Naruto: I have Ten Skill Bars

"Shigure, since when did you start sleeping in class?"

"Didn't you always pay attention before?"

Shikamaru had noticed that Shigure seemed different lately, but he hadn't expected it to be this different.

Naruto chimed in as well.

"Yeah! Shigure, you never used to sleep in class!"

Hearing that, Shigure replied casually,

"I was training too long at home last night. Probably didn't get to bed until two."

"That makes sense," Shikamaru sighed. "Training that late... no wonder you're nodding off in class."

With graduation coming up, Shikamaru figured Shigure was just pushing hard for a final sprint.

Trying to graduate strong.

"Some things are determined by nature," Sasuke said suddenly, his voice low. "No matter how hard you try, it's useless."

Shigure turned to look at Sasuke, a bit confused. It didn't sound like mockery—it felt more like he was speaking about himself. Lamenting his own fate, maybe.

But Naruto was not having it.

"Tch! What are you bragging about, huh? So what if you're a little better at stuff? Quit acting like you're some kind of prodigy."

"I, Uzumaki Naruto, will surpass you sooner or later, Sasuke!"

Shigure and Shikamaru stood between them.

Here we go again.

They were always like this—bickering nonstop. Shigure had long gotten used to it.

So, tuning them out, he closed his eyes and focused on the chakra stirring within him—the changing properties of both his Fire Release and his other elemental affinity.

After cultivating through the night, his chakra nature should've deepened again.

Shikamaru glanced at Shigure, noticing how he stood there silently, eyes closed.

Sleeping while standing? Not bad… I should try that too.

He imitated Shigure and shut his eyes, but his body quickly started to sway. Standing sleep wasn't so easy after all. When he peeked again, he saw that Shigure hadn't moved an inch—steady and calm.

Shikamaru felt a twinge of envy.

That's a skill worth learning.

But Shigure wasn't paying attention to anyone else. He was completely absorbed in the sensations within his body.

A searing, fiery surge.

A cool, dense current.

Just as expected—training chakra nature has made both affinities much more powerful.

With the same amount of chakra, the strength of his Earth and Fire Release jutsu had practically doubled.

Now, the real question—

Have they become strong enough to fuse?

That's when Shigure noticed something troubling.

The more powerful the chakra nature became, the harder it was to control both types at once.

"Looks like I'll need to improve my chakra control too…"

"…And this intensity in the nature transformation is eating away at my mental energy."

Even with just a shallow sensing, he had already identified the issues.

Chakra control, at least, had a solution. He could move both Tree Climbing and Water Walking techniques into his passive skill slot. That would quickly increase his control proficiency.

But the mental fatigue? Those techniques wouldn't help with that.

He unequipped Fire Release and Earth Release temporarily, and slotted in the chakra control techniques instead. Both were things he had already practiced.

After all, I'm a time-traveler. If I didn't master climbing trees and walking on water, what kind of ninja would I be?

"As for mental strength… I guess it's time to rely on Genjutsu."

He remembered the basic Genjutsu scroll given to him by Ji Feng. He'd analyzed it with his active skill before, but hadn't yet tested what would happen if it were slotted as passive.

Time to find out.

He unequipped one of his chakra refinement techniques and replaced it with the Basic Visual Genjutsu.

Then he began counting silently.

One… two… three… four…

By the fifth second, the system prompt sounded:

[Passive Skill Equipped Successfully]

The combined runtime for Tree Climbing and Water Walking clocked in at just around seventeen seconds.

That was already pretty fast—impressive, even.

Shigure shifted his focus inward, sensing the subtle changes in his chakra control and whether practicing Genjutsu could truly improve his mental fortitude.

It was still just a theory—he couldn't be sure.

Thirty minutes passed.

Class ended, but not before Iruka gave them all another stern lecture for slacking off. Only after that were they allowed back into the classroom.

As soon as they returned, Shigure lay down again and pretended to sleep.

In truth, he was trying to sense if there had been any noticeable improvement in his mental strength.

Not that such a thing could be directly measured—but by circulating dual Fire-nature chakra throughout his body, he could feel whether it flowed more smoothly, more efficiently.

Sure enough… the process feels easier than before.

Even so, Shigure didn't receive any system prompt indicating that his active skill had analyzed anything new. That meant the Genjutsu hadn't helped him obtain the Yin Release nature transformation.

"My mental strength definitely increased… so Genjutsu is linked to Yin Release."

"But the skill wasn't analyzed..."

Shigure fell deep into thought.

"Maybe the Basic Visual Genjutsu isn't advanced or precise enough to trigger the nature transformation for Yin Release?"

That seemed to be the only logical conclusion.

If low-level Genjutsu doesn't cut it, what about high-level illusions?

He was confident they would work.

At the very least, Shigure no longer had to worry about acquiring the nature transformations for the Five Basic Releases. That part was done.

Now, only Yin Release and Yang Release remained.

He suspected Genjutsu would lead him to Yin Release, while medical ninjutsu—like the Mystical Palm Technique—might be the key to Yang Release.

"But high-level Genjutsu and healing ninjutsu aren't exactly easy to come by..."

Advanced illusion techniques were rare, often tightly restricted. And as for medical ninjutsu, mastering the Palm Technique was notoriously difficult.

You couldn't just find a scroll lying around and expect to learn it. Without a proper teacher, it was nearly impossible.

In fact, it was common knowledge that neither advanced Genjutsu scrolls nor healing techniques were available for casual study.

If he wanted to get his hands on the Mystical Palm Technique, he'd have to approach someone from the Konoha Hospital or seek out a medical-nin.

It wouldn't be easy.

Still, Shigure had no plans to give up—not when Yin and Yang Release were at stake.

As the Basic Visual Genjutsu continued running in his passive skill slot, he gradually felt more energized, more focused.

Another small confirmation: practicing Genjutsu truly did boost mental strength.

"Genjutsu increases mental strength. Taijutsu strengthens the body. That must mean both mind and life force are increasing."

"Which in turn means... chakra refining techniques will improve more efficiently."

Clearly, Taijutsu and Genjutsu needed to be permanent fixtures in his passive skill slots moving forward.

After school, Shigure didn't go straight home.

Instead, he grabbed a bite to eat from one of the street vendors, then made his way back to the grove.

He spent the entire afternoon switching between standing meditation, Tree Climbing, and Water Walking.

By the time the sun dipped low, he could clearly feel the difference—his chakra control had leveled up significantly.

Now, even handling the surging, more potent Fire-nature chakra was no issue at all.

His mind, sharpened by the Genjutsu training, was noticeably stronger too.

Time to try chakra fusion again.

And this time?

His chances of success were higher than ever.

…

TN:

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