Chapter 8: Chakra Control
Chapter 8: Chakra Control
Finally resolving the problem with his "cheat," Ishiro was filled with anticipation for his future. Previously, his only advantage had been his immense spiritual energy, which, at this early stage, merely helped with chakra control training. Meanwhile, his average physical strength and low chakra reserves left him lagging behind true geniuses.
Now, after successfully extracting the Proto-Yin Chakra, he could limit physical energy to about one-tenth of his chakra's makeup. In other words, he effectively had ten times more chakra than he used to. With this newfound foundation, Ishiro no longer had to endure the severe shortages he faced before.
It was time to focus on control training. Chakra control was the basis of all ninja arts—whether enhancing taijutsu or performing ninjutsu, it always came down to control. In Ishiro's class, most students had already been practicing chakra control for two months or more. Those like Shouhara, who had trained chakra even before enrollment, had been applying it in sparring for a while now.
You could see it in the practical lessons: their shuriken and kunai throws were already infused with chakra, and their improved speed and strength were evident.
Ishiro felt an urgency to catch up. He knew that although Shouhara and a few others were leading their class, they'd only be considered average talents on the grand scale of the ninja world. By this age, Kakashi had likely already reached genin level. Ishiro still had a long way to go.
But with his newly discovered "cheat," Ishiro was confident he'd eventually not just catch up but surpass them.
Without wasting time, Ishiro wrote down all his training insights and theories—after all, he'd promised to repay the village for that secret scroll.
The next day at school, Ishiro handed his notes to Ishikawa-sensei and immediately began practicing chakra control.
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"Moku Kaze, your performance yesterday wasn't too shabby. Once I become the Tsuchikage, I'll have you and Fujino guard the village gates—your strength should be plenty for that job," Tatsuya called out loudly, looking quite proud. Yesterday, Tatsuya's shuriken throws had far outshone those of Moku Kaze and Fujino, and he'd been boasting ever since.
According to Tanaka, Tatsuya's family was a renowned taijutsu clan in Iwagakure, particularly skilled with swords. They had special training methods for foundational techniques like shuriken throwing. Moku Kaze and Fujino, on the other hand, belonged to ninjutsu-oriented families, so they were gradually falling behind in this area.
During the early stages of a ninja's career, before mastering many ninjutsu, taijutsu was the main mode of attack. Consequently, taijutsu specialists held a clear early advantage.
In truth, because of limited chakra, most adult ninjas could only manage a few ninjutsu techniques and rarely used them except in dire circumstances. The idea of ninjutsu flying around constantly was more a hallmark of the protagonist's circle in stories than a daily reality for typical ninjas.
Tatsuya had always been a bit better than the other two at throwing shuriken, but lately he'd made a big leap forward, widening the gap even more. Right now, he could easily overpower Moku Kaze or Fujino if they faced off one-on-one. Don't be fooled by scenes in anime where kunai and shuriken never land—getting struck by a kunai in a vital area is often lethal, considering a ninja's low defenses.
When chakra-enhanced shuriken and kunai were thrown, the speed was frightening. At lower levels, if you couldn't predict the throw in advance, evasion was nearly impossible. Deflecting them mid-flight by throwing your own kunai or shuriken required physical prowess and reflexes far above your opponent's. For most genin—especially in Iwagakure—that was out of reach.
At present, Tatsuya was likely among the top five fighters in the class, with Shouhara and Tanaka also strong contenders. Shouhara possessed tremendous strength, translating into explosive speed that Ishiro suspected was already near genin standards. Tanaka, though petite, excelled at using chakra to boost her agility and taijutsu, making her a prime candidate for a swift, mobile fighting style.
Ishiro guessed that if Tanaka and Shouhara clashed, it would be a stalemate: he couldn't catch her, and she couldn't deal him enough damage.
