Previously, Aoba only knew some basic chakra control techniques, such as walking on water and climbing trees.
So seeing Hayame demonstrating this kind of technique now, he was extremely surprised.
Noticing the astonished gaze from Aoba, Hayame couldn't help but curl his lips into a smile.
With a chuckle, he said, "This is a technique only jonin can master; normally, it's not something accessible to genin."
The information blockade in the ninja world was very severe.
In this world, most of the time, what mattered first was one's background, and only after that came talent.
When it came to chakra nature transformation, clan ninjas usually had access to it from an early age.
For example, someone like Uchiha Sasuke had already learned the Great Fireball Technique even before enrolling in the academy, while most civilian ninjas only knew the basic transformation jutsu, substitution jutsu, and clone jutsu by the time they graduated.
Or, if one had elders in high positions with decent strength, they might have the opportunity to learn advanced ninja knowledge across different ranks.
Like in Aoba's case, his elder had time to teach him such things.
For other civilians, though, genin had the knowledge scope of genin, while jonin had the knowledge scope of jonin.
In the original series, even Uzumaki Naruto only learned about chakra nature transformation and mastered the Rasenshuriken much later in the story.
Aoba also picked up a tree branch and tried to infuse chakra into it, imitating Hayame's actions.
However, the tree branch in his hand was merely wrapped in a thin layer of faint blue chakra, showing none of the sharpness that Hayame's had.
Seeing this, he could only look at Hayame with a puzzled expression.
Hayame smiled again and said, "To master chakra nature transformation, you need to undergo training."
"At the same time, it requires a strong amount of chakra to sustain it. Right now, your chakra levels are roughly at the lower genin threshold. Just barely reaching the entry requirements."
"Then how should I train?", Aoba asked.
Hearing this, Hayame stroked his chin, thinking about how to explain it, "First, you need to find the sensation of cutting."
As he spoke, Hayame plucked a blade of grass from the ground.
Without any visible movement from him, the blade of grass suddenly split in midair, falling to the ground in two halves.
"Did you get it?"
After demonstrating, Hayame looked at Aoba with a serious expression.
Aoba blinked blankly, then gave him a look that clearly said, "Are you messing with me?"
'You just mentioned "cutting sensation," then broke a blade of grass out of nowhere, and now you ask me if I understand?'
This is like telling someone, 'You know what uranium is, now go build a nuclear bomb.'
"Uh…", Hayame also realized Aoba's inner thoughts and understood that his explanation might have been a bit too abstract.
However, he had been sent to the battlefield at twelve years old, and these techniques were things he figured out on his own in the heat of combat. He never had a good teacher, so he didn't really know how to teach others.
"A lot of things in life can't really be explained clearly… It's more of a feeling."
"Just practice with these blades of grass for now, try to find the sensation of cutting, and over time, you'll get it."
"Your sister Yugao learned it this way too," Perhaps realizing his explanation was too vague, Hayame brought up one of his rare successful cases.
Hearing this, Aoba could only frown, pluck a blade of grass, and start experimenting.
This kind of thing was probably difficult to explain, like the concept of 'sword intent' in martial arts novels. If you got it, you'd understand even without explanation; if you didn't, no amount of teaching would help.
Thus, for the entire morning, Aoba sat holding a blade of grass, infusing it with chakra every now and then, trying to grasp the sensation of cutting.
When his chakra ran low, he took a break, and once it recovered, he resumed trying.
This continued into the afternoon.
After finishing lunch, Aoba immediately ran back to the courtyard to continue practicing.
Watching his nephew work so hard, Hayame nodded in satisfaction.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
Suddenly, a knocking sound rang from the door.
Hearing the noise, Aoba curiously turned to look.
'Who could be visiting at this hour?'
Standing outside was a familiar silhouette.
"Little Aoba, long time no see. I didn't expect you to be at home today instead of out playing with your little girlfriends," The 15-year-old Uzuki Yugao was brimming with youthful energy. Her silky, smooth purple hair was casually tied up, giving her a slightly more valiant look.
She was still wearing a chunin vest, likely having just returned from a mission.
Right now, however, she had a smile on her face, and her brown eyes held a trace of barely concealed joy.
Without hesitation, she reached through the courtyard gate and unlocked it from inside.
This kind of waist-high iron gate around standalone houses wasn't exactly the most secure.
"What do you mean 'long time no see'? It's only been a few days," Aoba rolled his eyes before resuming his struggle with the blade of grass.
"Sigh—"
"Little Aoba has already been enchanted by the girls outside and is now starting to ignore his dear sister," Yugao said in an exaggeratedly wounded tone when she saw that he wasn't paying her much attention.
She walked over to Aoba, curious about what he was doing.
Uzuki Yugao could be considered Aoba's savior.
During the Nine-Tails' attack, it was the 10-year-old Uzuki Yugao who carried Aoba out from the rubble of a collapsing house.
Otherwise, the freshly reincarnated Aoba would have died before even getting a chance to live this new life.
To repay her, Hayame took Yugao in as his disciple.
After that, whenever Hayame was out on missions, it was usually Uzuki Yugao who looked after Aoba.
It wouldn't be wrong to say she had watched him grow up.
However, ever since she graduated from the academy. Especially after becoming a chunin, she had been busy with missions, so they saw each other less frequently.
"Huh—?"
Uzuki Yugao let out a surprised sound when she saw Aoba repeatedly infusing chakra into the blade of grass. Her beautiful eyes widened slightly.
"Little Aoba, are you already practicing chakra nature transformation?"
"Yeah, but I still haven't figured out the sensation of cutting," Aoba frowned.
Hearing this, Yugao froze for a moment, then seemed to remember something. Her mouth twitched slightly.
"Did the teacher teach you this way?"
"Hmm? Oh, it's Yugao," Before Aoba could answer, Hayame came out of the house, having heard the conversation.
Seeing the somewhat resentful look on Uzuki Yugao's face, he asked in confusion.
"Did I teach something wrong? I remember you learned it this way too."
Yugao's expression became even more bitter.
"Which is exactly why I had to train for so long."
She plucked a strand of her long, silky purple hair, held it between her fingers, and placed it in front of Aoba.
"Little Aoba, put your hand on mine and feel the chakra flow."
Aoba obediently placed his hand on her wrist.
Despite being a ninja's hand, her skin felt incredibly soft and delicate.
He suddenly recalled how Tenten, despite practicing weapon throwing every day, still had soft, tender hands.
'Maybe this is just the magic of chakra.'
His thoughts were quickly interrupted by a sharp sensation.
The strand of hair at Yugao's fingertips had split.
"Little Aoba, you should have some understanding now, right?"
Seeing Aoba in a daze, Yugao asked with concern.
She had deliberately slowed down the chakra conversion for him.
Aoba nodded blankly. He hadn't fully grasped it yet, but he had a rough idea of what 'cutting sensation' meant.
Uzuki Yugao smiled, clearly satisfied, "Your chakra isn't strong enough yet, so for now, it's best to practice with hair."
"I understand."
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