Releasing Ninjutsu

Successfully refining Genin-level chakra, the joy was like a blazing current of warmth that continued to warm Shaye and his father for days. But that glowing blue aura was ultimately only an internal change. For a ninja, whether he could turn that power into an actual "jutsu" was the real test.

On a rare day off, the sunlight was just right, and even the windblown sand seemed gentler than usual. Shaliu had not gone to the military, and Shaye was not bent over his workbench. Father and son returned in tacit understanding to that familiar courtyard—the "accident scene" where Shaye had once become a "human-shaped radish."

The ground beneath his feet was still dry, but in Shaye's eyes, it was no longer an insurmountable obstacle.

"Are you ready?" Shaliu's voice carried a trace of barely perceptible tension and anticipation. He stood some distance away, his gaze fixed firmly on his son.

Shaye took a deep breath and nodded. He closed his eyes and sensed the newly born stream of chakra flowing through his body. Though weak, it was real. It was utterly different from the vague sensation of energy before; this was a power he could clearly guide and control.

His hands slowly and steadily began to form seals—Ram, Snake, Tiger. He had rehearsed every seal countless times in his mind, and now they came smoothly and precisely, with a confidence he had never possessed before.

At the same time, he mobilized the chakra within him, circulating it along a specific path through his meridians before concentrating it in his feet. This time, the chakra responded with unprecedented speed and abundance!

"Earth Release: Headhunter Jutsu!"

He shouted low, driving chakra from his feet fiercely into the earth!

Buzz...

A chakra fluctuation, clearly stronger and steadier than last time, seeped into the ground. The earth beneath his feet responded at once, softening and turning muddy faster than before. Like quicksand opening its embrace, it gently yet swiftly enveloped his body.

He sank—smoothly sank!

His knees, waist, chest... This time, there was no pause, no snag! He could clearly feel the chakra circulating around his body. It not only softened the earth, but also formed a faint yet tangible chakra space around him, resisting the pressure of the soil and maintaining the jutsu's stability.

In the blink of an eye, his entire body had completely submerged underground, vanishing from the surface.

The ground returned to its flat state, as though nothing had happened. Only an extremely faint chakra fluctuation indicated that the space below was not empty.

He had succeeded! He had not merely sunk down—he had fully and successfully carried out the first stage of the entire jutsu!

Shaliu held his breath, his heart pounding as he stared unblinkingly at the patch of ground that appeared entirely ordinary.

The next moment, the earth not far from Shaliu's feet bulged slightly. A hand suddenly burst from the soil, followed by Shaye's small black-haired head. His face and hair were covered in dirt, making him look rather disheveled, but his black eyes shone like stars, filled with wild joy, excitement, and disbelief!

He had succeeded! Not only had he gone underground, but he could also use the residual chakra of the jutsu and his faint connection to the earth to move a short distance through the soil and break out on his own!

This was a complete, successful release of a ninjutsu!

"Father! I did it!" Shaye's voice was slightly hoarse with excitement. He struggled to crawl fully out of the ground, not even bothering to brush the dirt from himself as he looked eagerly at his father.

Shaliu rushed forward in a single stride and tightly gripped his son's shoulders, with such force that Shaye even felt a little pain. He looked his son over from head to toe, gazing at his dirt-covered yet vibrantly alive face and sensing the faint but undeniably real chakra fluctuations around him.

This tough ninja, who had weathered countless battlefields and witnessed too many lives and deaths, had his eyes redden instantly. His lips trembled as though he wanted to say something, but not a single word came out. Only his slightly shaking hands revealed the surging emotions within him.

Nine years. Ever since his wife had traded her life for this child, ever since he had been told that the child was congenitally frail, his foundation damaged, and might never be able to refine chakra or release ninjutsu like an ordinary ninja, the crushing guilt and despair in his heart had nearly broken him. He had given up a promising combat post and transferred to logistics, all so he could better care for this sickly child. Day and night, he worried that he would fail his wife's last request and be unable to raise their child safely and healthily.

And today, at this very moment, he watched his son successfully release his first ninjutsu through his own strength. Though it was only the most basic D-Rank Ninjutsu, it meant that the shackles of fate enveloping his son had been broken! It meant that all his years of sacrifice and perseverance had not been in vain!

"Good... good... good child!" Shaliu's voice choked up. In the end, he could only pull his son tightly into his arms, his rough hand patting Shaye's dirt-covered back again and again. At last, hot tears slid uncontrollably from the corners of his eyes, falling onto Shaye's shoulder and quickly soaking into the dirt.

Shaye felt his father's violent emotional turmoil and sensed the countless feelings contained in that silent crying—guilt, relief, pride, release... His own nose stung, and he hugged his father back tightly.

Father and son stood in that sunlit courtyard, covered in dirt from head to toe, crying tears of joy like two children who had found a precious treasure.

Those tears washed away the gloom and hardship of the past nine years, watering the hope and future that had finally broken through the earth.

Shaliu raised his head and looked at the clear blue sky, as though silently speaking to his departed wife:

Chun Zi, did you see?

Our child did it.

I did not let you down.