Chakra affinity and Uzushiogakure’s culture

Waking up inside an unknown room I again realized that I was no longer in Konoha. I continued to lay on a comfortable futon mattress and enjoyed the silence for a couple of minutes. After a while, I attempted to get up and experienced my body aching with severe pain.

‘Argh! Holy shit! My body has never been this sore!’

Bravely ignoring the pain I got up and dressed after brushing my teeth. Before heading outside I greeted the old inn owner Mr. Asukawa who lived with his wife in the inn.

“Good morning! I hope you have a nice day, Mr. Asukawa!”

“Ah, isn’t that our new long-term guest Mr. Kenjo! Truly a delightful sight to see in the morning! May I help you with something?”

“No, thank you for your concern. I’m just going to meet with my Genin Team in about 25 minutes. By the way, you also don’t need to prepare a meal for the foreseeable future as I’m going to eat with my teammates.”

“I see. Well, I wish you good luck and success with your missions!”

“Thanks!”

Stepping outside I was once again amazed by Uzushiogakure’s architecture: The beautiful traditional way of constructing buildings was a marvelous sight to see. While walking toward yesterday’s training ground, I could see the occasional merchant setting up his store. Especially the fish stalls were quite striking: Honestly, I had never seen that much raw fish in my entire life.

Finally arriving at the training ground I could see my two teammates and my teacher already talking about something that clearly excited Haruto.

‘Shit. Am I already too late?’

“Hey, Takumi! What took you so long? Just because you were late yesterday doesn’t mean you’re allowed to show up late! Oh, old man Gin also said that he would hand out some Chakra Induction Paper today so we could ascertain our Chakra Affinity!”

“Who allowed you to call me old, you brat! Can’t you see that I’m clearly still in my prime!”, our teacher protested while smacking Haruto.

“Sorry for being late. I guess I got a bit distracted by Uzushiogakure’s beautiful architecture.”, I apologized.

“At least your eloquence compensates for your lack of punctuality. I hope that it won’t repeat itself again.”, Miyuki commented while hiding her face behind an elaborately made fan.

‘Seems like someone got out of the wrong side of the bed.’, I thought while avoiding her condemning gaze.

“No need to be too harsh on him, Miyuki. Besides, the session officially only starts in 4 minutes so he’s still technically on time.”, Mr. Gin kindly defended me while giving me a comforting smile.

“Now let’s get started with our first lesson, shall we?”, grinned Mr. Gin before handing each of us a piece of paper.

“The paper I handed out is called Chakra Induction Paper and depending on the reaction it gives off after you infuse it with your Chakra, we can deduce your Chakra affinity.”, our teacher explained while holding up a piece of paper.

The paper in his hand instantly wrinkled and recalling my Acadamy lessons I concluded that Mr. Gin’s Chakra affinity was toward Lightning.

Looking at the piece of paper in my hands I began to infuse my Chakra into it. My Chakra quickly traveled from fingertips into the paper and it began to transform itself: The paper began to wrinkle while simultaneously getting wet.

‘...Wait, what? What does this mean? A case in which the paper wrinkles and gets wet never appeared in our textbooks. A wrinkled piece of paper means Lightning Chakra affinity and a piece of wet paper means Water Chakra affinity. So it should be a combination of those two.’

“...That’s quite interesting. You seem to have a Storm Chakra affinity which would mean you possess a Kekkei Genkai that is mostly found in Kumogakure.”, Mr. Gin remarked while his eyes emitted the glowing light of fascination.

“WOW! That’s amazing Takumi! I only know a couple of Ninjas who have a Kekkei Genkai!”, yelled an excited Haruto who held a piece of wrinkled paper inside his hands.

Miyuki on the other hand kept her composure but I could occasionally see her gazing at the piece of paper between my fingers. Honestly, she looked like a cute rabbit trying to resist a carrot dangling before her head.

‘Let’s hope that her grumpy mood has lifted somewhat.’

“Hmm. That’s quite the troublesome Chakra affinity you have there. Neither Uzushiogakure nor Konohagakure likely have a decent amount of Storm release Jutsus so it could be quite the trouble for you to train your Storm release.”, analyzed Mr. Gin after his initial fascination faded.

The initial elation I felt, was quickly replaced by a sense of worry and I asked with a frowning face:

“...Would that hinder my progress in Ninjutsu?”

Upon hearing my question Haruto’s excitement instantly died down. His eyes looked toward Miyuki’s hand which held a split piece of paper before his eyes went to Mr. Gin who had a distant look in his eyes before replying in a serious tone.

“That’s likely going to happen. Usually, someone first trains Ninjutsus with the compatible Chakra release. I, as an example, first trained my Lightning release to mastery before even trying to start with a different Chakra release.”

