Natsuki wasn’t bothered by his loss. After all, there were still many things he needed to learn.
Since defeating Obito in the Land of Water, Natsuki has practiced swordsmanship while traveling in the dream space. He wanted to ensure that his Ame-no-Murakumo style wouldn’t miss its target in the future, and he also wanted to be able to teach Sasuke.
Fortunately, the Uchiha clan had plenty of skilled sworders within the influence board, allowing Natsuki to improve quickly.
After arriving in the Hidden Sound Village, Natsuki gained a few new abilities but hadn’t yet fully organized them for immediate use.
The earth affinity was a welcomed boost, but there was one issue: the earth-style jutsu in the Leaf Village’s jutsu library were mostly basic techniques. The high-level methods, like the Ultra-Light-Weight Rock Technique—which granted flight—were absent.
As for the highly coveted Flying Thunder God Technique, that was an entirely different problem. You needed a specific talent for it; no amount of effort could compensate for the lack of it. For example, Orochimaru, despite learning nearly every jutsu taught by Hiruzen Sarutobi, never mastered the Flying Thunder God.
Even though Natsuki possessed the ability to analyze jutsu like Orochimaru, which enabled him to quickly master many other techniques, he still had no clue how to master the Flying Thunder God.
While his Susanoo could reveal time-space coordinates, it was highly chakra-intensive. Natsuki couldn’t simply activate his Susanoo Otsutsuki Eye every time he used the Flying Thunder God.
After several nights of failed experimentation, Natsuki temporarily abandoned his research into time-space jutsu.
During his battle tonight, he suddenly wondered whether the jutsu he had acquired could be used in the dream space. But it turned out they couldn’t.
For the next few days, Natsuki spent his days finalizing plans with Orochimaru and his nights in the dream space, continuously training.
Although he had gained new abilities, the most immediate improvement to his combat was from Kimimaro’s battle instinct. This ability allowed Natsuki to accurately predict his opponents’ movements, significantly enhancing his close-quarters combat, especially his swordsmanship.
As for his earth affinity, without suitable earth-style jutsu to practice, it was temporarily set aside.
Regarding natural energy, Natsuki was still working on obtaining one of the three Great Sage Modes. Kabuto had just left, and there was no news from him yet. If he could contact Mount Myoboku, he could ask Tsunade’s summon, Katsuyu, for more information.
For now, the Sage Mode plans have also been shelved.
Even though Natsuki had gained Uzumaki chakra reserves, he primarily used them to power his Susanoo.
When Natsuki tried to create multiple shadow clones like Naruto, the dream space nearly crashed when the clones exploded. He concluded that Naruto was indeed one of a kind regarding shadow clone mastery.
Natsuki had also hoped to replicate Madara’s ability to use Susanoo with shadow clones but soon realized the difficulty. In theory, Susanoo could be distributed among the clones like Kurama’s chakra, but it required both chakra and Sharingan power.
If the clones lacked sufficient chakra, they couldn’t activate Susanoo. If they lacked enough Sharingan power, it wouldn’t work either.
Moreover, if a clone activated Susanoo and were destroyed by Susanoo himself, the energy loss would be enormous. It was more efficient to control his own Susanoo than rely on clones, unlike Madara, who could effortlessly pull it off.
These realizations only deepened Natsuki’s respect for the immense gap between himself and Madara.
Fortunately, Madara was still lying peacefully in his grave, and Natsuki had plenty of time to catch up.
Of the new abilities Natsuki had gained, some, like Sound Mastery and Archery Mastery, were utterly useless to him since he had no intention of changing his combat style. For now, they were set aside.
However, Ukon and Sakon’s Dual Focus ability surprised Natsuki!
It was well-known that most Uchiha found using other jutsu while employing Susanoo complicated, as the massive energy consumption made it hard to maintain. Using additional jutsu alongside it was taxing both mentally and chakra-wise. Generally, there was little point in using weaker jutsu when Susanoo’s punches and kicks were more powerful.
However, Madara was an exception, as he could simultaneously use Susanoo and perform Jutsu like Heavenly Obstruction Star.
Natsuki realized that with the Dual Focus ability, he could use jutsu alongside Susanoo without difficulty, giving him a distinct advantage in battle.
The more Natsuki tested this ability, the more he realized how invaluable it was.
Dream Space
This time, Natsuki faced Uchiha Fugaku.
Susanoo!
After just a few exchanges, Fugaku activated his own Susanoo. Surprisingly, his Susanoo had reached the third stage, with armor fully formed.
Even more interesting was that Fugaku’s Susanoo wielded a massive chakra claw as its weapon, unlike most Uchiha Susanoo, which used swords. It was Natsuki’s first time seeing this.
Boom! Boom!
Whenever their Susanoo clashed, the ground trembled violently. However, Fugaku rarely engaged Natsuki head-on.
Fugaku was far more skilled in using Susanoo than Natsuki. He would only fully activate it when necessary, keeping it deactivated most of the time and reacting swiftly to attacks.
His flexibility made Natsuki realize how clumsy his use of Susanoo was.
After settling in the Hidden Sound Village, Natsuki finally had time to organize his abilities. He returned to the dream space every night to continuously refine his combat style.
Meanwhile, Kisame spent his days eating and drinking with Kyoko, and when he returned, he would spar with Shisui or Itachi. Their battles, often involving large-scale water techniques, had become a regular spectacle in the Hidden Sound Village.
Orochimaru’s medication had temporarily halted Kimimaro’s growth. During his examinations, Orochimaru couldn’t stop praising Kimimaro’s combat talent. Despite having received no formal training, Kimimaro’s instincts allowed him to easily defeat most of the Hidden Sound’s lower-ranked shinobi, even without using his bone techniques.
Seeing such a raw talent, Orochimaru couldn’t resist taking time out of his schedule to mentor Kimimaro personally.
As for Haku, his health had improved, allowing him to begin chakra refinement exercises. Haku was diligent and quick to grasp theoretical knowledge. If not for his fragile body, he would already be learning jutsu.
Since teaching one was the same as teaching two, and knowing of Haku’s talent, Orochimaru decided to introduce both Kimimaro and Haku together.
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