That night, Kyuushin lay in bed, reflecting on the past three months. Since he had been following Jiraiya and learning ninjutsu, his greatest progress was naturally in that area. Aside from some of the more obscure ones, he had learned almost all the C-Rank Water and Wind Release ninjutsu.
It could be said that in terms of ninjutsu, he could now easily defeat his three-month-ago self. However, after learning so many techniques, he also discovered a problem: he had made no progress in Nature Transformation. Chakra Nature Transformation is an important indicator of whether a ninja possesses Jonin-level combat power. The most obvious comparison is that with Nature Transformation, like Jiraiya, the power of a C-Rank ninjutsu is much greater, almost a qualitative change. Moreover, because he couldn't use Nature Transformation, he also consumed more chakra when performing these jutsu.
If C-Rank ninjutsu could still be barely performed, then at B-Rank and above, without mastering the corresponding Nature Transformation, it would be extremely difficult to learn. Kyuushin had always had smooth sailing in learning ninja techniques, but he finally experienced a sense of frustration for the first time on the path of Nature Transformation. He had originally planned to follow Naruto's example and create more Shadow Clones to assist his learning, but after Jiraiya discovered it, he was stopped.
"You are still in your developmental stage," Jiraiya had warned him sternly. "While using a Forbidden Jutsu to learn can yield progress, if used carelessly, it could lead to the tragedy of never being able to be a ninja for life. Therefore, I absolutely forbid you from using this method."
Thus, this path was also blocked. However, fortunately, Kyuushin was quite mature. Since this path couldn't be rushed, he might as well try another one. Besides Nature Transformation, chakra also has Shape Transformation. Shape Transformation is not as difficult and seems to only play an auxiliary role. However, Kyuushin knew of a ninjutsu that, relying solely on Shape Transformation, could rank as A-Rank. That's right, it was the Rasengan.
This ninjutsu does not require learning Nature Transformation, yet it is a genuinely high-level technique. Once mastered, it can play a significant role even against Jonin.
"I'm sorry, Minato, but I'm just too eager to improve. I'll have to plagiarize your future ninjutsu," Kyuushin secretly apologized.
Regarding this jutsu, the original story had detailed training methods. As long as one followed the steps diligently, it wouldn't be difficult to learn given enough time. However, Kyuushin had the Gene Lock, and in that state, the process wasn't so cumbersome. After only dozens of attempts, he successfully performed it. In his normal state, it would indeed take some time, but with his current chakra control, that time would probably be measured in days.
With this jutsu as a foundation, Kyuushin naturally felt much more at ease. He was afraid that if he encountered a Jonin during a mission, he would at least need some power to resist and couldn't always rely on Jiraiya and the others.
Speaking of missions, they had completed quite a few C-Rank missions within three months, averaging two or three a month. Most were tasks like driving away wild beasts or eliminating bandits, usually completed within a day. Their ninja registration cards also had several certificates of completed C-Rank missions, meeting the standard for participating in the Chunin Exams. However, Jiraiya had no such intention, believing they were still in a foundational stage and there was no need to rush their promotion.
Another noteworthy event was that after their first mission in the Land of Iron, where they reported the abductions by the Land of Rain, the two countries were embroiled in constant conflict for the next two months. Finally, last month, the Land of Rain brazenly declared war. The Land of Iron, facing war, was not afraid at all. Led by their samurai, they fought fiercely. At first, the Land of Iron gained some advantage, but as the Rain ninja gradually became familiar with the samurai's fighting style, the samurai slowly began to show signs of decline.
After more than a month of back-and-forth probing, the latest news was that both sides were about to make significant moves. This highly confidential information was all told to Kyuushin by Jiraiya after he attended the Jonin Meetings. It seemed that after the last mission, Jiraiya had gained some understanding of Kyuushin's foresight and was therefore willing to share information that ordinary ninja would never know. Kyuushin also knew that these actions must have been at the Third Hokage's behest.
Therefore, Kyuushin had also directly made a prediction, stating that in this operation, the current leader of the Land of Rain, Hanzō, would make a move, and the result would be a great victory for the Land of Rain and a crushing defeat for the Land of Iron. Because the Land of Rain and the Land of Iron are not adjacent, the Land of Rain could at most gain some resources, but Hanzō would not be satisfied. His next target would likely be one of the three great nations adjacent to the Land of Rain: the Land of Fire, Land of Wind, or Land of Earth.