The next few days passed peacefully. There was no movement from Saya's side; there was neither the expected retaliation nor did he reappear before Shira, as if the crushing defeat had never happened.
Shira was happy to have some peace and quiet and devoted all her energy to cultivation.
The Ninja Academy's curriculum was no longer new to him; he had already mastered the theoretical foundations and common ninja knowledge. What remained was mostly teamwork drills and accumulating experience through low-level missions.
After receiving special permission, Shira spent most of her time at the training ground.
In the dawn light, he swung his unsharpened practice sword again and again, the wind whistling and stirring up the dust on the ground. He practiced basic chopping, thrusting, parrying, and wiping, striving for precision and thoroughness in every movement.
With the guidance of Master Kenmei on "intention" and "momentum," he gradually gained a vague understanding. His sword strikes were no longer just an extension of his arm; he began to try to mobilize the power of his whole body, and the coordination between his breathing and sword moves became increasingly smooth.
But as he practiced with great enthusiasm, a thought involuntarily popped into his head, "Is my path limited to the combination of ' Seven Heavens Breathing Method ' with Taijutsu and swordsmanship?"
Once the thought took hold, it spread like wildfire. He thought of the dangers of fighting Nighthawk and Fang, of Saya's unpredictable Curse Puppet, and of the monster-level enemies he might face in the future, such as members of the Akatsuki organization.
Relying solely on current methods seems somewhat monotonous. While they possess strong explosive power, they lack the ability to sustain combat operations and adapt to complex and changing situations.
What if my attacks could have elemental attributes?
The thought made his heart skip a beat. He couldn't use Ninjutsu that required Hand Seals; that was an ironclad rule. But he knew that Chakra nature was an innate talent that everyone possessed.
Just like Might Guy, although he is known for his Taijutsu, he can open the Eight Gates Released Formation, which proves that he also has Chakra in his body, but he just doesn't use it to release taijutsu.
" The Raikage's ' Lightning Release Chakra Mode,' a technique that activates Lightning Release Chakra throughout the body's cells to gain extreme speed and defense, isn't it essentially an extreme application of one's own Chakra nature, rather than a ' Ninjutsu ' in the traditional sense?"
"Also, could the 'fire' attribute, if properly channeled, unleash its ultimate explosive power?"
Thinking about all this, Shira felt his mouth go dry. He knew this was difficult; the Raikage's secret technique was a closely guarded secret of Kumogakure.
But what if there's a path for attribute development that suits him, based on Taijutsu and breathing techniques?
This thought burned within him like a flame, preventing him from finding peace. He needed to confirm his attributes!
Sheathed her sword, Shira a deep breath, and made her decision.
He needed to find someone absolutely trustworthy and knowledgeable to help him. The best candidate was undoubtedly Granny Chiyo.
When he arrived at Granny Chiyo's small courtyard, which was always filled with the smell of herbs and puppet parts, the old woman was sitting on the veranda, wearing reading glasses, holding small tools in her hand, carefully adjusting the joints of a badly damaged Crow puppet on the table, making a faint "click" sound.
Shira didn't disturb them and stood quietly at the courtyard gate waiting.
After a while, Chiyo put down her tools, gently blew away the debris from the puppet's joints, and hummed with satisfaction.
She looked up and glanced at Shira by the door. "Standing there like a doorman? If you have something to say, just say it."
Shira then entered the courtyard and respectfully bowed. "Grandma, I would like to ask you for a favor."
"Oh? Haha, trying to freeload tea again?" Chiyo picked up the teacup next to her, took a sip, and looked at Shira with a smile.
"Hehe, no," Shira shook her head, her tone serious, "I'd like to ask you to help me test my Chakra attributes."
" Chakra nature?" Chiyo put down her teacup, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes behind her reading glasses. "Didn't you say last time that you couldn't use Ninjutsu? Why test that stuff? You can't eat it."
"I know I can't use Ninjutsu," Shira said frankly, "But I want to know what element I possess. This might be important for me to consider my future direction in Taijutsu."
Chiyo stared at him for a few seconds, a hint of understanding flashing in her cloudy eyes.
She didn't ask any more questions, slowly stood up, went into the room, and came out a moment later with a palm-sized, specially made, and somewhat old-looking Chakra Paper.
"Hold out your hand," Chiyo gestured.
Shira extended her right hand. Chiyo gently placed the test strip in his palm.
"Concentrate, just like you would when you refine Chakra, and slowly inject the Chakra into the test strip. Don't be too forceful, or you'll ruin it."
Chiyo gave the instructions in a calm tone, but her eyes were fixed intently on the test strip.
Shira did as he was told. He held his breath and focused his mind, guiding the pure Chakra within his body, though not abundant in total, slowly into his palm.
Initially, the test strip showed no change.
A few seconds later, something unexpected happened!
The part of the test strip closest to his fingertip suddenly became crumpled and wrinkled, as if it had been violently rubbed by an invisible force!
Almost simultaneously, a small flame suddenly appeared in the center of the test strip, quickly burning a small area and leaving a charred mark!
The edges of the test strip showed slight dampness!
"Oh?" Granny Chiyo let out a soft, ambiguous hum, picked up the test strip, examined it carefully, and then glanced at Shira. "Kid, not bad talent."
