Chakra Nature

Chapter 5: Chakra Nature

When he returned home, Uchiha Takashi was already waiting for Kagami at the door. Upon seeing him, Takashi turned and headed in another direction.

"Follow me."

Kagami obediently followed.

After a while, Uchiha Takashi led Kagami to the edge of a small lake.

Kagami fell into thought. He seemed to remember this place. Thinking carefully, wasn't this where Itachi's father taught Itachi the Great Fireball Technique in the original story?

"You can already produce chakra, correct?"

Uchiha Takashi gazed directly at the small lake.

Kagami nodded.

"Yes, Father."

Simply put, chakra was the product of combining physical energy and spiritual energy. Once one's body and mind reached a certain standard, one could produce chakra. After that, as the body and spirit continued to improve, the amount of chakra would steadily increase.

Among the students in Kagami's year, no one else could currently produce chakra, because neither their physical nor spiritual energy had reached the required level. Kagami, on the other hand, had brought his physical energy up to standard through diligent training. As for his spiritual energy, thanks to transmigrating, it had reached the standard without much effort.

Kagami currently had very little chakra, but possessing chakra at such a young age was already an extraordinary feat.

Uchiha Takashi was clearly pleased by Kagami's answer. Though he had learned of it yesterday, hearing it again still felt good. Every father hoped his son would achieve greatness.

"Very good. Then, if you wish to learn ninjutsu, there is one thing you must first understand—Hand Seals!"

Kagami deliberately pretended not to know.

"Hand Seals? Father, what are Hand Seals?"

Uchiha Takashi explained.

"Chakra is the foundation for performing ninjutsu, but having the foundation alone is not enough. To perform ninjutsu, you also need a process. That process is Hand Seals. It is like practicing shuriken. The shuriken is only the foundation of your training. To achieve the result of that training, you must go through the process of throwing it. Only then can you obtain the result of your practice. Do you understand?"

Kagami continued nodding.

Seeing Kagami nod, Uchiha Takashi continued.

"Hand Seals require you to form seal shapes. There are twelve seals in total: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Ram, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Boar."

At that, Uchiha Takashi paused and raised both hands.

"If you want to learn ninjutsu, you may. But before that, you must firmly memorize these twelve seals. Next, I will demonstrate them for you one by one."

As he spoke, Uchiha Takashi's hands began to move. The index and middle fingers of his left hand stood upright, while his right hand clenched around those raised fingers.

"This is Rat."

His right hand was horizontal and his left hand vertical, the two hands crossed. The middle and ring fingers of his left hand bent over the back of his right hand.

"This is Ox."

Kagami watched his father's demonstration intently. Although he had seen these seals in his previous life, the people in anime formed them so quickly—who could remember them? He still had to learn them properly.

Half an hour later, Kagami had finally memorized the seals and could form them. It was not because he was slow; some of the seals were genuinely awkward. Moreover, his father required him to form them with absolute precision. As a result, although Kagami had memorized every seal in no time, remembering them was easy while forming them was difficult. Most of that half hour had been spent on the seals themselves—half the time Kagami tried to form them, while the other half Uchiha Takashi continuously corrected his improper Hand Seals.

Kagami felt that finishing in half an hour was already quite impressive.

Uchiha Takashi thought much the same. Being able to form all twelve seals to a basically proper standard in half an hour was already very good. Of course, Kagami was still somewhat clumsy with them. Learning Hand Seals was only the first step; what would truly determine Kagami's capability was his seal-forming speed in the future!

"You have now learned the basic Hand Seals. Starting today, whenever you return home, you must practice these twelve seals at least ten times a day. You must never become rusty! You are still at the Ninja Academy and have no use for these seals yet. I fear you will gradually become unfamiliar with them without realizing it. Though you could relearn them later, that would waste time. Kagami, you must understand that Hand Seals are only the most basic thing. In the future, what truly measures your strength in this regard is your seal-forming speed! Begin practicing every day from now on. While ensuring your seals are correct, increase your speed as much as possible. Do you understand?"

Kagami nodded repeatedly. Improving Hand Seal speed was extremely important, and of course he would work hard at it. At present, before Naruto's power scale reached that late-stage, world-destroying level, seal-forming speed was an incredibly important ability in a ninja battle. Just imagine it: in the time it took you to form one seal, your opponent had formed two. How were you supposed to fight that? It was practically two against one. Two fists could not beat four hands.

