Chapter 18 Training Sakura

"Sakura, do you understand what direction you need to practice most urgently right now?" Ye Lan asked directly after Kakashi left.

Sakura shook her head.

"Of the three types of ninjutsu, genjutsu, and taijutsu, what you need most right now is to train your body. Girls are naturally less physically fit than boys, and taijutsu is crucial for Genin. What you need most right now is to improve your physical strength." Ye Lan pointed out Xiaoying's current shortcomings. "Starting today, run ten kilometers and swim three kilometers every day. After you finish, I'll teach you other things."

"Twenty kilometers of running and five kilometers of swimming!" This is a bit too much training for a girl. After doing this every day, how can she have the energy to learn other knowledge?

"This is just the beginning. The steps will be gradually increased. Not only that, you cannot use chakra. You have to rely solely on your physical strength to complete it." Ye Lan will not supervise Sakura. It all depends on Sakura's own self-awareness.

"I...I understand." Sakura didn't expect that the training would be so strict right from the start.

"Go ahead, come find me when you're done. I'll be waiting for you at this training ground." After saying that, Ye Lan stopped caring about Xiaoying. At his age, his strength is still increasing rapidly, so he can't stop his practice.

Sakura took a deep breath and encouraged herself secretly. She knew that this training was to improve herself and become a better ninja. She took a step and started the long run. Every step was full of determination.

Ye Lan came to the lakeside of the training ground and opened the scroll given to him by Sarutobi Hiruzen. There were five ninjutsu in it, all of which had a learning difficulty of B level or above. The ones that caught his eye were Water Style, Heaven's Cry, Hard-Cutting Water Blade, and Water Dragon Bite, followed by the chakra perception technique created by the Second Hokage, the Darkness Walking Technique.

Let's not talk about water escape for now. The chakra sensing technique developed by the second generation can even sense chakra thousands of miles away after successful practice. However, no one can practice to the level of the second generation. Ye Lan doesn't ask for much. He is satisfied if it can cover a range of 100 miles. The Darkness Walking Technique is an A-level illusion. It can be said that the second generation's illusion is specifically used to deal with the Sharingan. It is a very useful technique to block the opponent's vision and completely make the opponent fall into darkness.

Let's start with the chakra perception technique. After Ye Lan finished reading the scroll, he closed his eyes and began to release his chakra for perception according to the method on the scroll.

Xiaoying didn't finish her training until the evening. When she arrived at the training ground panting, Ye Lan had already started preparing to leave.

"Have you finished your training? I thought it would take you a few days to complete it." Ye Lan said, "Sit down first."

Sakura followed Ye Lan's words and sat casually on the ground. She was curious about what ninjutsu Ye Lan would teach her.

Ye Lan slowly raised his right hand, reminding Sakura to observe his hand movements carefully, and emphasized that the chakra must be concentrated in the palm, but it should be noted that too much chakra cannot be concentrated, and it can only be concentrated little by little. Sakura watched Ye Lan's every move intently, and then imitated him and raised her right hand. This process was not difficult for her because she had mastered certain ninjutsu skills and chakra control ability.

"Then put your hand on your other arm and slowly release your chakra, allowing the chakra to stimulate your muscles."

"Will doing this improve my physical strength?" Sakura asked curiously.

"It just wants to help your muscles relax better. Your muscles must be tense after exercise. If you don't want to be unable to get up tomorrow, just do as I say and use chakra to stimulate all the places where you exercise." Ye Lan said expressionlessly.

Xiaoying blushed after hearing this. She understood that Ye Lan taught her this because he felt it was inconvenient for her to help her relax her muscles himself.

Seeing that Xiaoying had already learned it, Ye Lan stood up and said, "That's all for today. If you want to learn more, finish your physical training earlier every day."

"Yes." Sakura dusted herself off and left.

The next day, Sakura arrived at the training ground half an hour early. When she arrived, she found Ye Lan with his eyes closed, half-squatting on the ground, one finger pointing at the ground, not knowing what he was doing. Sakura didn't dare to disturb him and just watched from the side.

"Here it comes." Ye Lan said directly before opening his eyes.

Sakura was surprised for a moment but nodded.

Ye Lan took out a card from his ninja tool bag and threw it directly to Xiaoying, then said: "This is chakra paper, a paper used to detect the properties of chakra. Inject a little of your chakra into it."

Sakura did as she was told and slowly injected her chakra into the paper. Half of the chakra paper became wet and the other half became broken.

"Water and Earth Escape." Ye Lan touched his chin and said, "I am good at Fire Escape, Water Escape, and Wind Escape. I also know a little bit about Earth Escape, but not as good as Water Escape. Which one do you want to learn?"

If Xiaoying were asked to choose, she wouldn't know either, and looked at Ye Lan with some confusion.