The frown on my face deepened as I realized that one of the strongest tools for a Ninjas was almost completely blocked from my access: The only Ninjas who didn’t use any Ninjutsu in their career were to my knowledge Might Guy and Rock Lee. But unlike them, I didn’t have the talent to become a Taijutsu expert.

“Don’t let your head down. Having a Storm release Kekkei Genkai also means that you get a noticeable affinity boost for Water and Lightning Jutsus. While it can’t compare with the affinity for your Storm release, your affinity for the two releases will be substantially higher compared to the other elemental releases. It also means that you can somewhat use two different elemental releases after putting some effort in.”

“...You’re right, teacher. I guess I’ll try to work around it.”, I sighed while my shoulders dropped.

CLAP

“There’s no need to be already depressed at your age and the possibility that we or Konoha have some C-ranked Storm release Jutsus still exists. Having a minor affinity for two elements can also be a tactical advantage.”

“I’m going to contact the Uzumaki Clan Head and your Hokage and request their aid. In the meantime, all of you should start training your Chakra Control by performing the Tree Climbing Exercise.”, instructed Mr. Gin while performing a hand sign on a Storage Scroll which released a piece of paper and an inked brush.

“...Um, can any of you walk on a tree with you Chakra?”, I awkwardly asked while trying to shove my recent feeling of disappointment behind a forced smile. Both of my teammates shook their heads saying that they had only completed the Sticking Leaf exercise.

“Let’s try it out!”, suggested Haruto who tried to lift my depressed mood for which I was unbelievably grateful.

We walked to a nearby tall tree and began to mend our Chakra under our feet. Trying to do so had proven to be a challenge as the Chakra had to exit under your sandals to stick at the tree’s bark. So the first thing we tried was to pass our Chakra through it.

After a quarter-hour, I finally managed to do it and stuck my right foot to the bark. I then nervously relaxed my leg’s muscles and it miraculously didn’t drop to the ground. Seeing my initial success motivated me and I tried to stick my other foot to the bark.

CRASH

‘Urggh. That hurt.’, I thought while lying on the ground back on the ground. Falling to the ground without breaking my fall really hurt.

After getting up I looked over to my teammates who were also trying to walk on the tree. Just I was to begin my second attempt at climbing the tree, I heard someone cheering loudly:

“WOW! Miyuki, you really did it! How did you do it?”, asked an amazed Haruto.

“Well, it’s not really that hard. You just need to concentrate on your feet, one step at a time.”

Standing horizontally Miyuki smiled at us while trying to hide her proud smirk. As to prove her skill, she began to slowly ascend the tree with steady steps. With each successful step she took, my confidence crumbled bit by bit.

‘Is this how normal people feel when they compare themselves with prodigies? It tastes quite bitter, that’s for sure.’

Pulling myself up I continued to practice with Haruto while observing Miyuki and analyzing her movements. She surprisingly stopped her training after seeing me analyzing her and guided Haruto and myself. By the end of the day, I finally could stand horizontally on the tree.

‘Well, at least I was lucky enough with my teacher and teammates, I guess.’, I thought while smiling at Haruto and Miyuki.

OOO

"Hey, wanna hang out with me?", asked Haruto one day just before I would have left the training field.

We finished our training early because Mr. Gin had something to do so I planned to explore Uzushiogakure a bit. Haruto's question really took me by surprise as I expected him to hang out with Miyuki.

"Usually, Miyuki and I would have spent our time together but Miyuki told me that she had to attend a clan-related meeting today.", explained Haruto seemingly able to read my mind.

'Well, that explains why she didn't show up today.'

"Sure, why not?", I agreed.

'Come to think of, I haven't really spent time with my teammates after training, have I?'

"Great! Wait, just let me finish packing my stuff and we're good to go!"

Waiting for Haruto to finish I stood at the border of the training ground. I noticed that it was getting colder and soon the first snow would fall.

"I'm ready. Let's go!", shouted Haruto and began to run toward me with great enthusiasm.

After Haruto suggested visiting a special food stall, I agreed because I was starving due to today's training.

While walking through the busy streets of Uzushiogakure Haruto eagerly explained everything he knew about the things we saw:

When I asked him why there were many fish stalls in Uzushiogakure, he explained that Uzushiogakure's fishing industry was the primary source of income for civilians only surpassed by the collective earnings of all Ninjas in Uzushiogakure.

The reason for its prosperity lay with the warm water currents coming from the south which contained many microorganisms and plankton providing an ample amount of food for the fish. It also explained the frequent hurricanes and whirlpools Uzuhsiogakure had come used to.

