Of course, although all three of them could stand on the water's surface, the ripples beneath their feet revealed the difference in their chakra control.
Among them, although Rin Hyuga was the youngest, as a member of the Hyuga clan who had practiced the Gentle Fist and pressure point strikes from a young age, her control over chakra was far beyond what Mikoto Uchiha and Nawaki Senju could compare to.
Beneath her feet, the ripples created by her chakra touching the water's surface had the smallest spread.
Next was Mikoto Uchiha.
The ripples beneath her feet spread much wider than Rin's.
Furthermore, when she began to clean the river, the ripples would suddenly fluctuate quite a bit.
The one making the most commotion was, of course, Nawaki Senju.
Although he was the younger brother of the medical sage, Tsunade, he had little interest in medical ninjutsu.
His interest lay mostly in the Water Release ninjutsu left by his great-granduncle.
Therefore, although his chakra control was above average, it was far inferior to Mikoto's and Rin's, who possessed kekkei genkai of the eye.
In addition, bearing the blood of the Senju clan, his chakra was immense, far beyond that of an ordinary person.
Even the chakra of Rin and Mikoto was not on the same level as his.
No, it should be said that even an ordinary Jonin, in terms of chakra quantity alone, was only at his level.
A lack of control and a large amount of chakra meant that although he could also stand on the water, the ripples beneath his feet were like flowing water, creating thick, spreading waves.
The entire river was filled with the ripples he stirred up.
In such a situation, you didn't even need a ninja; any ordinary person who wasn't blind could clearly see the abnormality in the water.
If he were to wade through water during a mission, he would probably be discovered by the ripples before he even reached his destination.
A mission like cleaning a river was not difficult for ninjas; it just required more time.
Those who could stand on water could complete it faster.
Even some Genin who had not yet mastered walking on water could roll up their pant legs and wade in to get the job done.
In less than two hours, the three of them had finished cleaning this section of the river and had come before Li Anshi.
"Not bad. From this mission, it seems the three of you have a good foundation."
Leaning against a tree to avoid the sun, he said to them, "I imagine you all know that what I'm best at is my secret dagger technique."
"However, you may not know that before you, I also had three subordinates."
"Back then, I saw that their strength was ordinary and wanted to increase their chances of survival on the battlefield, so I began to teach them my secret dagger technique."
"Huh?"
The three of them exchanged glances, a look of joy in their eyes.
Little Li's Flying Dagger. This secret technique was a legend in the ninja world.
It could be said that no one was uninterested in it.
Now that they were his subordinates, it would be a lie to say they had no thoughts about such a powerful technique.
But they also knew that such a powerful secret technique, even in their own clans, was not something just anyone could view and practice.
But now, from Sensei Li's words, they could tell that he didn't seem to mind passing on his secret technique.
Otherwise, he would not have taught it to his subordinates so easily.
If that was the case, did that mean they would also have the opportunity to learn it?
"Sensei Li, could it be?"
"Yes, you're right. I do intend to teach you the secret of Little Li's Flying Dagger."
"However, my three former subordinates, who learned the technique, did not have the ability to protect it, which led to the first stage of the training method being leaked."
"Although I have never blamed them, after all these years, they have never come back to me to ask for the subsequent training methods."
"Although you are members of famous clans in the ninja world, I am not sure if you have the determination to protect the secret of this technique with your lives."
"After all, if I find out that you have leaked the training data without my permission, not just you, but even the families behind you, will probably not be able to withstand my wrath."
His gaze swept over them, and he unleashed a hint of his "conceptual understanding."
The sharp gaze was like a knife, making the three of them feel the hairs on their necks stand on end.
It was as if, under his gaze, a real dagger was being held to their necks, ready to pierce through at any moment.
"This..."
Among the three, the first to waver was Mikoto Uchiha.
She had never had much interest in becoming a ninja.
Entering the Academy had just been an arrangement by her clan elders.
As Sensei Li had said, if the training method for the Little Li's Flying Dagger were to be leaked by her, she would bring the disaster of clan annihilation upon the Uchiha.
She could not bear such a consequence.
Therefore, she quickly waved her hands and shook her head, "Sensei Li, I think I'll pass."
"I haven't even mastered the things my clan elders have taught me. If I get distracted by learning the dagger technique, I'll probably just fall further behind."
"Mm."
He nodded.
He was not surprised by her choice.
It could only be said that she did not have the heart of a powerhouse and could not bear a heavy burden.
She was a flower that clung to a strong person, able to bloom and show her feminine charm under their protection.
Without a strong person to cling to, her existence would lose its meaning.
He focused more of his attention on Rin Hyuga.
Due to the limitations of his own perception and vision, the effective killing range of his daggers was a hundred meters.
But in reality, with the speed at which he threw them and their quality, his killing range could exceed a thousand meters.
It was just that if he did that, the myth of "Little Li's Flying Dagger never misses its mark" would be shattered.
Many times, he had thought that if he had the Byakugan, would his killing range be extended even further?
Unfortunately, it was just a thought.
On one hand, he felt that whatever it was, the original was always the best.
When he broke through to the Xiantian realm, everything about his body would undergo a transformation under the strengthening of natural energy.
If there was a foreign object in his body at that time, it might cause a flaw in his Sage's body.
This was something he could not accept.
On the other hand, the characteristics of the Byakugan were too obvious, and at the same time, the Ōtsutsuki clan on the moon was also monitoring the ground.
