The aftermath of the salamander encounter wasn't just bruises and exhaustion; it was a subtle shift in the mountain air. Jiraiya watched Kaito clean a shallow burn on his forearm – courtesy of a near-miss Storm Release splash – with a newfound, grudging intensity. The Sannin's usual boisterous commentary was replaced by a focused silence that felt heavier than any shouted critique.
Days bled into a rhythm of relentless, specialized drills. Taijutsu sessions became less about brutal punishment and more about precision footwork and evasion patterns designed to maximize distance and create openings for… something else. Chakra sculpting focused on minute, instantaneous bursts – shaping water into needle-thin spikes or tiny, dense shields for a fraction of a second, simulating defensive reactions. Fuinjutsu practice intensified, moving beyond theory into crude, practical application.
One crisp morning, as Kaito finished sketching a complex, unstable-looking Explosive Tag formula onto a scrap of parchment (it fizzled pathetically, leaving only a scorch mark), Jiraiya finally broke his contemplative silence. He stood before Kaito, arms crossed, his gaze piercing.
"Fine," he stated, the single word carrying the weight of a decree. "Village techniques? Off the table. Taijutsu mastery? Takes decades you don't have. Raw power? You lack the reserves." He pointed a thick finger at Kaito's pouch, where Saisei rested, and then at the smudged Fuinjutsu notes scattered on the ground. "But survival? That's not off the table. Your path, Shade, is clear as mountain spring water now. Two pillars: Fuinjutsu and that flicker-step of yours, the Void Step. Master those. Make them your sword, your shield, your escape, your trap. Everything else is seasoning."
Kaito met his gaze, the pronouncement resonating deep within him. It wasn't the path of a Konoha shinobi, nor a traditional powerhouse. It was the path of the trickster, the tactician, the survivor. It fit the Rogue designation like a glove. "Understood, Jiraiya-sama."
"Good. Then stop wasting parchment." Jiraiya gestured dismissively at the failed explosive tag. "That unstable mess? It's a start, but it's louder than a drunk toad and barely singes hair. Focus on containment and trigger efficiency. Less boom, more bang for your buck. Now, drop the ink. Time for your other pillar."
Void Step Refinement became a special kind of torture. Jiraiya didn't just want him to teleport; he demanded impossible precision under duress.
"Land on that specific leaf!" Jiraiya barked, hurling a volley of small stones. Kaito vanished from the path of one, reappearing – thwack – as another stone caught him squarely on the shoulder. He hadn't landed on the designated trembling aspen leaf five meters away; he was a foot below it, unbalanced. The << Cooldown: 30s >> timer mocked him.
"Predictable! Chain them! Hop-scotch death!" Jiraiya escalated. He'd fling pebbles in rapid sequences, forcing Kaito to use Void Step defensively in quick succession. The first hop dodged stone one. The instant he reappeared, stone two was already mid-air. Void Step again – a desperate, shorter flicker just a meter sideways. << Chakra: 45/50 >> The strain was immense, disorienting. Landing precisely became secondary to not being hit.
"Land on the falling rock!" Jiraiya commanded next, kicking a fist-sized stone off a ledge. Kaito, mid-dodge from another projectile, Perception screaming, targeted the tumbling stone. He vanished from the path of Jiraiya's throw and reappeared – his foot landing on the falling rock for a precarious, heart-stopping instant before pushing off, the stone dislodged beneath him. He landed hard, rolling, but he'd done it. Barely.
"Again! Smoother! Less chakra! Defensive hops only, no fancy offensive jumps! You teleport into a punch, you'll arrive as mincemeat!"
Weeks of this brutal focus yielded hard-won gains. The disorientation lessened fractionally. His landings grew marginally more controlled. The chakra expenditure for minimal-distance, purely defensive hops became slightly more efficient. << Void Step Cooldown: 30s → 25s! >> It wasn't freedom, but it was breathing room.
Fuinjutsu practice mirrored the intensity, shifting towards combat utility. Jiraiya provided volatile, unstable chakra-reactive powders – crude substitutes for the stable compounds used in Konoha's tags.
"Explosive Tags (Basic - Crude)," Kaito muttered, carefully mixing a pinch of crimson powder with thick ink on one of his Wooden Seal Tags grown from Saisei. The living wood absorbed the mixture better than parchment, slightly stabilizing the inherently unstable compound. He channeled a minute pulse of chakra into the activating glyph. WHOMPH! A concussive blast of sound and a fist-sized burst of fire erupted a meter away, shattering the wooden tag and scorching the earth. << Chakra: 50/50 >> → << 48/50 >> "Loud. Flashy. Distracting. Good," Jiraiya grunted. "Damage is pathetic. Focus on the effect, not the boom. Make them flinch, break line of sight."
