Chakra Nature Concerns

The Next Day (Kamui P.O.V)

Getting ready to head to the training grounds to practice, Kamui starts walking toward the door to her house. Her father and mother had already left to do their duties.

"Kamui!" Kushina called out from the kitchen.

"Yes Auntie!?"

"Be careful out there and don't practice any dangerous jutsu. You should wait for Itachi or your father before you do that." Kushina said, still in the kitchen. Prodigy Kamui may be, but that didn't stop her from worrying.

"Okay" with that, Kamui walked out the door.

The village had made quite a few changes in the last few years. Three years ago, the Hokage made sweeping changes to the ninja system. First, he changed the graduation age for the academy to 16-years old. Due to them having a superior military advantage, they could allow the children to develop a little more before making them child soldiers. Then, he revamped the shinobi academy to include more advanced chakra control exercises and jutsus. The idea was to provide civilian children with opportunities to learn more jutsu and make them more effective. Although this brought some resistance from the clans who approached the topic from the angle of keeping advanced jutsus confidential, the Hokage still managed to push his reforms through. He had taken note of all the jutsus he had seen commonly used across the elemental nations and pointed out that they weren't secrets. It was a waste not to teach the civilians those jutsu. In addition to all of this, he had every village clan submit two chunin to serve as academy staff. The idea was to provide more teachers for the students and enable them to get additional hands-on training. It would also serve to introduce the students to the clans they'll be working with on missions in the future.

Kamui was expected to start the academy tomorrow, but she really wasn't looking forward to it. The good side of it was that she would be in the same class as her two brothers. The bad was that she would be forced to spend eight agonizing years in the torment of a boring classroom. She loved to learn. The problem was that she was too good at it; she would memorize most of the course material in an instant with her sharingan. In fact, she already had. She lived with the fourth Hokage who reviewed the material they would be covering. She had perused through the material and had to remind herself that other kids didn't have the same processing power as she did. Anyone in her clan could have done the same; at worst they would need a few weeks to a month to fully digest all the information. She also didn't need most of the jutsu that would be taught. Once she learned the basic elemental manipulation, the rest could be done through experimentation. The best they would be useful for would be for inspiration on the different ways to use certain elemental affinities.

Skipping the academy was an option she had previously considered. Her eldest brother skipped most of it. She thought better of it though. Based on the Yume's understanding of her body and chakra's effects on it, it was best to moderate her physical activity and growth at the early ages to prevent the stunting of her future potential. While it was certainly possible to reach Kage class by the age of 16, it wasn't wise. Slow and steady was best till she hit 16. She would train her fundamentals till that age and restrict her physical development to around the early jonin tier. Once she reached that age, she could develop her physical abilities without restraint. That was Yume's estimate of how her body would develop in this world of chakra. All that to mean, having the graduation age be 16 was a major blessing for her and any other kids who want to become powerhouses in the future.

In the future, she would need to make time to learn medicine to mend as much of Itachi's growth stunting as possible. It wasn't evident to others, but she knew that he would hit his limit. She just hoped there wouldn't be any medical complications that would come of it. She would also need to compile a report to give to her father on the dangers of early physical strain. Considering Yume's knowledge of the human body wasn't something others based their decisions around, it was possible that it simply wasn't known in this realm. Her father didn't push back the drafting age for the village kids' health; it was for their mental state and childhood. Basically, it was a lucky decision where morality and medical science intersected.

In preparation for academy life, she decided she wanted to train her taijutsu. While at the academy, she planned to use her eyes to memorize the different taijutsu styles of the village, at least the ones that weren't clan ability-based. She already knew the Uchiha clan's style, but decided to observe anyways. Maybe she could improve her own implementation of it by observing the unique derivatives used by the individual clan members. Before that though, she decided to start to work on the basics she learned from her father's memories. Her father's taijutsu knowledge was one of the two memory fragments Yume directly gave her after all.

Training Ground 0 (Kamui's Point of View)

Being the Hokage's kid had some real benefits. This private training ground was chief among them. Her father and his family were the only ones who could use it. The only exception was her brothers Sasuke and Itachi. They were her mother's children too, who was to be married to the Hokage soon enough. Privacy was a luxury she would certainly be taking advantage of as she trained her abilities over the years.

