Maybe it's time to make a plan.
He had fire-nature chakra, but no strong Fire Release techniques to show for it yet.
The Uchiha clan, on the other hand, was famous for its devastating fire-style ninjutsu. Kaito had long admired large-scale fire attacks like the Great Fire Annihilation and Great Fire Flame Bullet that Madara used during the Fourth Great Ninja War.
Now that the Uchiha clan was on the brink of annihilation, he figured it was better that he benefit from it, rather than letting that old schemer Danzo get his hands on everything.
Still, it wasn't a move he could rush. After all, his current strength was only that of a quasi-Kage.
Uchiha Itachi, who would personally carry out the massacre, and Uchiha Obito, the real mastermind, were both Kage-level or beyond. Kaito was certain Obito had already reached the level of a Super-Kage.
Trying to steal Uchiha fire-style techniques was basically walking into a blazing inferno with bare hands.
"It seems like I can't delay this any longer," he muttered to himself.
While pondering the risks, Kaito swallowed the last bite of his lion's head meatball.
After cleaning up, he lay back on the tatami mat and entered the training space.
This time, instead of his usual physical training or sparring, he sat cross-legged to focus.
His chakra reserves had reached elite jonin level, but his physical growth had plateaued. Until his body matured more, further progress in physical prowess would only put unnecessary strain on his system.
So the only viable path forward was his chakra.
In his previous life, he'd read plenty of novels where protagonists compressed their internal energy from gas to liquid, even to solid form, thereby improving both quality and control.
He wasn't sure how realistic that method was, but now he found himself in a similar situation.
He had already refined his chakra to a very pure form. The goal now was to compress it into a liquid state.
For an average person, attempting this would be highly dangerous. A single mistake could cripple them permanently.
So Kaito used Shadow Clones.
He formed a seal and separated half of his chakra.
Bang!
A puff of smoke—then a clone identical to him stood before him.
"Yo! What's up, boss?" the clone asked casually.
Kaito explained his idea in detail.
"Got it! Leave it to me."
The clone sat down and began the compression attempt.
Kaito closely monitored every move.
Bang!
The shadow clone exploded into smoke.
In that instant, Kaito absorbed its memories.
The clone had recklessly compressed the chakra, causing internal collapse and instantly vanishing.
Kaito frowned. "What a brute. Who told you to rush it like that?"
After resting and recovering his chakra, he summoned another clone.
This time, he warned, "Be patient. Slow and steady."
"Understood, real body!" the clone responded seriously.
It held out for half an hour before it, too, dissipated.
Kaito reviewed the feedback. "Compression causes mild pain. Okay, let's go again."
Bang!
Day after day, Kaito experimented only with chakra compression. A week passed in the blink of an eye.
In the training space, two months had passed.
During this time, he refined the compression process, evolving the gaseous chakra into a liquid form. He even came close to successfully forming a liquid chakra shadow clone.
He failed at the final step, but that didn't discourage him. The theory was sound.
Bang!
He summoned another clone and walked it through the technique verbally, just to be safe.
One day. Two days. Another week.
Suddenly, Kaito's eyes lit up with excitement.
"Success!"
He extended his hands, feeling the dense, flowing chakra within the clone.
After canceling the clone, the entire experience downloaded into his mind like a file.
"Finally," he exhaled, satisfied. "Next, it's my turn."
Bang!
He created 30 shadow clones and assigned their usual training routines. His main body went into rest mode to conserve chakra.
Three days remained until his next scheduled outing. According to the memories of his clones, training in liquid chakra required a lot of attention and time—two things he wouldn't have once the mission started.
The next evening after school, Kaito rushed home eagerly.
He lay down on the tatami mat and entered the simulation forest within the training space.
Sitting cross-legged, he mentally reviewed the entire process of creating liquid chakra.
Step One: Compression.
But not all at once. Slow and steady. Like cooking a frog in warm water.
There would be some discomfort in his core. That was normal. Once the pain started, he'd compress for two more minutes and stop.
This would give his chakra core a chance to adapt to the pressure.
During this recovery phase, he would relax and avoid any stimulation. After a day of rest, the pain would disappear.
Kaito followed this process carefully.
Compress. Wait. Relax. Repeat.
By the end of a week, his chakra had gotten compressed, and the once light-blue energy now had a distinct dark-blue tint.
"Keep going," Kaito muttered, fully focused. "Just a bit more."
Suddenly, he paused.
His forehead began to sweat.
He had just remembered something—something important.
---
Send Powerstones.