Reincarnation into the world of Naruto with the system

And so, my world turned into endless training. When it came to chakra theory, both Hana and Hitomi drilled me relentlessly. As for practice, they left that part out for now, and I only trained in Inuzuka clan techniques under Tsume's supervision.

"Phew, I can't do this anymore," I collapsed from exhaustion. My chakra reserve was nearly empty, but at the same time, my control had clearly improved yet again.

I voiced my emerging question to Tsume, of course, adjusting the wording a little—I wasn't supposed to see all this in numbers, after all? Heh-heh. Instead of mentioning "increased control," I said it felt easier to use techniques—any techniques. That sounded "childish" enough, right?

However, it wasn't Tsume, still somewhat shocked by something, who answered me this time—it was Hana, who happened to be present during this training session.

"You see, Naruto-kun, in fact, any manipulation of chakra improves control in one way or another. The improvement might be tiny in some cases, but it's always there. Any practice in a technique not only makes it easier to use later—which is the most obvious effect—but also slightly enhances overall chakra control. And Beast Imitation, in a way, falls into the same category as tree walking and water walking."

Seeing my look of partial confusion, Hana sighed and continued in more detail. She really was a good person…

"Thank you." She replied, barely flustered.

"Did I just say that out loud?" I asked, already knowing the answer. Hana gave me a restrained nod, and Tsume, who was grinning, did the same.

"Anyway," Hana continued, "walking on water and trees can be considered pure chakra manipulation. By getting used to channeling chakra through your body, you learn to sense and control it better, which helps later on. At the same time, Beast Imitation forces you to move your entire chakra flow throughout your body. And the exercises..."

"And the exercises your mother gives you—changing the flow and strength of chakra in specific places, infusing techniques with a smaller or larger portion of chakra—greatly improve control and make the technique more stable," I finally pieced together Tsume's approach to training with this technique and many others.

Both women simultaneously placed their hands on their faces. Did I misunderstand something?

"I suddenly feel ashamed of my brother/son," they said in unison.

"Now I'm lost," I admitted honestly. Honesty was the best policy, especially around the Inuzuka, who could smell outright lies. Subtle half-truths might slip by, but not with everyone—someone as experienced as Tsume could read a lot from body language alone.

"As you probably know, my younger brother started this training when he entered the Academy. I gave him this lecture after a week of training... He came to the same realization you just did about a month ago."

Kiba took a year and a half to figure this out? Though, honestly, it wasn't surprising. I wasn't exactly a genius myself, but I could grasp certain things, whereas Kiba sometimes lagged behind despite having a sharp mind and a fair bit of ingenuity.

"Hmm, but doesn't this mean that any trained Inuzuka can master water and tree walking immediately after learning about them?" The thought suddenly struck me.

+3 Intelligence!

"Exactly," Hana confirmed. Judging by their expressions, my friend hadn't reached this conclusion yet.

"And now, back to training. No more standing around. You have enough chakra for a couple more rounds!"

Could Tsume sense my chakra reserves or something? How else could she estimate them so precisely? Because she was spot on—I really had enough for just two more attempts.

"And the lecture continues. Listen carefully, because I'll be quizzing you on everything I explain," Hana added.

Sadists! The Inuzuka clan is full of sadists!

By the time I dragged myself to the Academy again, I was completely drained. Kiba, walking beside me, could barely move his legs. After realizing my progress, Tsume had ramped up his training intensity too. But that was one thing I liked about Kiba—he never blamed me for his misfortunes. He simply accepted them in silence.

We practically collapsed onto our desks, and the lessons passed in a haze. Though, thanks to Hitomi, I had already reached a graduation-level understanding of theory.

After class, Ino joined our group. One time, I had complained to her about how my head felt like it was about to explode from all the different information being thrown at me, and how I couldn't process everything at once. She must have taken it to heart, because the very next day, after consulting with her father no doubt, she began teaching me…

No, not clan techniques, but mental training methods. She taught me how to push emotions aside, how to fully focus on a single task, how to "defocus" and "see the big picture." A lot of "hows."

In the end, she started visiting my assigned house and spending two hours a day with me—well, an hour and a half of training, and another half hour just drinking tea and chatting. I don't know about her, but I personally felt like I could finally relax and unwind in her company.

Tsume, watching this outsider frequently enter the Inuzuka compound, gritted her teeth and scowled but said nothing. I was getting more and more curious about the conditions she had been given when she took over my guardianship.

Meanwhile, Ino's relationship percentage with me was slowly but surely approaching the third heart. Well, yeah, with this kind of daily routine, bonding was inevitable.

But I still couldn't come up with an escape plan or extract the necessary information. In these past two months, I simply hadn't had the opportunity. I barely had time for proper rest, let alone anything else!

And now, the twins were threatening to "reclaim some of my time from the dog lovers and the blonde" by bringing chakra paper to determine my elemental affinity. They intended to start teaching me elemental jutsu.

Honestly, that wasn't a bad thing—I already had plenty of Itachi's techniques—but I didn't have enough time for all of this! So, after their promise, I started eyeing the twins with a bit of fear.

And sure enough, a week later, they came to me, waving several slips of chakra paper that I could sense with that special chakra perception of mine.

My free time is fucked!