Enji was excited about trying out the new jutsus that he had learned yesterday and arrived at the training yard a bit earlier than usual. He was waiting for Enji to arrive and practicing his chakra control with sticking multiple leaves all along his body, some with direct skin contact, others sticking to his clothes.
As he focused on sensing and controlling his chakra, he sensed the arrival of a flare of chakra at the edge of the training ground startling him.
He turned around to see Yasu's arrival. Yasu was also surprised. ' He sensed my chakra. He's a sensor too?'
" You are early, why the rush?" Yasu said masking his surprise.
" You know why I'm early" Enji replied with a smile. With regular training sessions and regular beatdowns, Enji had started warming up to Yasu.
" Leave aside the elemental jutsus, we will focus one something else for a few weeks.You need to focus on basics" Yasu replied with his usual stoicism.
Enji was disappointed, but he did not show it. He calmly nodded and got ready for the session without any complaints.
Yasu had expected Enji to throw tantrums as anyone would. But Enji had surprised him again.
" Today, we'll start with the body flicker. It is a D rank and simple jutsu, but this jutsu scales with the user's chakra control and physical prowess. This is one jutsu used by ninjas of all ranks. This jutsu is an essential one."
Yasu continued as Enji listened with rapt attention.
" Body flicker is basically sending chakra to the legs to reinforce them in controlled bursts. You have already achieved this partially, when we were having the new year's ever spar. Remember?"
Enji nodded.
" The main point you have to consider when flickering, is control.
Speed is useless if your brain doesn't keep up.
You should be in full controll when flickering.
Now let's start, since you are already aware of handsigns, it'll be easier , start with tiger seal to mold your chakra towards the feet, in controlled bursts, don't over pour the chakra, it can tear open your muscles if they can't handle that amount of chakra.Baby steps, start with a miniscule amount, get to feel how your body reacts, and once you know the limit, try releasing chakra in bursts."
Yasu moved to the side, patiently watching Enji, hoping to see him embarassed once he crashes straight into something.
Enji exhaled slowly, focusing, he made the tiger seal and sent a trickle of chakra into his legs, he leapt forward but only managed to spirnt forward slightly faster than his normal sprint.
' This kid is too cautious and careful' Yasu signed
" Try releasing chakra in controlled bursts" Yasu gave his pointers.
Enji continued experimenting with different amounts of chakra, trying to sent them in bursts.
As the evening progressed, he had got the hang of it, he could now flicker in a single direction about 2 meters,but without any controll, as he stumbled forward from the momentum.
As the night fell, Yasu stopped him. Enji felt his calves cramping from the relentless practice.
Yasu watched dumbfounded as Enji massaged his calves for a bit and bounced back like normal.
' His body is too resilient, sending chakra into legs for the whole day, and leaving with only cramps, does this kid have some Senju blood? Little monster.'
Yasu returned from his thoughts and advised -
" Your are nowhere near mastering it. You are not in control.
Tomorrow we'll try to chain the flickers, and try flickering to precise marks on the ground.
Now go and rest"
As Enji slowly made his way back home Yasu flickered away , planning the next phase of training.
One week later-
The grass in front of him was marked in neat chalk lines - one meter apart.
"Flicker," Yasu ordered.
Enji bent low, feet ready.
Snap.
One step, one heartbeat, and he landed on the first mark. A stumble sent him tumbling on the second.
"Your landing's trash," Yasu muttered. "Control your speed. Get it right. I know you can."
They repeated it until Enji's thighs burned and his breath came ragged. Each stumble stung worse than the last, but slowly, the body began to obey.
Two weeks later came distance drills - two meters,then three.
The ground blurred.
The snap of his step grew sharper, the air hissing past his ears.
Still, Yasu remaind impassive.
"You're thinking about moving fast," he said, "but you're still not like a ninja . Commit from the first muscle twitch. No hesitation. No noise or any sound, a ninja should be silent, move silent like a slight breeze."
By the end of the third week, they began chaining movements.
Flicker ,pause,flicker.
It was here the real strain showed.
His calves cramped, chakra pathways ached like sore muscles.
Weighted bands strapped to his legs made each burst feel like running through water.
Fourth week brought precision work.
Targets were set:A red flag flapping ten meters away.Flicker in, tap it, flicker out before a thrown practice kunai .
Yasu's aim was merciless.
Miss once and you lost the whole sequence.
Enji learned to move before the thought fully formed, only through pure instinct,trusting the map in his head.
Fifth week - the silence drills.
Chakra pulsing in a perfect amount,in a heartbeat , he learned to vanish without a whisper.No sound of his footsteps,no thud of landing.
Only the wind marked his passing.
By the next week, he could chain mutiple, sometimes five flickers without staggering. When he focused, the world appeared slower, enabling him the time to perfectly observe and react.
Yasu finally nodded once. "Time for the fight you keep pestering me about . It's time to use everything you have learned till now and combining it."
That evening, the training ground was quiet.
Enji stood with his hands loose, one water clone shimmering ten meters away.
Breath in.Chakra down the legs.The world narrowed.
Flicker.
Yasu's head snapped toward where he expected Enji to land.
But, a flicker again and a blur zipped past the point and was immediately at the veteran's flanks.
A left handed jab towards the ribs followed by a chakra infused fist towards the jounin's face.
Yasu effortlessly blocked the jab with his right arm,and raised his other to capture the fist.
The chakra enforced punch,which was clasped tightly in his hands,forced him to take a half step back exposing his lower torso.
Yasu expecting a solid knee strike from his left, raised his knee to block it.
Enji kicked with his left, towards the only ungaurded side, landing it with perfect technique,sending Yasu skidding to the side.
Enji landed low, one palm to the ground, panting but grinning.
For the first time, he had moved and struck without giving his target a breath of warning.
Yasu didn't smile, but the approval in his voice was enough.
"Not bad, kid. You're starting to look like a shinobi."
" But that did nothing" Yasu muttered, disappointed to see not even a hint of pain from Yasu.
" That kick was good. Too strong for a kid your age and size. It would have been a bit painful to take that without reinforcing your body without chakra"
" You are proficient enough ,for now, you can slowly increase the training weights for flicker as you grow and your physical strength increases.
We can try elemental jutsu from tomorrow onwards. Now go , think and reinforce what you have already learned."
"Then, good night sensei"
'His reactions speed is tremendous, he has spare time to observe and react.' Yasu thought, watching Enji's departing silhouette.
Enji returned home, eager to revise everything about the elemental jutsus.