Another interesting piece of knowledge I learned after asking him about a weird rock-like statue, was the founding myth surrounding Uzushiogakure and the Uzumaki clan's Kekkei Genkai for Fuinjutsu. The legend goes as follows:

The birthday of the God of Lightning and Thunder was nearing and as a proud major god he invited all other major gods to celebrate this joyous occasion together for 99 days and 99 nights. As he would be busy entertaining his guests, the God of Lightning and Thunder tasked one of his servants with handling a powerful magical artifact called the rod of Lightning which had the ability to control thunderstorms.

But before he left, he gave his servant a stern reminder: “Remember! Do not overdo your duty as it will cause irreversible harm and suffering to the world invoking Heaven’s wrath.”

The servant dutifully nodded and promised to fulfill his obligation before bowing toward his master. Relieved that his duties were taken off, the God of Lightning and Thunder left and joined the rest of the major gods.

On every day and every night, the servant dutifully performed his tasks but as time passed he found increasing satisfaction in wielding the enormous power bestowed to him. The servant’s arrogance grew with every passing day and on the 99th day after his master’s departure, he was fully convinced that he was equally or even more powerful than the God of Lightning and Thunder himself.

Blinded by his own arrogance, he decided to rebel against his former master and poisoned the still loyal servants of the God of Lightning and Thunder before attacking his former master on his way home. But through the guidance of the seemingly everchanging but already predestined path of fate, the God of Lightning and Thunder returned accompanied by the Goddess of Mystery and Wisdom.

Upon seeing them, the treacherous servant viciously attacked them with the rod of Lightning taking both gods by surprise. But as two true gods, they were only wounded and before long they swiftly retaliated: A fierce battle ensured that lasted 7 days and 7 nights thereby greatly devastating the Land of Lightning.

As the 8th day was approaching the servant slowly realized that he couldn’t win and in a desperate attempt, he began to flee toward the sea chased by two gods fueled by their wrath and ire. While flying over the island today known as the Land of Whirlpools, the two gods caught up and fought him once again.

After a final struggle, the servant used a last resort to escape his death: Using all available Chakra inside the rod of Lightning he transformed himself into an indestructible rock which couldn’t even be scratched by the combined effort of two gods.

To avoid future trouble the Goddess of Mystery and Wisdom performed a strong Fuinjutsu and sealed him forever inside his new body. As a precaution, she blessed the local islanders with the talent for Fuinjutsu and taught them the necessary knowledge for resealing the rock, should the Fuinjutsu on it be damaged or weakened.

As I was thinking about the legend, we had already arrived at the food stall. Unlike most food stalls the one we arrived at was hidden inside a small alley isolated from the busy main street. When I got near enough I realized that the customers were only chatting Ninjas still wearing their uniforms: It seemed that Haruto had brought me to a quite exclusive place.

"Two servings please!", shouted Haruto at the stall owner who on closer inspection wore a bandana and looked like a retired Ninja due to the large scars on his face and his serious look.

"Coming in 5 minutes!", he yelled back while spinning the knife in his right hand and using his Chakra to attach a note with our order onto the wall

"Quite unusual, right?", asked Haruto rhetorically with a grin. He then further elaborated:

"That's Mr. Chojiro, a local celebrity who operates this food stall. Well, he's only famous to us Ninjas anyway due to the difficulty in finding the food stall. But there are occasionally civilians who find this place by coincidence... However, they hurriedly leave after seeing Mr. Chojiro's face."

"Huh, that must be quite hard on him.", I muttered in a barely audible voice full of sympathy.

"Hey, Haruto! Tell your friend that I don't like to be the object of his pity.", said Mr. Chojiro without looking at us while chopping some vegetables.

"I'M TERRIBLY SORRY!",

I loudly apologized and bowed before Haruto had any chance to react. Suddenly, heavy silence filled the air and I nervously stood there while hoping for the best.

‘Did I f*ck up?’

"Bwahaha! Aren't you too old to scare little children, Akito?", commented a Ninja in his 50s before the whole street including Me Chojiro erupted in cheerful laughter.

"I haven't laughed that hard since becoming a Chunin.", added a middle-aged female Ninja while slapping her thigh.

Standing confused amid the forming crowd of customers my initial fear was replaced by a sense of embarrassment and I could feel my face burning hot. Luckily, it was facing the ground as I was still bowing to the stall owner.

"No need to panic. Mr. Chojiro just becomes a bit grumpy and sensitive if someone pities him. Just be your normal self and everything's gonna be fine.", explained Haruto while trying not to laugh.

"But I've to say that you're quite the sincere guy, aren’t you?", jabbed Haruto with a grin.

"I don't want to hear that from you. You sound like an old man.", I retorted with a smile after having recovered from my embarrassment.

A joyful mood enveloped the food stall and its surroundings and after waiting for a couple of minutes our food was served.

