Pain. Pain in every single muscle of his body.
Dan lay on his back, his chest rising and falling rapidly, sweat covering his entire body. He had just finished another round of exercises, and his body was screaming in protest.
"One more time," he whispered to himself, forcing his aching limbs to stand up.
Several months had passed since he decided to take his physical training more seriously. Simple exercises were no longer enough. Dan needed something more efficient—something that would build his strength comprehensively.
That was when he remembered military calisthenics.
In his original world, years ago, Dan had tried these exercises after reading about them online. They were brutal, designed to build strength, endurance, and flexibility all at once. But he had quit after just a few weeks because they were too difficult, and he lacked the motivation to continue.
But now, things were different. Now, his survival depended on his strength.
He began a routine of calisthenics every morning: push-ups in different forms, deep squats, jumping, sit-ups, bridges, and stretching. He pushed his body to its limits, and then he pushed even further.
In the first few weeks, the pain was unbearable. Every morning, Dan woke up with his body aching intensely; every movement felt like torture. But he forced himself to keep going.
He did this because he started to see results.
Dan looked at his arms. Muscles were beginning to appear—not huge, but more defined and much stronger. His body, which had been average and slightly soft in his past life, was slowly transforming into a more solid shape.
But more importantly, he noticed something else.
His chakra capacity began to increase.
The increase was small, barely noticeable, but it was there. Whenever his physical strength improved, the amount of chakra he could refine and store in his body increased as well.
This didn't surprise him. He remembered from the anime that chakra is composed of physical energy and spiritual energy. Logically, as the body becomes stronger, the physical energy grows, leading to a larger amount of chakra.
Yet, despite the improvement, his capacity was still very small compared to others in the village. Dan could now refine chakra more easily than before, but the total amount remained limited.
Dan sat under the shade of a tree, catching his breath. He took a cloth and wiped the sweat from his face, then closed his eyes and began to focus on his chakra. He felt it flowing inside him—warm, faint, and restricted.
"If the capacity is small, I must focus on control," he thought.
After a period of reflection, Dan reached this conclusion: he would never be able to compete with others in terms of raw chakra volume. Some villagers, especially the younger ones, had massive reserves compared to him.
But if he could control his chakra with high precision—if he could use it efficiently without wasting a single drop—perhaps he could compensate for the lack of quantity.
Precise control meant less consumption. Less consumption meant he could use techniques for longer periods or perform more complex moves without draining his reserves quickly.
This would be his path: Quality over quantity. Precision over raw power.
He opened his eyes and looked at the leaf in his hands. He focused his chakra into the tips of his palms, trying to make it flow steadily without fluctuations. It was a difficult task that required intense concentration. Any distraction, and the chakra would flicker and vanish.
He practiced this exercise for hours every day, trying to perfect his control as much as possible. It was a slow and frustrating process, but he saw gradual progress.
In recent weeks, something else happened that changed his routine slightly. He joined the village hunting team.
He wasn't interested in hunting itself, but he saw it as an opportunity to learn. The hunters in the village used simple Ninshu techniques to help them catch animals.
One of these techniques was a Basic Restraint Seal.
It was a fundamental technique used to calm captured animals and prevent them from escaping or resisting. It wasn't complex, but it was the first real technique Dan had ever learned.
The seal required forming chakra signs in a specific order, then releasing them toward the target to create a temporary bond that affected the target's movement and calmed it down.
At first, Dan failed miserably. The seal required precise chakra control, something he lacked at the time. But the hunters were patient and taught him step by step.
After weeks of attempts, he finally managed to master the simple seal. It wasn't perfect, and it consumed much more chakra than it did for the other hunters, but it worked.
This small achievement gave him a huge moral boost. For the first time, he felt he was actually moving forward—that he was becoming stronger, even if it was slow.
At night, Dan sat in his hut looking at his notes. He reminded himself to write down his goals and read them every day.
Long-term goal: Immortality.
Short-term goal (the most realistic one): "Raise my strength to a decent level, then leave the village before the conflict begins."
Dan knew what would happen in the future. The sons of the Sage of the Six Paths, Indra and Ashura, would grow up, and a conflict would erupt between them—a conflict that would eventually lead to endless wars, divisions, and hatred.
He wanted absolutely nothing to do with that.
He knew that Indra and Ashura were children now; he had seen them many times in the village. But they would grow up one day. When that happened, the village, and perhaps the whole world, would become a battlefield.
Therefore, he had to leave before that happened and find a safe place, far from the wars.
But before leaving, he had to become stronger. His current power was not enough. If he left now, he would die in the wild, or be killed by a beast, or even a bandit. He needed enough strength to defend himself and survive alone in this dangerous world.
He set a timeline for himself: Five years. In five years, he must reach a decent level of strength and then leave the village.
Five years felt like a long time, but it was realistic. With his weak talent and his older starting age, he couldn't progress quickly. He needed time, constant training, and gradual improvement.
He looked at the piece of leather again, at the written goals.
Power. Precise chakra control. Mastering basic techniques. Staying away from conflicts.
And finally, Immortality.
He felt the fire burning in his chest again—that fierce desire, that unquenchable greed.
"I will do it," he whispered to himself. "No matter how long it takes, I will achieve my goals."
He folded the leather and put it aside, then lay down on his mat. His body was exhausted from the daily training, but his mind was full of ideas and plans.
He looked at the wooden ceiling of the hut and thought about the future. He knew the road ahead was long and difficult. He knew he would face countless challenges and dangers he couldn't even imagine.
But he was determined. He wouldn't die. He wouldn't give up.
He would become stronger, step by step, day after day.
In the end, he would achieve his dream: Immortality. Staying forever in this world, far from the grip of death.
That was his purpose, his only true goal. And he was ready to do anything to achieve it. Anything.
He closed his eyes slowly, the fire in his chest still burning brightly, driving him forward toward an unknown future.
Tomorrow, the training would continue. And the day after. And every day after that.
Until he reached his goal.
Whatever the cost.