It's been 2 weeks since Shintoki had returned from his mission.
He had taken a few days to recuperate.
He checked his system to see his full stats.
Chakra: 37/100
Control: 39,5/100
Ninjutsu: 34/100
Genjutsu: 47/100
Kenjutsu: 38/100
Taijutsu: 17/100
Ketsuryugan: 16/100
Sensory: 30/100
Stamina: 25/100
Geniusity: 40/100
Analyse: 34/100
Leadership: 28/100
Level: 34/100
Mind you, the level of a jōnin is 45/100; above 65 is the S-rank tier.
So Shintoki was already aware of his shortcomings. He needed to work on his taijutsu and do some heavy exercise to strengthen himself so his stamina could rise too.
His leadership rising to 28 must have had to do with how he had led his team in the previous Chūnin Exam, assuming the role of keeping his team safe, and lastly the mission he did in Kuwa Village and the mission to retrieve the Miracle Plant.
Talking about the Miracle Plant, Shintoki had convinced Anko to find a way to conserve some of it for him so he could do his own research later.
He didn't fully trust Orochimaru or the Hokage to handle something like this for him.
Training Ground 14
In this secluded place, our hero was doing some exercise.
He was pushing chakra into his arms and legs while walking around the training ground with a large boulder attached to him. Unlike Guy, who resorted to raw strength to move around, Shintoki was instead relying more on chakra control to manage the weight and increase his strength in all his limbs, building not only his chakra reserves but also developing his muscle strength slowly.
He also put bandages on his eyes since he decided to maintain his Ketsuryugan activated to increase chakra consumption.
He would deactivate it sometimes to regain some energy before going back to his training.
Once he was done running around the training ground, a total of 2000 rounds, he made a clone that started to throw things at him, which he had to dodge without any wasted movement.
He had been doing this exercise for 2 hours now.
Need to keep trying, I need to push myself. Only then can I get stronger.
After another hour, he decided to stop.
He did 1000 jumps, 1000 punches up in the air. For every punchs he could fell the weight on his back intensifying.
He started to throw hands into empty air, causing the air to erupt wildly in front of him due to his hands breaking through the sound barrier.
His hand speed was not the result of his current exercise but his hard work as a swordsman. Speed was very important to swordsmen; that's why his hands were that fast.
And with him using something that weighed as much as a large boulder, his hands were starting to grow stronger too, allowing him to cause powerful impacts with his punches.
When he was done with that, he finally got rid of the large boulder on himself. He put it down after untying the ropes.
His body was drenched in sweat. He pulled out a bottle of water, drank, and took some heavy breaths to stabilize himself.
Afterward, he took out his food and ate to restore his strength.
By 11 am , Kotetsu and Izumo were there, and they started to train again.
This time, Shintoki pulled out his kunai to face them.
First match was Shintoki vs. Kotetsu.
Kotetsu charged at him. Facing his friend's charge, Shintoki didn't make any movement to dodge.
Kotetsu took his kunai and made a stabbing motion that was swiftly parried by Shin. Every attempt was easily repelled.
Irritated, Kotetsu tried a cutting slash, but it was dodged.
Shin had sidestepped it to avoid the entire slashing move. It was as if he was never there, but before Kotetsu could back off, a strong hit sent the kunai in his hand flying. It was from Shintoki's own kunai, which he had used to parry him until now.
Having used the momentum he gained after sidestepping the cutting move to boost his strength, the hit was much stronger than normal. Combined with Shin's current robust training that toughened his body, it not only pushed back the kunai but sent Kotetsu flying back.
He landed on the ground, wincing in pain.
While he was trying to gain his composure, a kunai was already placed on his neck, forcing him to yell.
"I don't know what you are on lately, Shin, but damn, you hit very hard."
"Seems like your training is having some results."
"Indeed. You know, you two should join me in my training. You will gain something."
With that, they kept training.
Now Izumo and Kotetsu were taking Shintoki together.
This time, Shintoki had decided to mostly put his weapon away, only using taijutsu to face them.
Whenever they were about to land a heavy hit, he would dodge and avoid getting badly hurt, only getting minor injuries.
"Fire Release: Flame Bullet."
A large fire shot toward Shintoki's direction.
"Water Release: Water Ripples Wall."
A huge wall of water formed around Shintoki, intercepting the fire, causing mist to erupt and cover most of the training ground.
Kick, kick, kick—the sound of weapons and fists clashing could be heard.
Kotetsu and Izumo were being beaten up by Shin in the mist.
Their bodies were covered with bruises.
"Damn it!" Frustrated at being toyed with, Kotetsu was furious.
That little demon was taking advantage of it to play dirty with them.
"Huh, hihi. I have always wanted to feel what it's like to fight in a mist-filled area. No wonder those Kiri ninja love it. It's nice here."
"Damn you, Shintoki, you will pay for this!"
"Whoa there. I remind you that this is training. Hopefully this will teach you two to stop throwing ninjutsu around without thinking. If this were another ninja, by throwing your fire technique recklessly, you would have made your own defeat swift from there, since you would be making the latter only stronger by creating the perfect place where you would be at a disadvantage."
"The mist will be gone soon anyway, or I could simply dispel it myself."
He started to spin on himself, executing the first part of his Human Spiral, causing a massive wind whirl that reached most of the training ground, clearing the mist.
"Wow."
"Holy shit!"
"You!" Izumo was speechless.
Just how strong had Shintoki become?
Compared to his version in the Chūnin Exam, he was far, far stronger. He would probably destroy his former self with a single attack.
"Lol, I knew we never really stood a chance."
"Hahaha, don't worry, I trust you two. You will grow into fine shinobi."
"Also, you have improved too."
"Your strength is already around chūnin level individually."
"If the exam happens again, you two won't be as helpless as before. We will take the top position."
"Yeah."
"You're right."
Both nodded to Shintoki's excitement.
Tsume didn't come today.
They then resumed their training.
Good, system update.
Chakra: 39/100
Control: 43/100
Ninjutsu: 36/100
Genjutsu: 47.5/100
Kenjutsu: 38.5/100
Taijutsu: 22/100
Ketsuryugan: 19/100
Sensory: 31/100
Stamina: 30/100
Geniusity: 40/100
Analyse: 37/100
Leadership: 28/100
Level has reached 36.
His hand-to-hand mastery had reached a level where he wouldn't be overwhelmed by a chūnin anymore, even without his kenjutsu. His ninjutsu had grown stronger in terms of potency due to improvements in chakra control.