Chương 529: INTERLUDE_13.16 (529)

Itachi stood on the water in the middle of an artificial lake at the centre of a training field. The liquid surface under his feet was perfectly calm—a mirror reflecting the brilliance of the vast sky above. His chakra didn't cause a single ripple even as the water waved and crested ever so gently. It was a sign of his superior skill with chakra manipulation—but it wasn't enough.

His fight against Orochimaru was urgent proof that he needed power if he wanted to protect the innocent civilians who didn't want to spend their lives under the fear of violence, the shinobi who, despite their martial ability, didn't wish for war, and everyone else who only sought peace. If he wanted to keep the ideal of the Will of Fire burning brightly, he would need to become the shade that protected it from the winds of chaos. He took in a breath and weaved hand seals.

The chakra in him swam through the pathways like a slippery eel, carrying within it a potent energy. At his age, his body was still growing; he needed time for it to mature if he wanted more power—or he would need to emulate Might Gai and undergo arduous physical training to squeeze more physical energy out of his body, or learn to mass-produce shadow clones like Takuma to create more time for training. Doing either every day, much less regularly, was equally undesirable. Fortunately, he knew another way.

Setting aside the quality, the chakra of a genin was the same as the chakra wielded by a Kage. The difference between them was their ability to pull out the potential from that same chakra. An inexperienced shinobi could only pull out a small fraction of the chakra they possessed, whereas a Kage could pull out an unimaginably larger amount from the same chakra when compared to a genin.

That ability to pull out more potential from chakra was a big part of what allowed jōnin to stand apart from the rest of the shinobi populace. If genin learned how much chakra to use for a jutsu, then chūnin tried to push the limits of what they could do with their chakra. A rare few dug deep into the mysteries of chakra, and if they were lucky enough, they attained a level of understanding that unlocked its potential—an understanding commonly known as chakra enlightenment. However, that wasn't the end.

In fact, some considered it only the beginning because the 'true' potential of chakra was incomprehensible. Even a Kage wouldn't dare boast that they completely understood chakra. It was vast like the night sky. Even a few lifetimes dedicated to the cause of exploring chakra wouldn't be enough to understand it completely—perhaps nothing would ever be. But that also meant there was always room to progress.

The B-rank Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Jutsu was a ninjutsu he had used numerous times in training and battles. He knew just the right amount of chakra required for it, but this time, he lowered that amount as he gathered it in his lungs and transformed it before expelling it through his mouth. Itachi opened his eyes, the red Sharingan shining in the bright fiery glow of the fire in the shape of the ninjutsu that flew forward.

He watched the flow of chakra inside the dragon's head—how it flowed, burned, and collided within itself to create the destructive power. Within a few seconds, a large wave erupted from the lake surface and swallowed the dragon, immediately quenching the flames and producing steam that burst like a geyser. Despite the deluge, numerous large splotches of fire floated on the surface, bright and unextinguished. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

Chakra fires were different from normal fires, and fire-natured chakra could resist being snuffed out by water. However, it was especially weak to water-natured chakra. And yet, though the wave that drowned Itachi's jutsu was also a B-rank ninjutsu, the power and potential he could pull from it was much higher, allowing his jutsu to resist being completely wiped out.

"Nice shot!" Itachi turned toward Takuma, who had cast the Water Release ninjutsu, standing on the water beside him.

"Is this what it feels like to play golf with the boss…" Takuma said—he said some strange things from time to time that he didn't bother explaining, but no one could deny that he was good at his job—"… and his mother? Hmm…" Itachi glanced to the other side where his mother was gazing at the remnants of his ninjutsu with her Sharingan. He could perceive the flow of chakra inside his jutsu on his own, but she was vastly more experienced than he.

Not to mention, a fresh and unbiased pair of eyes might see the things he could miss.

"You need to isolate your chakra better, dear. You're sacrificing degrees of heat by allowing the pools of chakra to collide at the wrong times. Strengthen the barriers isolating the chakra so they dissolve right before the dragon reaches the target," Mikoto said.

"Understood, Mother. I'll implement it." Mikoto sighed with a wry smile.

"Annoying, this one, isn't he?" she said to Takuma. Takuma nodded with a sigh.

"Very much." Itachi tilted his head, not understanding why he was suddenly being accused of being annoying. He glanced at Mikoto, and subconsciously a gentle smile crept onto his face when he saw her merrily chatting with Takuma. She never talked about it, but Father often told him that she loved being a shinobi—she was fantastic at it, accomplishing much at a very young age and earning her rank as a shinobi—but she gave it all up when Itachi was born.

She loved her life as a kunoichi, but she loved her children more and decided to be a full-time mother when many others chose to balance both work and home. And while Father said that she didn't regret it, she missed it regardless. Training Takuma and Izumi had allowed her to get in touch with that side of her indirectly. Itachi knew that she wanted to be more involved with his shinobi training when he was younger, but wasn't able to because he grew too quickly.

Fortunately, she was thoroughly involved with Sasuke as he made his way through the Academy. Father thought that once Sasuke graduated and got busy with his life as a shinobi, he would suggest that she take on a genin team, as her most hands-on duties as a mother would be over, leaving her with much free time. Itachi turned to Takuma.

"A-Another," he cleared his throat as he felt something catch.

"Another t-try?"

"Everything good?" Takuma asked.

"Y-Yes," Itachi coughed again.

"Maybe we should take a break," Mikoto suggested.

"No, it's alright. I would like some water," Itachi said, and Mikoto tossed him the canteen. Itachi drank some water and felt some relief.

"Thank you. I'm ready."

"Are you sure?" Takuma asked. Itachi nodded and then used the same jutsu. This time, he focused on keeping the pools of fire-natured chakra inside the dragon's head separate using barriers of normal chakra. He adjusted their thickness so that the fire-natured chakra would eat away at them just as the dragon reached the target, allowing the unstable fire-natured chakra to mix and collide, creating the most intense heat at the point of impact.

It was a minimal difference, but it helped him understand the jutsu better, and he could already think of other places where he could apply the same concept to improve its use.

"Well done. I knew you could do it," Mikoto said with a proud smile. Takuma, on the other hand, created a bigger wave to flush out the dragon's head. Itachi could tell that he had put in more chakra than last time.

"I have some nature manipulations that I would like to try if you're up for it, Takuma."

"Sure, I have more in the tank," Takuma said. He made for a great training partner for Fire Release ninjutsu. He was proficient in Water Release and had the droves of chakra to fuel it.

"That's good. Thank you for accompanying me tod—" Itachi suddenly felt a violent cough come up, and unlike the small ones from before, this one kept going, so much so that his mother had to rub his back. He had leaned forward with his hands on his knees when he suddenly felt the taste of iron on the back of his tongue, which was when the cough eased.

"Are you alright…" Takuma's words died when Itachi removed his hand from his mouth, and there, on his palm, was blood.