A Turnaround

The first D-rank ninjutsu Jiraiya taught Chiba was Earth Flow Spear.

The technique was simple: it attacked an enemy's lower body by shooting a pointed earthen spear up from the ground.

Well, the technique was actually pretty sleazy. Even Chiba thought it was an absolute magnet for grudges.

He'd only just decided to develop himself into a tank, and Jiraiya had already taught him a taunt of a technique like this.

In fact, it was also a prerequisite for many later techniques, such as Rock Pillar Spear and Earth Rising Spear.

Many other Earth Style techniques worked on much the same principle.

For Earth Style ninja, this technique was practically essential.

So, as soon as Chiba learned it, he resolved to master it.

Who said Earth Style ninjutsu was weak? Maybe one day he'd use a simple technique like this to pierce through anything.

Chiba's enthusiasm for training surged. Every day, he practiced relentlessly, working hard to gain greater strength.

However, it didn't take long for him to recognize the gap between reality and his ideals.

Watching Yahiko, Konan, and the others training hard in the distance, Chiba felt conflicted.

He knew the gap between them would gradually widen, but he hadn't expected it to happen so quickly.

They were all learning D-rank ninjutsu, yet it had taken him more than a month, while Yahiko and Nagato had needed less than half a month.

And in the days that followed, he fell far behind in learning and developing all kinds of ninjutsu.

Nagato had already mastered the basic D-rank ninjutsu for all five elements and begun progressing to C-rank techniques. Yahiko had completed his training in three D-rank techniques of his own element, but Chiba was still stuck on the simple Earth Flow Spear.

The fundamental reason wasn't a difference in elemental affinities, nor was it that Chiba wasn't training hard enough. It was the vast gap caused by his insufficient chakra.

Whether in total chakra reserves or recovery speed, the differences between them had become obvious over the past half year.

Jiraiya had said that the rare medicinal herbs and large amounts of meat he provided had helped them grow their chakra far faster than ordinary ninja. But even so, their different rates of growth had made the gap between them steadily widen.

Nagato undoubtedly had the greatest chakra reserves. Uzumaki Clan members were naturally blessed with abundant chakra, and Nagato was an outstanding talent chosen by Madara and Zetsu. On top of that, his chakra affinities allowed the five elements to generate each other, greatly reducing his chakra consumption.

When practicing ninjutsu, Nagato didn't have to worry about running out of chakra at all.

Yahiko's strong body also gave him plenty of chakra. Against simple techniques like D-rank ninjutsu, he could release dozens in one go before heading back to rest. Before long, he'd be back on his feet, his chakra replenished, ready to train again.

Chiba, on the other hand, had to head back and rest after releasing a dozen or so techniques, and he needed a particularly long time to recover.

To put it in numbers, Nagato could perform five hundred D-rank techniques a day, Yahiko could manage over two hundred, while Chiba could barely do a hundred.

And the gap would only grow wider with time.

Even Konan, whose excellent chakra control allowed her to use very little chakra, could perform more than a dozen techniques more than Chiba.

This time, Chiba truly felt a little hopeless.

Compared to being limited by his elemental affinity, the more tangible frustration of making such slow progress was much harder to bear.

The only thing he could do was watch one companion after another slowly surpass him.

No matter how he looked at it, he could feel the world's malice pressing down on him.

He wasn't doing badly, and he was probably ahead of ordinary children. But the progress Yahiko and Nagato were making was still far beyond his.

Maybe if he was lucky, he could become an elite jonin by the time he was an adult. But what would that even be enough for?

Yahiko and Nagato were going to fight Hanzo as adults.

When that great battle came, would he really have any right to take part?

Perhaps this was simply how the entire Ninja World worked. Ordinary ninja could never catch up with the gifted, no matter how hard they tried.

Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan were all born geniuses. The person Chiba had taken over was just an ordinary man, and couldn't give him any help at all.

Even Jiraiya couldn't train just anyone to Kage Level.

He'd even said he would change Yahiko and the others' fates and protect them someday. But now, it seemed he wouldn't be able to do anything at all when the time came.

If there hadn't been powerful enemies lurking in the shadows, perhaps Chiba could have taken it in stride. But now, he was clearly starting to lose hope.

Chiba's gloomy mood was clearly affecting Nagato and the others, and everyone began to feel downcast.

Yahiko and the others had tried to comfort Chiba a few times, but it hadn't helped much.

Jiraiya had seen all of this, but he had no good solution either.

In truth, he'd seen plenty of people like Chiba, who felt discouraged because they couldn't keep up with their teammates. But there was basically no solution to this sort of thing. Talent was what it was; some things were simply determined from birth.

The Ninja World could be cruel. The gap created by talent was enough to wipe away all of a person's hard work.

And just as Chiba was growing more and more troubled, Nagato came to him one day.

"Chiba, I think I've found a way to help you."

"Help me? How?"

Chiba looked at Nagato in confusion, his face full of surprise.

"Mm-hmm."

Nagato nodded excitedly.

"I asked Jiraiya-sensei about it. If all goes well, this should greatly speed up your training."