Genin Chakra

Ever since the First-Generation Body Tempering Furnace had been successfully activated and its restorative effects verified, Shaye's life had entered a new, hopeful routine.

Every night, when the Hidden Sand Village fell silent and only the wind and sand could be heard striking the window frames, was the time Shaye and his father were busiest and most expectant. After finishing his military duties for the day, Shaliu returned home on time no matter how exhausted he was. Shaye, meanwhile, had already inspected the Body Refining Furnace and made all the necessary preparations.

The process was anything but easy or pleasant. Each activation required Shaliu to continuously supply a considerable amount of chakra. Even for a Chunin like him, maintaining that output for half an hour was no small burden. After every session, his face turned pale, and he needed to meditate for quite some time to recover. As the direct recipient of the energy, Shaye had to endure a process beyond anyone else's imagination.

The gentle energy permeating his body did not bring comfort alone. Repairing his innate foundation was like reinforcing a building with unstable foundations; it inevitably involved both destruction and rebuilding. While the energy nourished and activated healthy cells, it also forcibly stimulated underdeveloped and even misaligned meridians and tissues. Soreness, numbness, swelling, pain—every sensation intertwined, and each half-hour treatment felt like a long torment. Shaye often clenched his teeth, his entire body soaked in sweat, his nails digging deeply into his palms just to keep himself from making a sound.

But all that effort came with visible rewards.

The first change was his complexion. The sickly, almost translucent pallor of the past was gradually replaced by a faint, healthy flush. The veins beneath his skin no longer stood out so starkly, and his dry hair seemed to gain a little luster as well.

More importantly, there were the sensations within his body. The ever-present weakness and fatigue that had clung to him like a shadow were gradually fading away. His breathing became deeper and stronger, while his heartbeat grew steadier. In the past, merely walking a few extra steps would leave him gasping for breath. Now, he could clearly feel his stamina increasing. Though he was still far inferior to others his age, he was no longer so frail that a gust of wind could knock him over.

The greatest change came after that night's treatment.

As usual, Shaye crawled out of the furnace chamber, his body exhausted yet refreshed. Out of habit, he sat cross-legged and attempted his daily chakra extraction routine, partly to restore his mental energy and partly to test the effects of the restoration.

However, this time, things were completely different!

When he focused his mind as usual and guided his physical energy and spiritual energy to merge, he no longer felt the usual difficulty, resistance, and near-depleted helplessness!

It was as though a previously blocked river channel had been completely cleared, or a dried-up spring had finally begun to flow again! His physical energy was more active and abundant than ever before, while guiding his spiritual energy became exceptionally smooth! The two merged swiftly and naturally, transforming into a flow of chakra. Though it still could not be called immense, it was no longer that pitiful thread. It had become a clear, steady, ever-flowing stream!

This chakra stream circulated steadily through the meridians in his body. The sense of fullness and strength it brought was something Shaye had never experienced in all nine years of his life!

He abruptly opened his eyes, his black pupils bursting with an incredulous gleam! Instinctively, he stretched out his hand and tried gathering this newborn chakra at his fingertips.

Buzz...

A clearly visible pale-blue chakra glow, weak yet incomparably stable, slowly appeared at his fingertips. Like a flickering blue flame, it illuminated one corner of the dim room!

It was no longer the "thread" that had once required extreme perception to detect, but a real, visible concentration of chakra!

"Father!" Shaye's voice cracked slightly with excitement. "Look!"

Shaliu, who had been meditating nearby to recover, opened his eyes at the sound. Seeing the stable chakra glow at his son's fingertips, he froze for a moment before suddenly rising to his feet, his face filled with shock and wild joy!

"This... this is..." He rushed over in a single stride and carefully sensed the chakra. "Stable, condensed... This is already standard Genin-level chakra!"

Though the amount had likely only just reached the threshold of a Genin, its stability and density surpassed even that of many newly graduated Genin!

The greatest shackle that had plagued Shaye for nine years and limited every possibility available to him—his difficulty in extracting chakra—had finally been broken!

The initial restoration of his foundation had brought its most direct reward!

Shaye watched the blue light flicker at his fingertips and felt the weak but genuine power flowing through his body. His nose stung, and indescribable excitement and emotion surged into his heart. So many failures, so much despair, so many sleepless nights of effort—all of it had finally received its sweetest reward in this moment.

From this day onward, he was no longer a "useless person" who could not even extract chakra.

He, Shaye, had truly become a ninja with Genin-level chakra!

At this moment, the road ahead had truly become broad.

(End of Chapter)