Yang Release

Ito Makoto didn't waste the evening, either. He had talked it over with his mother, and they had decided to spend the evenings studying Medical Ninjutsu.

As for why he wanted to learn Medical Ninjutsu, it was because this was the only way Ito Makoto could directly come into contact with Yang Release.

Yin-Yang Release was far less widespread than the five elemental releases: Wind, Fire, Water, Earth, and Lightning. Some special Yin Release and Yang Release techniques were even treated as secret techniques, passed down only within certain clans. Examples included the Nara Clan's shadow techniques and the Akimichi Clan's Multi-Size Technique.

In the ninja world, the only Yin Release and Yang Release techniques that were easy to learn were Genjutsu and Medical Ninjutsu.

Ito Makoto wanted to master Yin-Yang Release, and he hoped to master Yang Release in the future. Medical Ninjutsu was the easiest path, and his mother, Mika, happened to be a medical ninja who knew Medical Ninjutsu. He had no need to ask anyone else for help.

Mika didn't refuse her son's request. She was already exhausted from working at the hospital every day, but for her child's sake, she still forced herself to stay alert and teach Ito Makoto Medical Ninjutsu.

"Xiao Cheng, the first step to becoming a medical ninja is learning the basics of human anatomy." Mika placed a half-dead fish on the table.

"But I also understand that you probably don't want to learn Medical Ninjutsu to become a medical ninja. You just want to use it to treat wounds. So there's no rush to learn all that biology."

"Let's start with Medical Ninjutsu directly."

Ito Makoto nodded to show he understood.

"Training in Medical Ninjutsu always starts with treating fish." As she spoke, Mika placed her hand on the fish. A green chakra glow appeared.

Wearing sunglasses, Ito Makoto secretly activated his Sharingan.

In just thirty seconds, the half-dead fish started thrashing around.

Mika returned the fish to the basin full of water.

"This is the basic Medical Ninjutsu technique, the Mystical Palm Technique. Although it's only a C-rank technique, it can treat ordinary wounds, so it's suitable for you to start with."

Then Mika began explaining the chakra pathway and Hand Seals for the Mystical Palm Technique. Ito Makoto memorized each detail and compared them with the changes he saw through his Sharingan.

"How did it go? Did you remember?" After explaining the general method for using Medical Ninjutsu, Mika asked.

"I remember most of the process," Ito Makoto said.

"Then try it yourself."

Mika took the fish she had just healed out of the basin again.

Whack—whack—

She struck the fish twice with a stick, hard. It was half-dead again.

Ito Makoto's mouth twitched as he looked at the fish, then at his mother, whose expression hadn't changed.

His mother really was on a different level from an inexperienced youngster like him.

"Come on, give it a try."

Mika pushed the fish in front of Ito Makoto.

Ito Makoto let out a deep breath and placed both hands on the fish. Blue-white light began to shine from his palms.

What was going on? Ito Makoto was puzzled. The color of the light was obviously wrong.

When Mika didn't stop him, he continued using the Mystical Palm Technique to treat the fish.

But even after half an hour, the fish didn't move once before it died of suffocation.

"What happened? I clearly used the Mystical Palm Technique," Ito Makoto asked.

From the Sharingan's perspective, his technique had clearly worked. It was almost indistinguishable from Mika's. His naturally excellent chakra control allowed him to match the precision of his mother's ninjutsu.

"It's all right. This is perfectly normal," Mika said with a smile. "You just haven't mastered Yang Nature Transformation yet."

"Yang Nature Transformation?"

Mika began explaining what Yang Nature Transformation was.

According to Mika, mastering Yang Nature Transformation was essential for learning Medical Ninjutsu.

Chakra had seven attributes: Yin, Yang, Wind, Fire, Water, Earth, and Lightning, each corresponding to a different nature transformation.

Unlike the other five attributes, Yin Release and Yang Release didn't require a person to be born with a particular affinity. Yin represented the spirit, while Yang represented the body. Except for a few special people, everyone possessed both spiritual and physical energy, meaning everyone had the potential for both Yin Release and Yang Release.

But mastering Yang Nature Transformation wasn't easy.

Ordinary ninjutsu—such as techniques using Wind, Fire, Water, Earth, or Lightning—even without mastering nature transformation, could still be performed as long as one knew the Hand Seals. For example, in the original story, the Allied Shinobi Forces performed the Earth Style Wall together. They had only learned the Hand Seals, yet they could use the technique immediately. Of course, it was weaker.

As ninjutsu was used repeatedly, chakra would gradually adapt to the attribute and undergo nature transformation on its own. Once a ninja had mastered the corresponding nature transformation, they could perform techniques without Hand Seals, and their techniques would become more powerful. Fire Style, for example, would become hotter and cover a wider area.

However, this method took far too long, and few ninjas used it anymore.

There was another way to master the five nature transformations: special training methods. Through targeted training, chakra could quickly adapt to an attribute and undergo nature transformation in a short time. After that, one could learn the corresponding ninjutsu.

For example, when Naruto Uzumaki learned Wind Style, he used the principle that a thinner blade was sharper. Within a few days, he mastered Wind Nature Transformation and then used Wind Release Ninjutsu.

This method was much faster and took less time.

Neither method produced a better result than the other. Mastering an attribute through gradual practice took a lot of time and effort, while special training methods made it possible to learn quickly and easily.

But with Yang Release techniques, there were no special methods. One could only learn simple Medical Ninjutsu first, then practice continuously until the passage of time caused chakra to undergo nature transformation on its own, allowing one to master Yang Nature Transformation.

There was no shortcut in this process. It could only be achieved through time and practice.

And without mastering Yang Nature Transformation, chakra's healing ability was very weak. Even if one used up a lot of chakra, it might not be enough to heal a minor scrape.

Only after mastering Yang Nature Transformation would Medical Ninjutsu's healing ability far surpass that of techniques performed with ordinary chakra. Even deep wounds, such as cuts from a blade or an incision made during surgery, could be healed quickly.

Of course, a beginner only mastered the most basic level of Yang Nature Transformation. With continued training, their mastery would deepen, progressing from basic to intermediate and then advanced. Chakra infused with advanced Yang Nature Transformation would make Medical Ninjutsu far more powerful than chakra infused with the basic level.

Once Yin or Yang Nature Transformation had been mastered, continued practice would deepen the transformation and gradually increase its power. It was a process with no end to learning.

But once someone mastered one of the five ordinary nature transformations, there was little room to improve further.

Ito Makoto understood this very well. In the original story, the Nara Clan's Yin Release could only be used to bind people, while the Akimichi Clan's Yang Release could only be used to grow bigger and hit people with a hammer. But Six Paths Level Yin-Yang Release could nullify all ninjutsu and freely regenerate the body. The difference was probably due to their varying levels of mastery over Yin and Yang Nature Transformation.

Although learning Yang Release took quite a long time, fortunately, the results didn't disappoint Ito Makoto.

After using Medical Ninjutsu for several days and treating a large number of fish, Ito Makoto naturally mastered basic Yang Nature Transformation. He had taken his first step into Yang Release.

Basic Yang Nature Transformation was both proof that he was a medical Genin and an introduction to Yang Release. In other words, Ito Makoto could now officially graduate as a medical Genin.