Dinner had ultimately gone cold. Aoba had been struck by a fleeting thought that he couldn't quite grasp, so he spent most of the evening deep in his lab, trying to chase down that moment of inspiration. Finally, he managed to recapture it.
The chakra battery's instability stemmed from the way he was attempting to control it. In essence, a piece of Hashirama's cells, in its raw form, wouldn't explode even if it were sliced to bits. But Aoba's chakra battery did. This was because he was artificially containing it. To maintain a set shape, he had to use nutrients and chakra as guidance and employ sealing techniques as a framework, forcing the cells into a desired form.
He couldn't expect ninjas to go to battle with a chunk of "pork" strapped to their backs, after all—such an approach would be ridiculous, to the point of laughing his enemies and allies alike to death.
But the restrained cells were akin to a balloon filled with water or air. A flat balloon without any added pressure is harmless; even if it's torn apart, it's not dangerous. But once filled, the slightest prick can cause it to burst. The chakra battery was precisely this: a tightly-stretched structure that would explode with the slightest provocation.
So the solution wasn't in strengthening the seals but in finding a way to get the cells to adopt the desired shape naturally.
This sounded far-fetched, but he thought he might have a method...
Meanwhile, Naruto was still struggling to master the Rasengan. Perhaps he was overthinking something; this time around, he hadn't yet come up with the idea of using shadow clones as an aid. Or rather, he had considered it but didn't want to rely on it.
In this timeline, Naruto was much stronger than his original self. Aoba gave them a lot of daily assignments, though he maintained an air of being easygoing.
For Sasuke, the focus was chakra refinement with lightning attributes. He'd managed to extend Chidori Stream to around five seconds—a decent duration for battle. Sasuke wasn't yet able to grasp the mechanics behind this technique fully, so Aoba had him focus on brute practice. Sasuke repeated each step—the chakra conversion, the electromagnetic acceleration, and the release of metal projectiles—over and over. With enough repetition, his proficiency would eventually rise.
Naruto's regimen, however, emphasized practical combat. He wasn't someone who thrived with repetitive drills; he needed real battles to improve. In the ninja world, Naruto was known for his unexpected moves, so every day Aoba had two clones sparring with him in hand-to-hand combat, weapons, ninjutsu, and genjutsu. Through these sessions, Naruto was gradually building his own insights.
Karin's training, however, was the most complex of the three. Karin had impressive natural potential in terms of chakra and physique, which allowed her to be a mobile artillery tower capable of extensive ninjutsu. However, her Adamantine Sealing Chains also held significant potential that couldn't be ignored.
This led to a dilemma: should Aoba focus on developing her conventional ninjutsu skills or prioritize her bloodline's unique abilities?
After a thorough discussion with Yumi and an additional examination of Karin, Aoba decided to hold off on bloodline training for now. The Uzumaki clan had no known cases of bloodline sickness, but given her age, he worried early development might trigger an effect similar to the Uchiha clan's bloodline limits. Currently, Karin didn't need to rely on Adamantine Sealing Chains as a trump card; it was a technique suited to fighting tailed beasts or summoning creatures. For now, it was enough for her to focus on being an artillery unit alongside Naruto and Sasuke.
During the month-long break before the Chunin Exams, another significant change took place.
Out on the training field, Shikamaru and Choji were sprawled out on the ground, exhausted.
"Ino, what's gotten into you? No matter how hard we train, there's no way we can match up to those monsters in the finals. Why push so hard?" Choji nearly felt like crying. Why couldn't they just relax in the sun, eating chips, instead of this grueling routine?
"Get up, both of you! Look at yourselves! We're the new generation of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, one of Konoha's strongest team formations, always in the ranks below the Hokage. Look at the state you're in—do you really think you're worthy of the name Ino-Shika-Cho?"
After Ino's scolding, Shikamaru could only sigh helplessly.
He knew why she was acting this way—she was still affected by what had happened that day with Sakura.
Shikamaru was clever, and he was well aware of this fact, so he often found himself analyzing situations more deeply than most. He'd assumed he understood all his classmates, but earlier that year, he'd been thrown off by the Uchiha family gathering. And now, he was thrown off again, this time by Sakura.
Shikamaru soon realized that perhaps the problem wasn't with himself, but rather with someone else altogether: Aoba Kamikawa. Until recently, Shikamaru had never seriously considered him, but now he found himself unable to read Aoba at all.
This person had risen to prominence within just a few years, earning the impressive feat of facing the Raikage in a draw. Shikamaru suspected he might be on par with the Hokage.
In fact, rumors circulated in the village suggesting that Aoba was the most skilled fighter of his generation. Yet, his role and popularity didn't seem to reflect this level of recognition.
In Shikamaru's eyes, something about this didn't add up. As a Nara, he knew about Konoha's inner workings. Given Konoha's current need for skilled young leaders, they should be prioritizing Aoba and leveraging his abilities, yet they seemed indifferent toward him. And Aoba himself appeared unconcerned by this neglect.
Unable to understand the situation, Shikamaru even went to his father for insight.
His father had simply given him an odd answer:
"Very soon, you'll know."
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Currently on Chapter 128 - Itachi and Kisame's Tactical Retreat