Chapter 34: Soldier Pills
Kaito arrived at the Library and thoroughly searched all four sections he was permitted to access.
Surprisingly, he didn't find any scrolls on the technique he wanted. He thought to himself:
"This is extremely surprising. Does this mean they're stored in higher-level restricted sections, or do they simply not teach this skill to ordinary shinobi?"
As he left the Library, he analyzed the situation more carefully:
"Hmm, that might explain it. However, channeling chakra into weapons isn't considered an advanced secret. If I recall correctly, many shinobi can do this. But in Konoha, I only remember Asuma being prominently shown using this technique. Danzo also seemed capable of it, though in a different application."
Regardless, Kaito wanted to experiment with it himself. He doubted Genshu or his classmates would know much about this specialized skill.
On his way to a secluded training forest, he considered various approaches. His first thought was:
"I can try to make my chakra flow through the kunai, similar to when I was learning to cut leaves with Wind Release. Only this time, I won't try to cut the kunai itself, but rather attempt to extend and sharpen its cutting edge."
Then he tried implementing this technique, but he encountered numerous difficulties in the process.
He immediately succeeded at the most basic level, as he was able to channel chakra into his kunai on his very first attempt.
However, the amount of chakra he could inject was extremely minimal, and after two consecutive days of attempting to channel more chakra, there was negligible improvement.
Moreover, while the sharpness and penetrating power of the kunai improved slightly, the enhancement was not significant, and there was no further progress over these two days of training.
He thought frustratedly:
"This is incredibly tedious! This approach seems like a dead end. I suspect a proper chakra blade might help, but something feels fundamentally wrong with this method. If I persist with this approach, maybe I'll eventually make progress, but it might require years. I should think of alternative methods."
He contemplated for several hours, and then a creative idea struck him. He decided to adopt a method inspired by what he'd seen in Hunter x Hunter from his previous life. He thought:
"Yes, that could work! I can try a similar approach to nen users in Hunter x Hunter. I'll first practice releasing my chakra to create an aura covering my entire body. Then I'll practice extending this chakra layer to the kunai I'm holding."
"Although this method is extremely inefficient for actual combat, it should allow me to learn the fundamentals faster. Once I can successfully do this, I can practice channeling chakra directly into weapons without wasting energy covering my entire body."
Covering one's entire body with external chakra is not something any rational shinobi would willingly do in combat.
The reason is simple—chakra depletion. Doing so would rapidly exhaust the user's chakra reserves.
According to Kaito's knowledge from the anime, besides the various Jinchuriki, only the Raikage maintained his entire body covered with Lightning Release chakra as his signature fighting style.
Other shinobi would at most cover a specific part of their body or enhance a single weapon to conserve chakra.
Kaito began training using this new experimental method. And it proved extremely draining. In just seven minutes, his chakra was completely depleted.
However, he could clearly observe that he had made some measurable progress in extending chakra to the kunai.
He noted slow but steady improvement within those seven minutes.
He estimated that after approximately ten more training sessions, he would be able to perfectly envelop the kunai with chakra.
However, since his chakra would be rapidly depleted each time, he could only train about three or four times per day under normal circumstances.
Not to mention, there would still be extensive work required after successfully covering the kunai with chakra—like reducing the chakra consumption and improving efficiency.
Kaito didn't want to waste several weeks on this foundational training, so he decided to purchase soldier pills.
After a few hours of rest and chakra recovery, he went home to retrieve cash, then headed out to buy the medicine.
He used the Transformation Jutsu in an alley and approached a shop that specialized in selling soldier pills and military ration pills.
Soldier pills are extremely valuable tools for shinobi operations.
He had been somewhat surprised when he first learned about them in the Academy.
A high-quality soldier pill can provide approximately thirty times the chakra reserves of an average jonin.
It doesn't provide chakra instantaneously, but rather releases a steady portion of chakra every hour, with effects lasting for more than three days continuously.
It also releases special enzymes that stimulate the shinobi to remain alert and awake for the full three days. This is why shinobi who consume soldier pills can fight continuously for three days straight without rest.
Kaito didn't know that there were actually even superior custom-formulated soldier pills, but those were specially made for elite jonin and weren't commercially available.
Kaito decided to purchase medium-quality soldier pills. These were primarily used by chunin-level shinobi.
Currently, Kaito's own chakra reserves were considerably higher than those of an average fresh Academy graduate, possibly even exceeding those of an average genin.
By next year, his chakra reserves should naturally grow to approximately the same level as weaker chunin instructors.
Despite not yet possessing chunin-level chakra reserves, he decided to buy medium-quality soldier pills because his training regimen was exceptionally strenuous.
He purchased a total of five pills, which cost him ten thousand ryo.
The price definitely made his heart ache, but he was also grateful he had started learning fuinjutsu and selling storage scrolls.
For the next three days, he maintained intensive continuous training.
On the first day, he successfully managed to completely envelop his kunai with chakra. Then he infused it with Wind Release nature transformation, which immediately and dramatically enhanced the kunai's sharpness and penetrating power. The chakra aura extended the kunai's effective attack range by approximately five centimeters.
He tested out his new capability. He thought with satisfaction:
"Excellent! I can slice through tree branches as if I'm cutting through air itself. Although I can't fell entire trees yet, that's only because the kunai is too small. If I had a proper sword, this shouldn't be a problem at all."
"The kunai can also penetrate deep into solid boulders now. I remember Naruto and Asuma were able to pierce completely through boulders in the anime, so I should eventually achieve that too. Honestly, if an enemy underestimates me and tries to simply block the kunai with a standard weapon, they'll be seriously injured."
But Kaito needed to dramatically reduce the amount of chakra he was consuming to maintain this technique.
The next phase of training should be attempting to cover only the kunai directly instead of wastefully covering his entire body... But how should he approach that transition?
Kaito contemplated for a moment, then reached a conclusion:
"Trying to cover the weapon directly from nothing will probably fail repeatedly. Instead, I should first cover only my hand with chakra, and then practice extending it specifically to the kunai. I think I can also develop chakra-enhanced strikes this way. Although nowhere near Tsunade's legendary level, a chakra-infused punch should completely surpass the power of an ordinary strike."
Then he began attempting to cover only his fist with concentrated chakra. It took him several hours to accomplish this consistently. He thought:
"Hmm, this isn't particularly difficult once you understand the principle."
Then he tried extending the chakra from his fist to the kunai he held. Although he could extend it successfully, the amount of chakra that could now reach the kunai was significantly less than before. He analyzed:
"I see—because I'm only coating my fist now, the total amount of chakra I'm projecting is much less. So basically, I need to concentrate far more chakra density specifically in my fist."
Subsequently, he began practicing concentrating denser chakra in his fist.
This proved much more difficult than expected. Accomplishing this required exceptionally precise chakra control.
Fortunately, Kaito had trained his chakra control extensively over the years.
It took another full day before the amount of chakra he could condense in his fist had doubled in density.
He wasn't yet satisfied with the increased chakra concentration and continued pushing for even greater density.
Soon, three days had passed since consuming the soldier pill.
So he decided to hurry home before the stimulant effects wore off and exhaustion hit him.
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