[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-grind-is-my-ninja-way":3,"chapter-grind-is-my-ninja-way-grind-is-my-ninja-way-chapter-964":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Grind is My Ninja Way",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1481985,1929,"Chapter 964 - 959: Testing","grind-is-my-ninja-way-chapter-964",964,"\u003Cp>\"Again!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watching the Wood Clone twist unnaturally once more, Seimei let out a soft shout, then channeled his chakra again, casting Wood Clone Technique.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As expected, the same scene played out. Two Wood Clones emerged from his back, struggling to break free from his body's constraints, only to fail yet again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing this, Seimei's expression didn't change. He gave a low command, \"Keep going,\" and cast Wood Clone Technique once more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Over and over, he created Wood Clones, and over and over, they failed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, as he repeated the technique, it was clear to the naked eye that the speed at which he formed the Wood Clones was getting faster.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Likewise, he was getting closer to success.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Finally, after more than a dozen failures, he cast Wood Clone Technique again, just as he had at the start.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time, though, he didn't fail.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Two Wood Clones smoothly grew from his back, splitting off and standing beside him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even though Seimei had prepared himself for this, the sight left him momentarily stunned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But he quickly snapped out of it, a smile spreading across his face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With a thought, he opened his status panel. As expected, a new skill had appeared in his skill list—Wood Clone Technique: Lv0 (1\u002F100)!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No doubt about it—he'd succeeded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though, judging by the proficiency level, his Wood Clone Technique wasn't fully mastered yet. Still, it had been etched onto his panel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this point, reaching mastery wasn't just possible—it was simple. All he had to do was pour in chakra and keep grinding.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But before grinding, he wanted to test the Wood Clones' capabilities to confirm they were as sturdy and reliable as he'd imagined.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With that in mind, Seimei opened his ninja pouch and pulled out a sealing scroll. Unsealing it, he retrieved a long sword.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, he turned to the two Wood Clones and said, \"Both of you, come at me.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Got it!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two Wood Clones understood his intent. They nodded, took a half-step back to create some distance, and prepared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not only that, but they flipped their hands, channeling Wood Release chakra to form a long sword in each of their palms.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since this was a test, there was no need for probing or playing games. Once they were ready, the fight began.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seimei suppressed his strength, using nothing but his swordsmanship—no other abilities—and faced the two Wood Clones with just his blade.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Likewise, the Wood Clones refrained from using ninjutsu or other techniques, engaging him purely in close combat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sound of metal clashing—ding, ding, clang—rang out as the three of them fought in a flurry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Right away, Seimei noticed the difference.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the past, his Shadow Clones weren't afraid of close combat, but that was only because his swordsmanship was top-notch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Coupled with the Sharingan's powerful insight as a backup, he could ensure enemies couldn't land a hit, allowing him to strike freely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But in those cases, Shadow Clones could only handle opponents weaker than him—specifically, those weaker in close combat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If an enemy was too strong in melee or had the guts and means to go for a mutual kill—like the opponent he'd faced during the raid on the rogue ninja base—Shadow Clones struggled to cope.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their weakness of not being able to withstand much damage would be exposed, and a single misstep could lead to their collapse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But now? Wood Clones genuinely had no fear of close combat, not just relying on skill and Sharingan suppression.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On top of that, their fearlessness of death allowed them to take risks to counter enemies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Right now, as the two Wood Clones fought together, one would occasionally take a hit on purpose to restrain Seimei, creating an opening for the other.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This kind of tactic would've been impossible before. Even a small cut was enough to make a Shadow Clone dissipate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Wood Clones could use Wood Release chakra to withstand or even repair such damage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This alone showed their unparalleled advantage over regular Shadow Clones.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So, did that mean Shadow Clones were now useless?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course not!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>First, creating a Shadow Clone required far less chakra than a Wood Clone, meaning he could summon a ton of them at once.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This made them indispensable for training.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Second, when a Shadow Clone was destroyed, it dissipated instantly, unlike a Wood Clone, which turned into a wooden husk before vanishing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This made Shadow Clones more discreet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And finally, the most critical point: his Wood Clone Technique wasn't fully mastered yet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With such low proficiency, the Wood Clones' duration and stability still needed improvement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he was thinking this, the two Wood Clones fighting him suddenly froze. Without warning, they turned into rough wooden statues.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, they quickly crumbled and vanished.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sudden collapse caught Seimei off guard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He hurriedly stopped his attack, halting mid-motion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking at the disintegrated Wood Clones, Seimei shook his head and thought, As expected, I need to boost their proficiency fast.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But to increase the technique's proficiency, he could no longer rely on Shadow Clones.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Earlier, Shadow Clones had worked for practice because they only needed to study the Wood Clone Technique's principles, which was more theoretical.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now that the technique was etched onto his panel, improving proficiency required hands-on practice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, continuing theoretical research wasn't out of the question.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He'd done that with Izanami and Izanagi, slowly refining them through theory until they reached perfection.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But that took massive amounts of chakra and a ton of time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since casting Wood Clone Technique carried no risk, Seimei decided to practice it himself to speed up proficiency gains.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Another major reason for this choice was that he now had the sealing space created by All-Encompassing Seal, which stored a huge amount of chakra.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This meant he could first use Multiple Shadow Clone Technique to create a bunch of Shadow Clones for developing Storm Release as usual.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, he could use the stored chakra to restore himself and cast Wood Clone Technique to grind its proficiency.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This way, the only cost was sacrificing some time he'd normally use for physical training or stimulating his Sharingan's evolution—without halting everything else.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, exactly how much time this would take depended on getting Wood Clone Technique to the entry level first, confirming its chakra cost, and then planning the time and chakra allocation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With that in mind, Seimei sheathed his sword, resealed it, and began practicing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1066,"2026-06-06T03:31:03.429Z",1,"novelbin.me","9c5024bdef0386ee809b835d5486892c23dd0fb54f8e12d3ca628cd0bbe79e2e","grind-is-my-ninja-way-chapter-965","grind-is-my-ninja-way-chapter-963",1097,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fgrind-is-my-ninja-way-cover.jpg"]