The next morning.
In the fresh morning air, the peaceful valley was silent except for the thunderous roar of the waterfall. Ryan stretched his limbs, preparing to begin his daily training after finishing breakfast.
Nearby, across from the waterfall, stood a sturdy little cabin, built just yesterday by Ryan and Natsuhoshi. It was modest but solid—and it would be Ryan's new home for the months to come.
Of course, the waterfall's thunder was so loud that most people couldn't even sleep here without blocking their ears. Ryan had to plug his ears just to get some rest. Still, he was used to it. His biological clock was well-trained from his meditation and chakra refinement practices. Most nights, he only needed three or four hours of sleep.
"My foundation is solid now," Ryan murmured to himself. "Especially my physical strength—most chunin probably can't compare. Time to start Lightning Release!"
He took out one of the scrolls given to him by the Hoshikage and laid it flat on the ground. Intricate sealing symbols covered its surface.
"Release."
Ryan placed his right palm at the center and released a small amount of chakra. A flash of light revealed a Lightning Release scroll, left behind by the First Hoshikage.
Eagerly, Ryan opened it.
The very first technique listed was a C-rank Lightning Release jutsu. While not powerful by elite standards, it was perfect for Ryan's current level. It was better to start small and climb steadily than to risk failure by jumping straight into high-rank jutsu—especially without a mentor like Kakashi guiding him, unlike Sasuke.
C-rank Lightning Release Jutsu: Lightning Style – False Thunder!
It wasn't strong, but its effect was practical—it could paralyze the enemy temporarily, making it a valuable support technique. For now, it was the perfect entry point for Ryan's Lightning training.
He studied the scroll carefully, memorizing the description and hand seal sequence, before rolling it up and setting it aside.
Then he walked to the edge of the pool.
His small hands flashed through the seals with a speed far beyond that of most genin. Chakra flowed rapidly through his body in sync with the movements.
Ryan pressed both hands to the cold surface of the water and called out:
"Lightning Style – False Thunder!"
Bzzzt—
Ryan suddenly felt a slight numbness in his palms. Then, a blinding pale light burst forth, crackling with energy. Countless erratic arcs of electricity snaked around his smooth, fair hands, dancing wildly as they spread out across the surface of the water.
As the lightning stretched out to a radius of about three meters, the arcs gradually flickered and died out.
It was, after all, just a low-level jutsu. Its visual impact couldn't compare to the Rasengan or the Chidori unleashed by characters like Kakashi or Sasuke in the original series. Still, Ryan wasn't disappointed.
"Uh…" he blinked, noticing two small fish floating belly-up near the surface, motionless. He paused for a moment, then chuckled.
Those poor fish must've gotten too close and been zapped by his clumsy execution of the jutsu. They probably weren't dead—just stunned.
"Well, it's not bad for a first try," Ryan muttered. "Even though the Third Hoshikage keeps calling me a genius, I've never thought of myself that way. I'm just a lucky transmigrator, really. Compared to those overpowered guys who awaken the Mangekyō on day one, I'm miles behind."
Ryan continued practicing the Lightning Style: False Thunder for the entire morning. Over and over, he repeated the technique until his chakra was nearly depleted. Only then did he manage to fully master the low-level lightning jutsu.
But thanks to his relentless training… the fish in the pond suffered a devastating fate. Countless stunned fish floated along the surface—victims of his overzealous practice.
(Well, it's not that shocking, no pun intended. It's just a C-rank jutsu. Compared to Naruto or those other cheat-code protagonists, this is nothing. Remember how Uchiha Itachi mastered the Great Fireball Technique on his first try?)
"Whew, finally got it down," Ryan exhaled, wiping sweat from his brow as he sat on a massive rock. He looked at the floating fish and gave a satisfied nod. "Learning it in just one morning… better than expected. Time to take a break and move on to taijutsu training."
Since he now had a pile of fish ready to go, Ryan didn't bother hunting. He picked two of the larger ones, cleaned out their guts, grilled them over the fire, and devoured them for lunch.
Ninjutsu in the morning, taijutsu in the afternoon, and chakra refining at night (minus necessary sleep time)—that was the training regimen Ryan had set for himself.
He didn't focus on genjutsu for now, mostly because Star Village didn't have any high-level genjutsu techniques available. There was no point investing time in something he couldn't advance in. As for low-level genjutsu, he figured learning how to dispel them was enough.
After lunch, Ryan sat cross-legged on the giant boulder, closing his eyes as he began to recover his chakra quickly through meditation.
In front of his cabin stood several thick wooden training posts, each as wide as an adult's waist, wrapped with ropes as thick as a man's thumb.
These logs were made from a rare, ultra-dense type of tree that Natsuhoshi had gone out of her way to find. Though not as strong as steel, they were tough enough that an ordinary person striking them with a blade would barely leave a scratch.
Such trees weren't common—even in Bear Country's vast forest, they were rare. If Natsuhoshi hadn't remembered the location from past missions, it would've taken a lot more time to track them down.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
In front of one of the logs, Ryan was hammering away at it relentlessly with his fists, each strike echoing with dull, heavy thuds.
"One hundred ten… one hundred eleven… one hundred twelve…"
His eyes were locked in focus. Blow after blow, punch after punch—he showed no sign of stopping.
This training was something he had vowed to continue from the moment he arrived in this world. And now, years later, it remained a core discipline, though the power of his punches had skyrocketed since then.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
"Nine hundred ninety-one… nine hundred ninety-two… nine hundred ninety-three…"
Exactly one thousand strikes later, Ryan finally exhaled a heavy breath and drew back his bright red, throbbing fists.
Thankfully, one of the storage scrolls the Third Hoshikage had given him contained a bottle of special herbal medicinal wine, specifically prepared for muscle recovery. Without it, he wouldn't even be able to continue training tomorrow.
"Next up… kicks."
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Ryan reset his stance, didn't pause for rest, and immediately began practicing powerful kicks against the training post.
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