Akihiro walked through Kusagakure, running various errands. Luckily, he had completed a good number of missions, which allowed him to save enough money so that he didn’t have to worry about spending it right away.

  He bought several bags filled with water balloons, regur balloons, and rubber balls. He didn’t remember needing anything else, so after finishing his shopping, he headed to a secluded field, seeking some privacy.

  He started with the water balloon to practice the first stage of the Rasengan. He focused his chakra and began moving the water inside, creating a whirlpool and spinning it to the right.

  —Alright, first step completed,— Akihiro commented. Moving the chakra in one direction was just the beginning of the first stage; now he needed to move it in several directions to break the balloon.

  Akihiro concentrated harder and began doing it gradually. Unfortunately, the balloon didn’t break at first, but he wasn’t too worried. He knew that people like Jiraiya and Minato had taken time to master the technique; if he managed to master it in one day, it would be absurd.

  He kept practicing, and after two hours of effort, he finally managed to break the balloon.

  —Alright, first stage complete,— he murmured, satisfied. He repeated the process several times to ensure his technique was on track.

  —Now, onto stage two,— he said, this time taking a rubber ball.

  He held the rubber ball and began to concentrate his chakra, moving it in different directions. As expected, it didn’t break, unlike the water balloon. It took him half an hour to increase his chakra enough to create a small hole in the ball.

  —Well, a good start,— he murmured, as he grabbed another one.

  He closed his eyes and continued. Every time he failed, he grabbed another and kept trying. However, after ten attempts, his chakra was nearly depleted, and he couldn’t continue.

  He decided to take the rest of the day to rest and focus on practicing basic Fuinjutsu.

  The next day, he continued his training, but didn’t make significant progress. Although he managed to do it faster, he still couldn’t completely break the balloon.

  —Am I cking concentration?— he wondered, somewhat confused. It was hard for him to believe that if someone like Naruto could do it in such a short time, he couldn’t manage it.

  He kept trying until his hands began to hurt, but still, he didn’t succeed. His chakra was nearly depleted, so he decided to take a break and reflect.

  —Am I overlooking something?— he wondered, struggling to remember anything that might help. However, nothing came to mind. Although a ninja’s memory and intelligence were far sharper than those of a normal person, thanks to chakra, he still had difficulty recalling very old details, such as those from his former world.

  He sighed and, after recovering, continued practicing, focusing more and more on a small point. As his chakra increased in power, the balloon suddenly burst, slightly burning his hand.

  —So, that’s it...— he murmured, offering a faint smile. He had forgotten part of his training, so he overlooked small details like focusing his chakra to increase power. Now it was very simple once he remembered the trick.

  —Just one more step,— he said, grabbing a regur balloon.

  The third step was the easiest, yet the hardest at the same time. In this step, he had to concentrate and maintain the power without letting the balloon burst, creating a small chakra membrane to contain the energy without destroying the balloon. Only then would he be able to form a perfect Rasengan.

  He did the same as in the previous step, focusing his chakra. However, as expected, the balloon quickly burst.

  —Figured this would happen,— he commented, grabbing another balloon. He knew this step would take time. While the previous steps had been retively easy due to his experience and training, he was now facing a completely different challenge.

  He kept trying, and the days passed quickly without any real progress. Although he could maintain the power inside the balloon and prevent it from bursting immediately, he still found it impossible to stop it from eventually exploding.

  Only after several more days did he finally succeed.

  Akihiro held the balloon, which was now perfectly stable, while the chakra moved precisely inside. Even though he increased the power, he didn’t notice a significant change in the balloon. It was only when he used a rge amount of chakra that he couldn’t maintain control, and the balloon burst.

  —For now, it’s good enough,— he murmured. He had mastered a pretty solid technique, like the Rasengan, though it had taken him longer than he had anticipated. Still, it was within an acceptable range.

  —Now I have to give it a nature,— he said, but no matter how much he tried, he couldn’t imbue it with any.

  —I guess I still need more training,— he murmured, resigned.

  Devil-Dragon