Next came something far more complex and draining. Jiraiya sketched a series of interlocking, spiraling glyphs in the dirt. "Binding Seal (Temporal). Creates a localized field of distorted time or amplified gravity. Think… molasses for seconds. Massive chakra sinkhole. Requires perfect structural integrity and activation timing."
Kaito poured over the diagram, his Fuinjutsu Affinity humming as he grasped the underlying principle – warping space-time through focused chakra geometry. It felt intuitively right, yet terrifyingly complex. He practiced drawing the glyphs on flat stones, pouring chakra in. Most fizzled. One, drawn with agonizing slowness and perfect lines on a Saisei-grown wooden plaque, flared weakly when activated. Kaito felt a sudden, intense drag, like wading through thick mud, centered on the plaque. It lasted barely a second before the wood cracked, and the effect vanished. << Chakra: 48/50 >> → << 28/50 >> Kaito gasped, staggering, the sheer drain leaving him lightheaded. "Twenty chakra… for one second?" he wheezed.
"Told you," Jiraiya said, not unsympathetically. "Temporal manipulation isn't cheap parlor tricks. Use it sparingly. Perfect for an escape route or setting up a single, crucial strike. Pair it with your Step." The potential was staggering, the cost prohibitive. A tool of absolute last resort.
The third skill was fiendishly difficult. "Chakra Disruption Glyphs," Jiraiya explained, demonstrating a tiny, intricate sigil. "Doesn't stop a jutsu being cast. Interrupts the final formation stage. Like tripping someone as they throw a punch. Requires pinpoint placement on the enemy or where their chakra gathers. Milliseconds matter. Your Affinity is the only reason this might be possible for you." Kaito practiced by trying to place tiny ink dots on leaves tossed erratically by Jiraiya. His success rate was abysmal. But when he did hit the designated spot, he could feel the faint ripple of interference. It was a skill requiring inhuman precision and anticipation, years away from combat readiness, but the foundation was laid.
The most promising fusion emerged almost by accident. Carving a basic Explosive Tag glyph directly onto a small, thick piece of bark freshly grown from Saisei, Kaito noticed the chakra flow was smoother, the seal slightly more stable. << Wood & Seal Fusion! >> The living wood acted as a natural conduit, accepting and channeling the seal's energy more harmoniously than inert materials. He experimented:
Wooden Spike Trap Seal: A glyph carved onto a sturdy root section buried shallowly. When triggered by pressure, it released chakra to explosively propel a sharpened wooden spike upwards. Crude, but potentially lethal to the unwary.Camouflage Bark Seal: Glyphs etched onto a flat piece of bark, designed to mimic the surrounding rock texture and dampen chakra signature slightly when activated. Perfect for ambush or hiding small caches.
It was raw, unrefined, but it felt like unlocking a new language – the language of Tactical Fuinjutsu.
"Alright, Shade," Jiraiya announced one afternoon, a familiar, dangerous glint in his eye. "Theory and drills are fine. But you need to dance with someone who won't hold back quite so much. Time for a real sparring partner." He bit his thumb, slammed his palm onto the rocky ground. POOF!
A cloud of smoke cleared to reveal a toad easily twice Kaito's height. Not as colossal as Gamabunta, but imposing. Sleek, green skin, a headband worn rakishly over one eye, and a massive tanto strapped to its back. It surveyed the scene with an air of bored superiority. << Gamakichi (Teenage Toad - Level 20) >>
"Yo, Pervy Sage," Gamakichi drawled, his voice deeper than expected. "Who's the twig? Snack?"
"New student, Gamakichi," Jiraiya said, grinning. "Needs a… reality check. Give him a proper toad-style welcome. Don't kill him. Maiming is negotiable."
Gamakichi cracked his knuckles, a sound like grinding stones. "Heh. Been a while since I squashed a bug. Let's see what you got, twig."
Kaito's heart hammered against his ribs. Level 20. A summon. This wasn't survival; this was a test by fire. He activated Namikaze Perception, the world sharpening. Gamakichi's movements, while powerful, were telegraphed compared to Jiraiya's lethal efficiency. The toad lunged, a deceptively fast punch aimed like a battering ram.
Kaito moved, not with Void Step yet, but with every ounce of evasion Jiraiya had drilled into him. He flowed sideways, the wind of the massive fist ruffling his hair. Too close. Gamakichi's tongue shot out like a pink whip, faster than the punch. No time to dodge conventionally.
