[Words :-1501 ]
[Tatsuya's pov]
After having my stomach filled with lunch, I was told by mom to go to the Yarzu Hill.
Although the Land of Whirlpools was surrounded by water from all four sides, it still had its fair share of mountains and hills.
In fact, it was said that Uzushiogakure's land fertility was very similar to the Land of Fire.
Thus, the whole outskirts of the islands were covered with big, sprawling trees situated either on hills or mountains.
Walking deep into the forest, Tatsuya's gaze took in the peaceful environment that surrounded him.
The trees bristled, the birds cooed, and a gentle, serene sound of flowing water could be heard.
Though it was afternoon, around 2 pm, the sunlight was still moderate. And even if the sunlight was heavy, the big trees with their dense hairy leaves would filter out the stinging rays.
After about 15 minutes of walking down the path, enjoying the calm elements of nature, Tatsuya arrived at the foot of a hill... or a mountain would be the correct word.
Ain't no way a hill was supposed to be so tall... Right??
Immediately, his eyes signaled him to the chakra signature present along the edges of the hill, which was filled with trees, leaving no area visible from down below.
Black ink covered the foot of the mountain, deep, intricate Fūinjutsu lines expanding endlessly on both sides of the foot of the hill.
Zippp!!
Suddenly, a flash passed under Tatsuya's eyes, lightning sparkling along the Fūinjutsu lines inscribed on the ground.
Five seconds passed, and another flash zipped from in front of his eyes, stopping exactly at the point where Tatsuya was standing.
Tatsuya's eyes fell upon the old man standing before him. His red hair had streaks of white hair present within. Just seeing him, one might say he was a rugged type of old man.
Akira's voice boomed as he looked at me, or rather at my eyes, piercingly. "You are such a slowpoke, Tatsuya. Through Kagura's mind eye, I saw your leisurely pace... Do you not want to train?"
I just knew the perfect excuse for it, though I doubted it would work. "I was digesting my lunch, Grandpa. My stomach is filled with food."
"Hmph, excuses... Okay, now before crossing these markings present below my footstep, inject your chakra into this paper," Grandpa said while holding out a piece of chakra paper.
I was long familiar with chakra paper, not because of my previous life memories but because chakra paper, except for testing chakra nature affinity, is also used in Fūinjutsu... and there are many other practical ways as well.
Fūinjutsu seals do not work on normal paper... at least not for beginners and intermediates. Only people who have become grandmasters and have very high proficiency and affinity in learning Fūinjutsu will be able to make seals on normal paper.
Grabbing the piece of chakra paper being held out by Grandfather, I released my chakra through it slowly.
The chakra paper clearly split into four equal parts. One part of the paper split in half, another part wrinkled, the third one turned to dirt and crumbled away, and the last one caught fire and turned into ash.
Wind.
Lightning.
Earth.
Fire.
These were my chakra affinities. I was quite sure I had Wind and Earth; the others were just cherry on the cake.
Though a part of my mind couldn't help but grumble, 'Oh, Rikudo, you might as well have given me all 5 chakra nature affinities. Why did you have to leave out Water?'
"That's quite rare... 4 elements huh! ... Boy, you have a lot to work on. Now take off your footwear and step in, and remember to brace yourself," Grandpa spoke.
Though a bit confused, I quickly took off my footwear and stepped into the encirclement.
As soon as both of my feet touched the ground, an explosive downward force acted on my body, making me lay down flat.
Even breathing became a bit heavier. "Arggg" . A growl escaped my mouth.
"I told you to brace yourself... Now look at yourself crying, and just so you know, that's only with gravity increased by 1 percent. Well anyway , you don't need to worry about damaging your body or anything... We Uzumakis heal like crazy... Hahaha... Now stand up, boy. Don't stay lying down, relaxing yourself," the old man nagged, laughing loudly, clearly enjoying himself at my miserable fate.
'Easy for you to say, old man,' I grumbled in my mind while trying to push my body upwards using my hands.
"You should be happy ,not even in your Senju clan do I doubt anyone would spend so much resources just to train a young boy. The seals have been specifically modified by me so that there's no actual damage to your skeletal system," he grumbled ,though clearly enjoying himself while I struggled to stand steadily.
"I know, I know," I uttered these words under deep strain. Looking down, I could clearly feel myself being uncomfortable standing on the ground barefoot because it was filled with wooden things and razor-sharp leaves clearly cutting through sole of my feet.
"First rule: A ninja should adapt to any circumstance they may be present in... Now run straight ahead. Let's see how far you go," he ordered while gazing at me.
First of all, breathing in itself was hard, and this geezer wanted me to run upwards on this mountain, which was an even more grueling task.
Adjusting my breath took me 2-3 minutes. Then I moved my legs forward, one step at a time, and then slowly tried to jog, though I doubted it was anything but a jog.
The ground was hard, my breathing was rugged, and this definitely required a lot of strength, which my body didn't possess. This made me stumble repeatedly, though I tried not to stop myself.
I knew at most I would be able to take only five to ten steps before giving out if I solely depended on my physique.
So, as any sane person would do, I tried reinforcing my lungs and heart with chakra, trying to stabilize my breath, which in turn gave me a wider opportunity to focus on my swaying body.
With each step, my breathing and jogging stabilized as my whole body was infused with chakra, with a major portion dedicated to my heart and lungs.
I knew I would soon exhaust my chakra, and with it, my movement would come to a halt. But remembering the geezer's grin as he watched me struggle to cope with the sudden increase in gravity, I knew I had to give it my all.
So, I gradually reduced the chakra consumption in my body. However, through my eyes, I could see chakra leaking from my body, indicating that my chakra control had barely improved.
Wondering what my old man would be doing right now, I tried to activate K.M.E.
But another shock struck me like a hammer. Previously, I could sense everything within a 200-meter radius surrounding myself, but now that range had shrunk to a mere 2 meters.
How could Fūinjutsu limit ones innate Kekkei Genkai? I doubted he had placed specific seals on me, which meant this was all done by the seals surrounding this monstrous hill.
Unable to sense my grandpa with my limited range of K. M. E. , I tilted my head backward, trying to see if Grandpa was following me while still jogging forward.
But as soon as my head turned, a chill ran down my spine. I couldn't see anything behind me. Everything was shrouded in darkness, creating an eerie atmosphere.
No sound, no light came from behind. With each step forward, the darkness seemed to grow, trying to swallow me whole.
My head snapped back immediately as fear took precedence. It was genjutsu, definitely. But then something else struck me.
If it was an illusion, my Shizen'na ma gan would have already pierced through it. Yet, this felt like reality.
I tried disrupting my chakra flow, which caused a lack of coordination in my movements due to the sudden disruption.
However, I still kept moving, and the disruption didn't work. Neither my eyes nor the usual methods of breaking through this predicament were effective.
'Dammit,' I grumbled beneath my breath. The chakra consumption, which I had been trying to reduce, inevitably became even more critical.
Although it provided me with a sudden burst of speed, it didn't offer any real advantage as my reserves were slowly drained.
This feeling was all too familiar – the helplessness I had experienced when I died in my previous life.
Gritting my teeth, even after most of my chakra had been exhausted, I tried moving forward, taking one more step, just one more.But in the end it was all for nothing.
The darkness overtook me as I slowly lost consciousness. A thought lingered in my mind, which I spoke aloud: "Not again?!"
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[Reviews and powestones are welcomed]