Pointing to the changes on the test strip, she explained, "Wrinkles represent Lightning Release Chakra, characterized by thrusting, penetration, and activation. Burning represents Fire Release, characterized by explosion, high temperature, and destruction. Moist edges represent Water Release, but the reaction is very weak, so it's a secondary release or an innate trait of yours, and can be ignored."
Oh my god, my main Chakra attribute is lightning and fire!
Shira's heart skipped a beat, and an indescribable joy welled up inside her! The penetrating speed of lightning! The explosive power and destruction of fire!
This attribute combination is practically tailor-made for pursuing the ultimate explosive power in Taijutsu!
"Thunder and fire? Thank you, Grandma!" Shira's voice was tinged with excitement.
"Why thank me?" Chiyo casually tossed the test strip into the nearby trash can, sat back in her rocking chair, and said slowly, "Attributes are innate; having good attributes doesn't mean anything. Many people have talent but never achieve anything in their entire lives. Besides..."
She gave Shira a meaningful look. "There are no ready-made manuals for you to refer to on the path you're taking. That Raikage's ' Lightning Release Armor ' is the lifeblood of Kumogakure; don't even think about it."
"As for fire attribute, in all my years, I've never seen any Taijutsu fanatic who can set himself on fire and wreak havoc. You might end up roasting yourself before you even burn the enemy."
Ultraman Taro: Don't mention it
Chiyo's words were like a bucket of cold water, but Shira could detect a hint of expectation in them.
"I understand, Mother." Shira nodded emphatically, her eyes growing even brighter. "If there's no path, I'll forge one myself! The breathing techniques of the Seven Heavens Breathing Method are my ' Hand Seals '!"
His mind was already racing with ideas: how to integrate the "activation" and "penetration" properties of lightning into his breathing techniques and fist and footwork?
Can the Lightning Release Chakra be unleashed the instant the attack hits? And can the fire-style "burst" be combined with the Seven Heavens Breathing Method to generate even stronger propulsion?
The road ahead is long and fraught with difficulties, but at this moment, Shira's heart is filled with unprecedented motivation and a sense of direction.
Seeing the flames burning in Shira's eyes, Granny Chiyo shook her head almost imperceptibly, but a faint smile appeared on her lips as she muttered, "What a restless little monster."
She picked up her tools again and began fiddling with her puppet, ignoring Shira, who was lost in thought.
Shira stood in the courtyard, looking at her hands, as if she could see the lightning and flames leaping on her future fists.
Fire Fist Ace? That's interesting.
I researched a lot of information about Chakra attributes and came to the following conclusions.
In official documents such as the " Book of Sha, "Rock Lee's Chakra nature is clearly marked as "Earth" and "Water." This directly proves that even he possesses Chakra nature.
In terms of plot, the Eight Gates Released Formation: What is the essence of this strongest Taijutsu? It is to remove the body's limiter on Chakra, allowing Chakra to surge out violently and obtain ultimate power.
The fact that Rock Lee and Might Guy can use the Eight Gates Released Formation proves that they possess a massive amount of Chakra. Without Chakra, how can the "gates" be opened?
Front Lotus or Reverse Lotus: These techniques require precise control of Chakra to break free from physical limitations and unleash extraordinary speed and power in an instant.
Water Walking and Tree Climbing: These basic training exercises all require Chakra control, Rock Lee can perform skillfully.
Also, why don't they develop attributes?
For ninjas like Rock Lee and Shira, who specialize in "pure Taijutsu," their training path is to "use Chakra entirely to strengthen their bodies."
Efficiency issue: Converting Chakra into a fireball and launching it is Shape Transformation plus Nature Transformation. Compared to directly infusing Chakra into muscle cells to instantly unleash power ( Shape Transformation ), the latter is a more direct and efficient way of using chakra.
They abandoned long-range and diverse attack methods in exchange for extreme close-range destructive power.
Their belief was "to become a great ninja solely through Taijutsu." Therefore, their training focused entirely on how to use Chakra to make their fists harder, faster, and stronger, rather than studying elemental transformations.
Therefore, it is very reasonable and has great potential to set the attributes of "thunder" and "fire" for Shira.
This does not mean he is giving up, but rather that it provides a deeper theoretical foundation and evolutionary direction for his unique " Taijutsu breathing method":
Lightning attribute: symbolizes "activation" and "penetration". This perfectly matches the Seven Heavens Breathing Method's pursuit of ultimate activation and explosive power.
Shira could try channeling the properties of lightning-attribute Chakra when activating her powers to further stimulate nerve conduction speed and muscle contraction strength, even giving her attacks greater penetrating and destructive power.
Fire attribute: symbolizes "burst" and "burning". This can be applied to instantaneous power techniques, such as stacking the "burst" characteristic of the fire attribute on the attack the instant the fist hits the target, producing an effect similar to "internal explosion".
In summary, Rock Lee and Shira possess Chakra nature, but they chose a more difficult and pure path—internalizing all their elemental energy as the driving force behind their punches and kicks.
I'm updating this chapter on my way home Friday night. The traffic was terrible, and the ride made me dizzy and nauseous. So sad!