Beyond mere quantity, the quality of Tailed Beast chakra also far surpassed that of ordinary Kage-level shinobi.
Each Tailed Beast could be considered a Kage-level entity already possessing profound mastery over chakra nature transformation.
They could inflict immense destruction using their chakra alone.
Furthermore, their ultimate technique, the Tailed Beast Bomb, could easily cause widespread, devastating destruction. For this reason, Tailed Beasts were also known as "mobile natural disasters."
The Cloud Village had deployed both the Eight-Tails and Two-Tails Jinchuriki to the battlefield. Given the destructive power and attack range of the Tailed Beasts, Li Anshi found it difficult to guarantee he wouldn't get caught in the crossfire.
Chakra was an extraordinary power refined by blending spiritual and physical energy in a specific ratio.
When Li Anshi trained his Little Li Flying Dagger technique, he cultivated his chakra as if it were internal energy.
Compared to the chakra of other ninjas, Li Ansi's refined chakra, as long as it didn't exceed a certain amount, not only avoided harming his body but actually nourished and enhanced his physical strength.
Over the past year, his body had improved significantly under this chakra nourishment, passively strengthening his taijutsu attacks considerably.
However, his defensive capabilities hadn't seen much improvement. This was evident earlier that day when he needed to use the Rasengan to counter the ninjutsu attacks from Jiraiya and Orochimaru.
The Rasengan allowed him to clash head-on with some ninjutsu, but it offered no real protection against the overwhelming power of a Tailed Beast's attack.
Therefore, Li Anshi wanted to perfect his defensive abilities before potentially facing a Tailed Beast, ensuring he wouldn't be utterly helpless.
"Revolving Heaven involves releasing chakra from all the tenketsu points throughout the body and rotating it at high speed externally to deflect attacks from all 360 degrees. High-speed chakra rotation isn't difficult for me, having mastered the Rasengan. The challenge now is locating the tenketsu points capable of instantly releasing chakra."
Currently, within the entire ninja world, only the Hyuga clan, possessors of the Byakugan bloodline limit, could release chakra from their tenketsu.
Their Byakugan, besides offering a near 360-degree field of vision, also granted abilities like telescopic and x-ray vision.
Consequently, Hyuga clan members who had awakened the Byakugan could perceive their own chakra pathways and tenketsu points, allowing for extremely precise chakra control.
This enabled them to release chakra from these points and rotate it, executing the "Revolving Heaven," a flawless 360-degree defensive ninjutsu.
Of course, despite this capability, not many within the Hyuga clan could actually use Revolving Heaven.
Such a powerful defensive ninjutsu, even if potentially created by a branch family member, had been claimed by the main branch.
Rumor had it that it was a secret technique only the Hyuga main family could learn. Branch family members could only be granted the training method for Revolving Heaven if they performed exceptional deeds. Otherwise, they had to figure it out themselves, and based on their individual talents, any version they created would inevitably have significant flaws.
Li Anshi recalled that Neji Hyuga, at the age of thirteen, had managed to independently figure out and master Revolving Heaven. His version was so refined it nearly rivaled the main branch's technique, stunning even Hiashi Hyuga.
Lacking the Byakugan, it wasn't impossible for Li Anshi to develop Revolving Heaven on his own, but the time required would undoubtedly be many times longer than it would take a Hyuga.
Therefore, Li Anshi aimed to first create a makeshift version of Revolving Heaven. Later, when he had time, he hoped he might get assistance from a Hyuga clan member to pinpoint all the tenketsu points on his body.
For most ninjas, including Li Anshi, the points capable of the largest instantaneous chakra output were the hands and mouth. This was why most ninjutsu in the ninja world involved spewing chakra from the mouth or releasing it from the palms, manipulating its form or nature to attack enemies.
After using his chakra to enhance his senses and confirming no one was watching nearby, Li Anshi began his practice.
A ball of chakra surged from his palm, rotating at high speed, causing the surrounding air to hiss.
Shaking his head, Li Anshi dispersed the Rasengan in his hand.
"I've practiced the Rasengan so much lately, it's almost become muscle memory. But to complete even a makeshift Revolving Heaven, the chakra must only start rotating after it envelops my body. If the chakra begins rotating at high speed in my palm, forming a Rasengan, the first person injured when it expands will be me..."
The Rasengan was a high-speed aggregation of rotating chakra. Even though it was Li Anshi's own chakra forming the technique, it would still inflict damage on its surroundings, showing no favoritism just because Li Anshi was its creator.
His current task was to enhance his chakra control, allowing his chakra, after leaving his palm, to still obey his command and rotate at high speed around his body, forming a shield.
Thus, Li Anshi began attempting it again and again, practicing releasing enough chakra in the shortest time to envelop himself, then rotating it rapidly to form a shield. Streaks of blue light emanated from his hands, spreading outwards and kicking up small whirlwinds.
At this moment, Li Anshi intensely envied other ninjas who could learn convenient techniques like the Shadow Clone Technique. If he could use Shadow Clones, with his current chakra reserves, he could create at least five or six clones to train simultaneously.
Unfortunately, he was stuck practicing alone, repeatedly adjusting chakra output, duration, rotation speed...
...
Screeeech!
Li Anshi paused his training, dispersed the chakra around him and looked up at the sky.
A ninja hawk let out a long cry, circling above the forest, its calls sharp and urgent.
Is that... an emergency summons?
Is the battle about to begin?
It had been three days since he arrived at this battlefield. Unlike the near-daily skirmishes with small Sand ninja units back in the Land of Wind, Li Anshi hadn't heard of any clashes between the Cloud and Konoha forces during these three days.
It was strange. This battlefield was the one that had requested reinforcements from the Land of Wind front, yet it seemed calmer than the one he had left...
Li Anshi had previously wondered if this was a ploy by Konoha's leadership to increase the Uchiha clan's losses. After the Second Hokage's death, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, likely lacked the confidence to fully control the current Uchiha clan.
Unless the Uchiha clan's strength was reduced to a manageable level, Hiruzen probably couldn't sleep soundly.