The clone dissipated into a cloud of white mist.
"Okay, disband," Chiba sighed.
Hirohiko Uchiha and Yukina Hyuga nodded but didn't leave. Instead, they sat on the ground to regain their stamina. Chiba followed suit.
Yukina, her pale eyes reflecting the fading sunlight, suddenly suggested, "Chiba, Hirohiko, shall we go to the library together after dinner today?"
Chiba blinked in surprise. The library? He had been so engrossed in training these past few days that he had completely forgotten about it.
"Sure!" Hirohiko nodded enthusiastically, his dark Uchiha eyes glinting. Both turned to look at Chiba expectantly.
"Oh, um, yes, let's go together," Chiba agreed, then added, "How about we eat together as well?"
"I need to inform my father first," Yukina said solemnly. Despite her pretty face and frosty demeanor, she was actually very serious and well-behaved. Through their recent interactions, Chiba had come to realize that Yukina was a dependable person.
Chiba nodded. "Alright, let's go home and freshen up first, then meet for a good ramen gathering."
Hirohiko grinned in agreement.
The three stood up to say goodbye. Yukina and Hirohiko lived in the same direction, so they left together, while Chiba headed in the opposite direction.
It was unclear whether Kushina Uzumaki had chosen the training location intentionally, but the open space was very close to Chiba's home and relatively near the Hyuga and Uchiha residences. It wouldn't take long for any of them to return.
After a cold shower, Chiba felt the day's fatigue wash away. He noticed that after just three days of this rigorous training, he had begun to adapt. Unlike previous days when he would fall asleep immediately, he felt stronger. He estimated that opening the fourth gate next year wouldn't be a problem as long as he continued this daily training regimen.
Twenty minutes later, Chiba and his friends arrived at Ichiraku Ramen Shop right on time. Because they were Kushina's disciples, Uncle Teuchi generously added extra char siu to their bowls.
However, the three found it difficult to lift their chopsticks. It wasn't that the ramen wasn't delicious; rather, their hands were shaking uncontrollably.
They were clearly exhausted from training, to the point where they couldn't even hold their utensils steady. It wasn't that they had adapted to the high-intensity training; rather, Chiba and the others were so fatigued that they could no longer feel their physical exhaustion.
The three struggled through their meals, then left Ichiraku's under the worried gaze of the owner, who wondered, 'What's wrong with these kids?'
Without delay, they rushed to the library. After presenting their library cards and medals, the librarian readily let them in.
Once inside, Chiba and his friends split up as planned. The library closed at 8 o'clock, leaving them just over an hour to borrow Ninjutsu books.
Chiba wandered among the rows of bookshelves, occasionally pulling out a scroll to examine. The scrolls couldn't be taken out; they could only be read within the library's hushed confines.
The library was eerily quiet, with only the occasional rustle of paper from Hirohiko and Yukina. Not everyone was allowed to enter this sanctuary of knowledge.
Two scrolls caught Chiba's attention: "Changes in the Nature of Chakra" and "Changes in the Form of Chakra." After skimming through a few Ninjutsu scrolls, these seemed particularly relevant.
The changes in nature and form of Chakra were fundamental to Ninjutsu, involving the very essence of Chakra usage. Every Ninja would undergo a change in the nature of their Chakra, while the change in form was an application built upon this nature transformation.
Every Ninjutsu utilized these two transformations.
There were seven types of Chakra natures: fire, water, earth, lightning, wind, Yin, and Yang. The Chakra refined from the human body initially had no attributes. It had to undergo a nature transformation to acquire attributes, enabling the use of corresponding Ninjutsu.
Even the Chakra produced by the Eight Gates, activated through the *Eight Gates Controlled Mode*, was attributeless. Chiba realized he needed to transform the nature of his Chakra to use certain techniques.
'How did I forget this?' Chiba thought, his eyes scanning the scroll intently. 'It's probably why I can't use Fire Release techniques well; I haven't mastered the nature transformation for fire!'
These scrolls systematically explained the nature transformations and applications of Chakra, allowing Chiba to grasp the concept more clearly.
'The nature of my Chakra has changed,' he realized. 'I can't use the Fireball Jutsu because I haven't mastered the fire attribute's nature transformation. It seems I'm not aligned with the fire attribute. However, Earth Release techniques come easily to me, which suggests I have an earth nature. I wonder if I possess any other attributes.'
Chiba analyzed his situation, his brow furrowed in concentration.
He learned there were two types of nature transformations: changing the Chakra within one's body and using one's inherent Chakra nature to manipulate or alter objects with corresponding properties. For instance, transforming non-attributed Chakra into earth-attributed Chakra represented a change in Chakra nature. Creating or altering the state of earth, like turning soil into a hard wall, exemplified the manipulation of corresponding attributes.
The transformation of form primarily involved changing Chakra's shape and state, such as the Rasengan, which was a dense Chakra sphere.
However, Chiba was puzzled by a memory from the Fourth Shinobi World War. During the war, the Ten-Tails had launched a Tailed Beast Bomb, and Shikamaru had called for the *Earth Release: Earth Wall* of the Allied Shinobi Forces. Everyone had managed to execute it, though the technique's power varied.
'So, why can't I use Fire Release?' Chiba pondered. 'Is it because I lack sufficient Chakra or the skill to perform it?'
Lost in thought, Chiba didn't realize it was time for the library to close. He reluctantly placed the scrolls back and left the library.
After exiting, he and his friends said their goodbyes and headed home.
Chiba was preoccupied the entire way, his mind swirling with thoughts of nature and form transformations. Changing the nature of Chakra seemed straightforward; during the hand seal process, a Ninja aligned with the earth could naturally transform their Chakra into earth nature.
However, creating earth or altering soil properties required more effort and training. Yet, mastering other nature transformations was possible with practice. The Third Hokage and eventually Kakashi Hatake had mastered all five Chakra natures, though mastering non-inherent Chakra natures was extremely challenging. Besides some descendants of the Sage of Six Paths, very few, like Hashirama Senju, had mastered all five nature transformations.
Typically, a Jonin mastered two Chakra natures.
The Shinobi world had seen many geniuses, but only a handful had mastered all five nature transformations, underscoring the difficulty of such a feat.
'Tomorrow, I'll do some Ninjutsu training to see if I have other Chakra natures,' Chiba muttered as he climbed into bed. 'In the scrolls, I saw a Water Release technique. I'll try that tomorrow.'
With that thought, Chiba closed his eyes. Within seconds, he began to snore softly, quickly falling asleep after a tiring day filled with new knowledge and possibilities.