After arriving home with his exhausted father, Sora's mind was still remembering the whole experience as fresh as one could imagine. The heat from the furnace, the sizzling sound of metal, the intensity of bringing everything together into something completely new.
Still, he couldn't avoid feeling a bit curious about how to evolve his chakra control. The benefits of a good chakra control are that not only does it increase the chakra maximum capacity, but it can also make sure that one doesn't overuse their own chakra when performing a jutsu.
In game perspective, it's like when a spell cost 40 MP but you use it for 50 MP. The same applies here, Sora's current chakra reserves aren't enough for him to use any of the 3 basic techniques, yet he managed to create and use 3 different jutsus.
The main reason as to why and how that was possible is mainly due to Sora making the techniques the maintaining type, meaning that he needed to use chakra constantly in order to use them so when he used them for barely a second it helped him to save chakra.
Most of the other jutsus already use a fixed amount of chakra each time they're activated, regardless of whether you actually used them at all or not, or even if they were useful. Those types of jutsus are known as the active types, or at least that's the classification Sora has given them.
'Still, all those flames, the intense heat that can burn through metal and create new things. Curious, such a force that can destroy can also create.' Sora.
He left his room and silently walked towards his backyard. As he felt the cold night breeze, he took a deep breath and changed his breathing. Instead of just making the circulation of his chakra, he will make it burn.
The chakra will channel the heat and use it to make the cells on his body work up. The flames won't consume everything until only dust remains, they will stimulate the lifeforce that was already hidden within them.
Sora felt his belly feel warm and then it felt hot, like a sauna but way hotter.
'Keep the heat, don't harm just stimulate, just like the sun's light caresses the body, may this heat caress mine from within.' Sora.
The fire nature spread across Sora's whole body and reached a point in which Sora couldn't feel the cold of the night and only felt its warmth.
'It feels like my chakra's bubbling, let's try this.' Sora thought as he looked at his target practice.
He made three hand signs and gathered chakra in his mouth.
'Fire Style: En Tomoshibi (Ember).' Sora.
Sora spat various small embers that hit the target, the embers didn't cause immediate damage, but they did cling to the target before starting to burn it slowly. Sora immediately went and put off the flames, safely saving his wooden target.
He then tried the same jutsu but instead of spitting them, he focused it on his palm, and he saw how the embers danced slowly in it. Sora decided to change his breathing once again to the normal breathing and noticed that using the flames became harder to do.
'A breathing that naturally helps chakra circulation and one that aids the Fire Nature chakra manipulation. Isn't this like the Flame Breathing of Demon Slayer? Thinking about it, it wouldn't be a bad idea to focus on these, given that they help me.' Sora.
'I was already thinking about deepen in this matter, but I didn't want to harm my body. It seems that this will be a priority for now.' Sora.
Sora gathered some chakra with his Fire Breathing and noticed that the chakra recovery was indeed faster, but his body was starting to feel more tired faster.
'Guess that's one of the downsides, even though chakra can do a lot of things, it can't relieve fatigue and exhaustion as easily as one would imagine. Still, this makes my need of Medical Ninjutsu a priority as well.' Sora.
'Hah… let's take one step at the time, I'm not a genius and my age for fast growth will end once I hit puberty, or so I've heard, I need to prioritize what I have at hand right now. I'll need to focus on my physical body and ninjutsu.' Sora.
'I don't have the necessary materials for neither medical nor sealing jutsus and I'm not that good at Genjutsu, Kenjutsu is also a hard pass, and forging isn't a priority either for me, I'll still learn it of course, can't let my father's cool moment go to waste, he had all that "passing the torch" play pretty well done.' Sora.
He made sure that there were no embers left and went home to sleep for the night using Flame Breathing. The next morning, he felt a side-effect of over usage.
'My body's burning, not in a good way. So, I guess one can in fact get overheated.' Sora deactivated the Flame Breathing and restore the neutral breathing.
'I guess the chakra natures are more complex than I thought. Better be more careful in the future to prevent any problems.' Sora.
Sora went towards the dinner table and ate breakfast before going towards the academy. On his way there, he saw an adult male that wears a spandex green uniform and an orange scarf as he runs vigorously in the morning.
