Half a month passed in the blink of an eye. Last night, the orphanage finally had its second child to gather chakra. His name was Horibe Ryuichi, and he was an eleven- or twelve-year-old with an unusually mature disposition.
During those fifteen days, Sato Hideaka had also discovered that his talent far surpassed that of ordinary people. He realized he could perfectly control every cell in his body and draw energy from any of them at will. With mental strength far beyond that of his peers, he could convert all that energy into chakra.
But no one else could do the same. They could only draw chakra from a limited number of cells, and they couldn't control that energy as perfectly as he did or convert all of it into chakra. As long as they continued training in this way, Hideaka would have much more chakra than they did after the same amount of practice.
If the chakra Horibe Ryuichi produced in a single training session was a drop of water, then the chakra Sato Hideaka condensed in one session was a whole bowlful. The two were simply incomparable!
Most importantly, Sato Hideaka didn't just have perfect control over his body's cells; he also had absolute control over his chakra. His talent had been proven when he practiced tree climbing, Water Walking, and walking up vertical walls.
It was almost as though he'd been born with the instinct. Unlike Uchiha Sasuke, Naruto Uzumaki, and Sakura in the Naruto anime, Sato Hideaka had no trouble with tree climbing, Water Walking, or walking up vertical walls. He'd mastered all three after just one try.
Yakushi Nonō had been right beside him at the time. From beginning to end, she'd been utterly dumbfounded, staring at him in shock as though he were some kind of monster...
That talent was simply monstrous!
On the lawn behind the orphanage, Sato Hideaka was doing push-ups with all his might. One, two, three, four, five... one hundred and thirty-one, one hundred and thirty-two.
Sweat trickled down his muscles, which were beginning to take shape. Hideaka stared ahead with a determined gaze as his body moved up and down without pause. His pace was astonishing; each movement was swift and powerful, like a hunting leopard poised to attack.
Because he had perfect control over his cells and muscles, every movement engaged the muscles throughout his entire body. Each push-up was like a full-body workout. The efficiency of this training had brought about a qualitative change in his strength, speed, and stamina in just fifteen days.
Of course, such intense exercise had also increased his appetite more than threefold!
Twelve-year-old Horibe Ryuichi sat nearby, watching Sato Hideaka train nonstop. A few traces of envy flickered in his eyes. Being so mature for his age, he knew all too well how great the gap between them was—and as time went by, it would only grow wider...
"Hideaka, Ryuichi, I was just looking for you. I didn't expect you'd both be here..."
Yakushi Nonō had finally escaped the clutches of the children in the orphanage and come to the back courtyard where Horibe Ryuichi and Sato Hideaka were. She smiled at them as she spoke.
"Big Sister Nonō, what did you want to see us about?" Sato Hideaka stopped exercising and went with Horibe Ryuichi to stand beside Yakushi Nonō. He asked curiously.
"Hideaka, you've gathered enough chakra to start learning ninjutsu. Ryuichi, you still need to work hard, though. Here are the training scrolls for the Three Body Technique and Basic Ninja Knowledge. Here, take them..."
Yakushi Nonō handed the two of them four ninjutsu scrolls. Once they'd taken the scrolls, she pulled out two pieces of paper and said, "These are Chakra Paper. Just infuse them with your chakra, and you'll find out your chakra nature. Then, based on your chakra natures, I can find some suitable ninjutsu for you to practice."
Sato Hideaka nodded, took the legendary Chakra Paper from Yakushi Nonō, and infused it with his chakra. Then he watched as it changed—
The Chakra Paper was divided into three sections. One caught fire, another wrinkled, and the last one crumbled to pieces!
"Looks like Hideaka has Fire, Lightning, and Earth chakra natures. That's a wonderful talent!"
Yakushi Nonō smiled at Sato Hideaka, then handed the other piece of Chakra Paper to Horibe Ryuichi. She gave him an encouraging look, as if to reassure him not to be afraid.
Horibe Ryuichi cautiously infused the paper with his chakra. It crumbled to pieces at once. He had only one chakra nature: Earth.
Yakushi Nonō patted Horibe Ryuichi on the head and encouraged him with a smile. "Ryuichi has an Earth nature. The Third Hokage of Konoha is also famous throughout the Shinobi World for his Earth Release ninjutsu. Keep at it, Ryuichi!"
