Unique Substitution Technique

After all the commotion at Training Ground No. 9, Yichen was exhausted. Fortunately, nothing unusual had happened with the Barrier Team. Once he got home, Yichen went to bed early, deciding to leave everything until the next day.

Early the next morning, fully restored, Yichen skipped his usual morning training. Instead, he first refined some Chakra, then began practicing the Substitution Technique with a bucket of water.

Following the planned steps, Yichen first converted his Chakra into Earth Release within his body, then filled every corner of the water in the bucket with Earth Release Chakra.

At that moment, Yichen clearly felt the inherent sturdiness of Earth Release Chakra taking effect. After receiving that feedback, he did not hesitate and immediately performed the Substitution Technique.

In an instant, Yichen appeared beside the bucket. The bucket was now empty, while the water inside had transformed into Yichen's likeness and appeared where he had originally been.

However, the Yichen created by the Substitution Technique differed from the Transformation Jutsu and could not perform many difficult movements. It merely made a few frightened expressions, which Yichen had prepared in advance. The more panicked it looked, the more it could confuse an opponent.

Yichen, who had been switched to the side of the bucket, raised his hand and flung out a Little Stone he had prepared beforehand. Little Stone struck the substitute squarely in the abdomen.

Unlike other Substitution Techniques, where the substitute would burst and revert to wood upon being struck, Yichen's substitute began collapsing from the abdomen, spreading outward like a cave-in as it turned back into water.

Seeing this, Yichen fell into thought. It seemed this was another characteristic of this new Substitution Technique, which used Earth Release Chakra together with water as the substitute material.

Thinking of that, Yichen wanted to give this Substitution Technique a special name. What should he call it?

Water Clone? Would that get confused with Water Clone?

Anyway, it was just what he called it. It should be fine. Yes, Water Clone it was.

After succeeding once, Yichen did not try again. The Chakra in his body was only enough for one more use, and he would still need Chakra for daytime training.

After quickly washing up, Yichen hurried toward the cafeteria. Refining Chakra earlier had taken quite a while, and he was almost late.

Water Clone was merely a small interlude in his training. With the miraculous effects of Training Ground No. 9 helping him, it had not wasted much of Yichen's time.

Yichen's life became regular again. Every day, he practiced the Three Basic Jutsu, with his focus naturally being Wood Clone and Water Clone. Those two were life-saving techniques.

There was the same tedious physical conditioning and Taijutsu training, as well as Barrier Team work where he passed the time reading every day.

Yichen thought this regular life would continue for a long time, at least until his Chakra Amount was enough to perform C-rank Ninjutsu.

Who would have thought that only around two months later, Captain Bunji would seek him out again? Bunji first tested his grasp of theoretical knowledge, then asked about the growth of his Chakra Amount.

Perhaps because both barely met the standard, Bunji handed Yichen's duty of guarding the archives over to someone else and brought him to the practice room.

The Barrier Team's practice room had no Taijutsu equipment like wooden posts, dummies, or targets. Instead, it was filled with raw materials for making scrolls and Talisman Paper.

Naturally, Yichen had come to the practice room for making scrolls. Though he had never handled the materials inside before, he had learned about them in detail from books.

Although he was curious upon seeing the actual materials for the first time, he did not lose his composure and simply waited for Bunji's arrangements.

There were not many people in the practice room, only four. Two were practicing on their own, while the other two consisted of one teaching and one learning.

Bunji brought Yichen over to the pair in the middle of a lesson and pointed at the middle-aged ninja teaching scroll-making methods. "This senior is called Meishe. He is one of the finest scroll-making masters in our village."

"Senior Meishe has been with the Barrier Team for many years. Nearly everyone in our Barrier Team learned how to make scrolls under his guidance. From now on, you will study under Senior Meishe first."

Yichen hurriedly greeted the middle-aged ninja. "Hello, Senior Meishe."

Yichen knew this old Chunin Meishe. He had been one of the people who had asked Yichen to copy books before.

At that moment, Meishe had just finished teaching. He nodded to Bunji and said, "Leave him to me."

After receiving the answer, Bunji did not linger and left directly.

Once Bunji was gone, Meishe looked at Yichen. "Yichen, right? I didn't expect you to finish the theoretical learning phase so quickly. Just as Bunji said, you're a good child with ambition."

After a pause, Meishe added, "I saw the books you copied before. Your hand was very steady, so your Chakra control should be quite good. Here, take this knife and cut this material along this line."

Only then did Yichen realize that the old man had asked him to copy books for this reason. Ninjas truly could not be judged by ordinary standards.

He could not underestimate these seniors. With a casual little action, they could gather the information they wanted.

Setting aside his thoughts, Yichen took the small knife and examined it. To his surprise, it was a special metal knife capable of conducting Chakra.