"Water jutsu is famous for its wide attack range, but most of them require a lot of chakra, while earth jutsu is famous for its defense." Seeing that Xiaoying still had some doubts, Ye Lan continued, "Which jutsu you learn actually depends on your fighting style. Xiaoying, what do you think is your ideal fighting style?"

Seeing that Xiaoying was still a little embarrassed and didn't know what to say, Ye Lan said directly: "Once everyone's fighting style is decided, it is difficult to change. You'd better speak out your inner thoughts."

Sakura blushed and said shyly, "I hope that when Naruto and Sasuke quarrel, I can separate them and punch them both in the head."

"Is that so..." Ye Lan thought for a moment and pointed at a tree not far from them, "If that was Naruto or Sasuke, what do you think of me doing this?"

Ye Lan ran quickly to the tree, making several seals with his fingers in the process. When he reached the tree, he swung his fist at the tree.

Under Sakura's shocked gaze, the tree was blown in half.

I want to learn this! Sakura was excited.

When Ye Lan turned around and saw Xiaoying's sparkling eyes, he realized that she had decided on her way of fighting.

"This technique is called Earth Escape, Hardening Technique. By using Earth Escape to strengthen your body, you can not only increase the power of your physical skills, but also strengthen your defense and reduce your body's resistance to physical damage. It is a very practical ninjutsu." Ye Lan said.

Sakura nodded. She was going to learn this. She had already imagined the scene of Naruto and Sasuke being beaten up by her.

"Learning this technique requires precise control of chakra. You need to cover your body surface with your chakra. If you don't have enough chakra, you won't be able to maintain it for long if you use it directly. It's best to only cover your fists when attacking, and cover the attacked area when defending. This can save a lot of chakra." Ye Lan explained.

Then Ye Lan explained to Sakura how to practice and control her chakra to cover her body. Sakura, as expected of a top student, understood the principle after Ye Lan's explanation once and was able to start practicing on her own. If it were Naruto, it would take her a long time.

The days passed one by one, and half a month went by in the blink of an eye. Xiaoying was finally able to complete her physical training before two o'clock every afternoon. Then, under Xiaoying's surprised gaze, Ye Lan prepared some weighted leggings for her. Fortunately, they were not the same as Xiao Li's, but just two five-kilogram leggings. However, even so, Xiaoying was exhausted and her speed slowed down a lot.

In order to seize the time to practice Ninjutsu, Sakura got up early in the morning and started running, and she no longer had the habit of sleeping in. Today, when she was about to finish her running training, she ran into an acquaintance, her good friend Ino.

"Sakura, what are you doing?" Ino asked in surprise as she saw Sakura sweating profusely.

"I'm doing physical training..." Sakura didn't expect to meet Ino during training and felt a little embarrassed.

"Training? You don't even have to participate in the competition, but you're still training. You're so hardworking." Ino looked at him with some admiration.

"It's because we were eliminated that we have to train. Otherwise, the gap will only get bigger and bigger." Sakura has regained her composure and said frankly.

"Eh? I didn't expect you to have such an idea. Is this the training goal that Kakashi-sensei assigned to you?"

"It seems that Sensei Kakashi is training Sasuke, and he arranged for Brother Ye Lan to train me." Sakura explained.

"The examiner in the second examination room? Why don't you call him brother?" This was even more surprising than Ino seeing Sakura training.

"He told me to call him that. He said he's not much older than me. Calling him teacher sounds too old, and calling him senior sounds too distant. So I'll just call him brother like Sasuke does."

"I see. But you also said that Brother Ye Lan is not much older than you. Can he teach you?" Ino said directly.

"Why do you call me that? Brother Ye Lan is very powerful. I can clearly feel that I have become stronger in the past half month." Sakura looked at Ino strangely.

"Hey, aren't we good friends? You can call me whatever you want. You said you've become much stronger, so what did I teach you?"

"Hehe—" Sakura said when she saw a large rock not far away, "Then let me show you."

Sakura said as she bent down and ran towards the stone at a quick pace.

So fast, much faster than during the Chunin Exams. If nothing else, Sakura's current speed alone impressed Ino.

"Watch this!" Sakura shouted, waving her pink fist, and with a whistling sound, she smashed hard into a boulder in front of her that was twice her size. With a loud bang, the boulder instantly broke into countless pieces and flew everywhere. Ino was stunned and secretly exclaimed in her heart: No way? In just half a month, Sakura has become so powerful! If Sakura had this strength half a month ago, she would definitely be the loser. Ino couldn't help but take a breath.

Sakura turned around proudly, with a confident smile on her face, and looked at Ino, "How about it, I'm awesome, right?" Ino came back to her senses and praised sincerely, "You're awesome, Sakura! But... you've become a violent girl..." Sakura's face darkened when she heard that, and she looked unfriendly, raised her fist, and was about to attack. Seeing this, Ino was so scared that she waved her hands repeatedly, "No... nothing." Are you kidding? Sakura is now a violent girl, you can't afford to offend her! Ino quickly changed the subject to avoid getting beaten.