How to Extract Chakra?

About five minutes later, Naruto swaggered back to his seat.

The sight made the corner of Iruka's eye twitch.

Sigh, my student, my student. Be patient~

"Ahem, class, we'll now explain how to extract the chakra in your bodies."

This material was mainly for the children from civilian families, as well as some of the children from ninja clans.

Even if some children's parents were ninja, they might not necessarily be able to teach their children how to extract chakra.

After all, knowing how to do something was one thing; being able to teach it well was another.

Besides, it was knowledge they had learned as children. Never mind graduation-they had forgotten all the theory within a dozen days of learning to extract chakra.

(Doesn't that sound like high school students after their college entrance exams? Heh.)

Iruka took out the essential book for new students, "How to Extract Chakra (Ninja Trainee Edition)."

Its author was once again Iruka's idol, the great Tobirama.

Iruka explained everything in great detail, bringing looks of realization to the civilian students' faces while also strengthening the understanding of some ninja-clan children who had yet to fully master it.

Iruka: Who was he? The distinguished Grade-Level Director, the outstanding teacher personally appointed by Lord Hokage to teach the Elite Class. How could he possibly lack ability?

Anyone who actually lumped him together with Mizuki next door would be mistaken.

They might both be teachers, but there were differences between teachers, too.

Mizuki: Feeling pretty full of yourself, huh? Just wait until I get some practice with a large Fūma Shuriken. I'll slice you to death.

To Naruto, however, Iruka's explanation was still far too obscure.

Wasn't this stuff just like doing that thing? The feeling came, then you pushed a little, and out it came.

Hashirama declared that Naruto truly was his disciple. His understanding was spot-on.

This resulted in Naruto yawning nonstop as Iruka spoke, making Hinata beside him very worried.

She was afraid Iruka would call Naruto up again and give him a taste of his Konoha Academy Lion's Roar.

But her own feelings on the subject were actually much the same as Naruto's. Extracting chakra wasn't particularly difficult.

As long as there was enough of it, wasn't that fine?

If a person was a container, chakra was water, and chakra extraction was the amount of water flowing in...

Then the knowledge Iruka taught helped students enlarge their existing inlet, while the total capacity depended entirely on each person's talent.

And as for Naruto's and Hinata's talents...

Sasuke: I! Refuse! To accept this!

Naruto: Hehehe.

Hinata: She poked her index fingers together, her face slightly flushed, feeling a little embarrassed.

Unfortunately, just how eye-catching was Naruto's head of blond hair?

Especially in the eyes of their homeroom teacher, Iruka.

So, after he finished explaining the key points...

"Na! Ru! To!"

His voice was so loud that even Mizuki in the classroom next door heard him.

"Here!!!"

Naruto jolted awake and immediately stood up.

I'm cooked!

I accidentally fell asleep.

And Iruka-sensei caught me.

When do we eat?

Several thoughts flashed through Naruto's mind before finally circling back to food.

"You're looking pretty brave, Naruto."

Iruka narrowed his eyes and smiled at Naruto. Malice radiated from him, taking the form of a terrifying puppy that pounced straight onto Naruto.

Uh, it turned out Akamaru had sneaked over. A short distance away, Kiba was frantically signaling Hinata with his eyes.

Kiba: Emergency. Help. Got it?

Hinata: Okay.

Hinata silently grabbed Akamaru by the scruff of his fate and lifted him onto her lap.

Mmm, so soft. He feels wonderful to pet.

Akamaru: For some reason, I get the feeling that if I act up, this harmless-looking girl will tear me apart with her bare hands.

"Arf~"

An adorable little puppy whine came from Akamaru's throat, so quiet that only Hinata and Naruto could hear it.

Akamaru had never even acted this sweet with Kiba.

Kiba: Akamaru, you dog! You dog who forgets his owner for a pretty face!

Akamaru: You think I want to do this?

Hinata's eyes instantly lit up, but since Iruka still had Naruto standing, most of her attention remained on Naruto.

"Aw, you flatter me. I'm really not that brave."

Naruto swayed bashfully as he spoke.

I'm not praising you!

Stay calm, Iruka. You can do this. Believe in yourself. You're the man who's going to become Principal!

"All right. I'm sure Naruto must know a great deal about extracting chakra. Come up and explain it to everyone with a demonstration."

Iruka spoke to Naruto as calmly as he could.

"Huh? I don't know how to explain it."

Naruto indicated that he knew how to extract it but didn't know how to put it into words.

"Then sit down and listen carefully to your teacher. How about that, Naruto-kun~?"

Eugh~

Iruka-sensei is so mean, calling me that all sickeningly sweet.

Oh, right. Teacher taught me before.

Teacher said before that the author of that book, his little brother, was nowhere near as wise as he was.

Then Teacher's explanation must be even better, right?

"Um, Iruka-sensei, I want to give it a try!"

Naruto, who had sat down, raised his hand again, then pushed Sasuke aside and jogged up to the front.

"Wow... crunch. Naruto's so brave."

Without Naruto's protection, Choji no longer dared eat his potato chips openly and could only crunch them while he was talking.

"Yeah, he is."

Shikamaru answered languidly.

Honestly, Naruto didn't know a thing about slacking off properly.

True masters of slacking off looked extremely attentive on the surface, while their minds had long since wandered all over the world.

Shikamaru declared that his imagination had already taken him to Sunagakure, though he'd heard the girls there all had the same temper as his mom.

Scary.

Iruka watched Naruto approach, speechless.

Sigh, forget it. If he wanted to try, let him. The basics had all been covered anyway.

"You can all try it yourselves, too. Students without any prior foundation can generally extract it in about a week."

Iruka addressed the students while Naruto got ready.

"Ahem, ahem. First, sit cross-legged, then put your palms together."

Little Naruto sat right on the teaching platform and pressed his two small hands together.

"Then imagine a hard-to-describe sense of energy produced by your body. It exists in every part of your body."

"And finally, the chakra comes out!"

The moment Naruto finished speaking, a wave of chakra spread outward from him for half a meter.

Fluttering sheets of paper covered Iruka's face.

Wait, for realsies?

That was it?

Sakura, who had been frantically taking notes, was left bewildered by Naruto's demonstration.

What sense of energy?

I know it's hard to describe. Why else would we ask you to explain it?

Damn it!!!

Though she was howling inwardly, she still had to remain quiet on the surface. It wouldn't do for Sasuke-kun to see her otherwise.

Iruka pulled the white paper off his face, picked up Naruto, who was still extracting chakra, and carried him back to his seat.

Naruto was dumped back into his place under Sasuke's gloating gaze.

"Ahem, a special case. I don't recommend that you use it as a reference."