But Uchiha Makoto knew himself that this was still not enough.
Far from enough.
Uchiha Makoto knew that Kakashi graduated from the Ninja Academy at age 5 to become a Genin, became a Chunin at age 6, and a Jonin at age 12.
His current achievements really were nothing in the Naruto World.
“The road ahead is still very long,” Uchiha Makoto sighed.
“Brother Makoto, what are you sighing about?” Obito leaned over.
“Can’t figure it out? I’ll teach you!”
“No need,” Uchiha Makoto shook his head.
“I just feel that… the Three Basic Techniques are too simple.”
“Simple?” Obito widened his eyes.
“How is it simple? I’ve practiced for ages, and my clones are still transparent!”
“That’s because your Chakra control is terrible,” Uchiha Makoto said.
“Chakra must be distributed evenly; there can’t be too much or too little.”
“How do you distribute it evenly?” Guy also leaned over.
“Every time I make clones, one is fat and the other is thin.”
“That’s because your Chakra output is unstable,” Uchiha Makoto thought for a moment.
“Like this, imagine Chakra flowing out of your body like water, then dividing into two streams—one staying in place, and the other turning into a clone.”
Obito and Guy exchanged glances, then closed their eyes simultaneously.
“Imagine… water…” Obito muttered to himself.
“Even… distribution…” Guy wore a serious expression.
Five minutes later.
Obito’s clone was still transparent.
Guy was still Guy; he was simply best suited for practicing taijutsu.
Uchiha Makoto facepalmed at these two clowns.
“Forget it,” he said.
“Practice slowly.”
“Brother Makoto,” Obito suddenly asked.
“Do you think anyone can practice the Three Basic Techniques to… an extremely powerful level?”
Uchiha Makoto’s heart stirred.
Here it comes.
The opportunity has arrived.
“There is,” he said casually.
“I’ve heard that some powerful Ninjas can transform into any object with the Transformation Technique. The Clone Technique can create physical clones that fight just like the real body. And the Substitution Technique can directly use Chakra as a substitute instead of using a wooden log.”
Obito and Guy widened their mouths.
“A physical clone?” Guy clenched his fists.
“Wouldn’t that just mean having an extra self?”
“Chakra substitution?” Obito continued to imagine.
“Wouldn’t that mean… being able to substitute anytime, anywhere?”
“Correct,” Uchiha Makoto nodded.
“That’s why the Three Basic Techniques look simple, but their ceiling is actually very high. If you master them, they aren’t any worse than those advanced Ninjutsu.”
Obito and Guy exchanged glances, then simultaneously looked at Uchiha Makoto.
“Brother Makoto,” Obito asked cautiously.
“Can… can you practice to that extent?”
Uchiha Makoto smiled.
“Not right now,” he said.
“But in the future… maybe.”
“When I get a bit stronger,” Uchiha Makoto said.
“When my Chakra is a bit more abundant and my control is a bit better.”
“How long will that take?” Obito sounded somewhat disappointed.
“Very soon,” Uchiha Makoto said.
“My Chakra cultivation speed is very fast.”
When Makoto said this, his tone was very flat.
But Obito and Guy believed it.
Makoto nodded in satisfaction; daily brainwashing was indispensable.
“Alright, continue practicing. Lay a solid foundation first.”
“Yes!” Obito and Guy were full of enthusiasm.
They now felt that the Three Basic Techniques were no longer just basics.
If they wanted to become true Ninjas in the future, they had to master the Three Basic Techniques thoroughly.
On the training ground, Obito was still wrestling with his transparent clone.
“Clone! Clone! Clone!”
He formed hand signs until his hands were almost cramping, yet the shadow he conjured still looked like a ghost, scattering at a puff of wind.
Guy’s side wasn’t doing much better.
His clones were at least visible, but one was as fat as a ball and the other as thin as a pole, standing together looking just like a father and son.
“Brother Makoto…” Obito said with a crying face.
“Does this Clone Technique have a grudge against me or something?”
Uchiha Makoto looked at these two clowns and sighed.
“It doesn’t have a grudge against you,” he said.
“You have a grudge against Chakra.”
“What do you mean?”
“It means your Chakra control is as terrible as shit.”
Obito and Guy exchanged glances and simultaneously lowered their heads.
There was no way to refute those words.
They had been practicing for nearly a month, and the Three Basic Techniques were still in this state.
Let’s not even mention the Substitution Technique.
Every time Obito used substitution, the wooden log came out, but he remained right where he was.
Guy could perform substitution, but the substitution location was always wrong; once he substituted onto a tree and got stuck in the branches unable to get down.
“Brother Makoto,” Guy raised his head with a firm gaze.
“I will definitely master the Three Basic Techniques!”
“Me too!” Obito clenched his fists.
“I want to become a Ninja just like Brother Makoto!”
Uchiha Makoto looked at them, feeling a bit touched yet wanting to laugh.
He was touched because these two blockheads were genuinely working hard.
He wanted to laugh because…
the direction of their hard work seemed a bit off.
“Forget it,” Uchiha Makoto waved his hand.
“Put the Three Basic Techniques aside for now. Starting today, we’re training Flowing Tekkai.”
“Flowing Tekkai.”
Obito and Guy froze at the same time.
Uchiha Makoto walked up to Obito.
“If he were a bit smarter and found that you couldn’t move, and directly went behind you or used long-range Ninjutsu attacks, what would you do?”
Obito thought about it, and cold sweat broke out.
Indeed.
He had stood motionless back then; if Aoki had gone behind him, he would have been completely helpless.
“Therefore, Tekkai can’t just be used to stand there and take hits,” Uchiha Makoto said.
“It has to be able to move.”
“Only with partial Tekkai, reinforcing only a part of the body while other parts can still move, can it be useful on a real battlefield.”
Obito and Guy exchanged glances.
It seemed…
to make sense?
Uchiha Makoto smiled.
“This is what we’re practicing today.”
He had Obito and Guy stand properly.
“Step one, feel the Chakra,” he said.
“Not refining it, but feeling it—feel it flowing inside your body like water.”
Obito and Guy closed their eyes.
Five minutes later.
“Brother Makoto…” Obito whispered, “I can’t feel it.”
“Me too,” Guy said.
“I only feel hungry.”
Uchiha Makoto facepalmed.
“Forget it, let’s change methods,” he said.
“Imagine you’re peeing.”
“Huh?” Obito and Guy opened their eyes at the same time.
“When you pee, isn’t there a warm current flowing out from your belly?” Uchiha Makoto said without changing his expression.
“Chakra flow is exactly that feeling.”
Obito and Guy blushed.
But…
it seemed to make some sense?
They closed their eyes once more.
This time, Obito felt it first.
A warm current started from his belly, slowly moved downward, and then spread throughout his entire body.
“Brother Makoto!” he shouted excitedly.
“I felt it!”
“Very good,” Uchiha Makoto nodded.
“Now, try to control it and make it flow to your right hand.”
Obito gave it a try.
The warm current obediently flowed toward his right hand.
“Then, solidify it,” Uchiha Makoto said.
“Just like water freezing into ice.”
Obito tried again.
The warm current stopped in his right hand, and then…
hardened.
It didn’t actually harden; it just felt like it hardened.
“It worked!” Obito opened his eyes, looking at his right hand.
“Brother Makoto, I did it!”