Training in the Hills

Konoha's morning air was especially fresh and pleasantly invigorating. Ruri threaded his way against the bustling crowd toward Hokage Rock.

Ruri knew that behind Konoha's iconic Hokage Rock lay a hill that had been leveled flat: Back Mountain.

Walking farther in for a little over an hour would bring him to the Fire Temple. Dense forests and ravines filled the surrounding area, so he was sure he could find a good place to train there.

When he reached Hokage Rock, Ruri stood on top of it and gazed at the village below. "It's beautiful!" he marveled.

With that, Ruri continued farther in. After walking for a little over an hour, he finally found a suitable spot. "All right, this is it! Not a bad setting!"

It was a low-lying ravine with a clear stream flowing through its center, its bed plainly visible beneath the water. Dense woods surrounded the clearing.

Ruri surveyed his surroundings with the Byakugan and found no sign of anyone nearby. This spot was outside the village and screened by the trees, so he did not have to worry about anyone spying on him.

"Before I start training, I should check my chakra nature. Once I know my nature, I'll know how to train in ninjutsu suited to me. Understanding my chakra nature will also let me use my ninjutsu more naturally!"

With that, Ruri took a sheet of chakra testing paper from his ninja tool pouch. He held it between his index and middle fingers, concentrated, and channeled chakra from his fingers into the paper.

Before long, the chakra testing paper in Ruri's hand underwent a clear change. First, it split down the middle, then it instantly caught fire.

"So my chakra natures are wind and fire!" Watching the paper slowly burn away, Ruri suddenly thought of something. "Looks like I have a reasonable explanation for my Flame-Flame Fruit powers now!"

"Let's give it a try and see just how powerful the Flame-Flame Fruit is," Ruri said, looking at the trees ahead.

As soon as he finished speaking, Ruri activated the Flame-Flame Fruit's power and concentrated energy in his hand. A large fireball instantly sprang to life. He aimed at a thick tree ahead, its trunk so broad that even two people together might not have been able to wrap their arms around it.

Ruri raised his hand, and the large fireball shot forward, slamming into the tree.

Boom.

The tree, too thick for even two people to encircle, snapped in two in an instant. Fierce flames blazed up, and the sheer power left Ruri awestruck.

Although it could not compare with ninjutsu capable of leveling an entire village in one strike, this was Ruri's first real glimpse of ninjutsu's power.

Seeing those scenes in an anime was nothing like witnessing them with his own eyes. The difference was like heaven and earth.

After watching the impact, Ruri immediately ran over and extinguished the flames. Looking at the wood that had burned to ash, he said, "It really is different from the anime. Trying it myself felt amazing! Haha!"

"The Flame-Flame Fruit's power really is incredible, but it still can't compare with those ridiculously powerful ninjutsu. Oh well, I'll keep practicing. I've only just started, anyway. Next up, Water Walking!"

With that, Ruri looked toward the Small River beside him, then closed his eyes and tried to concentrate chakra in the soles of his feet. Once he could feel the chakra there, he slowly walked toward the Small River.

Ruri first placed one foot slowly on the Small River. Once he felt that it could support him, he carefully lowered his other foot onto the Small River's surface.

To his surprise, Ruri managed to stand on the Small River on his very first attempt. But just as a smile began to spread across his face-

Splash!

Caught off guard, Ruri plunged into the water, splashing it all over his face.

"Ah, looks like even basic skills every ninja has to learn, like tree climbing and Water Walking, aren't that easy!" Ruri said, remembering that Naruto and Sasuke had also spent a week mastering Water Walking in the anime.

Unwilling to give up, Ruri patiently tried dozens more times. Gradually, noon arrived, and the sun climbed overhead.

Scorching sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves and fell over Ruri. In less than an hour, his head was drenched in sweat.

"Haha, I finally did it!"

After dozens of attempts, Ruri once again concentrated chakra in the sole of his foot and stepped onto the water. This time, it felt as though he were standing on something solid.

Ruri carefully shifted his weight onto the foot resting on the water. He released chakra from the sole of his other foot as well, then slowly placed it on the surface.

"I remember that even Sakura, who had exceptional chakra control in the original story, spent quite a bit of time on this. I never thought I'd succeed so quickly. Looks like the Hyuga Clan's chakra control really does live up to its reputation. It's seriously impressive!"

In the original anime, Neji Hyuga demonstrated that the Hyuga Clan, whose Gentle Fist masters could strike chakra into an opponent's body to control them, could also release chakra from every chakra point in their own bodies. Even jonin could not accomplish that, which showed that the Hyuga Clan's chakra control ranked among the very best in the ninja world.