Wuji and Fu (Part 2)

"Big Sister Fu, what are we learning today? Are we still doing those bone exercises? You're not going to beat me up again, are you?" At the start of a new week, Ye Wuji asked after Fu arrived.

"Come with me today." Fu didn't explain further. She led Ye Wuji to a waterfall in a secluded part of the village. It was about ten meters high.

"Today, I'll teach you some ninjutsu. After observing you for the past few days, I've found that you're good at controlling chakra, and you have enough chakra to learn some techniques. You already know about chakra, so I'll teach you about shape transformation and nature transformation." Fu stood in the water in front of the waterfall and explained.

"Okay." Ye Wuji was thrilled. He'd finally made it through the hard part and could learn ninjutsu.

Fu suddenly produced a piece of paper from her palm. It was very white. Looking at it, Ye Wuji thought, Could this be Chakra Paper, used to test chakra affinities? I'll finally find out what my affinities are. I hope I have every affinity. Even if I don't, at least give me three or four! Orochimaru and Kakashi both have three or four affinities. Orochimaru has Wind, Earth, and Fire, while Kakashi has Water, Fire, Lightning, and Earth. He's only one short of having every affinity. The thought startled Ye Wuji. He'd never noticed before that Kakashi had four chakra natures. Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique, Earth Release: Headhunter Jutsu, Great Fireball Technique, and Kakashi's own Lightning Release: Lightning Blade. Don't assume Kakashi could use these techniques only because he could copy them with his Sharingan. Without the corresponding chakra nature, you can't use a nature transformation to perform a technique. Have you ever seen Kakashi use Wind Release? If he'd copied a Wind Release technique, he could have used it. As for Kakashi using the Rasengan, don't forget that it has no chakra nature. Whether to use natureless chakra or chakra with a nature was up to the user.

"Do you know what this is?" Fu asked.

"I don't." Ye Wuji shook his head.

"This is Chakra Paper. It's made from a kind of tree that absorbs chakra and grows. As the name suggests, it can detect a ninja's chakra natures. Now let's test yours."

"What are chakra natures?" Ye Wuji asked, pretending not to know.

"Chakra generally has five natures: Fire, Wind, Water, Lightning, and Earth. The kinds of ninjutsu a ninja can use depend on their own chakra natures. To use Fire Release, you need Fire nature chakra; to use Water Release, you need Water nature chakra. And so on. Do you understand?" Fu finished explaining and asked him.

"Got it. What if I don't have Fire nature chakra but insist on using Fire Release Ninjutsu?" Ye Wuji asked.

"Nothing much. You'll just fail to use the technique. Of course, if you really need to use one, you can use something with a Fire nature, like an Explosive Tag, or a scroll with a technique already sealed inside it. You can learn about those later. For now, let's test your chakra natures." As she spoke, Fu placed the Chakra Paper in Ye Wuji's hand.

"So how do I use it?" Ye Wuji knew perfectly well, but asked anyway.

"Just release your chakra into the paper. If it's Fire, it'll catch fire; Water will make it wet; Wind will cut it in half; Lightning will crumple it; and Earth will make it crumble. Go on, let's see what your natures are."

"Okay." Ye Wuji nodded eagerly, imagining that one corner of the paper would get wet, another would crumple, another would catch fire, and another would be cut in half, while the middle crumbled. That would mean he had every nature, just like the legends said. Hahaha!

That was what Ye Wuji hoped would happen, but reality soon disappointed him. The Chakra Paper in his hand had only gotten wet, with no other reaction. Did he have only Water nature chakra?

"Not bad! You have the same nature as me, so I'll be able to teach you better." Fu said, but when she saw Ye Wuji looking a little dejected, her tone changed. "What, aren't you happy to have the same nature as me?"

"Huh?" Hearing that, Ye Wuji hurriedly waved his hands and asked, "Big Sister Fu, no, that's not it. Um, how many chakra natures do you have?"

"Oh, so that's it. I was wondering why you suddenly looked unhappy. Let me tease him a little. Me? Of course I have three natures. Impressive, huh?"

"Then doesn't having only one mean I'm really weak?" Ye Wuji murmured.

"Haha, you're already giving up? This test only shows your primary nature," Fu said with a laugh. "Don't be so discouraged. Chakra nature tests also depend on how much chakra you have. Once you have more chakra, other natures may emerge. Most jonin can use two chakra natures, and most people in the world have two, so don't worry. You'll have at least two. Some people have three, and some even have four."

So that's how it works. You scared me, Ye Wuji thought.

"Big Sister Fu, if you have three natures, you must be really strong. Are there people with all five?" Ye Wuji wanted to know if anyone had every nature. At the moment, it seemed that Nagato was the only one.

