Training Ground 118
Weather: Clear
The June air was dry, and the summer heat made staying indoors under the refreshing breeze of air conditioning feel almost irresistible.
"Before the drill starts, I got some chakra test strips for you," Folken said, holding up three plain white sheets. "Just channel your chakra into them, and you'll be able to detect your chakra nature."
Uchiha Mikoto, proud of her noble lineage, wrinkled her nose, adjusted her backpack, tapped her black shoes against the green grass, and said, "I already tested this a long time ago. Fire and Lightning."
"Good. You just saved me some money. Thanks."
"You're welcome, you cheapskate!" Mikoto stuck out her tongue. Folken didn't mind and turned to the other two. Nonou took one of the strips. Immediately, the paper became half damp and half shredded.
"Water and Earth. You're well-suited to be a support-type ninja. Your chakra control is precise, which makes you a good candidate for a medical ninja."
"Yes!" Nonou leapt up in joy. Becoming a medical ninja had always been her dream.
But the next second, Folken's words struck her down. "But I'm not a medical ninja. I don't know medical ninjutsu well, and my medical knowledge is very limited. Training medical ninjas is beyond me."
"Eh. I knew better than to expect anything from a lowly Genin teacher like you," she muttered.
Folken sighed. "Don't forget, you are Genin too."
His gaze shifted to Dai. "Your turn."
"Me?! Am I really qualified…" Dai hesitated, looking at the chakra strip in Folken's hand. Memories of past humiliation flashed through his mind, making him reluctant to take it.
"Of course," Folken said, frowning slightly. This wasn't unusual. After all, Dai had always been a Genin who specialized only in taijutsu and couldn't even use the Triple Body Technique properly.
Dai finally released chakra. The strip glowed blue, and the others watched anxiously.
…
A minute passed. Nothing appeared on the strip. Folken instantly realized Dai's chakra was extremely weak almost completely diluted from his family's ninja bloodline.
"Alright, no need to continue."
Dai closed his eyes nervously. "So… what's my chakra nature?"
Mikoto and Nonou exchanged confused glances, unsure what to say. Folken stepped forward and touched the strip in Dai's hand.
"All natures. No need to test further."
"Really?!" Dai's eyes widened. Under Folken's touch, the strip now displayed five distinct reactions:
One section caught fire Fire.
One cracked Wind.
One wrinkled Lightning.
One dampened Water.
One shattered Earth.
The five basic chakra natures were all present. Mikoto and Nonou stared in shock at Dai's strip, then glanced at Folken, who acted as if nothing had happened.
Some things cannot be hidden. With Dai's chakra capacity now so high, Folken felt there was no reason to conceal it.
"Enough staring at useless strips. We're taijutsu ninjas. We can't obsess over something meaningless!" Folken said, pulling out the props needed for the drill. Dai, still grinning at the chakra strip, was snapped back to reality.
Folken held up three small bells he had bought at the general store that morning. "The drill starts now. Give it your all. Defeat me within one hour."
As long as Folken could still fail using ninjutsu, relying solely on his taijutsu meant he would never become a Chunin. Today, he would train to master techniques that made him appear incapable of using even the Triple Body Technique.
"Five natures are useless?!" Mikoto exclaimed, stunned. Few ninjas possessed all five chakra types. Now, a sixth-year Genin like Folken had them, yet he dismissed them. As a prodigious Uchiha specializing in Fire Release, she decided it was time to test this so-called teacher.
"Victory is determined by who grabs the bells. You can team up or "
"One-on-one!" Mikoto dropped her backpack, crossed her arms, and lifted her chin, trying to look down on the taller, black-haired youth. "Let me, a Uchiha fire-ninjutsu genius, show you the importance of ninjutsu for a true ninja."
"Fine," Folken said, tossing his backpack beside a tree. A standard ninja sword hung at his waist, purchased for 20,000 ryō and barely used outside. He still wore his snug training shirt and shorts, headband in place, and ninja tool pouch strapped behind him.
"And your opinions?" he asked.
"No objections," Nonou said, shaking Dai awake. Dai was still panicking, worried about Folken getting brutally beaten by the younger Mikoto. For their teacher, this would have been a major psychological blow.
Soon, the training ground was cleared. This wasn't inside the village. Folken, using instincts honed from observing the "Observation Haki" in pirate anime, hadn't reached that level yet but had developed a rudimentary sixth sense.
He judged that there was likely no one monitoring them. After all, he had been leading a Genin class for months if anyone wanted trouble, it would have come already.
Typically, ninja duels start with taijutsu, followed by kunai or shuriken exchanges, and finally ninjutsu as the finishing move.
Mikoto skipped all preliminaries and immediately formed hand signs.
Snake Goat Monkey Boar Horse Tiger!
"Sorry, Sensei, I won't let a worthless teacher insult the value of ninjutsu."
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
Her red lips whispered the incantation, and in the next moment, a massive fireball erupted, glowing deep orange, blasting toward Folken. Its chakra slammed into the ground as it hurtled toward him. For the first time in a long while, Folken was facing a proper battle.
"But too slow," he muttered.
In an instant, he blurred, moving like an afterimage. To Nonou watching from the sidelines, Mikoto's fireball seemed to swallow his figure. Dai, a taijutsu master, could barely make out a trace of Folken's movements.
"So fast! That's the Advanced Ninja Body Technique: Shunshin no Jutsu. But did Folken even use chakra?!" Dai's mind raced. It seemed absurd Folken hadn't even used chakra. He had relied purely on physical ability to execute a technique that most ninjas required chakra to perform: the Shunshin no Jutsu.