The Unique Ability (Part 1)

The rank of a ninjutsu represents the difficulty of its cultivation, and difficulty is often tied to the power of the technique. The higher the difficulty, the greater the power and threat it poses. However, this is not absolute, especially for Water and Fire style ninjas. The power of these two types of jutsu is determined less by their cultivation rank and more by the volume of chakra output.

A classic example is the Uchiha's Great Fireball Technique. In terms of rank, it is merely a C-rank ninjutsu, but when used by different people, its lethality can range from a mere puff of heat to incinerating a target into ash. Regardless, the growth potential of one's chakra reserves is the foundation of a ninja's overall growth.

Whether Hanyu's chakra growth potential is good or bad cannot be determined in the short term; it will only become clear once he reaches the age of thirty and becomes a mature ninja. But one thing is certain: at the very least, he cannot be compared to the Senju or the Uzumaki, who inherited the Sage Body.

Therefore, the secret medicine brought to him by Sanshao is incredibly precious. It is undoubtedly a great help to Hanyu, whether in strengthening his basic physical constitution or continuously expanding his chakra capacity.

Innate physical traits cannot be changed, but precisely because of that, acquired effort becomes crucial. Why was the Second Hokage so desperately obsessed with developing forbidden techniques? To some extent, it was because he was pushed by his genius brother.

The Second Hokage developed various ninjutsu and loved to engage in schemes and strategies. In contrast, when the First Hokage encountered problems, he didn't need to be so troublesome—he simply shoved his Wood Release and Sage Arts into the faces of his opponents. Even those on the receiving end had to swallow their teeth along with their pride and praise him, saying, "A well-placed strike."

Individual prowess cannot solve every problem, but when one is as strong as Senju Hashirama, it can at least solve ninety-nine percent of them. That is why the First Hokage created a world of peace and harmony among the various ninja clans. That man appeared carefree and jolly, but was the system he created really so easily accepted by the entire ninja world? No, those who accepted the system were all people he had beaten; those who refused to accept his system until their dying breath were eventually beaten to death. What else could be done? In the face of absolute strength, even the hardest bones are broken.

The gap between the First and the Second is the classic difference between a genius and an elite who has spent a lifetime in effort. However, Hanyu does not aspire to be a genius; he isn't cut out for that. Aiming to be an elite is enough for him to strive for his entire life.

Bloodline is an unavoidable issue whenever one discusses the upper limits of a ninja. The First and Second were even born of the same mother, yet how does one explain the gap between them?

In any case, in order to become a qualified ninja, Hanyu began the painful life of swallowing pills every day, starting with a full course of the secret medicine to test its effects.

Just one week later, while a strange, medicinal fragrance of precious herbs began to permeate Hanyu's body, he also felt the massive changes taking place within him.

How to describe it? His entire body was filled with a sense of fullness and distension, somewhat similar to the feeling of a new wisdom tooth pushing against the molars, crowding the tight gums until the entire mouth felt like nothing but teeth. Except now, Hanyu felt like he was "growing teeth all over his body," and that sensation was magnified countless times.

During this period, he felt restless if he didn't fire off a few Water Dragon Bullets every day.

After feeling the changes the secret medicine brought him, Hanyu solidified his policy of not stopping the medication. In addition to the medicine, Hanyu continued his training in chakra control. He quickly completed the basic courses regarding vertical climbing, moving on water, and so on.

His personality already contained a meticulous and detailed side, and combined with his mature psychological age and a young, vibrant body, these basic subjects posed no problem for Hanyu as long as the training was appropriate.

Furthermore, Sanshao would occasionally toss some Water Release scrolls to Hanyu. After explaining the characteristics of the techniques, she would leave him to practice on his own. Although she didn't say much and couldn't perform the techniques herself, from Hanyu's personal experience, Sanshao was truly an excellent instructor.

