The luxurious residence given by Genzō was practically a villa, fully equipped with all necessary facilities, including a dedicated internal dojo.
It must be said that this setup was enough to make the average person envious, which also demonstrated the weight a Jonin carried.
Clash!
Wielding wooden swords, Amane and Nakamura Iku were currently sparring in the dojo.
Clash, clash, clash... clash... (We have to plan the encirclement of the Kaguya Clan soon. I heard you've made contact with the so-called new generation of prodigy?)
Clash clash clash!... Clash!
(I know it's somewhat ostentatious, but my Chakra has somewhat exposed my abilities.)
Clash clash... clash... (Hmm... It's good to make a bit of a splash, but be mindful of the direction. Just act as a Sensing Ninja and learn some Water Release from these Hidden Mist Ninja. As for reporting to Lord Danzo, now is not the time.)
The warm-up sparring with wooden swords completed, and the two began their formal mock battle training.
After a series of thwacks and smacks, Amane, with bruises everywhere except her face, collapsed on the ground. Nakamura Iku then sat down, waiting for Amane to recover some stamina before proceeding with taijutsu training.
"That's really harsh. She's just a seven-year-old child, after all."
A Hidden Mist Ninja secretly monitoring the entire process sighed with emotion.
Although the Hidden Mist Village was once called the Village of the Bloody Mist, where graduation from the Ninja academy required killing one's long-time companions, in terms of the severity of training, they admitted their own training at that age couldn't compare to what they were witnessing now.
"Ours was deadly pressure; theirs is serious, rigorous training aimed at improving this girl's future survival rate. You're a Chunin, can't you see it's only superficial injuries?"
"Alright, alright, you have broader vision, fine. But seriously, how likely do you think these two have ulterior motives?"
"Unlikely. If they were after intelligence, there's no need to come as spies during this specific period. As for their backgrounds, theirs are entirely plausible. It's more suspicious when identities can be too easily verified. More importantly, Lady Terumi and Mr. Ao are the ones handling them."
"I see. So our job here is really just a cushy assignment."
As the two Hidden Mist Ninja used coded signals to relieve the monotony of surveillance, Amane and Nakamura Iku had already finished their training and were heading to the bathhouse.
Just as they were about to resume their duties, a ripple of Chakra perception emanated from Amane's direction and swept over them. The ripple noticeably shuddered.
A hint of a smile appeared in their eyes.
And at that very moment, Nakamura Iku's presence clearly targeted them and positioned itself guardedly at the entrance.
Fine, it's just a seven-year-old brat anyway. Forcing entry would likely cause trouble; better to be understanding here.
"Let's report to the higher-ups later and see if they can send a female Ninja."
"Agreed! Thanks, brother, for being considerate!"
"Get lost! I was the one who suggested it."
And so, three grown men stood guard outside the bathhouse for Amane.
Inside the bathhouse, Amane used bath cloths to cover every possible line of sight that could see her.
[Good luck, today's two Hidden Mist Ninja are men. That way, Dan will definitely stop them to maintain his persona. Even if a female Ninja comes to spy on me in the bathhouse tomorrow, I can explain what these cloth strips are for.]
Shadow Clone Jutsu!
Poof poof poof... A series of white smoke mingled with the steam from the bathhouse, and five people appeared in total—the maximum the space could hold.
Nodding at each other, everyone knew what to do the moment they were created.
Thus, the original body began bathing while emitting some pitiful cries. Two of the other five clones started filling water balloons, preparing to train the first stage of the Rasengan.
The other two Shadow Clones began using Sealing Jutsu to deduce a solution to the Tongue Binding Seal.
The last remaining Shadow Clone focused on sensing the surroundings as a precaution.
This was Amane's preliminary arrangement; adjustments would be made later based on which area proved more difficult, allocating more resources there.
[The Rasengan is little known in the Ninja World because it was originally a jutsu Dad prepared for Mom; it didn't exist during the Third Great Ninja War. That means I can use it! It compensates for the weakness of not being able to freely use Sealing and Wood Release.]
Thinking this, Amane suddenly froze. Had she just naturally said the words 'Dad' and 'Mom'?
Placing her hand on her chest, her heart showed not a trace of agitation, beating steadily and calmly.
Involuntarily, Amane glanced at the Shadow Clone training beside her, recalling the nature of the Shadow Clone technique.
And the fact that Shadow Clones lack memories of the original work.
[Could it be...? But for the sake of the future, I can't stop using this method now.]
A conjecture formed in her heart, but she absolutely could not stop using this method for training at present. Otherwise, her chance to control her own destiny would diminish by more than ten percent.
Moreover, Amane had long accepted the fact that she was Uzumaki Amane. Whether this change was caused by the Shadow Clones was still uncertain.
[I'll verify it slowly later. For now, let's continue training.]
Amane pushed this matter to a corner of her memory and infused Chakra into the bathwater, instantly splitting it in two.
This was the main task for the original body: training in Chakra Nature Transformation.
[Wind Release Chakra is easier; the training materials are simple and readily available.]
Because the original work described the training method, she had already progressed to the point of being able to cut a river during the journey here.
What? Why not a waterfall? Because how could she possibly have that condition? Amane doesn't know Earth Release or many Water Release jutsu. Moreover, she had to keep it hidden from Dan beside her.
As for the other four natures, Amane had asked Nakamura Iku (Dan), and although she got answers, there simply wasn't enough time.
Incidentally, since transplanting Hashirama cells, Amane's body possessed an affinity for four natures: Water, Wind, Lightning, and Earth. During the base test, Amane intentionally displayed only Water and Lightning.
The method was taught by Nakamura Iku and was very simple.
Ordinary Chakra test paper could be fooled by slightly altering the flow of infused Chakra. With a little training, Amane mastered it—of course, before coming here—along with countermeasures for other testing methods.
Therefore, she could openly train Water and Lightning Release Chakra, just not with Shadow Clones.
Thus, among the four natures, Wind could be considered somewhat mastered. Water and Lightning could be trained openly and even consulted through social means, though progress would likely be measured in months or years.
[First stage: Infuse Chakra into soft objects like cloth strips or animal fur to harden them.]
Amane casually picked up a piece of paper and began infusing Chakra into it for training.
An hour later... Nakamura Iku's expression was extremely grim. Be that as it may, he had to blame Amane for his current sore legs.
"It hurt, and then I accidentally... fell asleep."
Nakamura Iku looked at Amane, now fully dressed and bundled up except for her hands and face, and swallowed hard.
Because he understood that about eighty percent of Amane's injuries were probably healed. This was his oversight, so he absolutely could not expose her.
[The combination of Uzumaki and Hashirama cells? It's so rare that I only remembered now. This is a huge flaw. I must be more careful with covert training from now on.]
Dan was certainly experienced, but today he was tripped up by his own experience. He subconsciously forgot that besides Wood Release, Hashirama cells also specialized in regenerative abilities.
Who could blame him? Successful cases were far too few.
"Is that so... Sorry, my bad."
After saying this, he entered the bathhouse, deep in thought, trying to find a solution.
This time, the two Hidden Mist Ninja also followed him in. The three of them stayed in the bathhouse for two hours. Steamed until they saw stars, they also dispelled the slight suspicion that had arisen earlier.
Do these two both have a habit of stewing themselves in soup?