Day by day, the Ninja Academy's lessons gradually delved into more advanced subjects.
That day, the theory teacher stood at the front of the classroom. Five symbols representing the basic Chakra natures had been drawn on the blackboard.
"Today, we'll be discussing Chakra natures."
The teacher's voice echoed through the classroom. "Every ninja's Chakra has a natural affinity for one or more natures..."
The children's eyes widened, full of curiosity and anticipation.
Shira sat in the back row, listening just as intently. But his focus was completely different from everyone else's.
He couldn't use Ninjutsu. To him, the natures were not a spear with which to attack, but the shields and spears of enemies that he would have to face.
His thinking had now shifted entirely from "how to use them" to "how to counter them."
After class, he quietly organized his notes, writing down the common characteristics, strengths and weaknesses of each nature, along with the most rudimentary countermeasures he could think of.
After school, Shira returned to Chiyo's courtyard.
During the time they had spent together, Chiyo's attitude had subtly changed.
Though she still rarely looked pleased, the coldness that kept people at a distance had faded considerably.
She seemed to have grown accustomed to the little fellow appearing in her courtyard at regular intervals, toiling away, then picking out what she considered "trash" and taking it away.
Occasionally, she even felt that the noisy bit of life he brought to the deathly quiet courtyard was not so irritating after all.
"Granny Chiyo." Shira bowed respectfully, his way of addressing her having grown a little more familiar without his noticing.
Chiyo was sitting beneath the eaves, leisurely wiping down a somewhat worn puppet component. Without looking up, she merely grunted through her nose. "Mm. The medicinal dregs are in the usual place. There's nothing new in the scrap-iron pile today, so see for yourself."
Though her tone was still indifferent, it lacked its former biting chill and sounded more like habitual grumbling.
"I didn't come for the medicinal dregs or scrap today," Shira said. "We learned about Chakra natures at school today, and there are some things I don't understand about countering them. I'd like to ask for your guidance, Granny."
Chiyo's wiping paused. She lifted her eyelids and glanced at him. The last rays of the setting sun fell across her wrinkled face, softening her habitual sternness somewhat.
She looked at the boy before her, with his clear, determined eyes, and remembered his frenzied training day after day and the hands he had worn raw countless times.
"Countering them?" She put down the component in her hands, a trace of nearly imperceptible, almost teasing amusement entering her voice.
"What, a brat who can barely climb a tree is already thinking about how to counter Ninjutsu? You've certainly got big ambitions."
Her words sounded teasing, but a faint trace of interest, almost impossible to detect, lay hidden in her eyes.
Shira nodded earnestly. "Precisely because I can't use it, I need to know how to counter it all the more. Know yourself and know your enemy, and you need not fear a hundred battles. I don't want to throw my life away on the battlefield someday because of ignorance."
"Hmph, you've got one twisted argument after another." Chiyo snorted, but she didn't chase him away. She fell silent for a moment, her clouded gaze seeming to pass through Shira and settle somewhere far away. Perhaps she was remembering someone who had been just as devoted to a certain path.
A faint trace of sorrow and nostalgia flitted through her eyes, then she concealed it.
She looked at Shira again, her tone softening somewhat, taking on the rambling manner of an elder as she tested him. "Then tell me first, boy, what do you think you should do if you run into someone who spits fireballs? Rely on those fists of yours?"
Shira thought for a moment before answering cautiously. "Fireballs attack in a straight line. They cover a wide area, but their trajectory doesn't vary much. I think I should rely on speed to dodge as best I can, then look for a chance to close in and attack the caster directly."
"Haha, you're not completely stupid, little fellow." Chiyo pursed her lips, seeming a little satisfied, yet also somewhat displeased that his answer was too simple. "Then what if the ground is covered in water and your feet get tangled up?"
"Break free first, I suppose? Or stop the technique before I'm trapped."
"Stop it? Easy to say." Chiyo finally seemed to take some interest, or perhaps this unconventional student had stirred a desire to teach in her.
"Then which do you think is easier: dodging the water, or interrupting the caster's Hand Seals?"
"Well..." Shira was taken aback and fell into thought.
Seeing how earnestly he was wrestling with the question, a nearly invisible hint of a smile flashed in Chiyo's eyes. She finally stopped teasing him and cleared her throat, speaking in a voice that was raspy but no longer cold.
"Listen up, boy. This old woman doesn't have time to teach you every day."
Despite saying that, she went on, her tone sounding like both a complaint and a word of advice.
"Fire Style is flashy and covers a wide area, but it uses up Chakra. After one attack, the caster usually needs a moment to catch their breath. Dodge the first one and charge in to find an opening! Don't stand there like an idiot waiting for the second."
"Water Release is sticky and a damn nuisance. Grease your feet and don't stop! Once you slow down, you'll be wrapped up like a rice dumpling. Or find some high ground and work something out!"
"Earth Release is rock hard, and its users like to burrow underground. Keep your eyes sharp and your ears open! If something feels wrong under your feet, jump, quick. To crack their tortoise shells, you'll need even harder fists!"
"Lightning Release is extremely, extremely fast! It also carries a numbing shock and will paralyze you, which is the biggest headache. You have to anticipate it, it's all about anticipation! And throw those lumps of iron on you far away. Do you want to be a lightning rod?"
"Wind Release cuts through iron like mud. If you can't dodge it, you'll end up as sashimi. Run! Don't move in a straight line! Or find a big rock and crouch behind it."
She paused and looked at Shira, who was listening intently. Finally, she added one more thing, her tone taking on a rare trace of almost solemn seriousness.
"All of that depends on you being able to run faster than a rabbit, jump higher than a grasshopper, and hit harder than stone! Otherwise, no matter how much you know, it's useless. You might as well go home and roast sweet potatoes."
With that, she waved him away as if she had exhausted her patience. "Go on, go on. Take your medicinal dregs and scrap iron and stop standing there getting in my sight! This old woman wants some peace and quiet!"
But this time, Shira could clearly sense a hidden, awkward concern in her impatient tone.
He bowed deeply and said from the bottom of his heart, "Yes! I understand! Thank you for your guidance, Granny!"
After leaving Chiyo's home, Shira struggled to calm the surging emotions in his heart. Chiyo's vivid, even somewhat crude analogies had transformed abstract knowledge of the natures into incredibly concrete, highly practical ideas for countering them with Taijutsu!
"As expected of the experienced and knowledgeable Granny Chiyo. She explained it so clearly and simply..."
He looked toward his training ground, his gaze burning.
The goals for his future training were crystal clear:
Maximum dodging speed, short-distance explosive bursts to close in, and the instant strength to break free from restraints-in other words, explosive power...
The interaction of the natures was a problem ninja relied on Chakra to solve.
But he, Shira, could only find a way to use Taijutsu to contend with it all.