Looking at the two of them, Kai shook his head helplessly.
“Sensei, stop scaring them already.” Standing atop the water, Dōichi looked toward Kai and smiled faintly.
“What about you?
Aren’t you going to give it a try?” He wanted to know whether Kai had already grasped the technique.
Itsuki and Tano also turned their eyes toward him.
By now, both of them understood that Kai was stronger than they were.
Naturally, they were curious whether he could master this technique as well.
Kai paused briefly.
In truth, the moment Dōichi finished explaining the principles behind the technique, he had already completely understood it.
He had even calculated the exact amount of chakra required.
The only thing he did not know was whether he could actually execute it perfectly.
He was curious himself.
“Go ahead and try,” Dōichi urged.
Kai nodded.
Walking to the water’s edge, he circulated the chakra inside his body.
In an instant, chakra surged through his chakra pathways.
His eyes sharpened slightly as he stepped onto the water.
Splash— The originally calm water surface sank beneath his foot.
For a moment, the others thought he was about to fall in.
But the depression in the water immediately rebounded upward, lifting his body back onto the surface.
Then his second foot landed.
And just like that, Kai stood firmly atop the water without sinking at all.
“H-Holy crap…!” “Kai, you practiced this before, didn’t you?!” Itsuki stared at him in total disbelief.
Kai succeeding on his first try made him suspect he had secretly trained beforehand.
Meanwhile, Tano’s eyes practically sparkled with indescribable admiration.
Even Dōichi was stunned.
“Y-You already mastered it?!” Kai himself looked somewhat surprised.
He knew his physical condition and chakra reserves had improved dramatically.
But he had not expected to succeed immediately either.
At that moment, Kai finally realized just how terrifying the system’s “Exceptional Learning Ability” truly was.
Even a genius like Sasuke had spent an entire day learning Tree Climbing Practice, a technique similar in nature to Water Walking Practice, and he had ended up bruised and battered in the process.
Though shocked, Kai quickly regained his composure.
“I’m not really sure how I learned it either.” Hearing those words—and seeing his completely innocent expression—the corners of the other three’s mouths twitched simultaneously.
If the situation were not inappropriate, they probably would have wanted to punch him into a swollen mess.
But what they did not know was that Kai was actually telling the truth.
The moment Dōichi explained the principle behind the technique, his brain had instantly deconstructed every detail of it.
Every variable.
Every calculation.
Everything had been solved immediately.
All he had to do afterward was output chakra according to the “answer” his brain had already produced.
And thanks to his absurd chakra control, he mastered it instantly.
Dōichi finally regained his senses.
Although deeply shocked, he forcibly calmed himself.
Internally, he could only conclude that geniuses simply existed beyond normal understanding.
Of course, if Kakashi heard that thought, he would definitely correct him.
“No.
That’s not genius.
That’s a monster.” Back when Kakashi trained in Water Walking Practice, it had still taken him an entire day to master it.
And that was when he was only six years old.
But Kakashi had grown up in the Hatake Clan, inherited proper training from childhood, and started practicing early.
Kai, meanwhile, had only just begun serious training now.
Before this, the only techniques he truly knew were the Three Basic Techniques.
His talent was simply incomprehensible.
No matter how talented someone was, mastering a chakra control technique this precise in one attempt should have been impossible.
Dōichi’s voice trembled slightly.
“You really never practiced this before?” Kai shook his head.
“The only things I learned at the Academy were the Three Basic Techniques.
Those are the only techniques I know.” “In that case…” Dōichi sighed bitterly.
“It sounds like your years at the Ninja Academy actually held back your growth.” He said it sincerely.
He genuinely believed the Academy had delayed Kai’s development.
“But if you never showed your talent there, nobody could have discovered it.” Itsuki and Tano immediately nodded in agreement.
“Exactly.
Kai was way too low-profile at school.” “If you had shown your talent earlier, even Sasuke probably wouldn’t have been your match.” Kai waved his hand dismissively.
“I’m not interested in creating trouble for myself.” “Didn’t you see how many people Sasuke has to deal with every day?” Hearing that, Dōichi asked curiously, “So that’s why you hid your talent?” Kai nodded naturally.
“Of course.” “Why would I deliberately make life troublesome for myself?” “I had to spend six whole years at the Ninja Academy, after all.” Naturally, that was only half the truth.
The real reason was that his previous talent genuinely had been average.
Still, even if he had been talented before, he probably would have acted exactly the same way.
Not because he feared the Third Hokage or Danzō targeting him— But simply because he disliked unnecessary trouble.
And since that was genuinely how he felt, his words sounded incredibly sincere.
So sincere that Dōichi completely believed him.
What surprised him most was that Kai’s reason for hiding his talent was actually so simple.
Itsuki and Tano, meanwhile, thought Kai’s mindset was absurd.
If they had possessed talent like his, they would have dominated the Academy and shown off constantly.
After all, children found it difficult to resist displaying their superiority before classmates.
Dōichi shook his head helplessly.
He had spent so much time overthinking Kai’s motives, yet the truth turned out to be this straightforward.
And he truly believed it.
After all, Kai’s sincerity was impossible to fake.
Dōichi had once worked in the ANBU interrogation division.
He could tell when someone was lying.
And Kai clearly was not.
At that moment, Dōichi finally let go of the last traces of suspicion toward him.
For the first time, he genuinely regarded Kai as his student.
“Alright.” “Since you’ve learned it, go try standing where the current is moving.” Dōichi wanted to see where Kai’s limits truly lay.
Itsuki and Tano also looked at him expectantly.
Even though they themselves had not mastered the technique yet, they were more than happy to see Kai become stronger.
After all, having a powerful teammate during missions was always reassuring.
Kai nodded and slowly walked toward the flowing water.
The moment he approached the moving current, countless streams of data instantly appeared in his mind.
All of them were calculations generated by his brain in real time.
The changing force of the current.
The shifting balance beneath his feet.
The precise chakra output required for each position.
At the same time, his body automatically adjusted its chakra output accordingly.
Standing on the shore, the other three watched in complete shock as Kai calmly stepped onto the flowing water and remained standing steadily.
He did not waver in the slightest.
Even Dōichi’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“This guy…” “He’s a monster.” Although Itsuki and Tano did not fully understand just how outrageous this feat was, they could still instinctively sense how terrifying Kai’s talent had become.
“Sensei,” Itsuki asked carefully, “standing on moving water is harder than standing on still water, right?” Dōichi’s mouth twitched.
“Obviously.” “Think about it.
The chakra output required on flowing water changes constantly.” “You could say the difficulty is at least ten times greater than standing on still water.” “Even I needed around ten days before I could barely stand on moving water.” “This kid is an absolute monster.” Dōichi’s expression turned increasingly serious.
He had a feeling that before long, there would be nothing left he could teach Kai.
If Kai could master a technique this difficult so quickly, then learning other ninjutsu would only become easier.
After all, Water Walking Practice demanded extraordinarily precise chakra control.
In some ways, it was even harder than learning a C-rank ninjutsu.
And that alone showed just how terrifying Kai truly was.
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