The ruins of Training Ground No. 3 had been repaired by the Logistics Squad. The newly filled soil hadn't been packed down yet, and it felt soft and squishy underfoot.
Takuma wandered in through the training ground entrance, carrying half a rice ball he hadn't finished.
"Last practice today." Yakumo flipped her sketchbook to the newest page. "Mr. Tetsu, let's follow the plan."
Tetsu formed Hand Seals with both hands and slapped his palm against the ground.
The ground in the center of the training ground rippled like waves. Earth walls, pits, and piles of rubble randomly sprang up within ten seconds, and the freshly laid soil was churned into a mess.
Takuma stuffed the last bite of his rice ball into his mouth and entered the artificial ruins.
"Earth."
Tetsu's hoarse voice came from the left.
Takuma sidestepped to the right as an earth wall burst from the ground, grazing his left shoulder.
Before his foot could find firm footing, Yakumo's voice followed close behind. "Illusion." He immediately changed direction, lowering his body and skimming past a pile of rubble. The illusion's coverage spread to within half a meter of his right leg before stopping, and a brief, icy numbness brushed his ankle.
Over six consecutive signal changes, the earth walls and illusions took turns blocking his way. Takuma weaved through them, changing direction along much cleaner routes than he had a few days ago.
The final "Earth" and "Illusion" signals came almost simultaneously. He twisted in midair to change direction and just barely landed in the gap between the two barriers.
"Stop." Yakumo jotted down a few notes in her sketchbook. "A sixty percent success rate. That's your limit. More practice won't improve it."
"The rest can only be worked out in real combat." Takuma walked out, panting.
"Better than I expected." Yakumo closed her sketchbook and put it in her shoulder bag. "We'll take tomorrow off, then the exams begin."
She paused and looked up at Takuma. "You'll be fine on the written test, right?"
"I should pass." Takuma thought about his hazy memories. I should be able to pass, right?
"Good." Yakumo nodded. "Mr. Tetsu and I weren't very good at academics, so we're counting on you for the written test."
Takuma froze for a moment. He suddenly realized that he'd always thought of Yakumo as the temporary team's illusion artillery and tactical analyst, but had forgotten that she'd been confined to the Kurama Clan's villa from childhood and had barely attended any formal classes at the Ninja Academy.
And Tetsu was even more of a lost cause. The middle-aged ninja had changed careers to become a bodyguard, and he'd probably long since forgotten everything he'd learned in class.
"Cheating is allowed on the written test." Takuma thought it over. "As long as we don't get caught. Sit near me, and I'll figure something out."
The written test probably wouldn't be a problem. It wasn't really testing specialized knowledge, and Takuma remembered Naruto passing with a blank paper.
He shook off his stray thoughts, said goodbye to Yakumo and Tetsu, and headed home.
The backyard of Morimiya Bookstore.
Mori Kazuki leaned against the wall with an unlit cigarette between his lips. He'd watched his son practice all evening, and now he finally spoke.
"You've more or less mastered the simplified Water Wall. You can put up the simplified Earth Flow Wall, too, and its density is better than last week's. At your current level, that's enough to get you through the Chunin Ninja Exams." He paused, then changed his tone. "But if you want to go further, basic Ninjutsu won't cut it. Nature transformation is what matters."
He took the cigarette from his mouth, tucked it behind his ear, and crouched beside the water tank. He traced a circle on the water's surface with one finger.
"The essence of Water Release nature transformation isn't how much water there is. It's how it flows. Your Water Wall just now could circulate, but there were gaps between the streams. A truly powerful Water Wall has layers of water that lock together. When an enemy's attack hits it, the force is carried away by the flow instead of being resisted head-on."
He flicked his finger, and a fist-sized ball of water formed above his palm, slowly spinning. Layer upon layer of ripples flowed across its surface, without a single gap.
"To do that, you first need to completely master water's nature transformation. It's not just converting chakra into water. After the conversion, you have to keep using chakra to control the movement of every drop."
