Just once!?
Sawada Hiroki had managed to control the chakra in his feet and stick to a wall or tree bark on his very first attempt? Had his chakra control really been that precise?
Just a moment? Just one try?
Nawaki's brain couldn't keep up.
Did that make any sense?
It made no sense at all! Weren't shinobi supposed to be all about passion, hard work, and striving?
So why was there someone here who talked about data and units, and succeeded on his first try?
This wasn't very Naruto!
Wasn't shinobi training supposed to rely on failing and trying again and again, then shouting each other's names at their rivals over and over as they both improved?
How come Hiroki had succeeded in just one try?
If this were a novel's protagonist, where would the plot conflict even come from?
Across from him, Uzumaki Kushina had also stared wide-eyed.
Hiroki—how had he done it?
Hiroki's earlier question echoed in Kushina's mind.
Could chakra be measured? She looked down at her feet. Could she also control chakra the way Hiroki had, using exactly as much as she intended?
The two children weren't the only ones in shock. Their instructor, Orochimaru, was equally astonished. His golden snake eyes narrowed slightly, fixed on Hiroki's ankles.
He had succeeded.
Not only had he succeeded, he had done it on his very first try.
No, it wasn't merely a one-time success achieved through pure talent.
More importantly, he had verified his own insight.
Chakra could be measured against a standard. Another person's training experience could be reproduced more fully in someone else.
Chakra could also be measured against various metrics, just like the things in his laboratories.
Chakra shouldn't be a matter of experience, nor could it remain one.
It could be made concrete, quantified through specific methods, extrapolated from data, and summarized in a more thorough theory!
That was what Orochimaru had glimpsed in an instant!
This was a victory for methodology.
Orochimaru's thoughts expanded in that moment.
If this method could be reproduced and widely adopted, the efficiency of ninjutsu instruction would improve dramatically.
A shinobi's aptitude would no longer depend solely on their vague "ability to sense chakra." It could be assessed precisely through data.
Developing ninjutsu would also shift from endless trial and error to precise construction guided by theory.
Take the simplest example: when teaching the Transformation Technique or Substitution Technique, instructors might once have taught students how to picture things in their minds and how to control their chakra. But their lessons might one day look like this:
What should the head transform into? How many standard units of chakra would it take? How many units would be appropriate?
Even assessments would change: using a specified number of standard chakra units, perform the Transformation Technique and transform into a certain object to pass!
A whole new era seemed to be unfolding before his eyes.
Orochimaru couldn't help licking his lips.
Even the Root and Anbu Ninja hidden nearby had fallen into stunned silence.
They were experienced elites. The "feel" of chakra had sunk into their bones, becoming part of their instincts. They had spent their whole lives honing that instinct.
Many of them were already in their twenties or thirties. They had experienced far more than Kushina and Nawaki, and they could see much further, too.
That was why they were better able to grasp the impact of Hiroki's performance.
Hiroki had climbed the tree on his first try. That wasn't an especially astonishing display of talent.
It was certainly impressive, but some Anbu elites could do the same. What made Hiroki different was that he'd succeeded on his very first try after listening to Orochimaru's instructions. And when he first started sticking to the surface, he had clearly used less chakra than he did later, yet the result was still good.
It was easy to imagine that without Orochimaru's instruction and without his sharing the specific amount of chakra to use, Hiroki could never have succeeded on his first try.
He might have needed two or three more attempts, or even five or six.
He might have spent the entire afternoon on it!
But he'd succeeded on his first try—what did that mean?
It meant that the chakra-control instincts they had spent their whole lives honing might have been nothing but a waste of their youth.
Today, a child had used an incredibly simple question—one no one had ever thought to ask—to tell them that, in truth, they didn't need to spend so much effort honing their instincts.
Maybe all they'd been missing was a standard unit of chakra?
If someone told them how much chakra to draw out and how many standard units to use when performing a jutsu, perhaps they could succeed on the first try, too—
And even if they couldn't, they might still save a great deal of wasted time—
For some inexplicable reason, the Anbu Ninja couldn't help feeling a trace of resentment, though they couldn't quite say who it was directed at.
Perhaps they, too, had once had a chance to succeed on their first try, just like Hiroki?
In that strange silence, Hiroki moved. He raised his other foot, released chakra with the same precision, and planted it firmly against the wall before taking a step upward.
His movements were a little awkward, but every step was remarkably steady.
Just then, the cat sitting in the tree seemed to be startled by Hiroki. Its fur stood on end, and it hissed at him before scampering a few steps along the branch and leaping away!
The cat jumped right over a calm little stream.
Orochimaru said nothing. He quickly leaped over the wall and ran straight across the water.
He'd run across the water!?
Yes, he'd run across the water! It was an advanced form of tree climbing.
Nawaki and Kushina were still dazed, but Hiroki had already reached the stream. He looked at the water, still thinking about how much chakra he would need, when Orochimaru spoke:
"Two-sixths of what the Transformation Technique takes. Twice the amount for climbing a tree."
Orochimaru was concise, his eyes fixed on Hiroki with burning intensity. His meaning was unmistakable: he wanted to know whether Hiroki could reproduce his success just as he had before!
Nawaki and Kushina immediately turned their eyes toward Sawada Hiroki, too!
Could he succeed again?
Hiroki took a deep breath. A new program was quickly written.
Chakra began to be drawn out and expended at twice the rate used to climb the wall: 24 cards per second!
The next moment, Hiroki stepped forward!
His footing still wavered, and his steps were a little bumpy, but one of his feet had indeed found solid support!
Was it still not enough?
Increase the output!
25 cards per second!
He steadied himself!
Increase the output again: 26 cards per second!
Hiroki boldly broke into a run! He moved as if on level ground!
Had he succeeded again?
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