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Kaito sat alone in his dim, cramped apartment, arms crossed as he replayed the day at school. Despite his strong chakra control, he fumbled the basic three justu's he was supposed to get easily. His taijutsu? It was barely more than fodder—weak and unreliable.
Though, he wasn't upset, he knew he could figure it out if he had enough time to research and find the issue. But still, it was frustrating. He wanted to get stronger as fast as possible. In just a few years, the Naruto canon events would begin, and he had to be ready.
At the very least, he needed to be prepared enough to defend himself when the time came. And when it did, he had to be strong—way stronger than he was now. That meant training every single day, pushing himself past his limits until he reached a level where he could be satisfied—if that was even possible.
' The first issue is the three basic jutsu... Despite meeting the most important requirement for performing a jutsu, I still wasn't able to pull it off. Sure, hand signs are important, but what really matters is chakra control. Both Kakashi and Zabuza were able to execute the Water Dragon Jutsu with about 44 hand signs, while Tobirama could do it with just one. That alone shows the massive difference in chakra control... ' Kaito thought about it carefully. He had always thought that chakra control was the key to successfully performing a jutsu. But now, he realized he'd been wrong.
He hated being wrong, but if he took the time to understand it, he knew he could fix the issue. And right now, he had that time. So without hesitation, he went straight back to the grind.
He then sprang to his feet and headed to the bathroom. Unlike before when he didn't have a mirror, he couldn't see whether he had perfectly pulled off the Transformation Jutsu or not. He had to rely on Seji's comment more than anything else. But Seji's response had been alright at best, which probably meant the jutsu wasn't good enough.
Slowly, Kaito clasped his hands together, staring at himself in the mirror. His palms felt clammy, but he ignored it. Taking a deep breath, he quickly weaved through the hand signs required to pull off the justu.
A rush of chakra surged through him as cast the hand signs. Then, a cloud of smoke erupted from his body, swirling around him like a thick fog. As it slowly dissipated, he caught a glimpse of his reflection in the nearby mirror—except it wasn't exactly him anymore. Staring back at him was Seji, or at least a version of him. His skin was noticeably paler, with his frame slightly thinner. Kaito frowned, turning his head side to side. Close, but still not perfect.
Kaito sighed ruffling his hands between his hair, before a burst of cloud appeared around him as Kaito dispelled the justu. His chakra control was solid—he knew that much. So why hadn't it worked? Something was off, and if he could just figure out what, it would make learning jutsu so much easier.
Then it hit him. Maybe pure control wasn't the real key. It was important, sure, but if that was all that mattered, he would've mastered this ages ago. No, what really made a difference was how efficiently he used his chakra—how naturally it flowed with his movements, how quickly he could adjust when something felt off.
He had been treating chakra control like some rigid formula, like if he just got the numbers right, the jutsu would work perfectly. But that wasn't how it played out. That wasn't how chakra really worked.
Chakra control is all about how smoothly and naturally it flows, and mastering it takes time. He had spent countless hours refining his efficiency, and training until he finally got them down. Which was the first step. The second was getting so familiar with it that using chakra became second nature.
It's like playing chess—you might memorize all the rules, but if you don't truly understand how to strategize, the game feels completely different. Rules set the boundaries, but real skill comes from knowing how to work within them, finding creative ways to adapt and outplay your opponent.
Chakra functioned in a way that was similar to this idea. Even if someone had good control over their chakra, if they weren't fully accustomed to using it, performing jutsu would still be difficult. It was like trying to command a dog to follow an order—it might understand what you want, but that doesn't mean it will obey right away. At first, it might struggle or even resist, but with enough time and training, it would eventually learn to follow commands properly.
What he lacked was experience—real, hands-on time using chakra. After all, he'd only had two months to learn everything, and that wasn't nearly enough time to fully adjust to using chakra. But looking back, he realized he was improving much faster than most people would in his situation.
Given that he had spent twenty-six years without ever using chakra, the fact that he could grasp it so quickly and surpass those who had been practicing for years was crazy...insane even.
Thinking about what he had accomplished in just two months, Kaito couldn't help but wonder what he'd be capable of in a few years. He was a prodigy—he knew it, and soon enough, everyone else would too.
Taking a deep breath, he steadied himself and tried again. Maybe he was rushing. Maybe he just needed to slow down and focus. 'Don't overthink it. Just keep moving forward—one step at a time.'
He clasped his hands together and tried again. Slowly, he moved through the three necessary hand signs, this time, he pictured Seji more clearly—his skin tone more defined, his build less thinner and more muscular, and every detail of his accessories precisely as he remembered.
Just like before, a puff of smoke surrounded him. As it cleared, Seji stood before him once more. His skin was darker, less pale than before. He looked a bit more built than usual, but aside from that, he was nearly identical.
He had almost gotten it down perfectly, but with a few more tweaks, he'd perfect the jutsu.
