Chakra Nature

On the way back to Konoha, the four members of Team 7 were taking it easy, like they were returning home after a trip.

"Mm~ The weather's so nice today!"

Sakura stretched. "It feels like we've been in the Land of Waves forever."

"I wouldn't mind staying a little longer."

Sasuke was reluctant to leave the wide-open sea around the Land of Waves. "It's convenient for training."

"We've been away from the village for a while."

Kakashi sighed. "If we don't get back soon, the Third Hokage might send someone to look for us."

Naruto said, "Huh~ Is Grandpa Third really that impatient?"

"You've done very well already."

Kakashi reminded them, "Given your circumstances, if you were in another hidden village, you probably wouldn't even be allowed through the village gates."

"I can understand why Sasuke would be restricted, but why Naruto?"

Sakura asked Kakashi, "Because he's from the Uzumaki Clan?"

"Not entirely."

Kakashi cautioned her, "Naruto may know the answer himself, but there are some things I can't tell you."

Sakura and Sasuke thought it over, then looked at Naruto with eager curiosity.

Naruto pondered for two seconds. "Grandpa Third is probably worried about Kurama inside me."

Sasuke asked, "Kurama? Who's that?"

Sakura said, "Inside you?"

"Explaining that would mean explaining a lot of things, including some secrets."

Naruto said with a troubled look, "Kakashi-sensei can't tell you because of that."

Kakashi nodded. "The Hokage has explicitly forbidden anyone in the village from talking about those secrets."

Sasuke guessed, "The way people in the village treat Naruto is connected to those secrets too, right?"

Kakashi silently nodded.

The mood grew somber.

"Come on, there's no point dwelling on the past."

Naruto flashed his trademark sunny smile. "You've both finished your tree-climbing and Water Walking training, and you're getting used to Qi Refining. Based on my experience, once we get back to the village, our master will probably set up a new training plan for you."

Sasuke's attention immediately shifted. "What will he have us train?"

Sakura was a beat slower, then looked at Naruto too.

"Um... Master said he'd adjust the training based on our situations, so it'll be different for each of us."

Naruto spent a while communicating with his master in his mind, then roughly relayed what he'd heard. "Sasuke's Sharingan still has a lot of potential to unlock. Improving his eye power will make him stronger faster than learning other techniques. Sakura doesn't have much chakra, but she was born strong, and she's also talented at chakra control. She should focus on Taijutsu and Medical Ninjutsu."

"Why not genjutsu?"

Kakashi suddenly asked, "Sakura has excellent chakra control. She'd be better suited to becoming a genjutsu specialist than a medical ninja."

"Better let Master explain."

Naruto promptly signed off.

"For ninja without a bloodline limit, genjutsu has a very low ceiling."

Speaking through Naruto, Master addressed Kakashi. "Setting aside the Sharingan, which can practically render genjutsu meaningless, even an ordinary ninja without any bloodline limit can make most genjutsu ineffective simply by having a teammate nearby."

"...That's true."

Kakashi fell silent for a moment, then agreed. "Have you studied Medical Ninjutsu as well?"

"More accurately, I have some understanding of every technique that has ever existed in this world."

Master gave a rather weighty answer. "But don't expect to get anything from me. I came to this world to teach my students. That's all."

Kakashi nodded thoughtfully and stared at Naruto until Naruto's own consciousness returned.

They had barely taken a couple of steps when Sakura asked again, "Kakashi-sensei, how effective is Medical Ninjutsu in combat?"

"Probably a little more powerful than you'd expect."

As Kakashi spoke, he thought of Konoha's strongest medical ninja. "For example, the Chakra Scalpel can cut inside a target's body without leaving any external wounds. If you master it, you can even destroy an enemy's organs with a simple touch during battle, then kill them."

"It can damage their organs directly?"

Naruto was stunned. "Medical Ninjutsu is that terrifying?!"

"It is. Also, Medical Ninjutsu is one of the few kinds of ninjutsu that are difficult to use even after copying them with the Sharingan."

Kakashi explained, "That's because Medical Ninjutsu requires specialized knowledge, and its chakra-control requirements are higher than those of other techniques at the same level."

"That sounds great!"

Sakura could hardly wait. "Let's get back to the village quickly. I want to learn Medical Ninjutsu from Master right now!"

Fortunately, Sakura soon calmed down, though the group did pick up their pace a little.

"By the way,"

Kakashi asked, as if he'd just remembered something, "has your master tested your chakra natures?"

"I've already been tested,"

Naruto said. "My chakra nature is Wind, but I'm better at Yang Release techniques."

Sakura admitted, "I don't understand. What are chakra natures?"

"The chakra we mold inside our bodies can undergo two kinds of change, depending on how we use it: a change in form and a change in nature. If one kind of nature transformation comes more naturally to us than the others, we say our chakra has that nature."

Kakashi explained, "So far, seven kinds of chakra nature transformation are known, corresponding to seven chakra natures. But two are special and don't usually appear."

Sasuke immediately asked, "What are the seven, and which two are special?"

"The five basic nature transformations are Water, Fire, Earth, Wind, and Lightning. They correspond to the five natures and their respective releases. The two special ones are Yin and Yang. But techniques involving Yin and Yang nature transformation are fairly common. Some Medical Ninjutsu, for example, involves Yang Release, while most genjutsu requires Yin Release."

Kakashi explained carefully. "As for changes in form, those are easy to understand. A lump of water takes different shapes depending on the container it's placed in. The hand seals for different ninjutsu are like different containers, and chakra is the water."

"I get it."

Sakura understood quickly. "The essence of using different techniques is making chakra undergo specific changes in form and nature."

"Exactly."

Kakashi confirmed, "Whether you use Hand Seals or loudly call out a technique's name, it's all to change chakra's form and nature more quickly and reliably."

Sasuke asked, "So if you can make chakra undergo specific changes in form and nature, you can use ninjutsu without Hand Seals?"

"Right."

Kakashi confirmed, "But it's very difficult to use most ninjutsu without Hand Seals. It's easier to learn the seals and use them to cast techniques faster."

Sakura understood in an instant too, then asked, "So how do we test our chakra natures?"

"The quickest and easiest way to test chakra natures is with a special kind of paper. You can find it in ninja tool shops, so you can buy some yourselves once we get back to the village."

Kakashi explained, "When you channel your chakra into the paper, Water makes it damp; Fire makes it burn; Earth makes it crumble; Wind cuts it; and Lightning wrinkles it."

Sasuke asked, "What happens if you have two or more chakra natures?"

Kakashi replied, "If you have more than one nature, different areas of the paper will show different effects. The amount of chakra you put in determines how dramatic the changes are."

"That Haku we fought before, the one who used Ice Release—what chakra nature does that belong to..."