Chakra Natures and Spiritual Roots

After settling the unconscious Shinbu Kosuke down, Mui explained awkwardly, "He just hates losing. He's a good person, really. Once he accepts someone, he treats them sincerely. He's loyal, too!"

"It's fine. It was just a sparring match!"

The two chatted for a while longer before Shinbu Kosuke finally came to.

When he woke, his attitude toward Lu Zeming had changed completely. He could not have been more enthusiastic.

He poured tea, fetched water, and kept calling him "Zeming." He sounded like an old friend.

"Zeming, I lost control and used that move earlier. I'm truly sorry!"

"I told you, it's fine. We were just sparring!"

"Then can you tell me when you used the Phantom Body Technique? I didn't even see you make the hand signs!"

Lu Zeming smiled. "Right after I struck your back, when you rolled away with the force of the blow!"

Kosuke slapped his forehead. "Of course! When I rolled away, I created a blind spot. You used it to circle behind me!"

Kosuke rubbed his head again. "You hit me too hard there, though. It still hurts!"

Seeing Mui unharmed, Kosuke went on, "By the way, how did your fight go after I passed out? Who won?"

With a rueful smile, Mui pointed to the handprint on his chest.

"Zeming went easy on me."

Kosuke looked at Lu Zeming with a wounded expression. "Zeming, that's not fair! You hit me so hard, but you only left a handprint on him. That's not fair!"

"You used that move on Zeming. You deserved what you got!" Mui said, reaching over to prod the swollen spot on Kosuke's head.

"Don't! I know I was wrong!"

The two laughed and wrestled, behaving exactly as boys their age should. Lu Zeming, though only seven, seemed more like an adult. He watched them with a faint smile, slowly sipping his tea.

On the way to register, Kosuke muttered to Mui, "Zeming acts like a little grown-up."

Mui nodded. "Maybe that's the difference between a genius and ordinary people like us."

With Shinbu Kosuke, a member of a prominent clan, accompanying them, the three registered without a hitch.

After collecting his exam admission certificate, Lu Zeming said goodbye to the other two and returned to the inn.

When Lu Zeming opened the door to his room, Mayuko and the two brothers were already waiting.

"How did it go?" Lu Zeming asked. "Everything go smoothly?"

Mayuko answered first. "The only road out of the village runs through the main gate. The Shinbu clan is in Jiangdu Town, on the south side of Second Block. The Shinomiya clan is north of the city, in Shinomiya Town, on the south side of First Block."

Yusuke and Yuma spread out a hand-drawn map. "We found the locations of the Security Force headquarters, the Jonin Waiting Room, the Ninja Academy, Kusakage Tower, and Kusakagure Hospital, and marked them all."

It was clearly their first time drawing a map. Though rough, it showed the relative positions well enough.

Mayuko then said, looking ashamed, "As for the Ninja Armory you mentioned, we haven't found it yet."

Lu Zeming smiled reassuringly. "A storage site like the Ninja Armory is usually a closely guarded secret. It's only natural you couldn't find it. Stop looking for now—we don't want to alert anyone. I have another way!"

Lu Zeming pointed at the map.

"This map is still too rough. Let me teach you how to draw one!"

He showed them how to estimate distances, choose reference points, and keep the scale consistent.

All three studied diligently.

At the same time, Shinbu Kosuke had barely returned home when his father, Shinbu Mutsuto, summoned him to the study.

"I hear you're taking part in this Chunin selection?"

Shinbu Kosuke answered respectfully, "Yes, Father. I've already registered."

A rare trace of kindness appeared on Mutsuto's stern face. "This Chunin selection is different. I don't want you to take part."

"Why? Father, do you think so little of me? I may be born to a concubine, but I work harder than my brother, and I'm more talented!"

His father slammed a hand on the desk. "Enough!"

Kosuke knelt and said nothing more. Deathly silence settled over the study.

It was a long time before Mutsuto spoke again. "Your uncle has already come to see me. If you insist on taking part, be prepared to die."

Kosuke's heart lurched. His uncle was Shinbu Teiichi, the current head of the Shinbu clan.

His uncle had spoken to his father, and now his father was telling him to be prepared to die. Did that mean this Chunin selection...

Mutsuto's next words confirmed Kosuke's suspicion.

"During the exam, you will hunt down the Shinomiya clan's candidates. It must appear to be your own decision. Understood?"

Kosuke's heart sank, but he nodded his agreement.

The night passed without incident. Early the next morning, Lu Zeming took Mayuko and the brothers out to buy supplies needed back in the village.

Shopping was only a secondary purpose, of course. Lu Zeming really wanted to scout the terrain and teach the three how to move unseen and plan escape routes along the way.

The exam would not begin for another three days. Lu Zeming had plenty of time.

As the exam drew nearer, the city grew livelier. People queued at the ticket booths without end, while merchants and peddlers from all over lined up to enter the city, hoping to profit from the crowds.

Only Lu Zeming sensed a hint of violence beneath the festive bustle.

Over those three days, Mui met up with Lu Zeming and Shinbu Kosuke several times to spar and get a better sense of each other's abilities.

Each time, Mui and Kosuke were the ones who took a beating.

Then, after one sparring session, Mui asked Lu Zeming a question.

"Zeming, what's your Chakra nature? Mine is fire. If yours is wind, the two of us could work together to make our Ninjutsu much stronger!"

Lu Zeming paused. That's right—what's my Chakra nature? No, wait. I use Spiritual Power. Does Spiritual Power have a nature?

Seeing Lu Zeming hesitate, Mui hurriedly bowed in apology.

"I'm sorry! It was rude of me to ask about your Chakra nature out of the blue!"

He had no idea that was not what troubled Lu Zeming at all.

Lu Zeming merely waved a hand and headed toward the inn, deep in thought.

By the time he was on his way back, Lu Zeming had an answer.

Spiritual Power should have a nature, just like Chakra. A person is born with that nature.

In the Naruto World, they call it a nature. In the world of cultivation, it would probably be called a Spiritual Root!

Chakra natures include wind, fire, water, earth, lightning, yin, and yang. What about Spiritual Roots? And how can I test mine?

Lu Zeming suddenly remembered the Chakra Test Paper from the Naruto story.

He turned around and went to the Ninja Tool Shop.

It was only after a shop assistant explained it that Lu Zeming understood how it worked.

All he had to do was channel Chakra into the paper. The way it changed would reveal his Chakra nature.

With wind, the paper would split in two; with fire, it would burn; with water, it would turn wet; with lightning, it would wrinkle and curl; with earth, it would crumble.

Lu Zeming did not test it in the shop. He took the paper back to the inn, shut the doors and windows, and made sure no one was around before channeling Spiritual Power into it.

It neither burned nor split as he had expected. Instead, it turned green. The test paper turned green!

What the hell? Had the paper gone moldy?

Lu Zeming channeled more Spiritual Power into it. Before long, tiny shoots sprouted from the green paper.

Lu Mingze fell into thought.

Wood Release? A Kekkei Genkai?

Neither seems quite right. If it were Wood Release, the paper should have gotten wet and crumbled, not sprouted outright.

It's more like the Wood Spiritual Root described in cultivation novels.

"A Wood Spiritual Root. For someone destined to become the greatest physician of this age, it suits me perfectly!"