As she arrived at the training ground, she found an unusual sight. Sasuke was there by himself, running through the hand signs to the fireball jutsu Itachi showed her. While she didn't focus on them, she remembered roughly what they were.

Sasuke was a kid with black hair that spiked in the back with two bangs framing his face, pale white skin, and black eyes. He wore a dark blue Uchiha styled shirt with a high collar and short sleeves. Lastly, he wore black shorts and shinobi sandals.

"Sasuke. Haven't seen you in a while." She really hadn't. Sasuke was always cooped up in the Uchiha clan compound. He spent more time with Itachi and their mother than her. After all, she wasn't really allowed there due to the political concerns her presence there could bring. She can go in any of the other compounds with their permission, but her mother didn't want to give the impression that her family heritage would give her a strong tie to the clan. When you combine that fact with Sasuke's introverted nature, you get two siblings who don't really know each other that well.

Flinching, Sasuke turned to look at the intruder. Seeing the distinctive silvery-white hair, he realized that it was his enigmatic sister. He didn't get to talk to her that much due to their clan politics. He didn't really understand the whys, but he trusted his big brother too much to question it beyond the initial inquiry.

"Hey Kamui. I heard you mastered the fireball jutsu from Itachi." Sasuke said, ignoring any social pleasantries and moving directly into what he was clearly interested in.

"Mastered would be false. There is still a lot of work for me to do before I master the different facets of the technique." She said, eliciting a frown from her brother.

"How? I've been trying to do it for days and still haven't succeeded. I can get a small fireball, but increasing its power is taking a lot of work." He asked. Normally, he wouldn't ask anyone for help. His Uchiha pride would prevent him from doing so. Family was an exception though. It was a lesson his mother barely managed to beat into him.

When thinking of Sasuke's resemblance to his father, Mikoto became slightly grateful for her former husband's death. He would have been a toxic figure in Sasuke's life with his arrogant disposition. Sasuke was a very impressionable young boy with a strong inclination toward the typical Uchiha disposition; he needed a caring family to steer him in the right direction, not a strict monolith with a craving for stronger heirs.

"Before we get into the specifics, what's your chakra nature?" Kamui asked, preferring to focus on his efforts rather than her own natural talents. It was best to handle it this way when dealing with Uchiha clan members based on her mother's testimony.

"Chakra nature?" Sasuke's head tilted as his confusion showed clear on his face.

"You weren't tested to see what chakra nature you were naturally inclined to?" Kamui asked. She really hoped Itachi hadn't forgotten to test for something so basic.

"If I was, I don't remember. What's a chakra nature?" he asked. Maybe this was the reason he was having such a hard time.

"From my understanding, it's the element or elements your chakra naturally leans toward. It helps ninja determine which element they are best suited to learn jutsu in. You can still learn all the basic elements; you'll just have to work a lot harder." Kamui explained clinically.

"So, you're saying that I might not have a fire nature?" Sasuke asked, while realizing the implications of this fact.

"Most Uchiha are, which is why you probably weren't tested. It's not a guarantee though. If you aren't, it would explain why learning the clan's fire jutsu would be harder than it is for everyone else." Hearing this, Sasuke's fists clenched at the thought of being weaker than his fellow clansmen. Seeing this, Kamui continued. "That said, you would be better than them at learning other natures. Kakashi Hatake for example, is famous for his jutsu that cut a bolt of lightning in half, the Raikiri. As you can imagine, his nature is most definitely lightning."

Hearing this, Sasuke's eyes lit up. "How do I get tested? I need to know!" he exclaimed in excitement. He might not be a failure. His talent might just be in a different area. This changed everything!

"Ask mom to be tested with Chakra Induction Paper. It will take in your chakra and react based on your nature." Kamui said with a smile. Seeing her brother smile like this was refreshing. Since he hung out in the clan, he was subject to their opinions and the Uchiha clan was the most judgmental clan under the heavens. They were the proud sons of heaven after all, or so it goes.

"Right! Thank you Kamui!" He exclaimed as he began darting in the direction of the clan.

Shaking her head, Kamui looked toward the training ground. It was time to start her own practice. Based on her understanding, it would be best to start with practicing her stances (katas) first. It was the best she could do alone.

'Can you help me out with the movements Yume?' she asked her new companion.

[Of course, Kamui. All you had to do was ask] Yume responded back.

'Great!' With that, Kamui began practicing the Uchiha Taijutsu.