Advancement! Chakra Shape Manipulation

Early in the morning, the mist over Konoha began to dissipate.

The streets were already seeing a trickle of people, and the breakfast bun shops had opened their doors early, serving the first customers of the day—some early risers and others finishing their late-night shifts.

Residents on the second and third floors began to open their windows.

Behind the mist lay a gentle, warm sunlight; no one would refuse such beauty.

This was Konoha, a place of peace and tranquility.

At the corner of the street stood a flower shop; though the storefront was small, the interior was filled with a rich variety of flowers, all competing in beauty.

"Ino! Your classmate is waiting for you!"

"Ha~ coming~"

Yamanaka Sae, Ino's mother, possessed a lovely face much like her daughter's.

One could hardly tell she was already a married woman as she turned her head gently to say to Neji, "Wait just a moment, okay!"

"Mn."

"By the way, have the teams been reassigned? How come I haven't seen you before?"

Faced with Sae's question, Neji fell silent.

"Don't tell me? You wouldn't happen to be my daughter's boyfriend, would you?"

Sae's eyes widened as she glanced furtively toward the staircase inside, fearing that Ino might come running down at that very moment.

Neji swallowed hard and hurriedly explained, "Auntie, please don't misunderstand. Ino and I have just been practicing together lately..."

"Alright, alright, no need to explain!"

He had expected Sae to be a bit angry, but to his surprise, her face flushed slightly as she looked at Neji with a mischievous smirk.

She then carefully selected a flower from the merchandise in front of her and plucked it out.

It looked somewhat like a chrysanthemum, but it was a deep, purplish-red.

"Here, take it, young man! Since you're so outstanding, you must treat our Ino well!"

Sae was already beaming with joy, while cold sweat trickled down Neji's back; why was this turning out so differently than he had imagined?

"Ah, this..."

"Take it! If you don't take it, does that mean you look down on our Ino?"

Neji was forced to accept the flower, a wry smile on his face.

"I'm coming! Let's go quickly, or we'll be late!"

Ino rushed down the stairs, immediately grabbed Neji's hand, and pulled him away at high speed.

"Hey now, what's the rush, child! Your genin headband!" Seeing a headband on the table, Sae picked it up and tossed it over.

Neji was forced to follow Ino, and as the headband was thrown from behind, he caught it with a swift motion.

"Young man, take good care of my daughter!" Sae made a waving gesture, her eyes crinkling into a smile as she looked at Neji.

They hadn't run far before Ino stopped, panting heavily.

"Why run so fast? It's so early, we wouldn't have been late."

After catching her breath, Ino put her hands on her hips and asked, "Well? My mom didn't say anything weird to you, did she?"

As she spoke, she took the headband Neji handed her and tied it around her head.

"Mn... no." Neji hesitated, but kept his thoughts to himself.

"Eh? A cosmos? But... it's a daisy."

Ino took the flower from Neji's hand, glanced at it casually, and handed it back to him.

"What is it?"

"I like cosmos flowers, but daisies are different. The love of a cosmos is fiery and unrestrained, but the love of a daisy is hidden and cautious. Such love is just too painful."

Ino had been speaking eloquently, but then she suddenly looked at Neji, at that handsome face.

Even every look in his eyes made one forget that he was just a boy.

The passion and masculinity he didn't lack during battle, the gentleness and maturity in his gaze, and all his quick-witted reactions...

"Cough! Who are you planning to give that to? I haven't seen you with anyone you like~" Ino asked tentatively.

Neji pondered for a moment; the first person who came to mind was Hinata.

But that was the most sincere and pure protection one could offer a younger sister, and finding himself troubled by such a question, he simply said, "I'll give it to you."

After all, it had been forced upon him by Ino's mother, so it was as good as returning it.

Ino took it, unable to believe her luck, her eyes revealing joy she couldn't hide.

She stood stunned for a few seconds in disbelief, then shyly tucked the flower into her hair and clenched her fists tightly.

He gave me a flower? Could it be that he likes me?

My dream guy!

A single flower was all it took to completely conquer her heart. Along the way, Ino felt as if her heart were blooming, and though she didn't show it, she was like a cosmos flower turning its face toward the sun.

Neji wasn't bothered by this; he just felt like laughing.

After an entire morning, Asuma had thoroughly lectured the five genin on the basics of chakra.

He had explained the nature and application of chakra in great detail, followed by some simple practical training.

While everyone else was already getting the hang of it, it was clearly not enough for Neji.

After assigning practice drills to the others, Asuma brought Neji to a different training ground.

This place was near the Konoha Waterfall; looking up, one could see the grand, wide, and long cascade.

"Nature transformation is the ability to sense the flow of Wind Style chakra within your own chakra."

Asuma was still speaking when Neji plucked a few leaves and held them between his fingers.

He activated his chakra. "Cut!"

The leaves were sliced open, several of them fluttering down at once.

Seeing this scene, Asuma was shocked.

"Neji, you can actually use chakra nature transformation?"

"Asuma-sensei, I need to become truly strong."

Looking at the burning fire in his eyes, Asuma let out a breath.

"Neji, you truly are a talent worth molding. It is my honor to teach you."

He said, "Do you know how to use any Wind Style ninjutsu?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than Neji turned around and began forming hand seals with lightning speed.

"Wind Style: Gale Palm!"

After finishing the seals, Neji thrust his palms forward.

A powerful hurricane erupted from his palms, converging to form an even more intense gale that surged rapidly in one direction.

The forest in the distance had its branches whipped into a hideous frenzy; at that distance, it looked as if a tornado had touched down.

"Oh? You've already reached this level?"

Asuma felt even more gratified. For an excellent teacher, it isn't necessarily easier to teach low-level skills; rather, being able to teach a student more advanced techniques feels far more natural and satisfying.

He drew his specialized weapon—a blade-shaped weapon with four holes for his fingers.

"This thing is called Flying Swallow."

Asuma held the Flying Swallow, quickly formed hand seals, and thrust his palms out.

"Wind Style: Gale Palm!"

The chakra blades formed by the Flying Swallow were mixed into the technique.

The violent storm surged through the air, creating thousands of blade-shaped Wind Blades!

The Wind Blades followed the hurricane, creating what looked like a sword formation in the forest. This time, it wasn't just the branches thrashing about; it was as if they were dancing wildly. The branches were sliced apart one by one by the Wind Blades, dancing in the wind before falling to the ground. The power was the same, but the lethality was on an entirely different level!

Neji was startled and took a step back. The sensation in the air instantly reminded him of that night.

Even when facing Orochimaru, he hadn't faltered, yet he had been completely suppressed that night. Baki, who could use shape transformation—the wounds from his Wind Blade began to ache faintly. Neji touched the scar on the inside of his left arm.

"This is the advancement of chakra nature transformation: chakra shape transformation. Mastering shape transformation is the only way to truly increase the power of your ninjutsu."

"Wind Style..."

Asuma was still explaining when he suddenly noticed that Neji had already begun forming hand seals.

His eyes were focused, and his hand seals were even more precise this time.

"No way? He learned it just like that?" Asuma muttered to himself, a bead of cold sweat rolling down his face.

"Gale Palm!"

After finishing the seals, Neji thrust his palms forward, and a powerful whirlwind surged into existence!