Chakra Training

I had to admit, Jiraiya really did play favorites.

Once he confirmed that Nagato truly possessed the Rinnegan, Jiraiya immediately resolved to teach Chiba and the others properly.

There was no doubt that Jiraiya was rather excited at that moment.

In Jiraiya's eyes, the child before him who possessed the legendary eyes of the Sage of Six Paths might well be the Child of Destiny he had been searching for all along.

Nagato's ideal of pursuing peace, inherited from Yahiko, along with his desire to become Jiraiya's student and the chance that had brought them together, all fit remarkably well with certain aspects of the prophecy.

All of this only made Jiraiya more certain of his conclusion.

And so, under Nagato's influence, Jiraiya finally accepted Chiba and the others as his students.

Although Jiraiya had said he would teach them some ways to protect themselves, all of them understood that he had really changed his mind because of Nagato.

Still, none of that really mattered. No matter what, Chiba and the others were finally about to begin their ninjutsu training in earnest.

"First, I'll explain the basic principles of chakra, along with a few especially important things to keep in mind. You need to listen carefully and remember them."

"Then I'll teach you how to gather chakra and the specific steps involved."

"After that, we'll cover some knowledge about chakra and its nature transformations. You may not have much use for this at first, but if you want to go far on the path of a ninja, you must remember it well."

Jiraiya didn't need to remind them. Chiba and the others were already taking notes with exceptional care, not daring to slack off in the slightest.

There was no way they would end up like Naruto and Kiba, lazing around as if they were being herded like sheep, sleeping and skipping class instead of studying.

It was no exaggeration to say that they had risked their lives for this chance to learn ninjutsu. That was why they cherished it more than anyone.

It took three days for Jiraiya to teach them most of the miscellaneous facts and fundamentals they needed to memorize beforehand.

"That's enough for now when it comes to the fundamentals. I'll teach you more as we continue your training. Next, it's time to begin your actual practice."

As he spoke, Jiraiya had them sit cross-legged.

According to him, this posture made it easier to focus and improved the effectiveness of their training.

The four children quickly and carefully assumed the positions Jiraiya had shown them.

Once they were seated, Chiba and the others looked excited.

They were finally going to come into contact with chakra for real and become ninjas.

Jiraiya then formed several portions of chakra and placed them in the palms of their hands, beginning his explanation.

"Generally speaking, you need a certain foundation to train in chakra, such as a strong body and a focused mind. Fortunately, you're all in decent shape in those areas. Now I'll go over the steps in detail."

As Jiraiya explained, Chiba and the others focused their attention on the warm chakra resting in their hands.

There was no denying that having a teacher made a huge difference.

It was like someone who had never seen a tiger before. No matter how people described its color or its gaping jaws, he would probably find it hard to imagine what a tiger actually looked like.

But once someone showed him a picture of a tiger, he would understand what it looked like without needing any further explanation.

The situation here was much the same.

Before they had encountered chakra, no matter how much they imagined it, they couldn't have known how to produce it. Even though Chiba knew chakra was a mixture of spiritual and physical energy, he still couldn't have figured out how to form it.

But now that Jiraiya had given them a working model, everything became much clearer.

Before long, Chiba and the others began extracting chakra one after another.

Nagato was unquestionably the fastest. As someone who possessed the Rinnegan, he might already have been familiar with this kind of energy; perhaps his body had even produced chakra on its own.

He took less than five minutes to extract chakra.

Konan was the second fastest, though it took her much longer—an entire hour.

Then came Chiba, who took about an hour and fifteen minutes.

Finally, much to Chiba's surprise, Yahiko was the slowest, taking more than an hour and a half.

They didn't understand what their results meant, but Jiraiya, standing right beside them, couldn't help being surprised.

Jiraiya wasn't surprised that Nagato had mastered chakra so quickly. Judging by how he had killed that ninja earlier, Nagato had already learned to use chakra to some extent.

What really surprised Jiraiya was how quickly Konan and the others had extracted chakra.

"I didn't expect it, but you're all geniuses."

Jiraiya went on to explain in detail.

"Considering your age and physical condition, anyone who manages to gather chakra for the first time within three hours can generally be called a genius. At the very least, they have an advantage in Yin Release—that is, in the strength and control of their spiritual energy. All of you did very well, especially Konan. You were outstanding."

Hearing Jiraiya say that, Konan blushed slightly with excitement.

Chiba glanced at Konan. He could guess why his spiritual energy was so strong: he had a soul twice the size of an ordinary person's. But Konan being even better than him in that regard was truly surprising.

Yahiko on the other hand wasn't bad either. If Chiba hadn't had a special advantage, he probably wouldn't have been able to keep up with the others.

Seeing Yahiko dejected about coming in last, Jiraiya laughed heartily.

"Don't get too discouraged, Yahiko. You have your own strengths. Your body is very strong, and that will bring you plenty of benefits too. In fact, it'll be much more obvious in battle than having strong spiritual energy."

At that, Chiba couldn't help asking, "How long did it take you to extract chakra, Jiraiya-sensei?"

"Ahem." Jiraiya looked at Chiba with some embarrassment, then quickly changed the subject.

"How could I possibly remember something from so long ago? Never mind that. The next test usually matters more to a ninja's future. It directly affects their combat strength."

As he spoke, Jiraiya took out several sheets of paper that looked perfectly ordinary.

While Konan and the others stared at the sheets curiously, Chiba already knew what they were.

Those must be chakra test papers. I wonder what my nature will be.

Chiba stared at the paper before him, guessing over and over what his chakra nature might be. He couldn't help growing excited.