Mizuki waited, but the system's return notification never came.
"Still no return? Do I have to wait until they've actually learned the Rasengan?"
The system's return method wasn't consistent.
For example, when teaching Sasuke the Water Surface Walking Practice, the system returned the Air Walk Technique. When teaching Sakura the Temple of Nirvana Scroll, it returned the Demonic Illusion: Hell Scroll.
These returned training methods couldn't directly boost Mizuki's strength — he had to train himself to master them.
On the other hand, when guiding Sasuke to train in sound location, the system directly returned Echolocation, which he immediately mastered, instantly boosting his strength.
The difference was simple: blueprint versus finished product.
For Mizuki, finished products were best. No time spent training — convenient and effortless.
Naruto and Sasuke ran to the market to buy water balloons, then practiced on the bridge. In less than two hours, Sasuke's water balloon burst.
Hearing the sound, Naruto knew his rival had completed the first stage. He immediately roared, "I'm the man who's going to become Hokage — how can I lose to Sasuke? I won't accept this!"
Unfortunately, the Five Elements Seal had disrupted his chakra, greatly weakening his control.
Although Mizuki had explained the trick clearly, Naruto couldn't control his chakra. He still couldn't make it rotate irregularly in his hand.
"Sasuke-kun is amazing!"
Sakura had set down the Five Elements Seal scroll and was cheering for Sasuke from the sidelines.
Seeing this, Naruto's jealousy boiled over. Breathing heavily, his chakra surged wildly, and the water balloon in his hand shook violently.
"Damn Sasuke, I'll definitely break you!"
He was treating the water balloon as Sasuke, wishing he could burst it to vent his frustration.
Sasuke glanced at the wildly shaking water balloon in Naruto's hand. A smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
Naruto caught the smile. His jealousy exploded into rage.
"Damn Sasuke, what are you laughing at?"
Sasuke said coolly, "Dead last."
Naruto roared, "If Orochimaru hadn't messed up my chakra with that broken seal, I'd definitely be faster than you!"
Sasuke scoffed, "Dead last is dead last — always making excuses. Even in perfect condition, I'd still be faster than you."
"I'm faster than you!"
"I'm faster than you!"
Mizuki raised his eyebrows — two kids who hadn't even grown hair yet were arguing about who was faster.
How scandalous!
Sakura joined the argument, "Idiot Naruto, Sasuke-kun is a genius — he's definitely faster than you!"
Mizuki: "…"
He coughed and began reflecting on his own thoughts. It's said that people with evil hearts see everything as evil.
This isn't my fault — if anyone's to blame, it's society's declining moral standards!
Soon, the three of them tired of arguing and quieted down.
Sasuke snorted coldly at Naruto and turned to Mizuki, "I've completed the first stage — it's time to start the second."
Mizuki nodded, "Good. I'll explain the second stage of Rasengan training. Naruto, quiet down and listen — saves me from explaining twice."
He took out a rubber ball and explained the second stage.
The system still didn't issue a return notification.
❊❊❊❊❊
By nightfall, Naruto still hadn't burst the water balloon, while Sasuke could already make the rubber ball deform slightly.
Naruto was unconvinced but had no solution. On the way back, he hung his head like a defeated rooster, silent the entire time.
The next day, after training all day, his water balloon still hadn't burst. Meanwhile, Sasuke's rubber ball deformed more and more.
Watching Sakura cheer for Sasuke, Naruto grew dejected. That night, after everyone had gone to sleep, he secretly got up and went to the seaside to train alone.
On the rooftop, Mizuki watched with a smile.
The reasons Naruto could become Hokage and ultimately save the ninja world were many — the Fourth's son, Nine-Tails Jinchūriki, Asura's reincarnation…
But he always felt these weren't the main reasons. Being dead last yet refusing to give up — that tenacity was the most important factor in Naruto's success.
Mizuki admitted he couldn't compare to this boy.
'People with this kind of willpower will succeed no matter their background. So then, let's help him out once more!'
Naruto gripped the water balloon, practicing again and again, trying to control the chakra to rotate irregularly. But no matter how hard he tried, it was a complete mess.
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Damn Orochimaru, just you wait — once I get strong, I'll dry you into snake jerky and feed you to cats!"
Just then, a meow came from nearby.
A fat orange cat darted out from the corner of the building, leaped up, and batted the water balloon from Naruto's hand onto the ground, playing with it.
"Hey, kitty, don't play with my ball — I need it for training!" Naruto shouted.
But Zuki ignored him completely, batting the ball with both paws, left and right, having a great time. As the cat's paws kept batting the water balloon, the water inside began rotating irregularly.
Suddenly, with a "pop", the water balloon burst, and water spilled everywhere. Zuki meowed in surprise, jumped up, and ran off without a trace.
