Condensing Chakra

Yakushi Nonō smiled and crouched down, distributing the dried wild boar meat that the villagers had insisted on giving her to the children of the orphanage.

The children received the boar meat and began to nibble on it, each of them wearing a genuine, satisfied smile.

A girl of about two or three years old, wearing her hair in a topknot, stood in the crowd. She bit a chubby finger and looked at Sato Hideaka, who was standing beside Yakushi Nonō, with wide, blinking eyes, asking in a milky voice:

"Big Sister Director, is this a new big sister??"

The other companions also looked at Sato Hideaka, their faces full of excitement!

Three black lines appeared on Sato Hideaka's forehead. Why was he being mistaken for a girl? He had to let them know that as cute as he was, he was definitely a boy!!

Yakushi Nonō, who had always maintained the mature demeanor of a big sister, looked at the speechless Sato Hideaka and revealed a rare, playful smile. She covered her mouth, giggling as she explained:

"Mai-chan, this big brother is named Sato Hideaka. He is a big brother, not a big sister!"

"Ah, but didn't Big Sister Director tell us that anyone who looks pretty is a big sister? If Hideaka-jie... Big Brother looks so pretty, why is he a big brother??"

Fujiwara Shinichi reached out a chubby right hand and rubbed his round head, his adorable eyes staring blankly at Sato Hideaka, seemingly still unable to grasp the situation.

"Pfft..."

The children's innocent words caused Yakushi Nonō and the orphanage teachers who had gathered around to burst into laughter. The other children, not understanding the situation, followed suit, and a series of crisp, pleasant laughs echoed through the courtyard...

With the help of his companions, Sato Hideaka finished setting up his bed, quilt, and toiletries. Amidst the laughter and joy, he enjoyed a wonderful dinner with Big Sister Yakushi Nonō, his companions, and the teachers.

After dinner, the substitute teachers left for home. Yakushi Nonō and the children sat in a circle in the main hall. A few of the younger children tugged at Yakushi Nonō's clothes, clamoring to play the "wooden horse" game.

Sato Hideaka, sitting in the center, suddenly said, "Big Sister Yakushi Nonō, can you teach us ninjutsu?? If we learn ninjutsu, we can protect the things most precious to us..."

The eyes of the older children lit up. They were eleven or twelve years old, more psychologically mature, and knew that the orphanage was supported entirely by Yakushi Nonō. Although their young minds couldn't fully grasp the weight of such a burden and responsibility, they could vaguely sense that it wasn't easy for Big Sister Yakushi Nonō to carry it all.

"Yeah, yeah. Big Sister Yakushi Nonō, teach us ninjutsu, so we can protect you..."

"Mai wants to learn nin... ninjutsu, to protect Big Sister Director!"

Looking at the excited children, Yakushi Nonō's eyes curved into crescent moons. She smiled and said, "Learning ninjutsu is very tiring. Can you persist??"

"Yes, we can."

The older children nodded like chickens pecking at rice. The younger ones didn't quite understand, but seeing the older brothers and sisters they relied on nodding, they nodded along as well, as if they were powered by electric motors.

"Chakra is the foundation of ninjutsu. To learn ninjutsu, you must refine chakra. Chakra is a type of energy produced by the perfect fusion of various energies controlled within the human body. It is the basis of all power, whether it be ninjutsu, genjutsu, taijutsu, sealing jutsu, or secret techniques; none of them can exist without chakra."

"However, due to differences in physical constitution, some people can refine chakra in a week, while others need a month or even half a year. So, if you want to learn ninjutsu, you must learn to persist!"

"Chakra is refined from the trillion cells in the human body. By extracting energy from the cells and combining this energy with one's own spiritual power, chakra is formed..."

"..."

Yakushi Nonō sat in the middle of the crowd, earnestly explaining the method of chakra cultivation. The others gathered around her, mimicking her posture by sitting cross-legged and attempting to refine chakra according to her instructions.

For the three or four-year-olds, this was no different from listening to a book from heaven. Even the older children of eleven or twelve were confused and dazed; without a family background in ninjutsu or an environment to nurture them, it was indeed difficult for them to understand such profound concepts.

Sato Hideaka sat cross-legged on the wooden floor with his eyes tightly closed. In his previous life, he had died of stomach cancer at seventeen before being reincarnated into this world. At seventeen, his comprehension and mental strength far exceeded those of all the children here.

As he listened to Yakushi Nonō explain the knowledge of chakra, Sato Hideaka felt as if every cell in his body had come alive. He felt he could control every part of his body—limbs, organs, tissues, and even every individual cell. Under the guidance of his spiritual power, the energy within the cells was drawn out.

He blended the energy within his body with his spiritual power in the correct proportion, forming strands of blue chakra thinner than silk, gathering them into his meridians as if forming a flowing blue stream.

A faint aura began to radiate from Sato Hideaka's young body!!

Yakushi Nonō was shocked. She felt the fluctuation of chakra; someone had actually condensed chakra in just half an hour.

How was this possible??

It was actually Hideaka, Sato Hideaka!

Looking in the direction of the chakra fluctuation, Yakushi Nonō saw Sato Hideaka sitting cross-legged in the crowd. His young body was releasing that fluctuation of refined chakra—a strange mental and energy vibration.

"Big Sister Yakushi Nonō, what you said is so profound, we don't understand at all!"

"Yeah, yeah. What exactly is a cell, and what is chakra??"

"Can chakra be eaten? Mai just ate until her tummy was full, she doesn't want to eat anything now!!"

Seeing Yakushi Nonō stop the lesson, the group of children who had been sitting cross-legged for half a day finally couldn't hold back. Their restless, playful nature took over, and they began looking around and asking questions all at once.

"Shh, shh... everyone be quiet. Don't disturb Hideaka right now..."

Yakushi Nonō placed her right index finger to her lips, signaling the children gathered around to be silent, then carefully moved to Sato Hideaka's side to watch over him.

The greatest taboo when refining chakra was to be interrupted. If one were slightly careless and the chakra lost control within the body, it would cause self-injury. Although Yakushi Nonō didn't know how Sato Hideaka had managed to condense chakra after hearing the [Chakra Refinement Technique] only once, she knew these things could wait until he was finished.

Ten minutes later, Sato Hideaka felt a wave of soreness in his muscles—a signal of cellular fatigue. He slowly stopped his cultivation and opened his gem-like cyan eyes.

What came into view was Yakushi Nonō's beautiful and gentle face, along with pairs of eyes quietly watching him...

"Why are you all suddenly surrounding me??"

Sato Hideaka stepped back half a step, feeling a bit strange, as the children were far too close, and Yakushi Nonō's gaze was also very odd... in short, it was all very strange.

"Hideaka, did you condense chakra??" Yakushi Nonō asked expectantly.

Sato Hideaka nodded and replied, "Yes, didn't Big Sister Yakushi Nonō tell us the method?? You can refine chakra by following that method..."

"Hideaka, do you know how long it took Big Sister to condense chakra back then?" Looking at Sato Hideaka's indifferent attitude, Yakushi Nonō felt a bit discouraged. "It took half a month. It took half a month for me to barely condense a tiny bit of chakra."

"Ah, isn't it just that once you know the method, you can cultivate chakra??"

Sato Hideaka felt very surprised. He had found the process of refining chakra quite easy. If his body hadn't been unable to bear the strain, he could have continued to condense it indefinitely!!

Why did it seem like condensing chakra wasn't that easy according to Yakushi Nonō??