If he were to transplant a Byakugan and be discovered by them, they might even directly merge to create a giant Tenseigan and attack him from the moon.
With his current strength, he didn't think he had a chance against Six Paths-level abilities like the Rinnegan or the Tenseigan.
Now, Rin had become his subordinate. If she mastered his dagger technique, perhaps she could answer his questions.
Of course, he had another purpose in teaching her.
As early as the First Great Ninja War, eight years ago, he had wanted to ask the Hyuga clan about the problem of "Rotation."
At the same time, he also wanted the assistance of their Byakugan, to use its penetrative vision to help him mark out all the acupoints on his body.
This would be of great help to him in his future cultivation, breaking through to the Xiantian realm, and practicing "Sage Mode."
However, he had never had any contact with the Hyuga clan, and since it was still a long time before he would break through to the Xiantian realm, he was not in a hurry to cooperate with them.
Now, the Hyuga had finally sent a young lady from the main family to be his subordinate. How could he not seize this opportunity to fleece them?
He didn't believe they could resist the temptation of having a clan member learn his secret technique.
Especially since this little girl, although she looked gentle and weak, her tenacity might even surpass Nawaki's.
As expected of Hinata's mother, perhaps?
Hinata's outwardly gentle but inwardly strong personality was probably inherited from her mother.
In any case, he had never seen any "resolve" or the like in Hiashi Hyuga.
Although Rin seemed to have accepted everything her family had arranged for her, whether it was from the dream she had mentioned yesterday or the light in her eyes when she knew she might have a chance to learn his secret technique, it shone brighter than at any other time.
Sure enough—
"Sensei, I want to learn!"
After Mikoto had withdrawn, Rin raised her small hand.
Her determined gaze seemed to have transformed her entire person.
"Please teach me, Sensei!"
"Hahahaha..."
Li Anshi laughed heartily.
"Since I've already said it, I will naturally teach you."
He patted her shoulder and looked at Nawaki and Mikoto.
"Nawaki, Mikoto."
"Although you have refused to learn the Little Li's Flying Dagger, it doesn't mean you can't learn other ninjutsu from me."
"Besides the daggers, I also know a seal-less ninjutsu, the Rasengan, and the space-time ninjutsu, the Flying Thunder God Technique."
"However, the Flying Thunder God Technique requires a keen sense of space to practice."
"The Rasengan has no such restrictions."
"For the next while, you two will go and buy some balloons and rubber balls."
"When you get back, you'll start practicing the Rasengan."
Since he had already decided to teach the three of them, he would not delay.
"Yes, Sensei."
Mikoto said nothing and turned to leave.
But Nawaki was not happy.
"Hey, wait a minute, Sensei! I haven't even said anything yet. How come you're not teaching me the dagger technique?"
It was no wonder he was so anxious.
He had also grown up listening to the legends of Little Li's Flying Dagger.
In fact, when he was young and playing ninja games with his friends from the Uzumaki clan, they would all fight to be the "Little Li's Flying Dagger" who led their friends out of the encirclement.
Now, just because he had spoken a moment later than Rin, what he was learning had been changed to the Rasengan. How could he accept that?
"Nawaki, you must know that for a ninja, some opportunities are fleeting."
"You didn't seize the opportunity to speak first, and you lost the chance to learn the secret of the daggers."
"However, some people, because they spoke a second too late, even missed the chance to become Hokage."
"Er..."
For some reason, Nawaki seemed to feel that Sensei Li's words had a hidden meaning.
But he also understood something.
A fleeting opportunity did not just appear in the choice his teacher had mentioned.
It was the same in battle.
Ruffling his hair, Li Anshi said softly, "Alright, Nawaki."
"No matter how strong a ninjutsu is, it also has to be compatible with the ninja."
"A secret technique like this is highly compatible with Mikoto and Rin, who have kekkei genkai of the eye."
"Learning it will not disrupt their own fighting habits."
"But you're different."
"Your fighting style is to crush your opponents with grand and majestic ninjutsu, not to assassinate them like I do."
"A fighting style that doesn't suit you will only lead you further down the wrong path, away from your goal."
"Isn't your goal to compete with Lady Tsunade for the position of Hokage?"
"She has perfected the medical ninjutsu system and become the strongest medical ninja in the entire world."
"If you don't have an achievement comparable to hers, how can you stand before her?"
"I'm sorry, Sensei Li. I lost my composure."
"I'll go and buy the balloons and rubber balls now!"
After being lectured by him, Nawaki couldn't be bothered with anything else and hurriedly ran back towards the village.
He felt that if he listened to his teacher for a moment longer, he might even say some chuunibyou, heaven-defying things.
Seeing him turn his gaze to her, Rin shrank back slightly.
But then, she straightened her chest, raised her head, and tried to look at him.
"A good look in your eyes."
"Rin, I hope that in the future, you will always remember the feeling of this moment when you made your choice."
"Perhaps this will be the key to whether your daggers can be called 'Little Li's Flying Dagger' in the future."
In his opinion, the current Rin already had a hint of her own "ninja way"!
If she could always stick to her heart without wavering and walk down the path of pursuing freedom, it was not impossible for her to comprehend the true meaning of the Little Li's Flying Dagger and complete the third stage of its training.
After all, to a certain extent, her current "ninja way" had some similarities to his "freedom" concept.
The difference was that he was already free; he just didn't want to be bound by more of the world's rules.