Kirigakure in the winter of Konoha Year 50 was winter in name, but under the island climate, the cold was not biting. Instead, the village lay shrouded in the damp chill brought by endless drizzle and sea wind. The air was always filled with a smell of salt, fish, and earth. Yet in this secluded courtyard Uchiha Narong had purchased, it was as if the gloom outside had been cut off, and a rare warmth and tranquility flowed here, utterly different from the village's overall atmosphere.
The courtyard had been carefully tended. One side held a traditional dry landscape garden, while the other had been leveled into a small training ground. At this moment, rain fell like threads, and on the training ground, two figures, one large and one small, were focused on their practice.
"Pay attention to the flow of chakra! It has to be as natural as breathing. Feel it gather from your meridians to your fingertips, then change its shape and nature!" Uchiha Narong's voice was steady and clear. He had taken off his ANBU uniform and wore only a simple dark kimono. He stood in the fine curtain of rain, yet not a single drop touched him—a layer of invisible chakra evenly covered the surface of his body, silently repelling the rain. He was guiding the five-year-old Haku through the most basic chakra control and Ice Release guidance exercises.
Haku wore a pure white training outfit. His small face was slightly flushed from concentration, and his short black hair was dampened by the rain, clinging to his smooth forehead. He was working hard to gather the chakra inside him at the tip of his index finger, trying to freeze a puddle of rainwater in front of him. Faint wisps of cold seeped from his young fingertip,