Hiruko sat on the luscious grass across from his clone of Hiruzen.
"Hiruko, it is important that, just like Tsunade, even though you have a specialty in your Kekei Genkai, you still don't neglect your Ninjutsu." Hiruzen said seriously, and after making sure Hiruko was paying attention, he continued.
"Now your kekkei genkai we'll go over later; for right now you need to pick one of these water jutsu to train in.
The first is the Water Clone Technique; it allows the user to create a physical copy of oneself by taking water from the air at 1/10th of the user's strength.
Though the downsides are these clones can't travel too far from the user, or else they will turn back to water." Hiruzen said, allowing Hiruko to weigh the jutsu's pros and cons.
'Yeah, no shadow clones are infinitely better and useful.' Hiruko said he saw no use in this jutsu, at least currently.
Hiruzen, noticing Hiruko finished his deliberation on the jutsu, continued.
"The next is the Slick Step Technique; it forms a thin layer of water beneath the users' feet, letting them slide several meters at high speeds by reducing friction. The downside is it's hard to control and is supported by one's own speed," Hiruzen said, giving Hiruko deliberation time again.
'This technique would be incredibly useful and offers a decent amount of mobility, though how it compares to the body flicker technique is unknown.
What if I make my own body flicker technique like Shisui with this jutsu as the crux?' Hiruko thought, but he knew even if he wanted to, he wouldn't be able to do it anytime soon.
"It could also pair well with the Senju Taijutsu since it's all about flexibility, but I don't know." Hiruko thought as he looked back to Hiruzen, ready to hear the last jutsu.
Hiruzen, seeing this, began "The last jutsu is the bubble barrage technique. It allows the user to create several bubble—"
Hiruko Hearing this, Hiruzen didn't even let him finish. "I'll take the second jutsu, sensei."
—
Hiruko now sat by himself. Hiruzen's clone gone in his hand was a brownish scroll with the information on Water Style: The Slick Step Technique.
{Technique: The Slick Step Technique
Rank: D
Hand Seals: Dog->Ram->Snake
Start by gathering water chakra to the soles of your feet and create a thin surface of water chakra that covers every inch of your feet.
Make sure your feet are firm on the water and supported by it, not accidentally slipping through the water or the water dissipating.
Next, use chakra to vitalize the feet in a short burst, allowing you to go faster but also countering possible backlash by letting the water carry you.
However, try and keep the water in a state of flexibility, allowing you to move quickly and maneuver while moving.
It's best to be by a source of-}
Hiruko, closing the scroll, decided to offer a couple thoughts on the technique before jumping into practicing.
'So the principle is based on the body flicker technique, except instead of the whole body, it's focused on the feet.' Hiruko thought before he began to start thinking about his own body flicker.
'I wonder if I can create my own body flicker technique like Shisui would later do? The biggest problem, though, is I would need knowledge in Genjutsu, and my body flicker is probably nowhere near Shisui's.
Shisui's body flicker is predicated on several factors: speed, clones, genjutsu, and body flicker.
So how could I replicate its effects? Speed isn't too much of a problem through the system; it's only a matter of time, whether through devil fruits or something else.
My clones and body flicker can be refined, though I don't know if they can reach his level.
But again, the main problem is Genjutsu. If I don't have talent, then I can't recreate Shisui's effects.
Would obscuring myself work like how ghosts in folklore used mist or fog? That would take some of the need for genjutsu off, and my clones wouldn't need to be too realistic.'
Thinking this, Hiruko's thoughts drifted slightly to a character from an anime from his past life, 'Muichiro Tokito,' but he quickly shook off those thoughts; he was a long way off from being able to develop his own Jutsu.
Standing up ready to practice, Hiruko set the scroll on the ground.
"Okay, first mobilize chakra and bring it to your feet to create a thin surface of water," Hiruko said as he did the Dog and Ram seal and brought the chakra to the soles of his feet.
"Damn, water chakra is easier to manipulate," Hiruko said as he looked at the soles of his feet, seeing a thin surface of water.
He then began to slide across the ground trying to test these effects.
"Hmm, it's a bit slower than I thought, maybe due to it not being a flat surface," but he quickly shook off that thought; if it was due to there not being a flat surface, his mobility would've been affected.
Hiruko shrugged and moved onto the next part; this would increase his speed.
Hiruko then used chakra to vitalize his body much like the Body Flicker Technique but only in his feet and legs.
Making the Dog and Ram seal to bring back the water on his feet, Hiruko then made the snake seal, mobilizing more chakra to vitalize his feet and legs.
"Okay, it should be done, I think." Hiruko said as he analyzed the drain on his chakra, which was now equal to the others and a bit lower than Tsunade's.
"Not bad. It's less chakra than the body flicker technique, but only barely. But the continuous drain to maintain the jutsu puts it slightly above Body Flicker Jutsu by a slight margin."
Hiruko said as he then began to try the jutsu.
"Okay, here we g—ahh." Hiruko couldn't help but yell as he went several meters in a matter of moments, nearly crashing into a nearby tree. He quickly used the Press-Press fruit to throw him a ways back as he fell on his butt.
"Damn, I knew it was going too easy," Hiruko said, rubbing his bruised butt as he stood up, using body flicker to return to his previous spot.
"So what went wrong?" Hiruko said to himself.
"Well, I probably put too much chakra into it, and I lack control and reaction speed. I should've been able to turn away from the tree without the use of my fruit." Hiruko said, analyzing what he could improve on.
"Well, I'll keep on practicing control, but reaction speed is a bit tougher," Hiruko said, thinking about what he could do.
"We'll, whatever, let's just keep practicing." Hiruko said, not thinking of a solution.
…
5 hours later, Hiruko now lay on the fresh grass, completely exhausted of chakra.
"I've managed to at least control my speed somewhat, but turning and maneuvering are still difficult, as is reacting to various things like bugs and obstacles." Hiruko said, remembering eating several bugs that he ran into while using the Jutsu by accident.
Hiruko, now exhausted, got up, looking around the training ground using his observation.
"She left me, of course," Hiruko grumbled as he began walking home.