Cultivation

Why had Masayo become a ninja in the first place?

Unwilling to remain ordinary, and gifted as well, he returned to Konoha. Kakashi turned in the mission, divided the reward money, and they received five days of leave.

At one in the afternoon on the first day of their break, Kakashi and Masayo seemed to arrive at Training Ground 44 at the same time, as though they had silently agreed on it.

The two exchanged few words. A single glance conveyed everything, as if they understood each other very well.

"Ahem... It seems the previous mission really didn't affect you. In that case, let's begin."

Kakashi coughed softly a few times, took out a sheet of chakra paper, and said, "Your foundation is solid. You rest when it's time to rest and train when it's time to train. You know how to balance work and rest, and you even comprehended the nature transformation of Wind Attribute chakra on your own. There are many things I no longer need to explain to you."

"Chakra paper?"

A surge of anticipation rose in Masayo's heart. He had long wanted to use chakra paper to test his chakra affinities, but his teacher at the Academy had told him not to rush things and to build a solid foundation. So Masayo had endured the loneliness, training his physical strength day after day, year after year.

Although he earned decent money through his carving skills, that did not mean he was wealthy. He could not train at the insane intensity of Rock Lee and Might Guy.

Training like theirs was impossible without medicinal herbs and other methods of recovery, not to mention ample funding.

He trained when it was time to train, relaxed when it was time to relax, and slept when it was time to sleep. He endured loneliness from the day he entered the Ninja Academy until graduation, and it had already become a habit.

"As expected, you know all about the basic natures of the five attributes. That saves me a lot of explanation. Test yourself with the chakra paper!"

Kakashi handed the chakra paper to Masayo. After placing it in his palm, Masayo infused it with chakra. Besides Wind Attribute, he also wanted to know whether he possessed any other chakra affinities.

As Masayo's chakra flowed in, the chakra paper was instantly sliced in two. One half immediately caught fire, while the other half became soaked.

"So hot!"

Masayo hurriedly threw the chakra paper from his hand. The burning half gave him no time to react before it burst into flames.

As he blew on his reddened palm, Masayo said, "Fire Attribute makes the paper burn, Wind Attribute splits it in two, Lightning Attribute makes it wrinkle, Earth Attribute makes it crumble, and Water Attribute makes it wet."

Masayo lightly shook his still-burning hand and smiled. "I didn't expect that aside from Wind Attribute, I also have Fire Attribute and Water Attribute chakra affinities. Kakashi-sensei... Mm, Kakashi-sensei, what are you looking at?"

Kakashi did not answer. He seemed to have noticed something and picked up the other half of the chakra paper, the one soaked by Water Attribute. His gaze fell on one corner, where an almost negligible tiny piece had crumbled away.

"Mm, you also have Earth Attribute, but your Earth Attribute is rather strange."

"What? I actually have Earth Attribute too?"

Masayo froze, then hurriedly took the soaked chakra paper Kakashi had picked up. Sure enough, a corner had crumbled away, but it was so tiny that one would not notice it without looking closely. It was not even a millimeter wide.

"It really crumbled. Earth Attribute... Kakashi-sensei, what's strange about it?"

Masayo asked in confusion. He had thought he possessed four chakra affinities, but judging by Kakashi's expression, it did not seem so simple.

"It counts, but it also doesn't. This is the first time I've seen a case like yours."

Kakashi looked at Masayo and explained, "Most ninjas are born with only one chakra affinity. Those born with two are rare, while those with three or more are rarer still. That is why, after becoming Jonin, ninjas generally develop a second chakra affinity."

After saying that, Kakashi looked at the damp chakra paper in Masayo's hand and pointed at the crumbled corner. "The Earth Attribute in your body is very weak, so weak that even the chakra paper could barely detect such a tiny fragment. It doesn't look like something you were born with. It seems more like an acquired affinity, gradually obtained through extensive training or some other method."

Masayo fell silent for a moment. An acquired affinity? He had only trained his body and built his foundation. Even if he were to develop a new affinity, it should have been Lightning Attribute, not Earth Attribute! And he had crossed over with his physical body... Could it be related to being struck to death by lightning?

But that did not make sense either. Since lightning had killed him, why was his acquired affinity Earth Attribute instead of Lightning Attribute?

Countless questions filled Masayo's mind. He continued, "So, Kakashi-sensei, does that mean this acquired Earth Attribute is useless...?"

Kakashi thought for a moment and organized his words before speaking. "Of course not. Don't underestimate that pitifully weak Earth Attribute of yours just because it amounts to only this tiny bit. No matter what, you have completed the process of going from nothing to something. For other ninjas, reaching this stage from nothing would take who knows how many years of grueling cultivation. In your case, you have already skipped more than half that hardship."

Masayo understood what Kakashi meant. When developing a new affinity, he would need far less time than other ninjas. So Lightning Attribute was completely beyond his reach after all. He would not be able to use techniques like Lightning Cutter or Chidori.

Still, Masayo was satisfied. He had been born with Wind, Fire, and Water Attributes, along with an Earth Attribute waiting to be developed. Though he lacked the Lightning Attribute he had hoped for, this was not a bad result.

Masayo gently rubbed his wrist, putting on a pleading expression as he said, "Kakashi-sensei, can you teach me some ninjutsu? When I use Wind Body Flicker, relying only on kunai is too limiting. If I encounter an enemy with strong defenses, I'll be too passive. You're the Copy Ninja famous throughout the Ninja World, so you should have some ninjutsu suitable for me, right?"

Kakashi scratched his head thoughtfully. Masayo's fighting style centered on the speed of Wind Body Flicker. Even without using his Sharingan, Kakashi found Masayo's Wind Body Flicker somewhat troublesome.

"Mm, that's true. I have thought of one. There really is a ninjutsu that suits you well. Combined with your Wind Body Flicker, it can greatly increase your combat strength. However, this ninjutsu is rather special, and its training difficulty has reached A-rank!"

With amusement in his eyes, Kakashi lowered his head slightly and looked at Masayo.

Masayo hurriedly nodded. "I want to learn it, Kakashi-sensei. What kind of ninjutsu is it? Please tell me quickly!"

Kakashi stopped keeping him in suspense. He spread open his palm, chakra gathering within it to form a blue sphere of energy. Light flickered at its core, while chakra flowed irregularly from the center to its edges.

"This technique is called the Rasengan. It is a hand-signless ninjutsu created by the Fourth Hokage over the course of three years. If you can master it and combine it with your Wind Body Flicker, your strength will definitely rise by a great deal."