Naruto: I have Ten Skill Bars - Chapter 23: Sakura: "Naruto, You’re Too Unmotivated!"

Early morning.

At the gates of the Ninja Academy, Shigure yawned loudly and trudged his way in, dragging his feet across the stone path.

From nearby, Ino’s voice rang out as she came skipping over.

“Good morning, Shigure-kun!”

“Yo…”

“You look so tired! Did you not sleep well last night?”

No. No, he did not sleep well.

Shigure had been busy almost nonstop since school ended yesterday.

First, he practiced Fire Release, grinding through the basics and mastering the nature change.

Then he moved on to dual-element training—trying to manipulate and combine two types of chakra at the same time.

Then came the fusion experiments.

He trained until deep into the night. He didn’t manage to create Boil Release yet, but he did find a clear direction forward.

And more importantly…

He had discovered a way to cast jutsu without using any chakra at all.

Granted, not every elemental technique could be used that way—but for the styles in his current arsenal, it worked perfectly.

As of now, Shigure had two nature transformation techniques and two taijutsu skills equipped in his passive skill bar.

Being able to cast nature release techniques without chakra consumption during combat basically meant unlimited stamina.

As for other ninjutsu that still consumed chakra—well, that didn’t matter. Shigure had his chakra refining technique, and it recovered energy fast enough to offset the cost.

So even though he hadn’t managed to create a proper Kekkei Genkai yet, the night hadn’t been a failure. Far from it.

After returning home late last night, Shigure immediately added both Fire Release and Boil Release into his passive skill bar.

And he hadn’t changed it since.

Current Passive Skill Loadout:

Passive Skill 1: Chakra Refining Technique

Passive Skill 2: Fire Release

Passive Skill 3: Boil Release

Passive Skill 4: Konoha-Style Kenjutsu

With his chakra now reaching a more advanced state, it made sense to optimize everything to maximize output.

Equipping both Fire Release and Boil Release ensured he could cast jutsu without energy loss—but the real power still depended on two things:

How well he controlled the nature transformation, and

How much chakra he could pour into it.

If he wanted stronger, more devastating jutsu, he needed more chakra, plain and simple.

So instead of sleeping, he spent the night refining his chakra again. His physical strength continued to grow, bolstered by the passive effects of Konoha-Style Swordsmanship.

Granted, the boost wasn’t as dramatic as from his taijutsu skills, but it was noticeable.

By sunrise, Shigure could feel it—his strength had increased to the level of a full-grown adult.

But more than that, his speed and reaction time had leveled up significantly.

What truly excited him, though, was his evolving understanding of swordsmanship. He felt as though he’d stepped into a new realm entirely.

If he had to duel Gekkō Hayate again right now?

In a straight-up sword fight… Shigure was confident he could end it in a single strike.

Not only had he freed up a chakra-related skill slot, but he’d also reached the point where even one chakra refinement update had a huge impact.

When he woke up, he could tell: his chakra reserves had nearly doubled.

He now had the chakra capacity of twenty-four Sasukes.

Though the rate of chakra growth had slowed a bit, the gains were still significant.

“Shigure-kun? Hello? Earth to Shigure?”

Ino’s voice finally snapped him back to reality.

He looked at her and gave a quick nod. “Yeah, I’m here.”

“You were totally spacing out! Were you training again last night?”

“Just practicing a bit, that’s all.”

“Again?!”

Ino puffed her cheeks. “I know graduation’s coming, but you need to take care of your health too!”

With a slight huff, she turned and rummaged through her bag.

Then, with a hint of embarrassment, she pulled out a neatly wrapped bento.

“I made this just for you.”

Shigure looked at the bento box now in his hands. “Thanks.”

“Hey! Why does he get one and not me?! I want one too, Ino!”

Shikamaru’s voice cut in unexpectedly. He had somehow appeared out of nowhere—probably summoned by the mention of food.

Ino froze like she’d been caught red-handed. Her cheeks flushed pink, and for a moment, she couldn’t even speak.

Shigure rolled his eyes and jabbed at Choji. “You want a bento? I’m confiscating all your snacks.”

“Ah—then I don’t want it anymore!”

Just then, Sasuke passed by.

“Tch. So noisy,” he muttered coldly, not even glancing their way.

Shigure watched him walk off, shaking his head.

‘Still brooding as ever. That guy desperately wants to be included—but his tsundere pride won’t let him admit it.’

In the classroom.

Shigure felt completely drained.

Despite everything, his body was begging for sleep. He nudged Ino and asked her to cover for him, then quietly laid his head down and dozed off at his desk.

Snoring soon echoed through the room.

But it wasn’t Shigure.

It was Naruto.

“Naruto!!”

Iruka’s furious voice shook the building.

Naruto shot up, startled like someone had thrown cold water on him.

“W-What’s going on?! Where’s the enemy?! Is it a monster?!”

Only after Iruka’s icy glare pierced through him did Naruto realize he’d been caught sleeping.

“S-Sleeping in class again? Naruto, you’re completely unmotivated!”

Sakura’s voice followed right after Iruka’s, her tone even sharper.

Naruto’s heart broke on the spot. But when he looked around for support, he saw that both Sasuke and Shigure were also resting their heads on the desk.

“…They’re sleeping too!”

That didn’t go over well.

Sakura glared daggers at him. “Don’t you dare compare yourself to Sasuke-kun! He’s just tired.”

Ino immediately added, “Shigure-kun trained late into the night! He passed out from sheer exhaustion.”

At the mention of his name, Shigure groggily lifted his head.

“Huh? What happened?”

“All three of you—out! Stand in the hallway!”

Iruka’s shout echoed again.

Shigure blinked. What? I got caught? How?

Who ticked Iruka off this badly?

“And Shikamaru! Don’t think I didn’t notice you earlier!”

Shikamaru groaned. “Troublesome…”

Even with his reaction speed, he hadn’t avoided detection.

All four of them lined up in the hallway.

Shigure leaned over to Shikamaru. “What even happened back there?”

Shikamaru filled him in.

Shigure turned to Naruto and said with exaggerated betrayal, “Look, man. If you got caught, fine. But dragging us down with you? That’s cold!”

Naruto scratched his head sheepishly. “Sorry! Sorry!”

Sasuke gave a small “Hmph,” clearly annoyed, but he didn’t say anything.

Shigure sighed.

‘Well… since I can’t sleep now, I might as well think through my bloodline fusion issues. And maybe figure out just how far my fire-nature chakra has advanced.’

…

TN:

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