"Here are your servings and welcome to Uzushiogakure.", said Mr. Chojiro with a smiling face.

"Thanks!", both Haruto and I replied. In front of me was a bowl full of rice fully soaked with a delicious-looking sauce and a plate filled with simmered fish framed by fresh vegetables. After taking my first bite I mentally thanked Haruto for introducing Mr. Chojiro's food stall to me.

'Ahh! What a bliss.', I thought while being busy with emptying my bowl.

OOO

“An express delivery for the Hokage has arrived!”, notified the female mission receptionist and shortly after a Yamanaka Ninja, who was the Hokage’s secretary, came to receive the message.

‘Looks like an urgent message from Uzushiogakure… That’s quite unusual.’, thought Fukuro Yamanaka after inspecting the scroll before walking toward the Hokage’s office.

Having arrived in front of the Hokage’s door he knocked at it before waiting for a bit and then entered. Upon entering he could see a busy man looking over countless stacks of documents imprisoned inside a cage made of ink and paper.

“I might have an excuse for you to escape from your prison, Lord Hokage.”, declared the Yamaka with a pleasant smile that could even convince the most distrustful father- and mother-in-law to entrust their beautiful daughter to you.

“Does it involve additional paperwork?”, asked Hiruzen warily like a person clinging onto their last hope while knowing its futility: Alas, everyone makes mistakes in their younger years until they learn better.

“It depends because I actually don’t know. We received an urgent message from Uzushiogakure authorized to be only read by the Hokage.”, revealed Fukuro without changing his facial expression in a neutral voice.

The Hokage held his hand out and before unwrapping the received scroll he confirmed his identity with a drop of blood which he took by biting his thumb: A series of strange black seal characters appeared before vanishing and opening the scroll.

While the scroll was carefully read Fukuro silently stood in front of the Hokage without moving an inch. Occasionally, one could hear the cheerful laughter of some academy students and the merry chirping of birds.

"Read it for yourself and then tell me your thoughts on this topic.", commanded the Hokage after handing the opened scroll back to his secretary. The Yamanaka took the scroll and read it. After reading it he closed his eyes for a couple of moments before replying:

“...It’s very unusual that someone outside of Kumogakure has an affinity for Storm Chakra. Luckily, we already thoroughly checked this Genin’s background before he departed from Konoha so we can comfortably dismiss the chance of him being a spy. “

“This makes him a very valuable asset to Konoha as he isn’t from a Ninja Clan and being male, he can easily pass his Kekkei Genkai onto his children. We should consider recalling him from Uzuhsiogakure as a viable option even if we offend Uzushiogakure.”

“But admittedly, his Kekkei Genkai has limited use to us as we don’t have many Ninjutsus based on the Storm Release: Most of them were obtained during the Ninja World War through the capture and interrogation of Kumo Ninjas “

“Additionally, they are quite high-ranked and unsuitable for a Genin but if I remember correctly, we should possess a handful of D-ranked or C-ranked Storm Release Ninjutsus. We could give them to him as it would also benefit Konoha in expanding its Ninjutsus arsenal and sorting out the unusable ones.”

“I, therefore, recommend sending an ANBU operative to closely observe him should future problems arise. We should also consider trying to keep his Chakra release a secret for as long as we possibly can because the chance of abduction by other Ninja villages, especially Kumogakure, will be quite high after they learn of his Chakra release.”

“Equally important would be the fact that we failed to test his Chakra in the first place before sending to Uzushiogakure creating a diplomatic problem. Tasking someone with inspecting everything related to the Ninja Academy would be wise.”

“However, the decision on how to handle this situation will have to be made by you, Lord Hokage.”

Hearing his secretary’s report the Hokage leaned against his chair and began to contemplate while smoking his favorite tobacco through his pipe. The sun was shining through the windows and due to the shade cast by his hat, his facial expression was difficult to discern but if one looked closer, one could see a rare smile appearing after a while.

“Let’s do it like you recommended: Send an ANBU operative to watch over him and prepare all Storm Release Ninjutsus under B Rank to be sent over to Uzushiogakure. Also please inform them of our intention of keeping the Genin’s Chakra a secret. Furthermore, I will be personally making a surprise inspection at the Ninja Academy tomorrow so please adjust my schedule slightly.”

“If you don’t have any questions left, then immediately execute my orders.”

The Yamanaka bowed after hearing his orders and promptly left his superior’s office. While issuing the ANBU their new mission he inwardly bitterly smiled:

‘Seems like I again won’t make it in time today. Shit, this is already the tenth time I miss the dinner Honoka prepared... Let’s hope her scolding won’t be too bad… Yeah, who am I kidding? I should just plan to make someone else handle all these tasks as soon as possible.’