Seeing this, Naruto's eyes lit up.
"Hahaha, I've got it! Little kitty, thank you so much! Where do you live? I'll buy you dried fish tomorrow!"
He immediately took out a new water balloon and grabbed it with his left hand, injecting chakra into it.
At the same time, his right hand released chakra, forming a chakra vortex in his palm. Then he kept touching the water balloon with his right hand, using the vortex to influence the chakra rotation inside.
Because his right hand touched different places from all angles, the rotation became irregular. The water in the balloon began rotating chaotically, the surface deformed violently, and then — pop!
It burst!
"Haha, I did it!" Naruto cheered loudly.
The orange cat jumped onto the roof and transformed back into Mizuki with a poof.
Watching Naruto burst the water balloon, Mizuki smiled.
"Not bad — smart kid, quick to catch on. My dignity wasn't sacrificed in vain by turning into a cat."
Juza
Early the next morning, during breakfast, Naruto excitedly announced he'd completed the first stage of Rasengan training and demonstrated it in front of everyone.
Sakura, "Tch, you use two hands — still can't compare to Sasuke-kun."
Sasuke looked at Naruto seriously, his eyes showing acknowledgment rather than mockery.
Mizuki smiled, "Whether it's a black cat or white cat, a cat that catches mice is a good cat. Naruto thinking of using both hands shows he's quite clever."
Naruto scratched his head and laughed, "Actually, I have to thank that cat from last night. If it weren't for it, I wouldn't have thought of using both hands. I wonder where that kitty lives — I want to buy it a whole bunch of dried fish."
Mizuki awkwardly rubbed his nose.
Just then, Inari suddenly pointed at Mizuki, "Last night, I saw him turn into a cat — a big fat orange cat."
Everyone immediately looked at Mizuki.
Naruto exclaimed, "Huh? Mizuki-sensei, that fat cat was you?"
Of course Mizuki wouldn't admit it, "No, Inari was mistaken. If I wanted to guide your training, I'd just explain it directly. There's no need to go through the trouble of turning into a cat."
Naruto nodded, "Yeah, that makes sense."
Inari, "I wasn't mistaken — it was him!"
Mizuki, "No, you were mistaken. Or maybe you dreamed it."
Sasuke glanced at Mizuki. As a member of the Uchiha clan, his mind was sharp, and he sensed his sensei was lying.
'Could it really have been him? But how would he know that using two hands could improve the success rate? That kind of clumsy method should only be thought of by an idiot. He's not stupid — how would he think of it?'
Sasuke was judging others by his own standards.
Why use two hands when one hand could do the job? Completely unnecessary!
Over the next few days, both Sasuke and Naruto worked hard to burst the rubber ball.
The first stage was irregular chakra rotation. The second stage was injecting more chakra to increase power. It also tested chakra control.
Sasuke was far ahead, but Naruto refused to fall behind.
Sasuke's chakra reserves weren't as large as Naruto's. He could only practice a limited number of times each day — after a few dozen attempts, he'd be out of chakra. But Naruto had abundant chakra. Though his progress lagged behind Sasuke's, he could practice two or three hundred times a day.
If quality wasn't enough, make up for it with quantity.
You run fast? No problem — you lack stamina. I may run slowly, but I have endurance. You run for one hour, I'll run for three.
The two competed with each other, neither yielding, and their training efficiency soared. Finally, after five days, both completed the second stage on the same day, one after the other.
Sasuke was only 10 minutes faster than Naruto.
"Sasuke-kun is still faster — how about it, Naruto, do you admit defeat?" Sakura looked at Sasuke with worship while mocking Naruto.
This time Naruto just laughed without arguing back. Instead, Sasuke wore a gloomy expression.
"Sakura, stop talking!"
Hearing the unhappiness in Sasuke's voice, Sakura was confused.
Sasuke-kun was faster — why was he still unhappy?
Mizuki shook his head, thinking Sakura really was a mindless Sasuke fangirl.
It was obvious that in the second stage, Naruto was actually faster. When Naruto switched from the water balloon to the rubber ball, Sasuke had already been training with the rubber ball for more than a day.
Naruto started late but managed to close the gap to just 10 minutes. No wonder Sasuke wasn't happy.
"Very good, you've completed the second stage excellently. Next is the third stage — the final one. Without using any external objects, gather chakra in your palm and make it rotate irregularly from all angles. Do this, and the Rasengan will be complete. The bridge will be finished in three days — can you learn it before then?"
❊❊❊❊❊
T/N: Comment, give me Power Stones, like and favorite, it all supports me and makes me go foward with this. Appreciate my other stories as well, I guarantee the good work!
If you want to enjoy a large catalog of good novels with excellent translations: MrBlackWing (on that website with P)
That's it and happy reading! (-‿◦)