The number of ninjutsu scrolls Sanshao gave Hanyu was not small, but she was not blind to his limits. The Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet could be considered the difficulty ceiling for B-rank Water Release ninjutsu. Using this technique as a benchmark for difficulty, everything Sanshao taught Hanyu now was of B-rank difficulty or lower, so he had no reason not to learn them.

Sanshao taught him well regarding chakra control, nature transformation, and ninjutsu learning, but the only thing she could not solve was the training in taijutsu.

In a sense, taijutsu is improved through the accumulation of physical experience and muscle memory. The best training method is actual combat; no matter how eloquently one speaks about taijutsu, it is useless. Therefore, Sanshao felt somewhat powerless in this regard.

Taijutsu is a vital component of a ninja's combat capability. If one only knows how to use ninjutsu without the corresponding physical ability, they are not a ninja, but a "mage." One must know that in a ninja battlefield that values agility and close-quarters combat, a "mage" would not survive for even a minute.

If Hanyu could not reach a passing level of taijutsu, it would be his fatal flaw. With his teacher unable to help, he had to explore and strive in this area on his own. Fortunately, he had met a great sparring partner during a previous mission.

Hatake Sakumo was nine years and two months old, but thanks to his sharp taijutsu and unique swordsmanship, even average Chunin were no match for him.

At Hanyu's request, the two engaged in sparring almost every day. Within ten seconds of each training session, the chakra short sword in Hatake's hand would be pointed at Hanyu's throat from various angles.

At a training ground not far from the Konoha Nursing Home, the scene froze once again at the moment of Hanyu's defeat.

The tip of the chakra short sword in Hatake's hand was clearly hovering just off Hanyu's skin, yet the chill from the blade invisibly permeated the latter's entire body. Hatake's moves during their sparring were exceptionally sharp, so for Hanyu, the feeling was no different from a real life-or-death struggle. He felt as if he died dozens of times every day. Hatake's swordsmanship and taijutsu were purely practical, and at his age, he didn't know the meaning of "going easy."

Hanyu's training with Hatake simulated the feeling of a battlefield to the greatest extent possible. Over these days, he had indeed benefited immensely. Relatively speaking, however, Hatake gained nothing; he was merely acting as a sparring partner in the spirit of internationalism.

"Hanyu, you need to weave hand signs, weave them! It's unrealistic for you to fight me with taijutsu alone, so why don't you use ninjutsu?" After the training ended that day, Hatake couldn't help but complain.

Although Hanyu felt he had gained a lot, from Hatake's perspective, he hadn't made much progress.

"First of all, even if I wanted to weave signs, there's no opportunity to do so while you're attacking. Secondly, my goal is taijutsu training; using ninjutsu would be somewhat counterproductive," Hanyu replied.

If Hatake Sakumo thought other ninjas could become like him after a few training sessions, he would be sorely mistaken. Perhaps he still lacked some self-awareness and hadn't figured out exactly what kind of ninja he was.

"Anyway, that's it for today. Also... I won't be able to come here for the next few days. I received a new mission request today."

"A mission?" Hanyu nodded, indicating he understood. He didn't ask what Hatake's specific mission was, because all ninja missions have varying degrees of confidentiality. However, the fact that a ninja of Hatake's age was being sent on missions showed that Konoha still faced a shortage of combat power. Perhaps it wouldn't be long before ninjas like Hanyu would also be sent on missions.

"Do you have any advice for me regarding combat?" Hatake asked Hanyu before leaving.

"Regarding combat... no, you have more experience than I do. But if it's about life advice, I could say a thing or two..." Hanyu placed a hand on Hatake's shoulder and said mysteriously, "In the future, you can have a son named Shunshundong. Also, just don't commit suicide for no reason... You know, people die when they are killed."

Hanyu didn't think Hatake would encounter any danger on his upcoming mission, so he made a joke that Hatake himself neither understood nor found funny.

What Hanyu didn't know was that both his nonsense and the previous combat training had been heard and seen by someone else.