[Please Vote]
To use ninjutsu, having chakra wasn't enough.
There was something else that was essential: hand seals!
More specifically, the hand-seal sequences for the twelve basic ninja hand signs!
Each different seal represented a different flow and circulation of chakra. By combining various seals in a particular order, with subtle differences in their execution, a ninja could release all kinds of ninjutsu—as long as they had enough chakra and the right chakra nature.
The Kumo Anbu who had tracked him through the forest had used hand seals to release Lightning Style Ninjutsu.
The hand seals for the Three Basic Ninjutsu Techniques were relatively simple. The simplest required only a single seal. If the hand sign was correct and the chakra flowed properly, the technique would work.
Toneri carefully reviewed the Three Basic Ninjutsu Techniques and the twelve basic hand signs in his mind, making sure he knew which seals he needed.
He took a deep breath.
Naturally, he would start with the simplest one: the Transformation Technique.
He straightened and overlapped his thumbs, with the left thumb on top: the Ram seal.
The Ram seal was all he needed for the Transformation Technique.
Toneri carefully controlled the chakra inside him, trying to make it flow as smoothly and naturally as possible.
Perhaps to pump himself up, or maybe just to look a little more dramatic, Toneri shouted, "Transformation Technique!"
And then...
Poof—
A cloud of smoke billowed around him, but nothing happened...
Except that Toneri was left looking a little disheveled in the smoke.
As expected, the handsome were always envied by the heavens...
His first attempt at the Transformation Technique had failed.
Still, when Toneri formed the hand seal, he really had felt the chakra inside him begin to flow.
Ninjutsu was simply the art of transforming the chakra within the body into a "technique" through different combinations of hand seals!
Toneri didn't think it was strange that his first attempt had failed. It was his first time forming a hand seal, after all, and he didn't even know if he'd done it correctly.
He didn't rush to try again.
Repeating the same attempt over and over would only waste chakra, time, and energy.
They said failure was the mother of success.
But that only held true if you took the time to reflect on what had gone wrong.
If you just kept trying blindly and failing, all you'd get in the end was more failure.
"The Three Basic Ninjutsu Techniques say that when you first practice the Transformation Technique, it's best to find someone close to your own height and weight. The smaller the difference between you, the easier the technique will be.
"And the more familiar you are with what you're transforming into, the more convincing the transformation will be."
Toneri silently reviewed the essentials of the Transformation Technique, along with how the chakra in his body had flowed and circulated during his first attempt.
He stood in place without moving for a full ten minutes.
He went over everything he might not have done quite right.
"One more try. Transformation Technique!"
Poof—
Another cloud of smoke drifted past. Nothing had changed, but Toneri had ruled out one of the things he'd suspected might be the problem.
This time, he didn't stop just because he'd failed.
He tried the Transformation Technique several more times, and every attempt failed without exception.
Toneri wasn't discouraged.
As for chakra consumption, the Transformation Technique didn't use much to begin with. And for some reason, compared with the total amount of chakra inside him, the technique's cost seemed especially small.
He remembered reading that someone who had just learned to extract chakra might not have enough to perform even a single technique.
"Focus. Make the hand seal as precise as possible. Don't overlook even the slightest movement of chakra. Be exact!"
He tried again!
"Transformation Technique!"
Everything looked just as it had been described in the Three Basic Ninjutsu Techniques scroll. Toneri's movements were impeccable!
Poof!!
The smoke that rose from Toneri seemed thicker than before.
When it cleared, his appearance had completely changed!
A dark-skinned ninja in a gray-and-white flak jacket and a white mask stood in the woods.
It was the Kumo Anbu who had been tracking Toneri!
The Anbu Ninja monitoring Toneri nearby tensed at once. Some drew their weapons, while others took up hand-seal stances.
The Anbu Captain at their head didn't move, but his eyes stayed fixed on Toneri as he signaled his subordinates to hold their positions.
It wasn't that Toneri's Transformation Technique had frightened them. It was simply their instinctive reaction as Anbu.
They knew the Kumo Ninja's Anbu well enough.
The great ninja villages fought openly on the battlefield, but their Anbu also clashed in secret. So when they saw the figure of a Kumo Anbu, they'd tensed up without thinking.
But they quickly came to their senses. There was no way a Kumo Anbu had actually appeared in Konoha.
At this point, Konoha was home to a gathering of gods!
Toneri walked to the lakeside and studied his changed appearance in the water. He slowly shook his head.
A cloud of white smoke appeared, and he returned to his original form.
He nodded with satisfaction. "Mm, I still look more handsome as myself. Much easier on the eyes.
"But the Transformation Technique doesn't seem that hard. Why does the Ninja Academy use it as an exam question?"
Tch, I knew it. I'm just naturally gifted. A simple technique like this is way too easy for me!
The successful Transformation Technique confirmed that the unknown energy inside him was chakra!
"Then the reason I managed to accumulate so much chakra while half-asleep last night, even though it's so difficult for other people to extract, was probably Big Beauty." Toneri thought to himself.
An affectionate smile appeared on his face without him realizing it.
When he'd used the Transformation Technique, he hadn't felt any other chakra inside him interfering. That was one reason he'd managed to perform it so smoothly.
"She says she doesn't want to, but her body tells a different story..."
Toneri shook his head to himself.
He remembered all too well that Naruto, the future Prince, had an enormous amount of chakra thanks to the Nine-Tails and his Uzumaki Clan heritage. But the Nine-Tails' presence also left him with extremely poor control over his chakra.
The Three Basic Ninjutsu Techniques, which Toneri didn't think were difficult, had nearly kept Naruto from graduating.
It was only later, when Orochimaru forcibly reinforced the seal on the Nine-Tails with the Five Elements Seal, that Naruto could barely control the flow of his own chakra. He lost the Nine-Tails' chakra boost, but at least he could manage his own chakra.
The seal on Toneri now was definitely much weaker than the one Naruto had back then.
And yet Two-Tails' chakra hadn't interfered with him. She must have deliberately held it back.
What a Little Tsundere!
Toneri sat down by the river. He didn't try the other two techniques from the Three Basic Ninjutsu Techniques.
As someone who'd never had any experience with ninjutsu, he'd only wanted to give it a try and satisfy his curiosity about chakra.
While fleeing the Land of Lightning in a merchant caravan's wagon, he'd thought carefully about what he would do if he survived and learned how to extract chakra: how he should train and improve himself, and how to increase his strength as quickly as possible.
This was a world where strength spoke for itself. Toneri thought it was essential to come up with a plan to improve his strength as quickly as possible.
After all, not everyone could improve in every area. Everyone had some weaknesses, to one degree or another.
For now, he needed to avoid those weaknesses, find his strengths, and develop them to their fullest.
He wasn't aiming to reach the level of an Elite Jonin or a Jonin. At the very least, he wanted to excel in one area at a Jonin's level, reaching the so-called Special Jonin level.
Finding your strengths and developing them as much as possible was the shortcut to growth.
For example, having Might Guy study ninjutsu and genjutsu, or having Kurenai specialize in Taijutsu, and then having our handsome Itachi specialize in... All right, forget I said that...
That would be the fastest way to improve!
Jin Mu is so pitiful, so I suggest you give me all your votes. I'm pretty pitiful myself, right?
I wonder if the dishes will pile up today. Sigh—
Before you continue