Chakra Training (2)

Chakra was a form of energy created by combining physical energy extracted from each of the human body's 130 trillion cells with one's own spiritual energy.

Ninjas used hand seals to perform ninjutsu.

Hyuga Iwa had long known this knowledge, but extracting cellular energy and spiritual energy had always left him completely confused.

Although Hyuga Hiashi had explained it once just now, to be honest, Hyuga Iwa still felt nothing.

Perhaps there were some auxiliary methods? Otherwise, if anyone could casually extract chakra, there would not be so few ninjas!

Thinking of this, Hyuga Iwa stopped forcing himself. He relaxed his body as much as possible, emptied his mind, and imagined himself merging with nature.

Come to think of it, he had learned these methods from watching other anime in his previous life. He did not know whether they would work, but since he had truly been reborn into an anime world, there was no harm in trying.

Better to believe it than not. It was not like trying would cost him a piece of flesh!

Of course, in the end, nothing changed. After an hour, Hyuga Iwa had only managed to squeeze out a few farts.

Time passed little by little, the sun gradually rose overhead, and sweat soaked his back.

Hyuga Hiashi checked the time and felt somewhat disappointed.

Actually, all of this had been within Hyuga Hiashi's expectations. This was also a necessary procedure for the Hyuga Clan. His purpose was simple: he hoped to use this method to identify those "geniuses" who could refine chakra without external assistance!

Nearly every major shinobi clan had a similar method. Those geniuses who could naturally extract chakra would generally lead their clans to greater heights, so long as they did not die young.

The Hyuga Clan's previous genius of this kind had been a Hyuga clansman known as Hyuga Tennin. He had lived in the era of Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha, when those two titans of the Shinobi World had crushed all others beneath them!

Back then, under that Hyuga predecessor's leadership, the Hyuga Clan had stood at the pinnacle of the Shinobi World and ultimately founded Konoha Hidden Village alongside the Senju Clan and the Uchiha Clan.

Unfortunately, there were no such geniuses among this batch of clansmen.

Hyuga Hiashi thought to himself, though he was not disappointed. Such geniuses were simply too rare. Looking across the entire history of the clan, only a handful had ever appeared.

After composing himself, Hyuga Hiashi said, "All right, that is enough. Did anyone manage to extract chakra?"

Still unwilling to give up, Hyuga Hiashi asked once more. Yet the young Hyugas all looked ashamed and lowered their heads in silence. Clearly, no such genius was among them.

Seeing their expressions, Hyuga Hiashi knew he should not strike too great a blow to their confidence, so he said, "It does not matter if you failed to extract chakra, because you are still missing an auxiliary medicine.

This medicine is unique to our Hyuga Clan. Used alongside one of our clan's secret techniques, it can make extracting chakra much easier.

I will have someone distribute this secret medicine to you and perform the secret technique. So, if any of you still cannot extract chakra afterward, it will mean that you are not suited to becoming a ninja."

After Hyuga Hiashi finished speaking, the Genin waiting nearby took a small bottle from his hand. That was presumably the secret medicine Hyuga Hiashi had mentioned.

Looking at the secret medicine in his hand, Hyuga Iwa raised it to his nose and sniffed it. It carried a faint medicinal fragrance.

Hyuga Iwa did not suspect anything. After receiving the signal, he tossed it directly into his mouth and swallowed it in one gulp.

"Thank you for your trouble, sir," Hyuga Iwa said respectfully to the ninja before him.

The ninja acknowledged him, swiftly formed several hand seals, gathered a mass of chakra in his palm, and struck Hyuga Iwa in the chest.

The instant he was hit, Hyuga Iwa felt as though the secret medicine he had just swallowed had suddenly been activated. A wave of heat rose within his body, and all his senses seemed to be magnified countless times. It was as if the world had never been so clear to him before.

Slowly, Hyuga Iwa sensed a strange power within his body. Though it still felt somewhat elusive, he had truly felt it.

At the same time, Hyuga Iwa felt as if his spiritual power had also been amplified. He easily mobilized the physical energy he sensed and combined it with his spiritual energy according to the Hyuga Clan's unique ratio, forming chakra!

It went unimaginably smoothly. Hyuga Iwa could think of only one phrase: it came naturally.

