that center.

"Phew! I finally did it!"

"From now on, I can rely on the Chakra Circulation Method to steadily accumulate and enhance both the quantity and quality of my chakra!"

Riku let out a long breath.

This was his first time doing something like this, and he'd been nervous.

"...Huh? What's this?"

Just as he was about to pull his focus back and end the training session, he suddenly sensed something unusual within his middle dantian.

Startled, he focused his full mental strength on it.

Soon, he found it—at the core of his dantian's chakra whirlpool was something that resembled a seed.

This seed-like object seemed almost alive, firmly rooted in his chakra core, continuously absorbing chakra and assisting in its synthesis and refinement.

"This thing... a chakra seed?"

"Could this be the true form of what the Sage of Six Paths used to pass chakra to the people through Ninshū?"

"Is this the key that allows people in this world to so easily merge mental and physical energy into chakra?"

As he studied and analyzed its functions, Riku couldn't help but wonder.

Otherwise, how could people in this world synthesize chakra so easily?

Did people really think that was simple?

If it were, his previous life wouldn't have been trapped on that lifeless world, unable to gain supernatural power, and forced to use ten years of wishes to escape.

Everyone has mental and physical energy.

Back then, he had also tried refining inner force, synthesizing chakra, even forming mana.

All of it failed.

Clearly—it wasn't that simple.

(End of Chapter)

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