Is Chakra Matter? What's the Use?

Tomorrow is the first holiday for the Konoha Ninja Academy, and the students in the classroom seem somewhat restless.

Uchiha Sasuke watches his clansman, Uchiha Hui, packing his belongings long before class has even ended, and cannot help but feel puzzled.

Although they have only been enrolled for a few days, he has come to know this classmate of his own clan reasonably well.

Even though the theories Iruka Sensei is teaching have long since been explained to him by his older brother, Uchiha Hui listens with exceptional focus.

Thinking of the rumors within the clan, Sasuke understands Hui's diligence. However, this is the first time Sasuke has seen such a situation.

After class, seeing Hui packing his bag and preparing to head home, Sasuke speaks up.

"Hui, why are you in such a hurry today?"

Hui replies without turning his head: "Sorry, Sasuke-sa... Sasuke, my father is going to teach me ninjutsu today, so I must be off."

Before he can even finish his sentence, Hui vanishes from before Sasuke's eyes.

Sasuke is left stunned. Then, an image of his own father flashes through his mind. Forget it, I'll just go home and find my brother; I want to learn ninjutsu too! Sasuke thinks to himself.

Upon returning home, Hui impatiently seeks out his father.

"Father, you promised that you would teach me ninjutsu today. I want to learn Fire Release..."

"Don't be in such a rush; let's talk while we eat." Seeing Hui's hurried state, Chuanhe gestures for him to sit down and eat first.

"Hui, since you want to learn ninjutsu, do you know what chakra is?"

Hui is full of confusion, reciting the answer he learned at school.

"Chakra is the result of mixing physical energy and spiritual energy in a one-to-one ratio."

"Then, does that mean chakra is energy? Energy plus energy equals energy—that is the logic, correct?" Chuanhe asks in return.

Hui stammers, unable to say a word. Seeing Hui like this, Chuanhe smiles slightly.

"So, is chakra matter or energy?"

"Calm yourself down, think it through properly, and then answer me."

Hui slowly settles his flustered heart, recalling the techniques his father taught him in the past—methods his father referred to as test-taking skills.

"Chakra is matter. But Father, what is the use of this? I want to learn ninjutsu! Not this theory I've been studying for so long," Hui says slowly, his tone tinged with dissatisfaction.

"How did you arrive at that conclusion?" Chuanhe asks.

"Father, the questions you ask are clearly telling me that chakra is matter. But what good is that? Theory, theory, after studying theory for so long, the only thing I can do is the Fire Ball Technique I figured out on my own. The obscure Sealing Technique you taught me is basically useless in actual combat," Hui says, losing control of his emotions.

Is this really the result of the ninjutsu training he has been looking forward to for so long?

"I want to become a ninja, a powerful ninja. To protect my comrades, protect the village, protect... protect... you, Father!" Hui's emotions spiral out of control, and he blurts out the words from the bottom of his heart.

"Is it those rumors within the clan? Hui, you don't need to care about that; I don't care about..."

"But I do! As long as I become strong enough, they won't dare to say anything!" Hui interrupts directly.

"I can understand your feelings. Everything is a step-by-step process. If the strength you seek is like that game you used to like—where you treat characters like trash and just spam skills to kill your opponent—then you can just pretend the question I asked earlier didn't exist," Chuanhe says, stunned for a moment before looking at Hui calmly.

"I'm sorry, Father, I... I just now..." Suppressing his inner emotions, Hui says, feeling embarrassed.

"Hui, I am very gratified that you have this heart. A ninja is not powerful simply because their techniques are powerful. Whether chakra is matter or energy—that answer is important, but the process of thinking is even more so."

"For now, I won't tell you why chakra is matter. Take this conclusion and use it to study the ninjutsu I am about to teach you."

Hui calms his emotions and looks back at his father. Before he can even wonder why he needs to "study" it, Chuanhe puts down his bowl and chopsticks and stands up.

"Since you want to learn ninjutsu so badly, I will teach you a technique first."

Hui watches as his father performs a simple hand seal, causing water to surge from his hands and form a mirror. A person identical to Hui steps out from the mirror.

"This technique is called the Water Mirror Technique. It can create an opponent with the same power. Ninjutsu, taijutsu—even things I don't know, this clone will possess."

Seeing someone exactly like himself step out of the mirror, Hui feels a shiver run through his entire body. Then, an unprecedented excitement suppresses that feeling.

Finally, finally, he can end this endless study of theory. Although Hui doesn't know what "theory" really means, the moment he sees this technique, he feels as if his hardships have finally come to an end.

Setting down his bowl and chopsticks, Hui mimics the hand seals his father just performed. His speed is not much slower than Chuanhe's.

"Look, Father, I don't need to learn the seals anymore. What comes after this technique? How should I practice it?"

"I have already taught you everything I can. The rest you must develop yourself," Chuanhe says unhurriedly.

Hui's hands freeze in mid-air, then slowly lower. Just as he is about to ask, his father speaks.

"The ninjutsu and theory you have learned are enough for you to develop this technique. You've finished eating, right? I need to get to work. I will wait for your good news tomorrow morning."

With that, Chuanhe clears the table, puts the dishes in the kitchen, and walks straight toward his workshop, leaving Hui in a state of utter confusion.

Me? Develop the Water Mirror Technique? In one night? Are you kidding me? And you jerk of a father, you didn't even teach me any Water Release ninjutsu!

Hui walks mechanically to the kitchen and turns on the faucet to wash the dishes. Countless thoughts fly through his mind. Looking at the water before him, Hui impulsively fills a bowl. His father once said:

"There is nothing in this world that water cannot dissolve."

Chakra is matter, which means water can dissolve chakra?

Hui holds the bowl of water, unable to wait, and begins to experiment. He continuously pours his own chakra into the bowl, until he has injected all the chakra he has currently refined into the oily water before him.

Closing his eyes and dipping his fingers into the water, Hui begins to sense it with focus.

Yes! There really was! His chakra was indeed present in the water, though it vanished so quickly that even he could no longer sense it.

So, was the water in the Water Mirror Technique meant for this? Chakra is a form of matter, so it seemed it might actually be useful. Hui thought to himself.

But how should he proceed with the next steps? Water could dissolve chakra, but that didn't seem to offer any substantial progress toward developing the ninjutsu.

Hui began to recall the ninjutsu he knew. His father had said that the techniques and theories he possessed were sufficient to develop this jutsu. Since his father had said so, and the ninjutsu was within reach, Hui had no reason to give up.

Fire Ball Technique, Sealing Technique, Substitution Technique, Transformation Technique, Clone Technique. Wait, Clone Technique?