Chakra and Qi: How They Differ

A month passed in the blink of an eye.

In the quiet room, Zhuge Qing sat cross-legged with his eyes closed.

An invisible stream of Qi flowed slowly around him under his guidance.

Gradually, a Qi Men Formation began to take shape around him.

The Heavenly Plate Nine Stars, the Earthly Plate Nine Palaces, the Human Plate Eight Gates, the Divine Plate Eight Spirits...

After a month of study and experimentation, he had more or less mastered the method of setting up and arranging the Wuhou Qimen formation.

Zhuge Qing slowly opened his eyes and let the energy around him dissipate.

He rose and walked to the window, gazing at the bamboo leaves swaying in the breeze in the courtyard as he fell into thought.

This Qimen art and the ninjutsu he knew from the Naruto world might look similar in some ways. For example, both could control the elements.

But their underlying principles were completely different.

Ninjutsu in the Naruto world was more like a precise manipulation of one's own energy—Chakra.

By forming specific Hand Seals, one guided Chakra through the body's meridians, giving it different elemental properties—such as fire, water, lightning, wind, and earth—and different forms, such as spheres, dragons, and spears. It was then released to produce all kinds of effects.

The key was the "inside"—controlling and transforming one's own energy.

But what about Wuhou Qimen?

Zhuge Qing recalled his father Zhuge Gong's teachings, along with what he had learned from a month of practical experience.

Qimen arts focused more on the "outside."

They didn't directly consume the practitioner's own Qi. Instead, they used the unique framework of a "Qi Men Formation" to "leverage" and "guide" the Primordial Qi that was everywhere in the world.

The Heaven Plate corresponded to the heavens, the Earth Plate to the land, the Human Plate to human affairs, and the Spirit Plate to unknown forces.

The four plates worked together like a sophisticated energy-dispatch system.

Within this system, the practitioner could then use the corresponding arts to draw on the vast Primordial Qi of the world and achieve effects far beyond their own abilities.

To give an example:

Suppose you wanted to get a windmill turning.

A ninja might blast its blades with Wind Release Ninjutsu or push it with brute force.

It was simple and direct, with immediate results. How fast it spun depended on how much Chakra you had and how strong you were.

That was "human effort."

And a Qimen practitioner?

First, he would study the terrain and see if there was a river nearby.

If there was, he would build the windmill by the river, then design a water-powered mechanism to turn it using the force of the current.

The preparations might be tedious. He would need to survey, design, and build.

But once the system was in place, the windmill could run on the steady flow of water, and the practitioner would only need to maintain it from time to time.

That was borrowing "the power of heaven and earth."

But that didn't mean the latter was necessarily better than the former. If you were strong enough, you could get the windmill turning with the former even somewhere without water.

The latter, however, was constrained by its surroundings...

"One relies on brute force, the other on ingenuity."

Zhuge Qing stroked his chin, the corner of his mouth curling into an amused smile.

The former was simple and direct, with its upper limit determined by the individual's strength.

The latter was intricate and efficient, with its upper limit determined by how well you understood and used the rules—and whether the "right time and place" were on your side.

Without water, even the most ingenious waterwheel would be useless.

"Still, this method is pretty interesting."

Summarizing the rules and then making use of them was more in keeping with scientific thinking.

"What exactly is this Primordial Qi?"

Zhuge Qing furrowed his brows. Why could it be manipulated under certain "rules"? And what was the true nature of a Qi Men Formation?

Even his father Zhuge Gong only knew how to use it, not why it worked. That was simply how he had been taught.

If he wanted to understand it more deeply, he would have to rely on himself...

"The four plates—Heaven, Earth, Spirit, and Human—each correspond to a different system of arts..."

The Heavenly Plate Nine Stars dealt with the movement of celestial bodies. They influenced the broader currents of fortune and could be used to predict future events.

The Earthly Plate Nine Palaces Qi Instruments concerned formations and layouts. It was their foundation, and it allowed one to use Eight Trigrams arts.

The Human Plate Eight Gates represented human activity and space. They could be used for Eight Gates Transport and to influence an enemy's condition.

The arts of the Divine Plate Eight Spirits... were rather mysterious. They could influence one's own condition.

"Man, if only I had the Multi Shadow Clone Technique."

Thinking of the many arts of the four plates, Zhuge Qing couldn't help muttering. He felt a little envious of his Naruto-world counterpart.

With several Shadow Clones studying and learning together, sharing their experience, he could maximize his efficiency and quickly dissect Wuhou Qimen from top to bottom.

What a shame...

He couldn't use Shadow Clone.

He had discussed this problem with Orochimaru.

Contrary to their initial assumptions, Chakra and Primordial Qi were both forms of life energy and looked similar in how they manifested, but their fundamental structures—or "rules"—were completely different.

The evidence was that he had tried using some basic Naruto techniques.

The Five Elements techniques were the simplest. After a few attempts, he had managed to use them, though they were less powerful than when Orochimaru used them.

The Transformation Technique had taken him a month to learn, and it was still quite cumbersome to use—not nearly as effortless as it was in the Naruto world.

This proved that the two types of energy had some common ground in their basic applications.

But when it came to the Shadow Clone Technique, things were completely different.

According to Orochimaru, the Shadow Clone Technique had two main technical difficulties.

First, using Chakra as the base material to create a clone identical to the original, with a physical body and the ability to act independently.

Second, giving the clone one's own memories and experience so it could act on its own.

But Zhuge Qing couldn't even manage the first step.

He had tried to channel the Qi in his body and shape it according to the principles of the Shadow Clone Technique, but the Qi simply wouldn't hold a stable form, let alone form a complex body.

It was like trying to make sturdy bricks out of a pile of loose sand.

I suppose that makes sense...

Zhuge Qing sighed. In this world, Qi seemed to be inherently unsuited to this kind of application.

Using energy to directly construct a stable form was already an extremely advanced skill.

Examples included the Triple Inverse Life of the Sanyi Sect and the Pure Yang True Immortal described in Daoist School texts on inner alchemy, who could disperse into Qi and gather into form...

But in the Naruto world, even a newly graduated Genin could easily create a physical clone with the Shadow Clone Technique, as long as they had enough Chakra.

This difference had to come from the fundamental differences between the Naruto world's Chakra and Primordial Qi.

According to their theory, Chakra inherently carried a person's complete information. Impure World Reincarnation was one example. Another was the Fourth Hokage and Kushina leaving a little of their Chakra inside Naruto Uzumaki, allowing them to appear at a crucial moment, talk to him, and help him.

Primordial Qi, however, wasn't like that...

As for what caused this difference, they had no idea...

They simply didn't have enough information yet. Their understanding of both Qi and Chakra was still very superficial.

There was a long road ahead if they wanted to uncover their true nature.

"But..."

"In this world, if I want to find the answer, there seems to be... one special way to cheat."

A flicker passed through Zhuge Qing's eyes. He was referring, of course, to the unique method available to practitioners of the esoteric arts in this world:

"Inner Scene..."