' Alright, next up...the Clone Jutsu, ' Kaito thought, dispelling the justu before stepping out of the bathroom and into the middle of his small living room. ' The reason I couldn't pull off a proper clone earlier was probably because I didn't picture myself clearly enough. That must be why my clone ended up looking so weak. ' Kaito then slowly through the hand signs required for the jutsu. The moment he completed them, a puff of smoke appeared beside him. As it cleared, he found himself staring blankly at an identical copy of himself.
Kaito (the real one) circled around his clone, inspecting it carefully from every angle. At first glance, it seemed fine, but there was a glaring issue—the entire backside of the clone was missing.
It looked as if the clone had been sliced in half, leaving only darkness where the rest of its body should have been. While Kaito had successfully performed the jutsu, the problem was in his imagination. He had never really seen his own back in detail, so he struggled to picture it accurately. As a result, his clone was incomplete, lacking the full image of himself needed to make a perfect copy.
All he had to do was grab a mirror, watch his reflection, and get used to it. No big deal. He still had months until graduation—it wouldn't take him that long to master the jutsu, so he wasn't worried.
'How does the clone even move?' Kaito wondered. It wasn't a physical extension of his body, so he couldn't move it the way he normally would. He closed his eyes and imagined the clone walking—one step, then another.
At that exact moment, the clone reacted to his thoughts. "Hm... Alright." Satisfied, he dispelled it with a thought. A puff of smoke filled the air, then cleared, leaving nothing behind.
' The rope escape jutsu, on the other hand, is still a bit of a mystery to me... I copied the hand sign I saw Miyu use, but I still couldn't pull it off. I guess rope escape jutsu is my weakness for now... though I'm not sure if it really matters since I'll probably never need it again. ' Kaito shrugged and headed back over to the small round table.
He lowered himself onto the floor, resting his chin in his palms. "Another issue... my taijutsu. While it's decent, it's lacking at the moment. The fact that I couldn't beat Sugikura proves that." Kaito sighed, running his fingers through his hair as he let the thought sink in.
He lifted his hands lazily to eye level, focusing his chakra. Slowly, he directed it to the tips of his fingers. A moment later, thin blue chakra threads sprouted from them, flickering slightly before stabilizing.
The chakra threads moved effortlessly as they flew through the air, twisting and coiling. Kaito had spent his entire summer break refining his control, pushing himself until he could manipulate them throughout the full space of his house.
Of course, that wasn't much compared to most puppeteer masters. Some could extend their chakra threads for miles and still control a puppet like it was an extension of their own body. But for someone who wasn't even a genin yet and had only been training for two months, his progress was impressive.
What made chakra threads even better was that the threads were practically invisible. Kaito could see them only because they were an extension of himself, like an extra limb made of pure chakra. But to anyone else, they were invisible to the naked eye—with the only way of being able to "see" them is through sensory.
Pure chakra itself is invisible. However, when chakra is heavily condensed—like in a Bijuu Bomb, a Rasengan, or a Tailed Beast Cloak—or when it's transformed through nature release, or when used to perform a jutsu, it becomes visible..
' Wait...wait.. ' Kaito's eyelids twitched as a thought came to mind. Slowly, he pushed himself up from the floor, heading over to the corner of the room, and opened the closet. Reaching inside, he grabbed his backpack and made his way back to the table.
Kaito laid out the weapons on the table, a smirk tugging at his lips as he examined them. ' The thing about chakra threads is that they're insanely versatile. I can switch between long-range and close-range attacks depending on the situation... and the best part? They're invisible and fast. ' He exhaled, rolling his shoulders before stepping back. ' I wanted to improve my chakra control before try to this style, but now's as good a time as any. '
Extending his arm outward, he focused. A moment later, thin blue chakra threads sprouted from his fingertips, darting toward the shuriken and kunai. The threads wrapped tightly around the handles, lifting them into the air. The weapons hovered for a moment before cutting through the air in swift, controlled movements.
"It works... but using my hands like this is a huge limitation," Kaito muttered, eyes narrowing. ' And it's not like I'm skilled in puppetry either. If I want real results, I need to be able to fight while using the threads at the same time... Maybe sprouting them from my back would be a better option... ' He tapped his chin in thought, already considering how to refine his taijustu.
While this was progress, he had another problem to deal with. Controlling chakra threads from his fingers was one thing, but generating and manipulating them from his back was an entirely different.
His chakra control was decent, but not refined enough to make chakra strings from his back at will. If he could master that, he'd basically be a Dr. Octopus knockoff, which honestly wouldn't be a bad thing.
When he finally masters it, he can use the threads like extra arms for his weapons, integrating them into his taijutsu. While it doesn't directly enhance his hand-to-hand combat, it's a good start. There's still plenty of time to improve his hand-to-hand taijutsu, and he can always incorporate it into his Octopus Technique.
'What should I call it… Octopus Storm Jutsu? Nah,' Kaito thought, trying to come up with a name for his new fighting style. "Maybe something like Abyssal Octopus Style...? Hm, it's alright, but it's too long. But I guess it doesn't matter since I won't be shouting it out anyway," he mumbled, finally settling on the name for now.
After coming up with a name, he threw himself back into the grind, no hesitation, no excuses. He was getting stronger...
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