(recap)
I felt a shiver run down my spine at the thought. I silently thanked the gods Obasan wasn't here. When I glanced back at Jiji, he was looking at me with a knowing smile, as if he could read my thoughts.
Then, with a serious face, he said, "Go and bring me a chair. I'm going to explain exactly what you did wrong."
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Chapter 4: Itto Heizo POV
After I brought the chair, we sat in the backyard. Jiji was seated, while I sat cross-legged on the ground in front of him, ready to absorb everything he was about to say like a sponge.
"Now, boy, tell me what you thought you were playing around with," Jiji asked, his eyes locked onto mine.
"It's chakra, isn't it?" I replied.
"You're only partially right. The power inside you is actually yang chakra. Before I explain what that means, do you know how many elements of chakra there are?"
"Yes. There are five main types: water, air, fire, earth, and lightning."
"Correct, but there are two additional types of chakra that don't fall under those elements—yin and yang chakra. Yin relates to spiritual energy, while yang is tied to physical energy. What you had inside you, what everyone has inside their body, is yang chakra.
Yin, on the other hand, is less noticeable. It's the one which is more abstract of the two, it refers to mental capacity or spiritual presence.
The chakra people usually use is a combination of both yin and yang, balanced perfectly to create normal chakra."
"Does that mean everyone who has chakra needs to actively balance their yang and yin chakras to produce it?"
"Ah, that's where your unique situation comes in. Most people aren't even aware of the process. Their bodies naturally combine yin and yang to produce chakra. The total amount of chakra someone can create is based on their capacity to combine the two."
"Really?"
"Yes. And that's also why people with an abundance of one type of chakra rely more on techniques that use that energy.
For example, we Nara are naturally rich in yin chakra, so we use jutsu like Shadow Manipulation, which depends heavily on it. On the other hand, the Akimichi, who are more yang-abundant, use techniques based on physical manipulation."
"So… does that mean our clan's overall chakra capacity is lower than others?"
"Not quite. It just means we have a higher reserve of yin chakra, but our yang chakra runs out faster, which can limit the amount of normal chakra we produce. This leaves us with an excess of yin when we run low on yang.
That's why our ancestors made a brilliant decision—they embraced our strength in yin chakra, creating jutsu that worked primarily with it. It's the opposite for the Akimichi. Does that make sense?"
"Yeah, I think so. But how does all of this affect me?"
"You're special because you can sense your yang chakra before you've even unlocked your normal chakra.
Normally, when children join the Academy, the teachers help them unlock it by introducing their own chakra into the student's body. This triggers a passive chakra creation process.
Throughout the Academy, based on your physical and mental capacity, a rough estimate of your chakra reserves is made. Most ninjas don't sense their yang and yin chakras separately until they become chunin, unless they're part of a clan that uses chakra-specific jutsu.
But because you're already aware of your yang chakra, you'll have to actively mix it with your yin chakra to produce normal chakra."
"...Say what?"
"Exactly. Thanks to your awareness and brilliance, you've managed to make a process that's passive for others into something you'll need to manage actively! ."
"...NOOO?!!! "