Learning (Part 1)

From the moment he (superficially) learned the word chakra until now, only two or three days had passed. Hanyu did not know why Sanshao would bring along a dead weight like him... Although he did not know what this squad was about to do, it was clearly a mission of significant importance.

Hanyu was certainly resistant to such an arrangement, yet... within this five-man squad, three people had the power to speak, while two did not. Guess which category Hanyu fell into?

After leaving Konoha, the ninja squad moved toward the northwest, but before long, Hanyu felt there was something wrong with their pace... It wasn't that they were too fast, but rather too slow. Under normal circumstances, it would be impossible for someone in Hanyu's condition to keep up with a ninja's travel speed, yet now, despite being quite strained and exhausted, he was able to maintain the team's rhythm.

Could it be that everyone had deliberately slowed down to accommodate him? Well, thinking that way would be far too conceited.

"Lady Sanshao, we can take a break now." Two hours after leaving the village, the group arrived at the bank of a river flowing from east to west, and Mitokado Homura had actually made the decision to rest just like that.

Wasn't this supposed to be an urgent mission? Was it really okay to travel so leisurely?

Then, when Hanyu's puzzled gaze shifted to Sanshao's face, her pale complexion explained everything... It was evident that even cold-blooded ninjas were not without humanitarian concern; it just depended on who the object of that concern was.

Sanshao was not a powerful ninja; in fact, it was quite the opposite. Her physical condition seemed somewhat overly frail.

She did not refuse the suggestion to rest. After nodding to Mitokado with an apologetic expression, she sat down on a rock by the river.

Hanyu also found a random spot to sit. Compared to the three composed, orthodox ninjas in the team, he was far more exhausted and disheveled.

Taking advantage of this rare break, he rolled up his sleeve and unwound a bandage wrapped around his arm. After carefully observing the small wound on his arm, he discovered that the black traces had indeed faded significantly compared to before. Just as the medical ninja had told him earlier, the chakra erosion on his body was not very severe, and as time passed, such injuries would naturally heal on their own.

The discovery that his worrying physical condition seemed to be improving naturally brightened Hanyu's mood, and even the exhaustion in his body seemed to vanish quite a bit.

"Hanyu, come here." At this moment, Sanshao, having caught her breath, called Hanyu to her side.

"Yes, Teacher Sanshao." Upon hearing her summons, Hanyu quickly stood up and walked to her side.

"Is the injury you sustained earlier alright now?" Sanshao asked after catching a glimpse of Hanyu's exposed arm.

"It's fine now, it won't affect my movements," Hanyu said. Although the most serious wound on his shoulder still sent stabs of pain, compared to the chakra erosion he had been worried about, this pure external injury was not worth noting. Moreover, thanks to the treatment at Konoha Hospital, he was indeed able to move freely.

"Is that so? That's great." As she spoke, Sanshao signaled for Hanyu to lift his arm, and then she helped him re-bandage the wound. "You have experienced a lot over these past few days. After such experiences, I presume you can understand that in this chaotic world, there is no place that is absolutely safe. Although a person may not necessarily head to the battlefield, they will always encounter danger. In such circumstances, one can only protect oneself... Do you understand what I mean?"

Her hands were nimble, and she had finished dressing Hanyu's wound by the time she finished speaking.

"I understand." Hanyu, of course, understood what she was saying. As someone who had long hovered on the line of subsistence, he previously had no extra mental capacity to consider anything beyond food and clothing. However, things were different now—if he already possessed a certain power, then learning to control that power was an inevitable choice.

This was exactly what Sanshao was talking about, but... was she willing to help him? Thinking this, Hanyu looked into her eyes.

"The physical energy extracted from cells by the human body represents the Yang aspect; the spiritual energy cultivated through training and the accumulation of experience represents the Yin aspect. The power formed by coordinating these two energies is called chakra. It is the foundation for ninjas to perform ninjutsu, genjutsu, and taijutsu. The reason a ninja can be a ninja is because of chakra."

The answer was yes; Sanshao seemed happy to teach Hanyu some knowledge about ninjas. Otherwise, she wouldn't have brought him along... The current mission was by no means one that required Hanyu; he was not necessary. It was precisely because Sanshao decided to bring him that he had the opportunity to accompany them.

"Of course, having chakra does not mean one can perform ninjutsu. Between pure energy and a technique with lethal effect, one still needs 'hand seals'."

"For those who aspire to be ninjas, the first step is the most important and the most difficult. The reason is that although the concept of chakra is not complicated to explain and describe in words, extracting physical energy itself is not a simple matter, and so-called spiritual energy is even more ethereal... Fortunately, you have already skipped the step that is most difficult for beginners. What you need to do next is to create more chakra and let it circulate through your body along established paths."

Then, Sanshao extended a finger and tapped Hanyu's torso and limbs in a certain sequence dozens of times. Wherever her finger landed, a sensation of heat would surge forth.

"You should be able to feel that power within your body. Now, what you need to do is guide it through the points I've indicated, and then repeat the cycle..."

What Sanshao said was precious to Hanyu, so he listened with rapt attention.

"As for elemental techniques, considering the circumstances of your becoming a ninja, I think you are capable of using Water Release. It is a very natural thing. Calm your heart and feel it carefully; I think you should be able to sense that your chakra can be converted into another state... As long as you have an impression of water, this shouldn't be a problem," she continued.

An impression of water? Hanyu had plenty of that. After all, not everyone had the experience of being pierced through the heart by a powerful Water Release technique. Following her instructions, Hanyu closed his eyes, sensed carefully, and kept recalling the feeling of being stabbed. Then, he understood what Sanshao meant by the conversion of chakra states.

"Is this... Water Release?"

"The correct term would be water-natured chakra," Sanshao corrected him slightly. "I will teach you Water Release ninjutsu later. What you need to practice next is the circulation of chakra within your body and the efficient, instantaneous conversion of water-natured chakra."

"Unlike the circulation of chakra through the body's meridians, you must first concentrate water-natured chakra into these few locations," Sanshao said, tapping Hanyu's body a few more times, then asked, "Did you memorize them?"

"I did, Teacher Sanshao," Hanyu said.

He didn't quite understand what was meant by the efficient, instantaneous conversion of water-natured chakra, because when he tried the water-natured conversion just now, he didn't feel any resistance, as if he were already capable of this efficient conversion—at this moment, Hanyu still didn't fully understand what the Second Hokage had left behind in his body.

Yet, Sanshao insisted that he circulate the converted water-natured chakra through specific meridians in his body. Was she preparing for something?

"Lady Sanshao, it's about time," Mitokado Homura said as he walked over, causing Hanyu to lose the chance to ask.

"Then let's stop here for now; the mission is urgent. Hanyu, you must seize the time to practice. You should know that battles may break out at any time during the rest of the journey. Even I might have to join the fight, and the same goes for you... You shouldn't want to lose your life so easily, so hurry up and become a ninja." Sanshao patted Hanyu on the shoulder and stood up.

At some point, either Mitokado Homura or Kagami Uchiha had summoned a giant White Wolf. Sanshao then walked over to the summoning beast and climbed onto its back.

Next, it seemed the ninjas were going to travel at full speed.

Whether he practiced or not, Hanyu at least felt that he was about to suffer... After all, he could neither outrun a four-legged canine nor a two-legged ninja.

And when it really came time to hurry, neither of these two species would likely accommodate him.