Lesson Three: Light and Electromagnetic Force

After a happy day of study, Naruto went back to continue practicing his Fire Style.

Sasuke, meanwhile, went back to rest.

And Hui had to return to attend his own lessons.

Once again, father and son sat face-to-face at the table.

"Hui, you must have noticed by now. According to what I taught you before, ninjutsu is actually a pseudo-matter created by ninjas."

"This applies to both the Five Elements nature transformations and Kekkei Genkai."

"But matter is still matter; the destructive power of chakra as a substance in the macroscopic world is simply exaggerated."

"Hui, think about how we should interpret this phenomenon."

Hui lowered his head and pondered for a long time, eventually shaking his head to indicate his confusion.

This kind of question was still too difficult for him.

Chuanhe smiled and once again tore a sheet of paper from Hui's notebook.

He then slowly tore it in half right in front of Hui.

He then asked, "What did you notice during this process, Hui?"

Hui, who had been full of confidence, felt deeply discouraged. He didn't understand anything at all.

He couldn't even grasp what Chuanhe was asking.

Seeing his son's bewildered expression, Chuanhe continued.

"I once told you that the movement of all matter in this world can be described by four fundamental forces."

"So, Hui, in the process just now, was it the electromagnetic force connecting the two parts of the paper that broke?"

Hui finally indicated that he understood.

Then, Wind Style chakra surged in Chuanhe's hand, and he used a hand blade to slice one of the halves in two.

"Now look again, the paper has been cut in half once more. Does this mean the electromagnetic force connecting those two pieces of paper was severed again?"

Hui hesitated for a moment before nodding.

So, what did this have to do with the abnormal destructive power of chakra?

"Haha, Hui, it is normal not to understand."

"Keep this phenomenon in mind and continue listening to me."

Chuanhe formed hand seals.

[Summoning Technique]

A necklace appeared in his hand, with a small metal sphere hanging from it.

"This is my auxiliary weapon; it will be yours after today's lesson ends."

"As for how well you can use it, that depends on your understanding."

Hui felt a fluctuation of chakra, and slowly, the entire room plunged into darkness.

Is this that genjutsu? No, there are chakra fluctuations.

Hui watched as a three-dimensional star map appeared in the room before him.

What kind of genjutsu could achieve so many effects at once?

Hui was slightly puzzled.

He saw the sun in the center shining with scorching light, with eight planets orbiting it.

"Because today's lesson is a bit abstract, we will use a question-and-answer format to understand it."

"The first question: does the action of force require time?"

Hui knew the answer to the question immediately; it was obvious that Chuanhe was telling him that the action of force requires time.

But why?

Hui began to think: if force acted without requiring time, what would happen?

Looking at the solar system in front of him, Hui's thoughts flew, and for some reason, he thought of interstellar communication.

If force had no action time, wouldn't information be able to be transmitted without delay?

In short, it would exceed the speed of light.

The speed of light is the fastest speed in this universe.

This statement is slightly incorrect; in fact, it should be said that the speed of information transmission cannot exceed the "speed of light."

Because the speed of light can actually change; it varies in different media.

Doesn't this phenomenon conflict with the idea of force acting without delay?

In other words, the action of force requires time.

Hui excitedly explained his thought process to Chuanhe.

Chuanhe nodded in satisfaction.

"Second question: the application of force requires time, so what do you think force is?"

Could this familiar line of questioning be asking whether force is matter or energy again?

That didn't seem right; those were completely different concepts. So why would force require time to act?

Matter... energy!

That was it—the requirement of time implied the participation of matter.

Only when the movement of matter is involved does the concept of time emerge.

After a long while, he finally perfected his line of reasoning.

Taking the "sun" before him as an example, force did not act upon the surrounding planets out of thin air.

Rather, there were unknown particles colliding between the two.

It was simple: energy exists based on matter.

The existence of force brings new energy to the corresponding matter.

This meant that unknown matter was participating in this process.

Hui felt as though his previous understanding of force had completely collapsed; in reality, there was no such thing as "force."

There was only matter, nothing but matter.

People simply labeled this phenomenon as force.

Take gravity as an example: the sun pulling on the planets.

It was because there were intermediary particles (gravitons) between the sun and the planets, carrying and transferring energy.

The final result was the macroscopic phenomenon of gravity.

Hui once again shared his discovery with Chuanhe.

Chuanhe nodded in satisfaction once more and said, "These intermediary particles are called gauge bosons. Of course, I prefer a name that is easier to understand: they are also called mediator particles."

Hui's confusion returned. He understood what force was, but what did this have to do with chakra?

"Father, could it be that these mediator particles are related to chakra?"

Chuanhe laughed heartily.

"Exactly, exactly. Electromagnetic force is one of the four fundamental forces. Do you know what its mediator particle is?"

Hui looked troubled. If he knew that, why would he even need to attend these lessons?

"Take a guess. I've already given you such an obvious hint; you should be able to figure it out."

Chuanhe looked at Hui with an expectant expression.

Hui pondered for a moment, then blurted out, "Light?!"

"So that's it, so that's it!"

Hui had a sudden realization, and his entire being was swept up in an inexplicable excitement.

"Oh? Then why don't you explain it to me?"

Hui began to recount his understanding.

The mediator particle of electromagnetic force is light; if the transmission of light is cut off, it means the electromagnetic force is cut off.

Chuanhe had previously mentioned that chakra is a substance roughly the size of light.

Combining this with the fact that the mediator particle of electromagnetic force is light, it perfectly explained why the destructive power of chakra was so astonishing.

