A jutsu's rank reflected how difficult it was to master, and difficulty was often tied to its power. The harder a jutsu was to learn, the more powerful and dangerous it tended to be. But that wasn't always true, especially for Water Release and Fire Release users. The strength of these two nature transformations depended less on the rank of the jutsu and more on how much chakra the user could pour into it.
A typical example was the Uchiha's Great Fireball Technique. In terms of rank, it was only a C-rank jutsu, but in different hands, its destructive effect could range from blasting you in the face with a wave of heat to roasting you into a pile of charred ash... In any case, the potential for one's chakra reserves to grow was the foundation of a ninja's overall growth.
Whether Hanyu's chakra reserves would grow well or poorly wasn't something anyone could tell in a short time. It wouldn't become clear until he was thirty and had become a mature ninja. But one thing was certain: at the very least, he couldn't compare to the Senju and Uzumaki, who had inherited the Sage Body.
That was why the secret medicine Sanshao had brought him was so precious. There was no doubt it would help Hanyu, whether by improving his physical condition or continually expanding his chakra reserves.
One couldn't change their innate constitution, but that was precisely why the effort one put in afterward mattered so much... Why had the Second been so hell-bent on developing forbidden jutsu? To some extent, wasn't it because his genius of an older brother had pushed him to it?
The Second developed all sorts of jutsu and liked to scheme and strategize. By contrast, when the First Hokage ran into a problem, he didn't need to bother with any of that—he just shoved Wood Release or Senjutsu in people's faces. The ones on the receiving end even had to swallow their anger and praise him, saying, "What a great shove."
Personal strength couldn't solve every problem, but when you were as strong as Senju Hashirama, it could solve at least ninety-nine percent of them. That was how the First Hokage had ushered in a peaceful era and harmony among the clans of the Shinobi World. He might have seemed like a carefree jokester, but did anyone really think the system he established had been readily accepted throughout the Shinobi World? No. Everyone who accepted it had been beaten by him. Those who refused to accept it until the day they died were eventually beaten to death. What could anyone do? Faced with overwhelming strength, even the hardest bones could be snapped.
The difference between the First and Second was a perfect example of the gap between a genius and an elite who had worked hard their entire life. But Hanyu wasn't aiming to be a genius. He wasn't cut out for that. Becoming an elite was more than enough to keep him striving for the rest of his life...
Bloodline was an unavoidable topic whenever people discussed a ninja's potential. The First and Second had even shared the same mother, so how could anyone explain the difference between them?
In any case, to become a capable ninja, Hanyu began the miserable routine of swallowing pills every day. He'd try a full course of the secret medicine and see how it worked.
Just a week later, a strange medicinal fragrance, the scent of precious herbs blended together, began to emanate from Hanyu. At the same time, he started to feel a tremendous change in his body.
How could he put it? His whole body felt swollen and full, somewhat like a newly erupted wisdom tooth pushing against the molars until the tightly packed gums were crammed full. It felt like his entire mouth was made of teeth. Except now Hanyu felt as though he had "teeth growing all over his body," and the sensation was magnified countless times over.
These days, if he didn't fire off a few Water Dragon Bullets every day, his whole body felt wrong.
After feeling the changes the secret medicine had brought, Hanyu decided he wasn't going to stop taking it. Alongside the medicine, he was also training his chakra control. He quickly completed the basic exercises, such as climbing vertical surfaces and moving across water.
He was naturally meticulous, and with his mature mental age in a young, energetic body, these basic exercises posed no challenge to him as long as he trained properly.
Besides, Sanshao would occasionally toss Hanyu a scroll containing a Water Release jutsu. After explaining the jutsu's characteristics, she would leave him to practice on his own. She didn't say much, and she couldn't perform the jutsu herself, but from Hanyu's own experience, Sanshao was an excellent instructor.
Sanshao gave Hanyu quite a few jutsu scrolls, but she wasn't teaching him indiscriminately. Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet could be considered the upper limit of B-rank Water Release jutsu. Using it as a benchmark for difficulty, Sanshao only taught Hanyu Water Release and other jutsu below B-rank, so he had no reason to fail to learn them.
Sanshao taught him chakra control, nature transformation, and jutsu very well. The only thing she couldn't help with was Taijutsu training.
Taijutsu, in a sense, improved through accumulated physical experience and muscle memory. The best way to train was through actual combat. No matter how eloquently one talked about Taijutsu, it wouldn't help much, so Sanshao was a little out of her depth in this area.
Taijutsu was a crucial part of a ninja's combat ability. Someone who could only use jutsu and lacked the physical ability to match was no ninja at all, but a "mage"... And on a battlefield where ninjas prized agility and close combat, a "mage" wouldn't last a minute.
If Hanyu couldn't reach a passing level in Taijutsu, it would be a fatal weakness. With his teacher unable to help, he could only rely on his own efforts and figure things out as he went... Fortunately, he'd met a good sparring partner during an earlier mission.
Hatake Sakumo was nine years and two months old, but thanks to his sharp Taijutsu and one-of-a-kind swordsmanship, even an ordinary Chunin wouldn't be a match for him.
At Hanyu's request, the two of them trained against each other almost every day. And just over ten seconds into each session, the chakra short sword in Hatake's hand would be pointed at Hanyu's throat from one angle or another.
At a training ground not far from the Konoha Nursing Home, the scene once again froze at the moment Hanyu was defeated.
The tip of the chakra short sword in Hatake's hand stopped just short of Hanyu's skin, but its chill seemed to spread through every limb. Hatake's moves were incredibly sharp, so fighting him felt no different from a real struggle for life and death. Every day, Hanyu felt as though he died dozens of times... Hatake's swordsmanship and Taijutsu were purely battle-oriented, and at his age, he didn't know the meaning of holding back.
Training with Hatake gave Hanyu the closest possible approximation of being on a battlefield. He had indeed learned a lot over the past few days. Hatake, on the other hand, gained little from it; he was just doing his part as a sparring partner in the spirit of international solidarity.
"Hanyu, you need to use Hand Seals! It's pointless to fight me with Taijutsu at your current level, so why not use jutsu?" Hatake couldn't help complaining after their training ended that day.
Hanyu felt he'd gained a lot from their sessions, but as far as Hatake was concerned, he hadn't made much progress.
"First, even if I wanted to form Hand Seals, I'd have no chance while you're attacking. Second, my goal is to train my Taijutsu in the first place, so using jutsu would kind of defeat the purpose," Hanyu replied.
If Hatake Sakumo thought other ninjas could become just like him after a few training sessions, he was sorely mistaken. Maybe he still lacked a little self-awareness and hadn't figured out what kind of ninja he really was.
"Anyway, that's enough for today. Also... I won't be able to come here for the next few days. I got a new mission assignment today."
"A mission?" Hanyu nodded to show he understood. He didn't ask Hatake what the mission was, since all ninja missions were subject to some degree of confidentiality. But the fact that a ninja Hatake's age was being sent on missions showed that Konoha was still suffering from a shortage of manpower. It might not be long before ninjas like Hanyu were sent out on missions too.
"Do you have any advice for me in combat?" Hatake asked before leaving.
"About combat... No. You have more experience than I do. But if you want to talk about life, I could offer a few words..." Hanyu said, placing one hand on Hatake's shoulder with an air of mystery. "You could have a son named Shunshundong someday. Also, try not to kill yourself for no reason... You know, if you kill yourself, you'll die."
Hanyu didn't think Hatake would face any danger on his upcoming mission, so he made a joke that Hatake neither understood nor found funny.
What Hanyu didn't know was that someone had heard all his nonsense and watched their training from beginning to end.
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