A few days later, Kaito felt that although the physical fatigue had disappeared, its effects had not completely faded. He estimated that when this feeling finally vanished, it would mark the necessary recovery interval for his training sessions.
This kind of recovery was only possible in the Naruto world, where even ordinary people had better physiques compared to his previous life. If Kaito had tried to do this in his old world, he probably would have seriously hurt himself.
No, without the prerequisite of having strong spiritual energy, he wouldn't have even been able to push himself like this. Kaito was aware that he wasn't particularly strong-willed.
During these past few days, nothing particularly interesting happened at school—Iruka continued to lead the class in training, while also starting to teach them about chakra.
For Kaito, this was a bit of a waste of time, since he had already learned all of this by himself. Even the training regimen wasn't challenging enough for him compared to the intensity of the training he set for himself.
However, it was only the beginning of the school term, so the teachers were focused on teaching basic exercises. He hoped that later on, they would allow the students to train more freely.
Kaito, after self-studying the contents of the book, decided to try extracting chakra. Since this was his first time, he made sure to pick a time when Sinai was home, just in case something went wrong.
While extracting chakra was generally considered safe, you never knew what might happen the first time.
"Mom, I'm going to start now." Kaito sat cross-legged on the bed. While extracting chakra didn't require a specific posture, it felt right to assume a proper position when someone was watching.
"Alright, don't worry. From what I remember, chakra extraction isn't dangerous." Sinai cheered Kaito on.
"I know," Kaito nodded. It wasn't that he was scared, just cautious—if he happened to pass out, it would be good to have someone nearby.
Following the teachings from the book, Kaito began to sense his physical energy. He had already tried sensing it before, and for him, it was quite easy; it was like second nature now.
Before, he had sensed it but never tried to extract it. Now, with Sinai watching to ensure safety, Kaito didn't hesitate anymore. He combined his spiritual energy with his physical energy and began to extract chakra.
There were no surprises—Kaito successfully extracted chakra on his first try. He then controlled the chakra to gather in his hand, watching as the familiar blue energy manifested. For a moment, Kaito found himself entranced.
"You did it on your first try! Kaito, you're amazing!" Sinai was a little shocked. Extracting chakra for the first time was never easy, and success on the first attempt indicated talent. Sinai couldn't help but feel overjoyed—her son was indeed gifted.
She made up her mind: tomorrow, after work, she would ask her old teacher for help in getting the Shadow Clone Technique as a surprise for Kaito.
"It's alright," Kaito said modestly. He hadn't expected it to go so smoothly, though it might be related to his strong spiritual energy. Regardless, it seemed like he had some talent. Now he just needed to test his aptitude for ninjutsu.
He wondered about his current chakra reserve. He had a feeling it was quite good, but without a comparison, it was hard to judge accurately.
As Kaito pondered, he felt a pair of hands on his face. Sinai had grabbed his cheeks and was pulling them gently. "You've successfully extracted chakra, Kaito. You should be happy, so smile a bit, okay?"
Eventually, under Sinai's "persuasion," Kaito managed a smile, albeit a forced one. Sinai seemed satisfied. "That's better! You're too young to be so serious all the time."
Kaito sighed inwardly. He wasn't a stoic—he was just deep in thought.
After finally escaping Sinai's grasp, Kaito returned to his room to continue extracting chakra. Though there was no immediate use for the chakra, he wanted to familiarize himself with the process.
He needed to be able to extract chakra without focusing on it consciously—to reach a point where he could summon it at will. As for what to do with the chakra once extracted...
He didn't know any jutsu yet, so using it seemed like a waste. Perhaps he could train his control? Walk on trees or walls?
But then he thought about how his mother was probably resting next door, and falling off the wall would likely make a lot of noise. It wouldn't be good to disturb her, so he dismissed the idea.
What about practicing shape transformation or nature transformation?
He didn't even know his chakra nature yet, so the only option was shape transformation. Instead of working on precise shape manipulation, Kaito decided to start with something simple, like forming a sphere of chakra.
Kaito attempted to release the chakra he had extracted through his hands, but he immediately noticed that the chakra lost control and dissipated into the air as soon as it left his body.
Frowning slightly, Kaito wasn't discouraged. Who succeeds on their first try?
He continued the process of extracting and practicing, extracting and practicing. Before long, Kaito's chakra reserves were depleted. He realized that if he extracted as much chakra as he could at once, he could probably empty his reserves in one go. After all, the amount extracted was related to one's spiritual energy, and his spiritual energy was exceptionally strong.
This also showed that, compared to his mental energy, his chakra reserves were lacking.
Nonetheless, the shape transformation practice yielded some progress. He could faintly feel a connection with the chakra after it left his body, though controlling it using that slight connection was still extremely difficult.
The fact that he felt any connection at all was promising. If he could strengthen this connection, he could take the first step towards mastering shape transformation.
The depletion of his chakra signaled the end of training for the day. It was time to rest.
Tomorrow, Kaito had more important things to do—he planned to find Iruka. First, he wanted to ask Iruka about the standard for chakra reserves, to know where he stood. Next, he wanted to see if he could get access to the basic three jutsu early. He believed that his current chakra reserve was enough to learn them. If he could show Iruka his ability, there was a good chance he could get those techniques from him.
If that didn't work, he could try getting the seals for the basic three jutsu from his mother and then ask Iruka-sensei to teach him how to use them.
With plans for tomorrow swirling in his mind, Kaito slowly drifted into sleep.
The next day, after school, Kaito approached Iruka.
"What's the matter, Kaito?" Iruka looked at him with curiosity.
"Iruka-sensei, I've already learned how to extract chakra from the textbook, and I was hoping you could evaluate my current chakra reserve."
"Oh? You've already learned it on your own?" Iruka was a little surprised. Wanting to be an excellent teacher, he had made sure to learn about each of his students' backgrounds, including Kaito's.
He knew that while Kaito's mother had once been a Genin, she likely didn't have the ability to teach him properly. This meant that Kaito had managed to learn everything on his own in just a few days.
Although Iruka didn't know why Kaito wanted to know his chakra level, as a teacher, he admired hardworking and capable students. So he nodded in agreement.
"Of course, I'd be happy to help."