Chakra was merely interfering with the transmission of light, only doing so more efficiently than a macroscopic human could.

As long as the transmission of light was cut off—no! Perhaps only a slight interference was needed.

Macroscopically, it would be like that piece of paper being split in two.

The reason why heated metal becomes soft could also be explained this way.

Because light visible to the naked eye appears, it means the electromagnetic force holding the matter together has weakened.

"Not bad, not bad. That last point is one I've never heard before. A fine association."

Chuanhe did not skimp on his praise.

"Father, does this mean that the [Magnet Release] of Sunagakure is very strong? If one could truly master it thoroughly, wouldn't they be able to strip all matter down to its atomic state?"

"That would be the true [Dust Release]!"

Hui was very excited as he made these connections.

Hearing this, Chuanhe was stunned.

"Hui, since you've already thought this far, why not consider this: based on current phenomena, is Magnet Release truly the magnetism we know?"

Hui's excited expression froze. Not magnetism?

Recalling the descriptions in the study—controlling iron sand, gold dust, and sand—Hui furrowed his brows. It really didn't seem to be. This Kekkei Genkai appeared to only allow the manipulation of one specific corresponding substance via chakra.

Hui said with some frustration, "It really doesn't seem to be. Why did those people in Sunagakure give it such a misleading name?"

Chuanhe smiled slightly. "There has never been an omnipotent technique in this world. However, this Magnet Release is strong enough; they just don't know how to use it."

"Precise control over a single substance is an absolute godsend for any machine."

Chuanhe paused, looking at Hui before him.

"You asked before how I solved the problem of being a target due to slow flight."

"Well, for starters, my flight speed is already enough to eliminate the vast majority of those issues."

"Hui, think about it: dodging an enemy's attack versus making it impossible for the enemy to find a target—which is better?"

Hui was slightly stunned by the question, looking at the galaxy before him as he found the answer.

"Father, do you mean using True Illusion so the enemy doesn't know where our true bodies are? But illusions can be seen through."

Chuanhe pointed to the sun in front of them.

"Hui, why don't you try touching this sun with your hand?"

Hui reached out, feeling puzzled. What could be special about an illusionary creation?

Before he even made contact, Hui realized something was wrong.

This sun actually had a temperature.

How was this achieved?

If one were a master of illusion, they could indeed affect the five senses.

But Hui was certain that his hand was genuinely being burned.

"This isn't an illusion?" Hui voiced his question.

Chuanhe smiled mysteriously and said, "I call it True Illusion. Reality and falsehood, truth and deception—it makes it impossible for the enemy to distinguish between them."

"This is the product of combining multiple abilities. It isn't as simple as just a single illusion."

"In this process, I only provide the chakra. Everything else is completed by this necklace."

"Hui, everyone has an upper limit to their control ability."

"Day after day, year after year, they practice ninjutsu, yet most ninja can only master a few C-rank techniques."

"Humans are, after all, human, and humans make mistakes."

"That is why I invented this. Some mechanical tasks simply do not need to occupy our cognitive space."

"You are also correct, because this is not just a simple illusion; it also involves the participation of the Five Elements Release."

"This is a 16-Core Ninjutsu Core I created using the Soul Sealing Technique. With simple pre-programming, it can release 16 types of ninjutsu simultaneously."

"Be careful when you inject your chakra. If you are too rough, the internal core will be damaged."

Soul Sealing Technique? A core? Could it be... a soul?

Hui shuddered. Had his father imprisoned 16 souls inside this thing?

Chuanhe noticed Hui's unease.

"Rest assured, ever since then, I have followed the oath I made to Yuki as much as possible."

"These cores are actually blank Shadow Clone Technique remnants that cannot return to the main body."

"The techniques invented by the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, are truly outrageous, and their potential is immense."

"A shadow clone, while not a real person, can think independently."

"But this blank shadow clone cannot think; it can only repeat tasks mechanically."

There was such a use for it?

Hui looked at the small necklace in shock.

"The Shadow Clone Technique can inherently be used to perform composite ninjutsu; the Third Hokage's signature moves were developed based on this."

Chuanhe deactivated the technique through the necklace and handed it to Hui.

"Happy birthday, Hui! This is your birthday gift."

Chuanhe patted Hui on the head.

Hui was stunned. "My birthday isn't for another three months..."

Hui seemed to understand something, taking the necklace and putting it on.

He had grown another year older, even if only on a soul level.

The necklace felt heavy; hearing his father's description, he knew this item must have taken a great deal of effort to create.

It seems this necklace is a bit too much of a cheat.

Hui looked at his own hands; did he really need to learn ninjutsu?

This necklace alone could solve all of his problems.

What were once jokes had now become reality.

Holding this necklace, he could truly become one of those game characters who could crush people to death just by casually tossing out skills.

Watching Hui fall into silence, Chuanhe patted him on the shoulder.

"This necklace is indeed quite powerful, but the strong are never strong just because of their equipment; to forge iron, one must be strong oneself."

"Hui, do you remember that ninjutsu you developed called the Scrap Gauntlet?"

"Back then, because your foundation wasn't strong enough, you used it to urge yourself forward."

Chakra surged in Chuanhe's hand, forming a gauntlet identical to the one from back then.

"How can you give up on moving forward now because of such a trivial matter?"

Chuanhe held the gauntlet up to Hui's eyes.

Looking at this familiar technique, Hui's confusion dissipated.

Although today's lesson had ended, Hui suddenly discovered a small problem.

It seemed Chuanhe had forgotten to tell him whether self-awareness was actually the fifth fundamental force.