Yichen's first thought was actually how many days of medicinal ingredients he could buy if he sold the knife. Money really had driven him mad.

Yichen cast aside the impractical thought and gripped the knife's handle with his right hand, beginning to channel Chakra into it.

Although it was his first time handling Chakra Metal, Yichen smoothly coated the blade with Chakra.

Holding the little knife, he lightly drew it downward along the line on the paper. The sheet was neatly divided into two pieces.

Meishe watched Yichen's smooth series of movements, then took the paper Yichen had cut and carefully inspected the cut. The longer he looked, the more astonished he became.

The cut was incredibly smooth and even. The naked eye could not see even the slightest unevenness. That was remarkable. Even when ordinary people used a ruler to draw a line, careful inspection would reveal irregularities.

This was one of the benefits brought by Yichen's powerful soul. His control over his body was extraordinarily smooth, something that had already shown itself during his earlier physical training.

This was not an ability unique to Yichen. In fact, many clan Ninjas with powerful Yin Release possessed such talent.

For example, the Uchiha Clan's powerful mental power allowed them to learn profound and precise Kunai-Throwing Techniques.

The Hyuga Clan had originally been a clan that inherited the Sage Eye and possessed Yin Release, yet they had developed the Gentle Fist Taijutsu.

Although Meishe knew a little about Yichen's background, he had not expected his control to be so strong.

Not only was his control over his body strong, but his Chakra control was strong as well.

After all, not everyone could immediately get the hang of Chakra Metal.

Didn't he see that the young ninja who had previously been studying under Meishe was already so shocked by Yichen's display that his mouth hung open?

Ninjas with strong Chakra control were suited for many professions. Besides direct combat types such as Genjutsu, there were Medical Ninjas, Sealing Jutsu, and more.

Naturally, that also included delicate work such as making scrolls and Talisman Paper.

"Good, very good. Yichen, your Chakra control is excellent. That means you can skip the beginner training. Combined with your solid theoretical knowledge, you can proceed directly to the third step. Come, let's first learn how to make Blank Scrolls." As Meishe spoke, he led Yichen to a large table not far away. He explained while demonstrating how to make Blank Scrolls.

"Scrolls come in different lengths. In theory, every different type of scroll should have its own exclusive dimensions. But that would make production very troublesome, so we generally use several standardized sizes."

"However, these standards are not set in stone. They depend on how large a Blank Scroll the ninja who will turn it into a functional scroll requires. If the user is skilled enough, a Blank Scroll with the same function can be made smaller for easier carrying."

"Of course, if the scroll serves a different purpose and requires a different type of Sealing Jutsu to be inscribed on it, its size will also differ. That is why some less commonly used scrolls are made to custom dimensions."

"What we are making now is one of the most common sizes. This type of scroll is used to seal items Ninjas carry every day, such as Kunai and Ration Pills."

As Yichen listened to the explanation, he carefully watched Meishe's movements. These steps were not actually difficult, and few of them required Chakra. Most could be done by ordinary people as well; Ninjas were simply more precise.

Following Meishe's method, Yichen tried several times. After correcting a few mistakes under Meishe's guidance, he successfully made a Blank Scroll.

Meishe took Yichen's scroll and carefully inspected it, then examined it closely with his Chakra. "Though there are still some details that could be improved, this scroll can already be considered a finished product. It can now be passed on to the next stage, where Sealing Jutsu can be inscribed on it."

After a pause, he continued, "However, your handling of many Chakra-related parts was not precise enough, so this scroll will have fewer uses after it is made. Come, examine this scroll and see where yours differs."

Yichen accepted a Blank Scroll Meishe took from the side. Following the method Meishe had used to inspect his scroll, he carefully measured the relevant data and used Chakra to examine several key parts of the scroll.

Somewhat puzzled, he said to Meishe, "Senior Meishe, there seem to be differences in these few places. The paper and wooden handle on the scroll you gave me seem to be connected more tightly. But I don't understand why."

Meishe was startled by Yichen's response again and sighed. "That's truly impressive. If not for your age being right in front of me, I would hardly believe you were a beginner."

As he spoke, he took the scroll back from Yichen and began carefully explaining the details, pointing at the connection between the paper and wooden handle.

One explained carefully while the other listened attentively, and neither noticed time passing. The others in the room, however, exchanged glances. They had not expected Yichen, a newcomer, to begin learning things they themselves had yet to master. They did not even know where to begin complaining.

Time passed quickly. It was only after a young ninja in the room reminded them that Meishe and Yichen realized it was already late at night and well past the end of the workday.

Yichen was somewhat excited. He had learned many things today. This was the first time a senior had carefully taught him experience from a ninja field.

Although it was not combat experience, it was enough for Yichen to draw inferences from it. Even if Meishe only taught him this once, Yichen believed that as long as he took time to digest what he had learned, it would greatly benefit the growth of his strength in the future.