Sora simply let the man be and focused once again on his new breathing technique. After arriving, Minato greeted him.
"Sora, good morning." Minato.
"Mornin' Minato, how was training with your old man?" Sora.
"It went quite well; he taught me a wind-style ninjutsu and I learnt it." Minato.
"Which one?" Sora.
"D-Rank Ninjutsu Wind-Style: Breakthrough." Minato.
"Cool, seems that I did right at learning a new ninjutsu." Sora.
"Eh? You learned a new one?" Minato.
"More like I made a new one, unless it's taken, I'll have to research the library again." Sora.
"I'll help you." Minato.
As class passed by Minato couldn't help but to marvel at Sora's genius.
'He already was excellent when he made three jutsus on his own, even if they were based on other ninjutsus the mere fact that he managed to create new ones shows not only his geniality but also his understanding of how chakra is transformed into ninjutsus.' Minato thought.
'I wonder what's his thought process right now.' Minato.
'Nigetari akirameru koto wa daremo~
Isshun areba dekiru kara arukitsuzukeyou~
Kimi ni shika dekinai koto ga aru aoi hoshi ni~
Hikari ga nakusenu you ni~' Sora sang "Brave Heart" in his mind.
'Guess I'll have to keep trying to catch up to him, the moment his body recovers, he'll become a ninja that could surpass even the Kages, but that's fine, I'll surpass him and accomplish my dream: Become Hokage.' Minato.
'Man, with these geniuses here, I wonder if I could ever reach class 1-A. Wait, this sounds like the sub-plot of MHA.' Sora was starting to have a mental crisis.
After class, during lunchbreak, Sora and Minato went to the library to see if the jutsu Sora created was taken. Amidst their research, they got approached by their group of friends.
"Minato, Sora, figured you'd be here." Shikaku.
"Sup. How was the crawfish farming and negotiations?" Sora.
"Well, everything went quite well, most of the income will go to both of you and we got equal parts for our clans, good thing our four clans are in good terms with each other." Inoichi.
"Right, my dad said that you'd be receiving your share at the end of the month." Choza.
"What are you researching?" Shibi.
"We're looking if Sora's new jutsu hasn't been catalogued just yet." Minato.
"A new jutsu?" Shikaku.
"It's just an E, possible D, rank fire ninjutsu." Sora.
"I didn't know you were proficient with Fire Release." Inoichi.
"Neither did I, just wanted to try something out and it worked somehow, guess I'm lucky." Sora.
"So, what's the name of the Jutsu?" Shikaku asked as he picked a book.
"Fire Style: Embers." Sora.
"I suppose is one of those obvious effect jutsus." Shikaku.
"Right, since I don't have enough chakra for making fireballs, embers should suffice for now." Sora.
"Still, it's impressive how you can create jutsus so easily." Choza.
"I wouldn't say it's easy perse, but I'm definitely good at making them." Sora.
'Could it be because I have a clear idea of how I want the jutsu to be developed? I've seen various types of embers in the Pokémon anime and games, and thanks to this perfect memory I recall the descriptions given through each generation.' Sora.
After some hours researching, it was proved that the jutsu Sora developed was indeed a new jutsu.
"Could you all be quiet about it?" Sora.
"Why? It's not like you haven't shined enough." Shikaku.
"I just don't feel the need to pay mind to that right now, I would appreciate it if I could show the jutsu my own way." Sora.
"I don't quite get it but fine." Choza.
"Sure, no problem." Inoichi.
"It was troublesome anyway." Shikaku.
"Alright." Minato.
Shibi nods.
"Thanks, I appreciate it." Sora.
The group began leaving the library and went to class.
'From the few things I know about Naruto is that some dude named Danzo is like the root of all the bad things that happened in the story. Fortunately, or more precisely unfortunately, I didn't really want to spoil anything else and ignored everything about this Danzo guy.' Sora.
'The only piece of information I know about him is that he targets talented individuals so, someone who makes a lot of jutsus should be considered a talented individual, right? Still, my first mistake was creating my version of the basic techniques to beat Minato, I guess my mind also regressed a little too far since I only wanted to defeat him.' Sora.
'Then again, I can't live my life constricted as if someone will attack me from the shadows just because I'm trying to strive, but I'll still keep a normal profile as I can, as long as there are true geniuses like Minato or Shikaku, I'll just have to underperform slightly below them.' Sora.
