Getting To Work!

A few days had passed since Amai's break had begun, and she had finally decided what she would do.

Instead of further increasing her chakra control and affinity over Ice Release or learning how to amplify her other senses, she'd first try to learn Chakra Flow.

Yes, Chakra Flow. It was the fastest way to enhance her offensive capabilities in close combat and would also teach her how to coat objects in chakra.

After careful consideration, Amai decided to use Wind Release as the base for her Chakra Flow. It was the most effective element for increasing cutting power, and could take her a step closer to doing ranged slashing attacks once she was experienced enough with it.

She carefully analyzed the factors at play, starting with the weapons she would use. As of now, she had two options: the tanto she had received for her birthday—the one she used to practice Kenjutsu—and her kunai.

After some thought, she decided it would be best to start with a kunai. They were more readily available, easier to replace, and wouldn't be as costly if they broke due to the chakra.

Another matter was chakra conductivity. Every object had a level of chakra conductivity, determining how well it could channel and retain chakra. That's why most weapons intended to be used for chakra flow were made of chakra metal, or at least some alloy made with it. It was expensive and rare, after all.

She wasn't sure that she could get her hands on one, even if she did a ton of B and A ranked missions in the future. Maybe she'd need to start claiming bounties once she was strong enough.

The saving grace was that her tanto had the faintest amount of chakra metal in the alloy used for its forging. Amai found out about it when she asked Jun about the tanto after noticing how it conducted her chakra slightly better than any of her kunai.

'No wonder my dad said it took quite a bit of our savings to get it. How is chakra metal even mined and distributed?' Amai wondered as she twirled the kunai in her hand. 'I know a bit because of our geography classes, but I still find it ridiculous how rare they are.'

Chakra metal, or rather, chakra ore, was only found in select regions rich in natural energy—Amai didn't know if it was the same energy used to enter Sage Mode, but apparently, due to being exposed to that energy for so long, ores such as iron, copper, and other metals became infused with chakra. Over generations, these ores gradually transformed.

This transformation would heavily depend on the area, and how dense the concentration of this energy was. For example, the Land of Fire was richer in fire-natured chakra, and that would lead to most deposits having fire chakra ore that could be refined into crystals, and then used for forging or for one to absorb the energy inside of it in order to increase their affinity towards that element.

Even then, that just meant that this specific kind of chakra ore would be more common. There were earth, lightning, water and wind chakra ore deposits scattered around the region, hidden in exposed caves deep within mountains, or most of the times directly at the surface of rocky plains, because that's where most of the natural energy was concentrated.

It was said that the nature of the energy would affect the environment in which these ores formed. For instance, water chakra ore deposits were often found in lush, misty forests or near bodies of water that seemed to glimmer with an unnatural clarity. Earth chakra ore tended to form in vast mountain ranges or deep caverns.

Wind chakra ore, on the other hand, formed in very arid areas, often in open plains or desert-like terrains, where the constant breezes seemed to whip through the land. Fire chakra ore would form in tropical, hot zones, particularly in regions where the air was thick with heat. Lightning chakra ore would form in areas prone to storms.

This meant that each region had an abundance of what they were supposed to represent. The Land of Wind, Land of Lightning, Land of Water, and so on, each had specific areas rich in their unique chakra ore. However, there was one exception, even rarer than all of those combined.

Natureless pure chakra ore.

It was the one used the most for forging, as it could conduct every element equally and make the weapon especially versatile and resistant when it came to supporting large amounts of chakra.

Apparently, the Land of Iron had most of the power over these deposits and was in charge of putting them through the industrial process needed before distributing them among the villages.

As a neutral territory, the Land of Iron maintained strict control over the chakra ore supply, and their samurai held a monopoly on the refining and forging of those high-grade chakra metals and crystals. The process was a well-kept secret, but maybe she'd figure it out one day.

It was kind of frustrating, really. Every time a deposit was found, the rights to mine it almost always went to the Land of Iron, and rarely to the country it was discovered in. Even if a hidden village managed to claim a chakra ore vein, they usually lacked the knowledge or infrastructure to refine it properly, forcing them to rely on the Land of Iron anyway.

Some villages had tried to develop their own refining techniques, but the results were often subpar. Poorly processed chakra metal lost conductivity, making it brittle or unstable when infused with chakra.

Amai assumed the reason people often made weapons with alloys was to save on chakra metal and enhance durability with tougher metals. The ore alone was highly conductive, but it was too soft to be practical. By mixing it with stronger materials like steel or titanium, the price would go down significantly while maintaining high conductivity and ensuring the weapon lasted much longer.

'Honestly, how much longer is this guy going to take? It's been almost an hour since he left to buy the tatami mats. All I've been doing is just chill with my clone while reviewing my learning plan.' Amai thought, wondering where the hell Sora has gone.

"You're so inefficient, me. Why don't you just get to practicing your chakra flow thing instead of rambling on and on in that head of yours?" The clone asked, clearly annoyed and tired of studying up on biology. Even then, they kept going, despite their apparent anger.

"I might as well. I just have no idea how to start."

"Uh huh. Also, mind giving me better working conditions? Like, have you ever heard of a worker's rights? This is borderline slavery."

Amai stared at her clone, unimpressed. "Worker's rights? You're literally me."

"This is why you have no friends, Amai."

Amai felt something inside her crack. The words weren't just a jab—they were a direct, merciless strike to the very foundation of her soul. These words pierced her heart like an arrow, and her face darkened severely.

Then, as if the clone hadn't dropped a literal bomb, she continued, "Try expelling chakra out of every tenketsu in your body at once, and slowly move it to try and coat an object. It's very inefficient, but it should give you an idea of what to do."

"...Okay."

"Come on, what's with that look?" the clone teased. "Are you shocked that your clone can clap back? Don't worry, I'll totally help you get some friends if you summon me at the academy."

Amai's brow furrowed as she heard that, "I'll pass. Either way, how do you think this will work? We have basically no experience in shape manipulation."

"How dumb are you, my creator? The Rasengan, you fool. We already have some basic idea of what shape manipulation is like, and you're already starting to try and cut branches with wind chakra."

Amai paused, staring at her clone for a moment, then blinked. The clone's words hit her like a splash of cold water.

"The Rasengan..." Amai muttered to herself, remembering what the Rasengan truly was. It was just pure shape manipulation taken to the extreme, isn't it? How did she not realize it? If she could shape chakra like that, surely she can control chakra that is flowing outside her body.

"Wait, no. That's wrong. We're just supposed to imbue the kunai with chakra, right? Maybe we can try something like KI coating in Dragon Ball, and extend that chakra aura to the weapon itself."

"That's literally what I suggested."

"Shut up."

"Anyway, I'm about to pop. I'm running out of chakra to remain stable, so... I hope you're okay with the minor headache you're about to suffer."

Having said that, the clone disappeared in a cloud of smoke, leaving nothing but the book it was studying on the grassy ground. Amai felt the information influx go directly to her brain, and her forehead began to ache due to how much had to be processed. But, it was worth it.

She had a part of her chakra back, and now knew the basics about how sight worked, the organs involved, and so on. Later, she'd try amplifying this sense as well.

'This headache is annoying, though. Even if it's not that painful.'

A minute passed, and the pain gradually disappeared.

"Alright, let's do this." Amai said, before picking up her kunai, looking at it with determination in her eyes and a wry smile on her face.