"Mm-hmm."
Hearing that even the Third Hokage, whose name was renowned throughout the Shinobi World, excelled at Earth Release, Ryuichi nodded excitedly. His tense little face broke into a smile.
Sato Hideaka could only sigh inwardly. Nonō had obviously made that up to encourage the child. It was true that the Third Hokage specialized in Earth Release, but he was proficient in most ninjutsu of all five natures—Water, Earth, Wind, Fire, and Lightning. He was known as the Shinobi World Professor, and he could even amplify the power of Earth Release through combined techniques!
Looking at Horibe Ryuichi, whose confidence had been utterly crushed by Hideaka's talent and who'd lost all faith in himself over the past few days, Sato Hideaka parted his lips, but in the end, he couldn't bring himself to tell him that cruel truth.
"I'm going to Konoha today anyway, so I'll find a few suitable ninjutsu for you while I'm there... Hideaka, don't push yourself too hard when you train. You'll hurt yourself, understand?"
Yakushi Nonō straightened their disheveled clothes, then took a handkerchief from her pocket and wiped the sweat from Sato Hideaka's forehead. A pang of sympathy stirred in her heart.
"Mm-hmm. I'll be careful not to hurt myself!"
Sato Hideaka nodded. Since he had perfect control over his cells, he could feel their feedback at any time. If his body's cells couldn't keep going, he would know.
After giving the orphanage's teachers instructions about what to do next, Yakushi Nonō was escorted to the orphanage gate by Sato Hideaka and Horibe Ryuichi. She waved goodbye to them, then set off for Konoha as they watched...
Sato Hideaka returned to the back courtyard and sat on the wooden floor at the entrance to the raised house. His legs dangled in the air as he propped his chin on one hand and began to think.
The more chakra natures you had, the more varied your fighting style could be. Having Fire, Lightning, and Earth chakra natures was undoubtedly a good thing!
But if he only learned ordinary ninjutsu of those three natures, then in the later stages of Naruto, when Wood Release, Shinra Tensei, Tailed Beast Balls, massive Susanoo, and other large-scale attacks were constantly unleashed, that level of destructive power probably wouldn't even be enough to play a supporting role!
Since he had three chakra natures, perhaps he could begin by pursuing a Kekkei Genkai that combined them.
Kekkei Genkai were divided into dōjutsu, nature-based Kekkei Genkai, and other types. Since Kekkei Genkai were generally inherited through a family's bloodline, they often brought war to the families that possessed them—and could even lead to their destruction.
But nature-based Kekkei Genkai and Kekkei Tōta didn't necessarily have to be inherited. Dust Release, the Kekkei Tōta created by combining three chakra natures, had been taught to the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, by his teacher, the Second Tsuchikage, Mū. In other words, Kekkei Genkai could actually be developed through personal experimentation and learning.
Sato Hideaka sat up straight and held his palms together in front of his chest. Following the instructions in the Basic Ninja Knowledge scroll, he separated the individual elemental natures from his chakra, separating Earth in one hand and Fire in the other...
A tiny red flame seemed to dance in his left hand, while a yellow, spherical mass kept forming and dispersing in his right!
This was pure chakra of a single nature, separated out from the rest!
He slowly brought the threads of Fire chakra and Earth chakra in his hands closer together. As soon as they touched, a violent fluctuation erupted. A powerful repulsive force knocked his hands apart, and the chakra disappeared without a trace...
Sato Hideaka's forehead broke out in a fine sheen of cold sweat. A lingering fear rose in his heart.
Luckily, he'd kept the amount of chakra to a minimum, using only the tiniest bit, and he'd performed the experiment outside his body. Otherwise, the repulsive force would have left him seriously injured—or even killed him...
The failure didn't discourage Sato Hideaka. He tried again. After seven or eight experiments, he discovered that a miracle occurred when he combined Fire chakra and Earth chakra in a ratio of six to four.
The lively, dancing Fire chakra and the heavy, shifting Earth chakra blended together perfectly, forming a scalding, dark-red fluid, flecked with red. Bubbles formed inside it one after another, just like...
Just like lava, molten rock!