Kagami had only just learned Hand Seals and was still rather clumsy, taking nearly two seconds per seal. If he fought Itachi, more than a dozen ninjutsu would probably already be flying at him before Kagami barely managed to cast one—or perhaps before he got any chance to cast at all.

Uchiha Takashi continued.

"After learning the seals, there is another thing you need to do before you can learn ninjutsu—Nature Transformation and Shape Transformation. Before you master Nature Transformation, the chakra you produce has no nature. Such chakra can only be used to perform non-elemental ninjutsu such as the Transformation Jutsu and Shadow Clone Jutsu. Shape Transformation, as the name implies, changes the form. Before you master Shape Transformation, there are many advanced ninjutsu you cannot learn. But first—"

As he spoke, Uchiha Takashi took out a sheet of paper and handed it to Kagami.

"This is Chakra Paper. It is made from trees that grow by absorbing chakra and is extremely sensitive to chakra. Inject your chakra into it, and it will reveal your chakra nature. As a member of the Uchiha clan, you definitely possess Fire Release, but that is not what I wish to see.

"Kagami, do you know? There is a saying in the village that Jonin generally possess two Nature Transformations. But in my view, that is wrong. It should be said the other way around: only those with two Nature Transformations can become Jonin! Of course, there are a few exceptions. Unfortunately, your father is not one of them. With only one Nature Transformation, I can at most be a Chunin. So do you understand how important this test is?!"

Uchiha Takashi solemnly placed the Chakra Paper in Kagami's hands.

"I do not believe you are an exception. I do not believe you can become a Jonin with only one nature. Father does not dare place too much pressure on you. Father only hopes that his bloodline will not hold you back. One nature and two natures are the difference between a Chunin and a Jonin."

Kagami froze. Looking at Uchiha Takashi, he solemnly accepted the sheet of paper.

At first, Kagami had not taken the chakra nature test seriously. But he had forgotten that what he had seen were the future Uchiha Clan Massacre, the Third Hokage, Uchiha Itachi, and the protagonists of the future Fourth Great Ninja War. He had forgotten to look at his own present circumstances.

He was merely an ordinary Uchiha clan member, perhaps with the insignificant addition of being called a "genius." His father was also merely an ordinary Chunin. How much helplessness was contained in those few simple words?

To Kagami, whether he had one nature or two did not matter at all. In the future, he would still have to rely on his own eyes. But it was different for Uchiha Takashi. He was only an ordinary Chunin. He could not see that far ahead. All he knew was that the label of "one nature" had nailed him firmly in place as a Chunin, leaving him unable to hope for Jonin any longer.

At this moment, he was simply an ordinary father, his face full of expectation as he hoped that his "genius son" would not, because of his father's damned bloodline, end up like him in the future—firmly nailed in place as a Chunin, unable to advance even half a step.

Kagami pressed his lips together and began injecting chakra into the Chakra Paper. In his heart, he silently said:

"You have already given me an excellent bloodline. There is no need to worry, Father."

Yes, even if he only had one nature, it did not matter! Although Kagami was currently in great danger because of his Uchiha identity, as long as he survived the Uchiha Clan Massacre, then being an Uchiha would become the capital with which he could compete against the protagonists of the original story in the future! It would be his trump card! His hidden ace!

Although Kagami's father could not see that far ahead, Kagami could never blame this grown man who had always had his best interests at heart.

When chakra was infused into Chakra Paper, Wind Release would split it apart; Fire Release would make it burn; Water Release would make it damp; Lightning Release would make it wrinkle; Earth Release would make it crumble. If all five natures were present, the chakra paper would divide into several parts: one section cut apart, one burning, one damp, one wrinkled, and one crumbled.

"Whoosh, whoosh."

As Kagami infused his chakra, the Chakra Paper in his hand suddenly flared with fire and began to burn. Neither Kagami nor Uchiha Takashi was surprised. As an Uchiha clan member, Kagami's chances of possessing Fire Release were practically one hundred percent.

What truly delighted Uchiha Takashi was that the flames occupied only one-third of the entire sheet!

On the other side, one-third had wrinkled, while another third had crumbled apart.

Fire, Lightning, Earth!