A year and a half.
A year and a half had passed since Dan secluded himself in these mountains, and he now stood before his finally completed hut.
It wasn't a fancy or large hut. It was simple, made of felled tree trunks, with a roof of logs and bark to protect him from the rain. But he made sure it was sturdy, warm, and sufficient for his needs.
Dan put on the final touches by installing simple windows. Then he took a step back to look at his work.
It had taken a year and a half to complete.
A very long time to build a simple hut for someone with superhuman strength. Any ordinary person could have finished it in a shorter period. But Dan wasn't building it the usual way. His goal was to push himself to his absolute limits, using the construction as constant training for chakra control.
And he had succeeded.
He closed his eyes and extended his hand in front of him. He focused, and chakra began to flow from his palm, shaping itself and solidifying in the air.
In seconds, an axe made of pure chakra formed. It was faint blue, slightly transparent, but solid. Sharp. Real.
He opened his eyes and looked at the axe made of his pure energy. He didn't need a stone axe anymore; he didn't need a mold or a tool. Just his chakra, his control, and his will.
Dan could now shape any tool he needed from chakra alone. An axe, a knife, a spear, anything—thanks to the superhuman control he developed over the last year and a half.
He dissolved the axe, and the chakra dissipated into the air. He smiled slightly.
The improvement wasn't limited to control only. His chakra reserves had also improved. Due to his constant training, harsh physical drills, and refining chakra every night, his reserves had nearly doubled. It was still small compared to others, but it was a noticeable improvement. Twice what he had a year and a half ago.
His physical strength had also improved significantly.
Dan looked at his body. His muscles appeared clearly defined now, well-polished. He wasn't bulky like a bodybuilder, but every muscle was strong, functional, and built for endurance and speed. This was exactly what he planned: a strong body, but not a huge one. Agile, fast, and capable of lasting for long periods.
This left him satisfied with the results.
But the training wasn't over. In fact, it had just begun. Dan decided to start his next training plan.
He stood in the flat area near his hut and looked at the ground. The plan was clear in his mind. He would dig a circular area, a hundred meters in diameter, in the form of steps. Each step would be ten meters deep. He would keep digging until he reached a depth of about five hundred meters, or maybe more; he would decide later.
It was a massive project that would take months, perhaps years. The goal wasn't just the hole itself. The goal was the training.
This kind of continuous digging, using shaped chakra as an shovel, would raise his endurance tremendously. It would increase the intensity of his chakra, its solidity, and his ability to maintain it for as long as possible.
It was comprehensive training. Physical, because the digging itself was exhausting. And at the same time, it was chakra training because he would use it constantly, for hours every day. Additionally, he had a future training plan for this hole, but he didn't think much about it now. First, he had to dig it.
He formed a chakra shovel in his hand and began. He struck the ground, and the chakra cut through the soil easily. It was much stronger than any stone axe, sharper, and more effective.
He continued digging, strike after strike, removing dirt, shaping the area, and building the steps.
Dan did not abandon his other exercises. Every morning, he still woke up before dawn and started with physical drills. The same military calisthenics routine, the same harshness, the same determination. After that, he climbed the mountain. Every day, without exception. Then he worked on the digging for long hours.
During rest periods, he would fish from the river, cook his food, and eat. In the evening, after the sun set, he refined chakra as usual.
But he had added something new recently. He began to dedicate time to studying the restraint seal he had learned from the hunting team. It was a simple seal, but Dan wanted to understand it deeply. How it worked, how the chakra flowed through it, and how it affected the target.
He sat every night, practicing the seal over and over, analyzing it, breaking it down in his mind, trying to understand every part of it.
Why? Because he had a specific idea in his head. An idea about the path to longevity that he wanted. It wasn't a complete idea yet, but it was slowly taking shape. He knew that this idea would require two essential things: a strong understanding of seals, and superhuman chakra control.
He had been building the second for a year and a half. Now, he started working on the first.
The days passed quickly in this routine. Waking up, physical training, climbing the mountain, digging, fishing, refining chakra, and studying seals. Day after day, week after week. There was no variety, there were no surprises, and there was nothing to break the routine.
But Dan didn't get bored. In fact, he loved this routine. He loved the simplicity and the clarity.
And he wasn't completely alone. There were animals in the forest, birds, and fish in the river. He watched them sometimes as part of his rest and enjoyment. Nature itself was a silent companion. The waterfall, the river, the trees, and the mountain. He felt a strange connection to this place, as if he had become part of it.
But most importantly, he saw the progress. Every day, he felt a little stronger. Every week, the hole he was working on became deeper, and his understanding of seals became clearer. Dan was moving forward. Slowly, yes, but steadily and without stopping.
After several months, Dan stood at the edge of the hole. He had reached a depth of fifty meters now. Ten meters for each step—five steps so far. He tried to avoid damp areas because he knew they might be water springs, so he turned those spots into steps to avoid digging through them.
He looked down at the depth he had dug with his own hands. He felt proud.
It wasn't a great achievement compared to what powerful ninja could do. Some could destroy mountains with one strike, creating craters kilometers deep. But for Dan, with his weak talent and limited strength, this was an achievement. It was proof of his determination, his hard work, and his refusal to give up.
"Fifty meters," he muttered to himself. "I still have four hundred and fifty to go."
He smiled. "I will continue."