The moment the skill node fully unlocked, it transformed into a special ground-based technique—
Sand-Gathering Technique.
Sand-Gathering is a unique transformation skill that absorbs the energy contained within sand and dust, converting it directly into the user's chakra. As long as the caster is within a sandstorm or sandy environment, they can continuously draw energy from the surrounding sand and replenish their chakra.
However, while learning the technique itself was straightforward, truly mastering it was extremely difficult.
The key lies in conversion efficiency.
At present, Shiraishi could only convert a small amount of sand energy. In high-intensity combat, this level of replenishment was still negligible. Even so, the value of Sand-Gathering far surpassed any skill Shiraishi had previously acquired.
The reason was simple.
For a shinobi whose greatest weakness was a limited chakra pool, Sand-Gathering directly compensated for his most fatal flaw. With this technique as support, Shiraishi could finally afford to use more powerful jutsu without constantly worrying about running dry.
"Water Release and Fire Release are powerful techniques you personally developed. Handing them over for free isn't appropriate," Ebizō said. "So I'll give you this battle formation in advance."
Unlike the stingy Arakawa clan, Ebizō—now truly acting as Shiraishi's master—refused to take advantage of his disciple. Following an equal-exchange principle, he chose to pass on one of his own techniques.
Earth Release: Three Talents Earthen Formation!
This formation belonged to the same system as Earth Release: Four-Direction Earthen Flow Formation, but the difficulty was significantly reduced. The caster only needed to master three chakra natures and precisely sculpt three attribute-based mud constructs to fight in unison.
As for controlling the constructs, it relied on specialized structural anchor points—primarily chakra threads.
This revelation stunned Shiraishi.
He had never realized that when Ebizō controlled the Four-Direction Formation, chakra threads had been used the entire time.
As a variant derived from puppet techniques, the Three Talents Formation was not significantly easier to learn than the Four-Direction Formation. The main difference lay in the reduced elemental combinations. Shiraishi didn't mind this at all.
Following the formation's principles, he quickly prepared several small piles of clay.
The hand seals for the Three Talents Formation were numerous, and the internal adjustment of chakra attributes and meridians was extremely complex. When Ebizō performed it earlier, everything had seemed effortless—but Shiraishi's first attempt failed outright.
On his second attempt, only a single mud construct slowly crawled upright. The moment he tried to control it with chakra threads, it crumbled apart.
The sheer difficulty only fueled Shiraishi's determination.
After several hours of repeated failures and retries, he finally succeeded in making all three mud constructs stand up simultaneously—though he still couldn't properly control them.
"Both the Three Talents and Four-Direction Formations require extremely strong control," Ebizō explained patiently. "You'll need time to polish this technique. For now, break it down first—start by simulating a single mud construct and use it as a personal Earth Clone for practice."
As he spoke, Ebizō demonstrated the hand seals and execution method for the Earth Clone Technique.
The core of both formations was essentially a specialized application of Earth Clones.
Unlike standard clone techniques, Earth Clones possessed real physical substance and could deal damage. However, they differed from Shadow Clones in that they did not transfer experience back to the original body upon dispelling.
In essence, Earth Clones were simply Earth Release constructs—nothing more.
Following Ebizō's breakdown of the Three Talents Formation, Shiraishi completed the hand seals. In an instant, a mud clone identical to himself took shape.
The clone performed simple movements, gripping a silver blade formed entirely from compacted earth.
The blade thrusts forward at high speed.
As Shiraishi manipulated chakra threads in tandem with the clone's movements, Ebizō likewise formed an Earth Clone of his own. The two constructs immediately tangled in close combat.
As Chiyo's younger brother, Ebizō's control over puppet-style techniques was just as exquisite. During the mock battle, he carefully pointed out numerous combat details Shiraishi needed to pay attention to.
Their training continued for several days.
Over that time, Ebizō noticed that Shiraishi's stamina was steadily improving. After forming an Earth Clone, his sustained combat ability increased day by day.
A faint stream of sand now constantly circulated around Shiraishi's feet.
It was the Sand-Gathering Technique in action.
Grains of sand were continuously converted into chakra, replenishing what he expended. Though the amount was small, it was more than enough to noticeably enhance his endurance.
This was the true value of Sand-Gathering.
More valuable than any technique he had obtained before, it was the foundation that would allow Shiraishi's strength to advance by leaps and bounds—especially when refined through real combat.
It was during one such combat simulation that a sudden chorus of howls echoed across the desert.
Ebizō frowned. "Desert Blood Wolves. And quite a lot of them—several alpha wolves too."
Desert Blood Wolves were a mutated beast species unique to the Land of Wind. Possessing limited chakra-based attack abilities, they were the bane of merchant caravans. The Land of Wind had launched multiple extermination campaigns against them, but with limited success.
Several massive wolves climbed onto a sandy ridge, their bloodstained maws open as they fixed their gaze on Shiraishi and Ebizō below.
Sensing their hostility, Ebizō's expression hardened. His Earth Clone flashed into motion, slamming a palm forward and releasing a terrifying shockwave.
The explosion shook the ground.
At the same time, Shiraishi's glasses activated a scan. Compared to ordinary creatures, Desert Blood Wolves possessed significantly higher quality levels.
Regular pack members registered as green-tier, while the alpha wolves were blue-tier.
"Master," Shiraishi asked calmly, "what's the success rate of taming Desert Blood Wolves as summon beasts?"
"They're extremely violent and difficult to control," Ebizō replied. "Most shinobi can't handle them. But their sensory and tracking abilities rival ninja hounds. If captured and modified, they can be very useful."
Ebizō knew the habits of Desert Blood Wolves well. Since Shiraishi was interested in capturing them, he naturally began advising him.
"Capture them all. Seal them into scrolls."
Unless dealing with high-level summon beasts that required clan contracts and established habitats, wild beasts like wolf packs could be converted into summon creatures through capture and modification alone—no contract necessary.
Shiraishi tightened his grip on the blade.
Sensing imminent danger, the wolf pack began to retreat.
In the next instant, Shiraishi burst forward, slashing downward with a powerful Whirlwind Blade!
The wind edge tore through the air, generating a violent shockwave. One of the alpha wolves bared its fangs and expelled a compressed storm in retaliation.
A cold glint flashed through Shiraishi's eyes.
Psychic force erupted outward, transforming into an overwhelming binding field that threw the entire pack into chaos.
The Desert Blood Wolves were formidable—but against this master-and-disciple duo, they stood no chance.
Only one wolf remained.
Even as its packmates were sealed away one by one into Shiraishi's scrolls, it continued to fight relentlessly, refusing to retreat.
Among the pack, its quality was the highest of all…
If you want to read more, join my Patreon/kazama677
I will drop 1 bonus chapter for every 30 Power Stones.