Chakra Nature

"Bong~" Chino had no idea why two people colliding leg-to-leg could produce an explosive sound, but that was the reality. The two of them were like cannonballs crashing together. Still, she had analyzed their fighting styles before, so in a direct confrontation, the one with the advantage should have been...

"Definitely Zi Xu. That warrior's build is so frail—how could he possibly win a head-on charge..." Hatsumi knew perfectly well just how terrifying Zi Xu's physique was. Back when she had been young and ignorant, she had tried to clash with him head-on once. As a result, Zi Xu had been forced to buy her ice cream for a whole month before she finally calmed down.

The heat from the friction melted the ice, and water vapor formed a small patch of mist around the two. Once the mist dispersed, their figures reappeared in Hatsumi and the others' sight, but the situation was not as one-sided as Hatsumi had expected.

Bai's lower leg was now wrapped in a large chunk of diamond-like ice. Zi Xu's Supreme Slippers had smashed most of the ice apart with a vicious kick, but the shattered ice had also obstructed his attack. Bai, meanwhile, used the ice's momentum to increase the force in his leg. With one side weakening as the other strengthened, Bai was merely kicked flying backward by Zi Xu and did not suffer any serious injuries.

Zi Xu clicked his tongue. "Chakra really is convenient. It can even be used like that. If I could combine it with the corresponding ninjutsu training..." After thinking for a while, he tossed the matter aside and looked down at the slippers on his feet.

"As expected of the Supreme Slippers. They're useless for everything else, but they're definitely top-notch when it comes to durability."

Bai flipped in midair to dissipate the force. After spinning around, he pressed a hand against his sword sheath and planted it into the ground, steadying himself.

"Your taijutsu is very good. I learned quite a bit as well. Your companions are awake. It's time to get moving." Bai patted the dust from his body, especially rubbing his lower leg. Even after dissipating the force like that, his leg still did not feel good. Zi Xu seemed more suited to being a brute than a ninja—no, a warrior.

Tenzo also stepped forward, sparing no praise for Zi Xu.

"Your taijutsu is pretty good. Looks like you've practiced a lot. Taijutsu is very useful in high-level battles later on. Ninjutsu may be powerful, but you can't rely on it too much. Hmm, I think that guy would definitely like you. Unfortunately, he's out on a mission lately..."

Zi Xu nodded. He had no intention of hiding his taijutsu, nor could he. Paper could not wrap fire, so he might as well reveal it openly. After all, he was not the only person in Konoha with good taijutsu. He remembered a thick-browed kid in a bodysuit whose taijutsu was also very strong, as well as that pink-haired girl with superhuman strength...

Tenzo motioned for Chino and Hatsumi to come over. What he said was nothing more than how taijutsu was an important foundation; Chino's Gentle Fist was too rigid and she needed to learn to adapt to the battlefield; Hatsumi's taijutsu was too weak and she could not rely solely on Bugs to fight, and so on. But then he abruptly changed the subject, rummaged through his small backpack for quite a while, and finally took out three sheets of paper.

At some point, Chino's little panda had crawled over. Its round eyes stared at Tenzo's backpack, as though it were pondering something.

"If you know your own Chakra Nature too, then you'll be able to use corresponding techniques to do things similar to that guy in the future." He pointed at Bai, who was reporting to the man nearby.

"So, let's test the Chakra Nature within your bodies now. I originally planned to do this after you had trained for a while longer, but judging by your strength, you've already met the requirements, so we'll test it early." Tenzo placed the paper in the hands of the three of them.

"Mm, what do we do? Pour Chakra into it? Or eat it?" Chino made a rare joke, though she roughly knew what to do. She had already infused her Chakra into the paper, while Hatsumi held hers eagerly, wanting to put it in her mouth and see what it tasted like.

"You just need to infuse it with your Chakra. Depending on the Chakra Nature, the paper will display different changes. There are five basic Chakra natures: fire, wind, lightning, earth, and water. Chakra of the corresponding natures will make the paper burn, split in half, wrinkle, crumble, or become wet."

As they spoke, Chino's paper began to change. The previously neat sheet gradually became damp before finally collapsing into a soggy puddle.

"Oh? Water Nature Chakra. The Second Hokage was an expert in Water Release. His Water Release techniques were renowned throughout the ninja world back then. When you get the chance, you can borrow some materials from the library..." Chino nodded after hearing Tenzo's answer. Now that she knew her Chakra Nature, her future ninjutsu studies could be more targeted.

There had been people before who tried to use Release techniques without knowing their own Chakra Nature. Usually, they simply could not perform them. The unlucky ones who did manage it would suffer backlash because their Chakra Nature did not match the technique formula.

Seeing that Chino had tested her nature, Hatsumi and Zi Xu also infused their Chakra. While the two did so, Tenzo continued explaining.

"The different Chakra natures restrain one another: fire restrains wind, wind restrains lightning, lightning restrains earth, earth restrains water, and water restrains fire."

"When techniques of the same nature collide, the result depends on the amount of Chakra used to perform them. If the amount is equal, both techniques cancel each other out. But if one caster uses more Chakra, they can sometimes overwhelm their opponent's technique with their own. At that point, because the losing side will also be hit by the technique they cast themselves, the injuries they suffer upon defeat can be especially severe." As he explained, Hatsumi and Zi Xu's results appeared as well.

The paper in Hatsumi's hand had shattered into a pile of tiny scraps that fluttered away in the wind.

"It shattered. It's Earth Nature. Earth restrains water, Chino! I've finally turned things around. Just wait until you lose and have to treat me to barbecue!" Hatsumi secretly covered her mouth and giggled, pushing up her glasses with a slightly wicked look.

Zi Xu's result was rather strange. His paper first seemed as though a flame was about to ignite, but then it looked as if it had been struck by a slash and was about to split in half. In the end, however, it crumpled into a ball.

"???"

"Hm? What's going on?" Tenzo's heart skipped a beat. He had never seen anything like this before.

"It wrinkled up in the end, so it should be Lightning Nature Chakra." Tenzo did not sound very confident. He did not quite understand it either, but judging from the final result, it should be Lightning Nature Chakra.

"Ahem, let's put that aside for now. Knowing your Chakra Nature is only the most basic first step. There are three more stages afterward..."

"First stage: strengthen 'Nature Transformation.' Taking Wind Nature as an example, before the leaf is cut in half, you must continuously infuse it with Wind Nature Chakra. Likewise, for Earth Nature Chakra, you must continuously infuse the leaf with Earth Nature Chakra until it turns into fragments."

"Second stage: increase the amount of change in an instant. Still using Wind Nature as an example, to increase the amount of Chakra released in an instant, you must train by cutting through a waterfall."

"Third stage: combine 'Nature Transformation' with techniques. The most difficult stage, 'combining it with techniques,' is the final stage."