Fire-Earth Fusion

After parting ways with Naruto and the others, Chiya carried a large bag of things home.

After entering, he shut the door behind him. The sounds from the street outside were blocked by the door, leaving only the sound of his own footsteps.

He returned to the study, set the bag on the table, untied the rope, and with a clatter, poured everything inside out.

There was a messy pile of things: Kunai, Shuriken, Explosive Tags, Soldier Pills, and a new spool of steel wire, scattered across half the table.

Chiya pulled a chest guard out of the bag.

It did not look very thick, but it was slightly heavy in his hand. The outside was made of dark cloth, while densely packed metal plates were sewn inside. He pressed it with his fingers. It was hard, yet somewhat flexible.

"Not bad."

Chiya muttered.

This thing might not withstand Kakashi-sensei's Lightning Cutter, but blocking Kunai, Senbon, and the like would not be a problem.

At least the next time a whole barrage of Senbon came flying at him, he would not have to rely entirely on his body to take them.

Chiya put on the chest guard, moved his shoulders around, tightened the buckles, and found that it felt pretty good.

Then, he counted the Explosive Tags one by one and wrapped them back up in oiled paper. Twenty sheets—not many, but enough for emergencies. He also sorted the Kunai and Shuriken, placing some in his ninja tool pouch and stashing some around the house as backups.

Two boxes of Soldier Pills.

Chiya opened one for a look, then hurriedly closed it again.

These things really did not taste good.

But they could truly save his life when it mattered.

Finally, he took out the new spool of steel wire.

This wire was much finer than the kind he had used before, and darker in color. Wrapped around his fingers, it was almost impossible to see. Chiya pulled out a length and stretched it taut between two fingers. With only a little force, it dug painfully into his fingertips.

Although this steel wire was much thinner than what he had bought before, it was no less tough.

Good stuff.

Looking at that thin strand, Chiya felt much better.

It really hurt to spend the money,

but having all these things laid out before him was reassuring.

Chiya put away the steel wire as well and looked at the table.

There was still a scroll on the table, small and exquisite, tied with a thin string.

Chiya reached out, picked up the scroll, and untied the white knot around it.

The scroll slowly unfurled.

At first glance, he froze.

Inside was a training notebook written by Haku.

The handwriting was elegant, and the spacing between lines was neat. At the beginning were several large words:

One-Handed Hand Seals Training Notes.

Chiya had only read a few lines when his eyes lit up.

This was far too practical.

Haku had written the key points, such as Chakra flow, in great detail.

These were things one could not learn at school. In Konoha, such valuable experience was generally passed down within clans.

Chiya rubbed his eyes and read even more carefully.

As he read, he followed the scroll's instructions and tried them himself. Although he did not succeed, he could feel subtle changes.

Near the end of the scroll was another set of insights recorded by Haku: Ice Release Kekkei Genkai Chakra Nature Transformation.

This section was far messier than the earlier one. Some parts had been crossed out halfway through and rewritten in the margins. Some of the handwriting was more hurried as well, as though Haku had suddenly grasped something while training and casually jotted it down.

Chiya read this part very slowly.

He knew he could not learn Ice Release.

Because he did not possess the Ice Release Kekkei Genkai.

But the records concerning Chakra Nature Transformation were highly detailed and professional.

As Chiya read, his hands suddenly itched.

Watching Haku describe how wind and water Chakra fused into ice-nature Chakra,

he became eager to give it a try himself.

The Chakra he was currently most familiar with refining was fire and earth nature Chakra.

What if he fused fire and earth together?

Chiya remembered that Lava Release in the original work seemed to come from that,

but Lava Release was also a Kekkei Genkai. In the original work, Kekkei Genkai required bloodlines to support them, and the conditions were extremely restrictive.

He did not know the Chakra ratio, so if he tried it himself, he would probably have a hard time replicating Lava Release.

But what if he merely imitated part of it?

For example, what if Fire Release did not merely explode and burn through things, but became heavier and stickier, able to cling to a target like clay and keep burning it?

Chiya's heartbeat quickened.

This direction seemed genuinely worth trying.

He spread out his right hand and slowly drew out Chakra.

First came fire-nature Chakra.

His palm grew warm.

Then, he cautiously pressed a little earth-nature Chakra into it.

The instant it entered, the mass of fire-nature Chakra immediately became unstable.

The heat in his palm turned heavy and stifling, like a lump of red-hot mud churning. Chiya gritted his teeth and did not let go right away, forcing the two streams of Chakra to merge at the center.

Pop.

The Chakra dispersed.

Pain shot through Chiya's palm, and he nearly cursed aloud.

Looking down, he saw that his palm had turned red, as if it had been burned.

He had failed.

But Chiya did not withdraw his hand immediately.

He sat beside the table, staring at his palm as his eyes grew brighter and brighter.

For one instant just now.

It had really only been an instant.

Fire and earth had touched each other.

The sensation was crude and unstable, as though it could explode at any moment, but it had truly appeared.

At least he had felt his way to the edge of it.

Chiya turned back to Haku's notes.

This notebook had shown him a new path.

That was enough for today.

If he kept training, his palm would probably be ruined.

He carefully rolled up Haku's scroll and placed it at the edge of the table instead of carelessly tossing it aside again.

After thinking for a moment, he took another scroll from the very back of the drawer.

Flying Thunder God.

This was what he had secretly copied down before.

Chiya unfolded it and took a look.

He still could not understand it.

Those densely packed formulas were crammed together, and staring at them for too long made his eyes ache. He could barely remember a single symbol on its own, but once they were connected, they became a tangled mess. He had no idea where to begin.

Space-time ninjutsu really was absurd. He truly did not know how Minato had learned it at such a young age.

He stared at it for a long time before finally closing the scroll.

"No."

Trying this now would be nothing but torture.

He wondered whether Kaguya could understand it. Her Yomotsu Hirasaka was also a space-time technique, so she should not be unfamiliar with these things.

Once she woke up, perhaps he could ask her.

If she could teach him, would it not be easy?

At that thought, Chiya's heart suddenly sank.

He still did not know when Kaguya would wake up, nor did he know what had truly happened to her.

Chiya sighed, then put the Flying Thunder God Scroll back into the drawer. His fingers lingered on the drawer's edge for a while before he slowly pushed it shut.

The lamp flame on the table flickered gently.

Chiya picked up Haku's training notes again and flipped back to the first page.

One-Handed Hand Seals.

This was the most practical thing.

He would start with this.

Following the records on the scroll, he slowly tried again.

This time, it went a little more smoothly than before.

It was still awkward and still did not feel natural,

but it was improving little by little.

Chiya lowered his head to look at his hands and suddenly smiled.

Progress was all that mattered.

The room grew quieter and quieter,

leaving only the sound of pages turning and him practicing hand seals.