Still, there was one student who could overshadow Tanaka, Shouhara, and Tatsuya: Ikura, the boy who stood out in every way. It was often said: "talent can be maddening." Not only did Ikura look good, but he was already practicing the basic Three Techniques—his chakra reserves and control were at the top of the class. If Ishiro hadn't beaten him in theory classes, Ikura would be first across the board.
That said, if kunai or shuriken techniques were compared, Ishiro might lose to Tatsuya right now.
In fact, Ishiro's overall combat level ranked near the bottom of the class; he was the only one who hadn't been honing his chakra control these past two months. He'd spent nearly all his time just learning how to extract his Proto-Yin Chakra—and even that saw limited success. Occasionally, when he happened to use the standard extraction ratio, any chakra he got was immediately drained in an unfocused attempt at practice.
His sole advantage was that the extraction process was more instinctive for him. By finding a method uniquely suited to himself, he no longer needed undivided attention to pull out chakra. Although he couldn't fight and extract chakra simultaneously, at least he could do so while talking.
At that moment, Ishiro was quietly building up chakra while speaking loudly enough for Shouhara to overhear. "Tanaka, I saw Ikura at the dango shop yesterday. This is your chance—if you drop by after class, you might casually bump into him."
Tanaka stirred visibly, glancing over at Ikura. She looked tempted, but also hesitant.
Shouhara, who had been watching Tanaka closely, intervened before she could reply. "Tanaka, don't listen to Ishiro. He's just scheming. Ikura's constantly surrounded by other girls, so even if you 'run into him,' they'll see you."
Upon hearing that, Tanaka immediately gave up on the idea. Ishiro had banked on her shy personality, needing just a little push to consider approaching Ikura—but also easily dissuaded.
Refusing to give up, Ishiro pressed on, "It doesn't matter if there are other girls. By letting him see you share the same hobby—eating dango—you'd leave an impression. Who knows, if he's craving dango but can't pick it up himself, he might ask a fellow dango-lover like you to help."
Tanaka's eyes lit up in response. "So, Ishiro… do you think Ikura would really ask me to buy dango for him?"
Ishiro grinned, seeing that he'd scored a hit. He glanced over at Shouhara, who was trembling with anger.
"Nothing's certain," Ishiro went on, "but it's not a bad idea to stand out in his mind. If he starts associating you with dango, you'll be one step ahead of the others."
Shouhara bit back his frustration and muttered, "Next semester, they're starting live combat training. Ishiro, I'll definitely show you who's boss by then."
Ishiro just smiled. The next semester was still a month away—plenty of time to enjoy himself without worrying about threats.
After bickering with Shouhara for a while, Ishiro's chakra extraction reached its limit. Though he had ten times what he used to, it was still meager, and his body soon signaled exhaustion.
With no more energy to spare, Ishiro set aside the conversation and shifted to practicing his chakra control.
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Time flew by. Nearly two years had passed since Ishiro and his classmates first enrolled, and their progress in that time had been remarkable.
They'd finally rid themselves of the dreaded cultural classes. Aside from one morning theory class, now they had practical lessons twice a day—one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Mornings were spent on foundational exercises, while afternoons focused on skills like kunai throwing, the basics of swordsmanship, and sparring sessions.
In the elite class, every student could already enhance their taijutsu with chakra. Their sparring sessions, where wooden kunai and shuriken flew around, were starting to look quite impressive.
A few students, including Ishiro, had even learned one of the Three Basic Jutsu. He chose the Transformation Jutsu simply because it was easier—not especially powerful, but it was the only one of the three that didn't require projecting chakra outside the body, and thus used less chakra overall.
These two years had been a struggle for Ishiro, continually grappling with his lack of chakra. Early in his control practice, he'd burn through what little he had almost instantly. Then, once his mental power improved and he grew more adept at control, he'd find himself running dry even faster, forced to wait around until he recovered. It reminded him of waiting for a stamina timer to refill in a video game.
To combat this, he increased both the intensity and frequency of his physical training. Fortunately, the village began issuing him compensation, enabling him to afford better food and certain medicinal supplements. Without it, he would have fallen even further behind.
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