Takuma studied the water ball, thoughtful. "What about Earth Release?"
"Earth Release is the opposite." Mori Kazuki changed his hand gesture, and a small chunk of rock rose from the ground. "Water's nature transformation is flow; earth's is cohesion. Your Earth Flow Wall was unstable because the chakra density wasn't high enough, leaving gaps between the soil particles. Press chakra into every particle and lock them together. Then the wall won't collapse."
He held two balls of chakra in his hands. The water ball flowed without stopping, while the chunk of earth sat as firm as a rock.
"The Senju Clan is good at both Water and Earth Release. That isn't a coincidence. The nature transformations of these two elements are soft and hard, and when cultivated to the extreme, they can complement each other. Lord Hashirama's Wood Release began with combining water and earth."
Hearing the words "Wood Release" made Takuma's heart stir again.
Combining water and earth.
The thought had been lurking in his mind ever since he began training in the two nature transformations.
In theory, combining Water and Earth chakra could make plants grow. But without a Kekkei Genkai, simply mixing them would only make them repel each other.
He tried refining Water and Earth chakra inside his body at the same time. The moment the two forces touched, they began to fight, and his chakra pathways started to swell.
He stopped immediately, afraid he'd blow himself up.
"Don't rush." Mori Kazuki placed a hand on his shoulder. "Nature transformation is the foundation. Combining them comes later. For now, focus on mastering each one on its own."
Takuma nodded, braced himself, and formed Hand Seals again.
This time, he stopped aiming for a large Water Wall. He drew the chakra back and formed only a small sheet of water, about the size of a washbasin.
He focused all his attention on the water's flow, sensing the path of every current and making them lock together, overlap, and circulate without end.
The sheet of water shrank until it was only as big as his palm. The ripples on its surface disappeared, and the currents were so tightly packed that the naked eye couldn't see any gaps.
The water ball spun in his palm like a transparent gem made of liquid.
"That's it. Hold on to that feeling and slowly make it bigger."
Takuma slowly expanded the palm-sized water ball. Each time he widened it, he reinforced its flow, until the sheet of water had grown back to the size of a washbasin without a single gap in its circulation.
He suddenly spoke. "Dad, did Grandpa ever use Water and Earth Release together?"
Mori Kazuki was heading inside. At the question, he paused.
"What made you ask that?"
"I was just curious." Takuma stared at the wavering reflection in the water tank. "Water flows, and earth holds together. Using both at once—one to restrain, the other to attack—sounds pretty powerful in theory. I just don't know if they can be combined."
Mori Kazuki's expression grew complicated.
"Your grandpa tried. He attempted to refine Water and Earth chakra at the same time, combine them at the same time, and release them at the same time—and ended up blowing up an entire training room." He took the cigarette from his mouth and rolled it between his fingers. "It's not that water and earth can't be combined. They need a medium. The medium for Wood Release is a Kekkei Genkai, and our branch of the family doesn't have one. Forcing them together with chakra is like shoving two opposing energies into each other. Of course they'll explode."
Takuma was quiet for a while. "Could there be another medium? Something that isn't a Kekkei Genkai?"
"People have tried, but they all failed. Go to bed early, and don't overthink it."
The door closed behind him.
Takuma stood alone in the yard and held out his right hand.
Water Release chakra gathered in his palm into a water ball, flowing without pause.
He opened his left hand as well. Earth Release chakra gathered in his palm into a small stone chip, perfectly still.
He slowly brought his hands closer.
The water ball and stone chip stopped a finger's breadth apart. The two kinds of chakra sensed each other and began to tremble faintly, repelling one another.
He drew back his hands and let the water ball and stone chip dissipate. Then he looked up at the moon.
A medium. A medium that wasn't a Kekkei Genkai.
Wood Release. Water and earth combined. Kekkei Genkai.
"Medium." He quietly repeated the word.
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