After returning from the commander's camp, Raiden headed back to the temporary training ground.
In three days he would be sent on another mission, so he needed to return to peak condition.
He began with simple warm-ups—push-ups, stretches, and a few basic exercises to loosen his muscles.
Raiden usually focused on training his reflexes. That was the reason he was faster than most people of his rank. Of course, it still couldn't compare to Minato Namikaze's almost supernatural reflexes, but among ordinary shinobi it was already impressive.
Today's training was simple.
Side hops.
There was no equipment in this temporary ground, so he relied on the most basic method.
Weights.
Each of his legs carried forty kilograms.
Swish. Swish. Swish.
His figure flickered across the training ground as he moved from side to side. To an outside observer, it would almost look like brief afterimages flashing past.
The movement continued without pause.
After nearly an hour, Raiden finally stopped.
He let out a slow breath and wiped the sweat from his face.
Even for him, someone whose physical strength was roughly nine to ten times that of an ordinary person, moving like that without reinforcing his body with chakra wasn't easy. Still, the pressure helped sharpen his reflexes.
And recently, he had noticed something else.
Since awakening that time ability, his body seemed to have changed slightly.
His reflexes had improved, and his vision felt… different.
Sharper.
It was almost like he had gained a form of dynamic vision, even without using chakra. While it wasn't as terrifying as his 0.1-second time stop, it was still an incredible advantage.
If that was the case…
Some techniques he had avoided before might now be possible.
Chidori…
A technique that required extremely high reflexes and perception. Without them, the user could easily miss their target—or crash into something during the high-speed charge.
Then there was Naruto Uzumaki's iconic move.
Rasengan.
It demanded precise control, high reaction speed, and strong chakra.
If he could master even one of those techniques, his combat power would rise quickly. And when combined with time stop…
Raiden's eyes narrowed slightly.
Chidori is a must.
With my current abilities, I should be able to use it properly.
After sorting out his thoughts, he moved on to the next part of training.
This time he strapped on hand weights and walked toward a wooden target.
He picked up several kunai.
Then—
Swish. Swish. Swish.
Five kunai flew out in quick succession.
Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.
All five struck the target.
But only two hit the bullseye.
Raiden frowned slightly.
Not good enough.
For the next hour, he repeated the throws from different angles and distances, adjusting his stance each time until the kunai landed closer and closer to the center.
Eventually he stopped and took a short break, drinking some water before continuing.
Next came sword training.
Raiden drew his blade.
Swish. Swish. Swish.
His swordsmanship wasn't flashy. There were no elaborate flourishes—only fast, precise strikes.
After several rounds of basic slashes, he shifted to chakra training.
Lightning chakra began to flow along the blade.
Crackle… crackle… crackle…
Swish. Swish. Swish.
Occasionally, he would briefly activate time stop, using the frozen moment to adjust his posture and refine his movements.
The training ground was mostly empty.
No one noticed.
But if someone had been watching closely—focusing on his sword—they might have thought they were seeing nothing more than a streak of lightning flashing through the air.
From an enemy's perspective, that kind of speed would be terrifying.
The fight might end before they even realized what had happened.
After a while, Raiden lowered his sword and nodded slightly.
The injuries from his last battle hadn't been meaningless.
His speed had improved.
His strength too.
More importantly, his swordsmanship felt smoother than before.
If he faced that Rain Village jonin again…
Raiden was confident he could defeat him without anyone's help.
After removing the weights, he walked to an open area to test his jutsu.
His hands moved quickly through a sequence of seals.
"Water Style: Water Wall."
Swish.
The rainwater scattered across the ground suddenly stirred, drawn together by chakra. In moments it condensed into a defensive wall of flowing water.
Raiden released it and immediately formed another set of hand seals.
"Water Style: Water Binding."
A rope-like stream of water shot forward and wrapped tightly around a nearby tree.
He maintained the jutsu while forming another seal.
"Lightning Style: Thunder Palm."
Crackle—crackle—
Lightning surged from his palm, flowing through the water rope and into the trapped tree.
Crack.
Black smoke rose as the bark scorched.
After a moment, Raiden released the technique.
Once I fully master Thunder Dragon… my area control will improve significantly.
Still, another issue remained.
My chakra reserves are only around jonin level.
That's not enough.
If he wanted to push his abilities further, he needed stronger foundations—body, spirit, and chakra.
And there was something else.
His time ability seemed strangely connected to willpower.
The stronger his will, the more stable the ability felt.
So the solution is simple.
Train the body. Temper the spirit. Fight more battles.
Raiden rested briefly, letting his chakra recover.
Then, without hesitation, he stepped back into the training ground—
and began again.