"Void Step!" Kaito vanished, reappearing five meters behind the toad. << Cooldown: 25s >> Tick, tick, tick…
"Annoying gnat!" Gamakichi whirled, inhaling. Kaito knew what was coming – a pressurized water bullet. He flung a Crude Explosive Tag not at Gamakichi, but at the ground near his own previous position. WHOMPH! Smoke and sound erupted, obscuring his current location just as the water bullet tore through the smoke cloud where he had been.
Kaito used the distraction. He darted sideways, pulling a Temporal Binding Seal plaque from his pouch – one of his few successful ones carved on Saisei's wood. He slapped it onto a rock as he ran past. Gamakichi, clearing the smoke with a swipe of his arm, spotted him and charged again, a massive leap covering the distance instantly. His clawed hand reached out to grab.
"Kai!" Kaito activated the seal just as Gamakichi entered its three-foot radius.
THUD. Gamakichi stumbled, his movement suddenly sluggish, as if wading through deep water. The grab slowed, giving Kaito a precious half-second. He grew a small Wooden Shield from Saisei in his free hand and braced. CRUNCH! The shield shattered instantly under the slowed but still immense impact, sending splinters flying and knocking Kaito back, but it absorbed enough force to prevent him from being pulped. << Chakra: 28/50 >> Drained from the Binding Seal.
Gamakichi roared, shaking off the temporal effect, now genuinely annoyed. He spat a volley of smaller, faster water bullets. Kaito weaved desperately, Perception guiding him, but one clipped his thigh, spinning him. He hit the ground hard. Gamakichi loomed, raising a massive foot to stomp. No Void Step ready. Kaito's hand scrabbled in the dirt where he'd hastily sketched Chakra Disruption Glyphs earlier during the fight, hoping Gamakichi would step there. The toad's foot came down… just outside the glyph cluster. Doom descended.
Kaito did the only thing left. He channeled chakra into the ground under Gamakichi's other foot, where he'd subtly drawn a crude Gravity Glyph variant during his scramble. It wasn't a full Temporal Bind, just a localized increase in weight. CRACK. The rock under Gamakichi's foot fractured. The toad lurched, unbalanced, the stomp going slightly wide, cratering the earth beside Kaito instead of on top of him.
Kaito rolled away, gasping, chakra reserves critically low << Chakra: 15/50 >>, body screaming. Gamakichi righted himself, glaring down. He raised his hand, chakra gathering for a larger technique.
"Enough!" Jiraiya's voice cut through the tension. He stood nearby, arms crossed. "Good showing, Gamakichi. Thanks."
The toad lowered his hand, the chakra dissipating. He looked at Kaito, panting and battered on the ground, then snorted, a puff of steam escaping his nostrils. "Cheap tricks. Smoke, sticky mud feelings, and making rocks crumble. Annoying." He paused, then gave a grudging nod. "But… effective for a bug. Didn't get squashed immediately." With another POOF, he was gone.
Kaito lay there, trembling with exhaustion and adrenaline crash. Every muscle protested. He hadn't landed a single offensive blow. He'd barely defended. He'd survived purely through evasion, distraction, well-timed Void Steps, one cripplingly expensive Temporal Seal, and environmental Fuinjutsu trickery.
Jiraiya walked over, looking down at him. There was no mockery now. His expression was one of measured assessment. "You used everything. The Step. The Seals. The wood. Not perfectly. Not efficiently. But you integrated them. You fought like a cornered rat with a bag of surprises. And you lasted longer than I expected against a summon." He offered his hand again. "That's your path, Shade. Unconventional. Tactical. Annoying as hell. Hone it."
As Jiraiya pulled him up, warmth flooded Kaito's core, different from the adrenaline. It was the warmth of validation, of seeing the path solidify beneath his feet, bloody and treacherous as it was. << LEVEL UP! Shade is now Level 5! >> << VIT +1 >> << CC +1 >> << INT +1 >> << Void Step Cooldown: 25s → 20s! >> << New Skill: Tactical Fuinjutsu (Rank F) >>
The stats were welcome, the cooldown reduction crucial. But the new skill – Tactical Fuinjutsu – resonated deeply. It wasn't just about drawing seals; it was about weaving them into the fabric of combat, using terrain, misdirection, and his unique abilities in concert. It was the art of the possible for the perpetually outgunned.
He looked at Saisei, still secure in his pouch. He looked at his ink-stained, wood-splintered hands. He looked at Jiraiya. The crucible of the mountain was forging something unexpected, not a replica of the Sannin, but something entirely new. The cracked vessel held, strained, but held. And within it, a flicker of something ancient and potent stirred, waiting for the next, even more perilous step. The path ahead was the Way of the Seal and the Step, and Kaito was just learning to walk it without stumbling at every turn.