"Why would I be worried?
With you and your wife looking after him, Shira is much happier than he used to be.
It's just that having him stay at your place like this really is a lot of trouble for you."
As Shisō spoke, he lowered his head, a little embarrassed.
"Whenever I went out to work before, Shira stayed home by himself.
After Delia died, he learned to take care of himself at a very young age.
Besides, with you and your kind wife looking after him now, he's being cared for ten times better than I could manage on my own."
Only then did Mukai feel reassured. He comforted Shisō, saying,
"That's good.
As for your qualification to become a ninja through special recommendation,
I applied to the village for it through Elder Chiyo.
That's because I believe in your strength.
What you lack now is a way to make better use of that strength.
But there's no need to rush. There's still over a year until the Chunin competition,
so we have plenty of time for special training.
You'll become incredibly strong, stronger than you can imagine."
Ever since they met at the giant stone pillar, Shisō had placed great faith in Mukai, the man who had changed his life.
Now, he simply beat a fist against his sturdy chest to show that he would follow Mukai's arrangements.
Mukai had returned to the village this time mainly to take Shisō with him.
For his current choice of squad members, it seemed no one was more suitable than Shisō.
Mukai returned to his family's izakaya and was secretly taken aback at the sight of the storefront, which had more than tripled in size.
It looked like his family had spent all the money he'd given them on expanding the shop!
After a warm yet awkward meal at home, Mukai told the original owner's parents that he would be busy for a while,
preparing for next year's Chunin Ninja Exams.
Though the original owner's parents were reluctant to see him go, a ninja had to put the village's arrangements first.
Besides, the Chunin Ninja Exams were far less dangerous than going on missions.
Perhaps!
After lunch, Mukai and Shisō set off for the border oasis together.
On the way, Shisō asked the question on his mind:
"Young Master Mukai... sorry, Captain Mukai,
why is it that I clearly extract a lot of Chakra using the Chakra Extraction Technique,
but after it circulates through my body for a while, it always disappears,
and I still can't use any Ninjutsu?"
Mukai carefully explained the principles of Chakra as he understood them from his modern perspective:
"Shisō, in my view, Chakra is like a tool that channels and gives form to our own desires and abilities.
For elemental Ninjutsu users like me, it manifests as techniques like Wind Release: Great Breakthrough or Lightning Release: Earth Flow.
For sensory ninja, it manifests as better eyesight, sharper hearing, and so on.
So, in my view, for a pure Taijutsu ninja like you,
the Chakra you refine is actually used to strengthen your bones, tendons, muscles, and the like.
It doesn't disappear; it simply becomes part of every aspect of your body."
Although Shisō now knew why the Chakra he refined disappeared, he was still somewhat disappointed.
"I see. But if that's the case, Taijutsu ninja can never have a place.
Relying purely on Taijutsu, we'd be toyed with by Clone Techniques and worn down by long-range Ninjutsu or ninja tools before we could even get close to an opponent.
That's how it's been for me all these years, no matter how hard I've worked. I'm afraid it'll be the same for Shira.
Surely he can't have to rely on a recommendation to become a ninja too?"
Mukai shook his head and looked out at the yellow sands and Gobi desert along the road.
"Don't worry. This is only temporary.
In the future, at the new Ninja Academy, Chakra will manifest in many different ways.
Being an elemental Ninjutsu user and knowing the Three Basic Techniques will no longer be prerequisites for becoming a ninja."
Both men were quick on their feet, racing through the sea of sand as they talked.
When they reached the border oasis, Shisō was stunned by the magnificent project before him.
"This is unbelievable!
To think you could dig something this spectacular out here!
I thought we were just coming here to train!"
Mukai patted him on the shoulder.
"Don't get excited too soon. There's still some finishing work here that I need to take care of.
For the next few days, follow the weighted training plan I made for you.
Once I'm done with my work, there's even tougher special training waiting for you!"
Shisō stood tall and straight like a soldier, beating a fist against his sturdy chest.
"Rest assured, Captain Mukai!
I'll carry out your assignment to the letter, without regret even in death!"
"I'm glad you're confident!
Changing the old rules naturally won't be easy.
Let's work hard together!"
Mukai introduced Shisō to Konan and the others at the camp.
Sasori and Pakura were famous ninja from the village, so naturally, they needed no introduction.
Although they found it odd that Mukai had recruited an adult who knew only Taijutsu and couldn't use any Ninjutsu,
Mukai's longstanding authority meant that Pakura and Sasori kept their doubts to themselves and welcomed the newcomer Shisō.
In the days that followed, Shisō, wearing specially made weights, was always the first to set out each morning, training in the sea of sand around the camp.
Alongside his basic Taijutsu practice, he took on jobs such as transporting supplies over long distances.
One of Shisō's jobs was to carry Iron Sand from another small hill of it, more than twenty li from the oasis workshop,
back to the workshop.
Every day, he could be seen trudging along with a specially made metal box over fifty centimeters across on his back.
The metal box was packed full of Iron Sand.
Unassuming as it looked, the Iron Sand weighed over four hundred jin!
Shisō's strength and endurance alone earned everyone's admiration.
Sasori, who spent most of his time busy inside the workshop, had no easy time of it either.
He had now practiced the Ten Fingers Technique to the point where he could control three groups of puppets at once.
He was responsible for using them to process Mukai's strange contraptions in the puppet workshop.
Besides his regular practice, lifting weights with Chakra Threads was one of the many training exercises Mukai had assigned him.
According to Mukai, Sasori's future mecha would be heavy and highly mobile.
If his Chakra Threads weren't strong enough, how could he fight anyone?
The process of precision machining with Chakra Threads also exercised them.
As Sasori worked, he often remembered the conversation they'd had on the Iron Sand hill that day.
Besides helping them prepare food every day and keeping in touch with Yahiko through paper cranes,
Konan also had her work schedule packed full by the black-hearted capitalist Mukai.
In addition to using the Dance of the Shikigami to produce large quantities of ultrathin insulating paper in the dimensions Mukai requested,
she also had to complete many incredibly complicated origami exercises.
Mukai described many of the origami designs from memory,
and for most of them there was only a hand-drawn picture of the finished result.
There were no concrete ideas at all for the actual folding process; she had to figure it out entirely on her own.
Even so, out of her boundless love for origami, Konan managed to fold a Shikigami shield and a pair of incredibly complex Shikigami wings.
At Mukai's inventive praise, Konan's cheeks turned as red as apples.
After order was restored in Moon Sake Village and its first batch of fine sake was produced, Yahiko made a special trip with representatives from the town to thank Mukai.
His Akatsuki had expanded to twelve members and was mainly responsible for dealing with the townspeople.
Nagato, meanwhile, used Earth Release to continually reinforce the surrounding embankments in preparation for letting the water through.
Mukai and Pakura, on the other hand, kept advancing through the tunnel, using combined Ninjutsu to melt its inner walls.
Every day, they went through the agonizing cycle of draining their Chakra, recovering, and draining it again.
Each day, the two of them grew so tired that their legs turned to jelly.
As if they had done something naughty and drained their bodies dry, they returned to the oasis workshop and fell straight asleep.
Time always passed quickly when everyone was busy.
At last, the day came to let water through the canal.