"There probably are, though I've never heard of any. But the Shinobi World is huge, so it's only natural that a few people have every nature. Still, Ye, you shouldn't aim too high too soon. A ninja's strength isn't determined by how many natures they have, but by how much of their strength they can bring out. Chakra natures also need to be trained. Even someone with all five would probably only be skilled with a few. Mastering them all would take a lot of time and a lot of chakra." At this point, she tapped Ye Wuji on the head again.

"Now I'll teach you your first ninjutsu: Water Clone Technique. Listen carefully." Fu explained how to form the Hand Seals, draw out chakra, and circulate it, along with the other key points.

Beneath the waterfall, Fu taught and Ye Wuji learned. Neither of them noticed two figures standing in a tree above the falls.

"Takikage-sama, is it all right for Lady Fu to do this—to teach our village's ninjutsu to outsiders?" One of the two was the Takikage. Judging by the other one's mask, they were probably Anbu.

"It doesn't matter. Fu told me about it. These are only basic techniques, and they can be learned elsewhere, too. If Fu enjoys teaching them, let her. She won't teach him the village's techniques. Besides, this gives her something to do, which is good for her." Watching Fu tap Ye Wuji on the head and smile as she corrected his hand signs, the Takikage replied.

"Yes, Lady Fu hasn't smiled so happily in a long time. If it makes her happy, we could even let her teach him other techniques."

"Fu's happiness is important, but we can't give away the village's interests. This boy's pretty good." The Takikage praised Ye Wuji, who was already starting to form a Water Clone.

"Yes. From what we've observed, he has an extraordinary ability to control chakra. He may not have much chakra, but his spiritual energy is very strong. He'll surely make a good sensor ninja."

"When will they arrive? With Fu here, I never feel entirely secure. It'd be better to have him spend a few years in Sunagakure."

"According to the reports, the Third Kazekage is also concerned about the situation here and has already sent people. Since the war is about to end, the Third Kazekage can't leave the village, so please understand, Takikage-sama. He has sent enough skilled fighters, though. Even if someone comes to interfere, there won't be a problem." From the Anbu's tone, it was clear he was actually from Sunagakure.

"How is the war going? When will it end?" the Takikage asked.

"Konoha's Sannin—Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade—have clashed with Hanzo of Amegakure several times. I hear they're preparing for a decisive battle. The ninjas of every nation are beginning to retreat toward their borders. Once the battle between Hanzo and the Sannin is decided, the war will end, and negotiations will follow."

"I see. When will the doctor we sent for return? The Daimyo's poison can't wait. Have you looked into the doctor's background?" the Takikage continued.

"We've already checked. He's a wandering doctor with excellent medical skills who travels from country to country. I hear he does it to hone his skills and help those in need. He has an excellent reputation, and we haven't found anything suspicious. Oh, his name is Shennong."

"Have Anbu bring the doctor back as soon as possible. We must act quickly. We just replaced the Daimyo; we can't replace him again, or people will laugh at the Land of Waterfalls for failing to protect its own Daimyo." The Takikage spoke sternly, his tone growing more forceful.

"Yes, sir. I'll pass on the order right away."

"Very good. You managed to bring out a clone in such a short time. Keep practicing. You need to make it indistinguishable from the real you. If it doesn't look like its original, there's no point in learning it."

So Clone Techniques really are different. Ye Wuji compared the Water Clone Technique Fu had taught him with the one Yahiko had taught him. Their power and hand signs were about the same, but Yahiko's version used a little less chakra—not much less, though.

This time, Ye Wuji didn't pretend he was learning from scratch. After all, he'd already practiced the Water Clone Technique. The two versions weren't exactly the same, but they were very similar. There were a few tricky points, but they didn't stump him.

A few days passed, and Ye Wuji had become quite proficient with the Water Clone Technique. Fu then taught him another technique, and it thrilled him. This was arguably Ye Wuji's first offensive ninjutsu in the Naruto World.

Water Release: Water Blade. It was a Water Blade, not an Ice Blade. It shaped water into a kunai. The hand signs for this Water Release technique were simple, but drawing out the chakra and circulating it through the body were extremely complicated. Even with Ye Wuji's chakra control, it took him three days to produce a rough shape. It wasn't hard enough to chop through even a wooden stick. Once perfected, however, the technique formed an ice kunai that could clash with a real kunai. It was a secret technique of Takigakure, and apparently very few people in other countries knew it.

At first, Ye Wuji thought it was Ice Release, and got excited. He'd thought Water Release could create something like Ice Release. If so, the Yuki Clan's Kekkei Genkai wouldn't seem like anything special. But in the end, it really was just Water Release, which left Ye Wuji disappointed.

From then on, Ye Wuji kept learning ninjutsu and Taijutsu from Fu, and sometimes they sparred. As before, when he'd trained with the Fourth Hokage, Ye Wuji could only get beaten up.