Hyuga Iwa had never imagined the secret medicine would be so effective. The difference compared to before taking it was like night and day! As expected of a clan with a thousand-year legacy—they really did have some good things!

Hyuga Hiashi, who had been observing from the side, had already activated his Byakugan and continuously swept his gaze across the young Hyugas.

When Hyuga Hiashi saw that Hyuga Iwa had extracted chakra almost immediately, he was delighted. Even he had not been so fast back then!

Just as expected of the one he had favored before!

Not wasting this rare opportunity, Hyuga Iwa hurriedly continued extracting chakra.

The chakra in his body gradually grew stronger, then began flowing slowly through the meridians in his body.

An indescribable feeling welled up in his heart. It was warm, as though it possessed life. Though weak, it existed with stubborn tenacity.

One cycle, two cycles... His chakra gradually became fuller.

Who knew how much time had passed? Hyuga Iwa suddenly felt mentally exhausted, as if his body had been shackled. The muscles all over his body trembled uncontrollably, and with a thud, he collapsed to the ground.

Hyuga Hiashi inwardly cried out in alarm and used the Body Flicker Technique to appear before Hyuga Iwa.

"Are you all right?"

Hyuga Iwa did not answer. Only after his body trembled for quite some time did it gradually calm down.

"Phew..." Hyuga Iwa let out a breath and slowly said, "I'm fine. I'm just a little exhausted. Thank you for your concern, sir."

"How could you suddenly become exhausted for no reason? Could it be..." Hyuga Hiashi seemed to realize something. His Byakugan focused as he looked inside Hyuga Iwa's body.

He saw a small "stream" of chakra flowing slowly through Hyuga Iwa's meridians. Sure enough, it was likely a protective response caused by excessive chakra extraction.

After conducting a brief examination, Hyuga Hiashi said solemnly, "It is a protective response caused by over-extracting chakra. Do not extract so much chakra at once in the future, or it will negatively affect your body."

"I understand."

Based on the condition of his body, Hyuga Iwa had actually guessed that this was probably the reason.

Then practicing chakra control should be fine, right?!

Hyuga Iwa was not a complete novice. Naturally, he knew that chakra control was extremely important. Many ninjutsu could not be learned at all without sufficient control, and the Rasengan was a typical example.

Perhaps extreme control could accomplish even more incredible things!

Rather than pursuing the quantity of chakra, Hyuga Iwa turned to training his chakra control and gradually began to enjoy it.

But as the saying went, too much was as bad as too little. Everyone's mental strength had its limits, and continuous exhaustion over a short period would place a heavy burden on the body.

Having learned his lesson once, Hyuga Iwa stopped as soon as he noticed that his mental strength was beginning to fail him.

Hyuga Hiashi nodded approvingly when he saw what Hyuga Iwa did, but he could not help frowning when he looked at the other young Hyugas.

It had already been nearly two hours since they had taken the secret medicine. Although several children had successfully extracted chakra, more than half still had not succeeded.

Although everyone still had two more chances, the first attempt was generally the easiest to succeed. The later it went, the lower the chance of success.

If they still could not extract chakra after three attempts, they would be deemed to lack ninja talent and unable to become ninjas.

Moreover, this secret medicine was not cheap. Even with the Hyuga Clan's resources, they did not have much in reserve. The main issue was that the ingredients were difficult to find, and some were priceless heavenly treasures of the Shinobi World that could not be bought with money alone!

Otherwise, there would not be so few ninjas in the entire Shinobi World!

But no matter how precious it was, as long as it could produce a few more ninjas for the clan, it was all worth it!

Ninjas were the foundation that allowed a clan to stand firm in the Shinobi World for a thousand years!

Soon, the first official chakra lesson came to an end. After Hyuga Hiashi gave everyone some warnings and emphasized several precautions, he dismissed them.

Tomorrow, everyone would return to the training grounds. The children who had failed to extract chakra this time would continue trying, while those who had succeeded would be taught Hyuga Taijutsu by Hyuga ninjas.

Of course, the Eight Trigrams Palm Technique, the art on which the Hyuga Clan had built its reputation, would not be taught to members of the Hyuga Branch Family. Even so, they were still far better off than civilian ninjas!

Most civilian ninjas did not have so many resources available for cultivation!

The gap between ninjas from major clans and civilian ninjas had existed from the very beginning, and it would only continue widening as their strength increased.