Chapter 11 – The First Training
The night passed without incident.
"Is this the power of Chakra?"
As the dazzling morning sunlight fell upon Izaya's handsome cheeks, he finally concluded his night-long cultivation session. He rose slowly to his feet and made a startling discovery. Not only had his physical body noticeably strengthened after a single night of practice, but he had also undergone another amazing change: the amount of Chakra within his body had more than doubled!
One must know that before Izaya's transmigration, this body possessed only a minuscule amount of Chakra. Yet, after just one night of cultivation, the Chakra reserves within him had reached a level comparable to that of a genin!
From an ordinary person to a genin-level reserve in a single night! Forget Izaya himself; even prodigies like Uchiha Itachi and Sasuke couldn't achieve such a feat!
"This system is truly powerful…" Izaya had once suspected the system he obtained was a scam. But now, it seemed that wasn't the case. At the very least, Izaya now possessed the ability to protect himself! With genin-level Chakra reserves and a pair of Single Tomoe Sharingan, he should be able to handle most ordinary shinobi without issue.
"Next up, I'll practice the Fire Release ninjutsu Uchiha Itachi gave me!"
Perhaps it was due to the Chakra circulating within his body, or perhaps for some other reason, Izaya felt neither sleepy nor tired despite cultivating all night. After washing up, he had no intention of resting. Instead, he slowly took the scroll of Fire Release ninjutsu given to him by Uchiha Itachi and headed directly for the woods behind Konoha.
Practicing ninjutsu was different from cultivating Chakra. The latter only required a quiet place, while ninjutsu practice demanded a large, open area for constant trial and error. Izaya's home wasn't suitable for this. To avoid burning his own house down, heading into the mountains was the best option.
Blessed by his increased Chakra, a journey that would normally take half an hour was completed by Izaya in just over ten minutes today. And despite saving half the time, he didn't feel the least bit fatigued! He used his sleeve to wipe the fine sweat from his forehead, then unrolled the Fire Release practice scroll given by Uchiha Itachi.
The scroll didn't contain many techniques, only five ninjutsu. But they were perfectly suited for Izaya!
"Let's start with this one first: Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"
After setting his goal, Izaya began attempting the hand seals while carefully reading Uchiha Itachi's practice notes. Although the Phoenix Sage Fire Technique was only a C-rank Fire Release ninjutsu, its combat effectiveness was quite formidable. It not only had a wide attack range but also possessed considerable power. The main reason Izaya chose this technique, however, was that it didn't require an excessive amount of Chakra. A simple, cost-effective, and versatile ninjutsu like this was undoubtedly Izaya's best choice!
"Fire Release!" Izaya formed the seals, his movements still a bit clumsy. "Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"
After familiarizing himself with the process for about an hour, Izaya finally attempted to release the ninjutsu. But the result… left him somewhat stunned.
As Izaya completed the seals and gathered Chakra in his mouth, he exhaled forcefully! What emerged, however, were merely a dozen tiny flames, each no bigger than what a lighter would produce. Forget lethality; looking at this scene, Izaya doubted they could even manage to cook a meal.
"What the hell?!" Seeing the "Fire Release" he had produced, an extremely awkward expression spread across Izaya's face. "Is this supposed to be the Phoenix Sage Fire Technique?"
The Phoenix Sage Fire Technique was one of the most famous Fire Release ninjutsu in Naruto. Not only had Uchiha Sasuke used it extensively in the early storylines, but even Uchiha Itachi, Uchiha Shisui, and Uchiha Madara had employed it. It was practically a staple technique of the Uchiha clan. Therefore, Izaya had high expectations for it.
In his memory, the Phoenix Sage Fire Technique was supposed to be like a barrage of fiery missiles, with flames spewing from the caster's mouth and spreading out to attack the enemy from all directions. With sufficient mastery, one could even control all the released flames using Chakra, making them impossible for the enemy to evade. It had spectacular visual effects and impressive power!
But the Phoenix Sage Fire Technique released by Izaya was… a bit underwhelming. Forget controlling the flames with his Chakra; it didn't even possess basic lethality.
"This can't be right!" As the previously released flames gradually flickered out, Izaya was left questioning his very existence! Once again, he compared Uchiha Itachi's training notes with the Fire Release training experience rewarded by the system. He couldn't find any obvious mistakes in his ninjutsu execution. And Izaya was no ordinary person! When practicing Fire Release, his body was already blessed by the system. First, the Uchiha clan's bloodline blessing. Then, the special Ichiraku Ramen's enhancement! While he hadn't held overly high hopes before the release, he never imagined his first attempt at Fire Release ninjutsu would turn out like this…
"System, did you fail to properly reward me?!" Instantly, a thought struck Izaya, and he questioned the system in a deadly serious tone.
But… the system offered no explanation. A dark line of sweat appeared on Izaya's forehead.
"Your Chakra is insufficient."
Just as Izaya was doubting his life, a cold, familiar voice sounded in his ears once more.
"Who's there?" Hearing this, Izaya turned his head abruptly. A single glance revealed it was Uchiha Itachi, and standing beside him was a cool-looking little boy.
"Although you didn't make any obvious mistakes in your execution of the Phoenix Sage Fire Technique, and your timing was precise, your Chakra reserves are insufficient to form the complete technique," Uchiha Itachi explained as he led the little boy toward Izaya, pinpointing the reason for his failure.
Uchiha Itachi motioned for the little boy beside him to sit down and then walked over to Izaya. While rapidly forming a series of hand seals with both hands, he said to Izaya, "Watch closely. If you lack sufficient Chakra, you can appropriately reduce the number of flames to increase the power of the Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"
Following his words, a perfected Phoenix Sage Fire Technique was released from Uchiha Itachi's mouth! Although this version of the technique was different from the standard one—producing only a single flame—compared to the Phoenix Sage Fire Technique depicted in the original story, the one released by Uchiha Itachi at this moment was clearly far more powerful and concentrated!