Chapter
5: Refining Chakra
Wasn't what just happened the best
proof? His name was Uzumaki Menma, not Uzumaki Naruto. He was a realistic
little boy with red hair and gray eyes, not the blond-haired, blue-eyed Naruto
from the original story. Before this, he had been really worried that he
wouldn't be able to enter the ninja academy on time. If he couldn't even take
the first step to becoming a ninja, how miserable and tragic would that be?
Therefore, when he heard the words
of Sarutobi Hiruzen, the joy on his previously numb face was genuine and from
the bottom of his heart. Of course, Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't know what Menma was
thinking. When he saw Menma's happy smile, the Third Hokage's own smile grew
stronger, believing their bond had deepened.
"Of course, your age meets the
standards, but before entering the ninja academy, there's a small test. You can
only enter if you complete it," Sarutobi Hiruzen said with a smile.
"Huh? What kind of test is it?
Third Grandpa, I will definitely complete it!" Menma said confidently.
"Haha, it's the refining of
chakra, little Menma. You should know that for a ninja, the most important
first step is to learn how to refine chakra. Only by mastering this can you
enter the realm of ninja and study at the academy," Sarutobi Hiruzen
gently touched Menma's head, then took out a scroll from his robes, placed it
on the table, and smiled.
"Chakra refining?" Menma
looked at the scroll on the table. The light in his pupils grew brighter. This
was what he had wanted most for the past five years. Now that he finally had
it, Menma couldn't hide his excitement, which was directly reflected on his
face.
"Yes, don't worry, Third
Grandpa. I will definitely achieve it before enrolling next year," Menma
said confidently, patting his small chest.
"Well, Grandpa also believes in
you, Menma," Sarutobi Hiruzen leaned forward slightly, looking at Menma
with an encouraging expression.
Cultivate feelings from an early
age, then strengthen the connection step by step. Sarutobi Hiruzen believed
that in the future, this child would become his strongest supporter and the
successor of the Will of Fire he taught.
'First Hokage, Second Hokage, don't
worry. I will definitely protect Konoha. And to the Fourth Hokage, I will take
good care of Naruto and Menma,' Sarutobi Hiruzen thought silently in his heart.
Hokage's time was precious. Even on
New Year's Eve, Sarutobi Hiruzen couldn't be idle. However, he stayed with
Menma a while longer and did not leave until dusk came. Menma maintained a very
happy look from beginning to end. It wasn't until Sarutobi Hiruzen left that
the smile on his face slowly faded away.
'Ninja academy? I have finally
waited for this moment!' Menma gently pinched the scroll in his palm, silently
thinking about how his next training plan needed to be rearranged.
Chakra! The official explanation was
that it is the product of the perfect combination of physical energy and
spiritual energy extracted from the 130 trillion cells of the human body. Of
course, there are contradictory statements in the original work. Some say this
is an inherent human ability taught by the Sage of Six Paths, while others say
it's a result of the Sage distributing his chakra to humans, ultimately
stemming from Kaguya Otsutsuki and the sacred tree fruit.
Which one is the truth? Humans now
have no way of knowing. But it doesn't seem that important. After all, humans
have already mastered the method of extracting chakra, which involves perfectly
combining physical energy and mental energy to extract chakra from their own
cells.
The difference is that only a small
percentage of humans can do this. The vast majority are unable to extract
chakra. This is true even in the five major ninja villages. Every year in the
pre-entrance test for ninja schools, many civilians are rejected. How can you
become a ninja if you can't even refine chakra?
For people from ninja clans, there
is no problem getting kicked out of ninja school because they begin refining
chakra within their families before attending the academy. Civilians who cannot
refine chakra are less likely to hit a wall in ninja school.
For Menma, this problem was even
less of a concern. With the bloodline of the Uzumaki clan and being the
Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, not being able to extract chakra would be a joke.
Although there was interference from the Nine-Tails' chakra, Menma's chakra refining
was neither smooth nor stable. But after a day of hard work, he succeeded.
"Is this chakra?" In the
early morning hours of January 1, Konoha Year 54, Menma finally succeeded in
extracting his own chakra for the first time. Feeling that special power, a
look of joy appeared on Menma's face. Even if it was just a trace of chakra,
Menma could feel that his "power" was far beyond what it had been
before.
Of course, this was just the
beginning! Although it's said that without external forces or special factors,
the chakra limit of any ninja is destined from the start, this doesn't mean
that from the moment you can extract chakra, your total chakra amount reaches
the limit. It still requires effort to reach this limit.
The key point lies in physical
energy and mental energy. The harder you work, the faster you can reach this
limit. With the blood of the Uzumaki clan and naturally huge vitality, Menma
didn't need to worry about physical energy. It was the mental training that had
to be the focus.
Not to mention, he still had the
chakra of the Nine-Tails in his body as the biggest reliance. 'This is finally
the most crucial step! The next step is to speed up,' Menma thought, exhaling a
breath of foul air, clenching his hands slightly, and a fierce look appeared in
his pupils.
The plan for change began. In the
following period, Menma devoted all his time to the steady refinement and
control of chakra. Not to mention how high the level needed to be, at least it
had to reach the initial usable level.
For Menma, time was very tight! It
was now January of Konoha Year 54. There were only six years left before the
original plot began! He had to obtain the minimum self-protection ability
within these six years and couldn't spend this critical time as leisurely as
Naruto in the original story.