"Still, what's your whole process when making jutsus?" Shikaku couldn't help but to ask as he sat down.
"Oh, it's quite simple. I first visualize what I want to do, then I find a way I could actually do that, finally: I make the trials and errors when trying the jutsu out to see if there's some side-effects when using them or if they're not as feasible as I expected." Sora.
"That doesn't sound simple." Choza.
"Visualization is key when creating a new jutsu, for example: you guys have seen your parents perform your families' jutsus, right? That alone makes it simpler for you to know what to do." Sora.
"Still, I've heard that even Jonins take several months before actually developing a new jutsu." Shibi.
"That's because most of them try to make jutsus that aren't based on others. Going in blind is certainly harder than going with a clear image." Minato.
"So much talk about jutsus makes me think of homework." Choza.
"Another problem is about the methodology one uses when developing the jutsu." Sora.
"How?" Inoichi.
"Well, sometimes we want to do something our way instead of the correct way, jutsus work similarly, they have a specific method in order to work but we want to do it some other way." Sora.
"How did you create Shippū Shungeki (Gale Instant Strike) then? You never used ninjutsu before so, how did you managed to find the "correct" way to use it?" Minato.
"Well, I never experienced ninjutsu before but I did chakra enhancing. Just like when we use chakra to run faster or hit stronger or walk on surfaces, I focused my path regarding that methodology in order to create my jutsus." Sora.
"Shippū Shungeki (Gale Instant Strike) has the methodology of using chakra in order to "quicken" the movements of the ligaments, it's not a simple burst of power, but an entire enhancing flow of chakra that that pushes the body to move faster that it usually can." Sora.
"And your senses are sharp enough due to Minato being your sparring partner." Shikaku pieced together the remaining incognitos himself.
"Right, the first few tries I almost crashed with trees and rocks, but I always got saved by the last second." Sora.
"Sounds rough." Inoichi.
"It was~" Sora smiles at the interaction.
Before they could speak more, Makoto entered the classroom and began his lesson. After another lesson, Sora and Minato decided to spend some time training at their usual spot near the tree.
After an arduous battle, both kids sat down the shade of the tree to take a break.
"Did you hear the news?" Minato.
"I don't buy newspapers; I have a Minato that keeps me up to speed." Sora.
"They say that a war might start soon." Minato.
"Why?" Sora.
"Following the First Great Ninja War, many nations were left in economic ruin. This has led to territorial disputes over valuable land and resources, especially between the Land of Wind and Land of Earth" Minato.
"Speaking of which, there was no balance of power whatsoever either, Konoha remained unbeatable at the eyes of everyone, Suna laid down, Kumo and Iwa lost, and Kiri didn't do much either, did it?" Sora.
"Right, and you say that war may erupt?" Sora.
"I'm certain, all the villages need to expand their territories to provide for their growing nations, we'll surely be a target as well." Minato.
"Thinking this through, Amegakure might become a warzone." Sora.
"Yeah, being stuck between the Land of Wind and Land of Erath, doesn't give it any favor. But they have Hanzo the Salamander, he's said to be the strongest Shinobi after the First Hokage died." Minato.
"Really? I thought those were rumors." Sora.
"No, my father told me that based on a report about the Land of Rain." Minato.
"Isn't that confidential of something?" Sora.
"Not really, it's not public but it isn't private either." Minato.
"I still don't get the borderlines about those rules. I mean, we're making the public feel safe or we the type of government that tells them the truth straight?" Sora.
"Depends on information, really." Minato.
"Very ambiguous. I love it." Sora.
"Speaking of future events, what's your goal in the future?" Minato.
"My goal? Hm… truth to be told, I haven't really thought much about that." Sora.
"Why did you wanted to become a ninja to begin with?" Minato.
"Well, I wanted to be a ninja because it sounds cool, I know there's other responsibilities in being one but for the moment I just wanted to be cool." Sora.
"Ha-ha…" Minato let out a nervous laugh.
"But you know, when the chips are thrown down, I wanna be able to protect my friends." Sora.
Minato smiled and looked at the sky, he didn't know what the future might hold but he was ready to become stronger for the sake of his friends.