In the morning, the Third Hokage had told Ueno Kei roughly where his residence was. Even while imagining it, Kei had been able to picture how large the Hokage's home must be.
Now that he was inside it, Kei was still a little surprised. Not by the size, of course; the residence of a village's leader could hardly be too large. What surprised him was how old the place looked, as though it had been built decades ago.
As far as Kei knew, the area where the Third Hokage lived had been expanded, and many of its buildings renovated, more than ten years ago. Yet this house showed no sign of ever having been renovated.
After passing through the front gate and turning down several corridors, Kei came upon a room dimly lit by candlelight.
He didn't even use electric lights! Kei shook his head slightly. Now that he was inside, he'd realized there wasn't a single light in the house. It was pitch-black.
If not for shinobi's excellent eyesight and the bright moonlight that night, Kei would probably have been completely lost.
He gently pushed open the door, and the Third Hokage came into view. He was still wearing his Hokage robes.
He was bent over the documents on his desk, which seemed to number quite a few.
Trying to make as little noise as possible, Kei quietly entered, closed the door, and knelt on the tatami a short distance from the Third Hokage.
Kei was terribly unused to kneeling like this. In his previous life, he'd never done it, but the people of this world seemed to consider it extremely important. They knelt in many different situations.
It wasn't that Kei had never heard of kneeling. In ancient times, people in his previous world had done it too. But after the modern era began, it had gradually disappeared from everyday life.
Still, when in Rome, do as the Romans do. No matter how uncomfortable it was, Kei could only get used to it. Besides, he couldn't exactly sit with his legs spread in front of an elder. That would be far too disrespectful.
About fifteen minutes later, the Third Hokage set aside his work and slowly raised his head. In fact, he'd sensed Kei's chakra as soon as Kei entered the house.
It wasn't that the Third Hokage was doing so on purpose. Strong shinobi were always aware of their surroundings, and the sudden appearance of another person's chakra was something they were highly attuned to.
That awareness had been honed through years of battle and experience.
Kei had been kneeling quietly without making a sound. When he saw the Third Hokage set down his work and look up, he immediately bowed his head and leaned forward. "Teacher Sarutobi!"
The Third Hokage nodded slightly. "Mm. So, Kei, how did it feel to join the Anbu for the first time?"
"It was good, but not so good." Kei considered his answer for a moment before replying slowly. A faint smile appeared on the Third Hokage's age-spotted face, and he nodded slightly.
Kei's answer had been vague, but how could the Third Hokage fail to understand what he meant?
"Mm. That's good. The Anbu is a place that will help you grow. That's why I had you join. Akamatsu is a very experienced shinobi. You should learn as much as you can from him."
"Yes, Teacher Sarutobi!"
"Kei, try this first." The Third Hokage curled his finger slightly, and a white slip of paper flew toward him. Kei was taken aback for just a moment, then reached out and caught it.
"Teacher Sarutobi, what is this?" Kei asked with a puzzled expression.
"Mm. It's Chakra Nature Paper. You don't know your chakra nature yet, and this will reveal it."
"Oh." Kei suddenly understood. He knew a little about chakra natures. The basics of chakra included the different natures, of which the most common were the five: fire, water, wind, lightning, and earth. They were also the reason for the Five Great Shinobi Villages and their Five Kage.
With the corresponding chakra nature, a shinobi could use ninjutsu of that nature. As for the Three Body Technique and swordsmanship he'd learned so far, they had little to do with chakra nature.
The same was true of genjutsu. A person's nature wouldn't affect their ability to use taijutsu or genjutsu; it only affected ninjutsu.
Of course, that was all Kei knew.
He wasn't yet familiar with other things, such as Yin and Yang Release or Natural Energy. He'd only just entered the shinobi profession, after all, and had plenty left to learn.
Kei looked at the slip of paper in his hand with curiosity, fascinated that such a small piece of paper could reveal a shinobi's chakra nature.
The Third Hokage explained calmly, "Pinch one corner of the Chakra Nature Paper, then slowly channel your chakra into it."
Kei nodded and did as the Third Hokage instructed. As he slowly channeled his chakra into the paper, the entire sheet crumpled. Then, all at once, it burst into flames and turned to ash.
Kei froze for a moment. Why had it suddenly caught fire? The tiny flame was nothing to him, but since he hadn't been expecting it, he was still a little startled.
At the same time, the Third Hokage's eyes lit up slightly when he saw how the Chakra Nature Paper had changed. Kei didn't know what it meant, but the Third Hokage did. In fact, anyone who'd been a shinobi for a few years knew what this change meant.
It meant Kei had been born with two chakra natures. That was a genius-level aptitude among ordinary people. After all, almost all shinobi were born with only one chakra nature. Only after reaching the jōnin level would they try to develop a second or even a third.
But a nature developed later still couldn't compare to one a shinobi had been born with.
Of course, not having a particular chakra nature didn't make it impossible to use ninjutsu of that nature. It simply took more chakra, and the resulting technique was weaker than the same technique performed with the corresponding nature.
The reason jōnin worked to develop a second or third chakra nature was to use less chakra and gain a little more power when performing techniques of other natures.
After all, apart from those born with vast reserves of chakra, most shinobi didn't have much to spare. They naturally had to think carefully when using ninjutsu. Even so, a nature developed later still couldn't match one they'd possessed from birth.
So, in this respect, Kei could be considered a genius.
In the Ninja World, certain shinobi clans possessed kekkei genkai created by combining two chakra natures from birth. For example, combining Water Release and Wind Release created Ice Release, which belonged to the Yuki Clan of the Land of Water.
Combining Water Release and Earth Release created Wood Release, which belonged to the Senju Clan of the Land of Fire. The First, Senju Hashirama, was its foremost representative.
Of course, not every shinobi born with two chakra natures had a special kekkei genkai release. The two things weren't necessarily connected.
But it was clear that shinobi born with two natures had an advantage over others when it came to ninjutsu.
Seeing Kei's puzzled expression, the Third Hokage explained, "When the Chakra Nature Paper crumples and then burns, it means you have both Lightning and Fire chakra natures."
PS: I worked hard yesterday, spending almost seven hours writing before I managed to finish three chapters. Ye still has some integrity, so hurry up and praise Ye! A hundred or so recommendation tickets wouldn't be too many, and even two or three wouldn't be too few. Finally, I wish you all a happy New Year!
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