Chapter 9: I Might Have to Put Everything I Have Into Training You, Seriously
"The weather's been good recently. At this pace, we'll reach Sunagakure in three more days."
Inside a village in the Land of Wind, Chiyo, having just returned with water, bent down and entered the roadside shelter. She smiled and patted Hiiro Rinko's shoulder. The latter simply nodded and continued to chew the Rations Pill (Hyōrōgan) in his mouth.
Swallowing the pill, he silently accepted the water skin Chiyo offered. After taking a few small sips, he capped it shut.
Although they could buy food from the village stores, Rinko was curious about the pills, so he was treating it as early preparation for life as a shinobi on foreign missions.
Truthfully, the taste of the Rations Pill was hardly complimentary, but a single small pill was enough to fill the stomach and rapidly restore some Chakra. For a shinobi, there was genuinely nothing to complain about.
If there was a drawback, it was that you shouldn't drink too much water immediately after eating the pill, which is primarily made of glutinous rice flour.
But then again, one rarely gets the chance to guzzle clean water in the desert anyway.
Corresponding to the Rations Pill, there was also a pellet called the Desert Thirst Pill (Shuǐ Kě Wán). This pill contained shredded dried plums in its ingredients; consumption would stimulate saliva secretion, alleviating thirst to a certain extent.
However, its primary function was to soothe the throat, preventing coughing during movement, which could disrupt breathing rhythm and expose their location.
Sunagakure shinobi usually consumed the Desert Thirst Pill in conjunction with water to minimize consumption.
Seeing Rinko finish his rest, Chiyo began to talk about Suna's history and some minor ninja knowledge to prepare him for his future life.
This was partly Rinko's request, but it was also due to Chiyo's naturally cheerful and lively personality.
For her, who would incessantly chatter about all sorts of random topics when the mood struck her, Rinko—who rarely responded, never complained, and only listened quietly—was the perfect audience.
After traveling together for nearly a month, the elder and the child had grown accustomed to this mode of interaction.
It was custom during their breaks for Chiyo's lectures to drift off into other subjects. Of course, it was hard to say whether this method was also Chiyo's way of trying to dispel the 'dark cloud' hanging over Rinko's heart.
But… dark cloud?
Rinko never had one to begin with. It was safe to say that Chiyo's efforts were wasted on the blind.
However, he rather enjoyed the feeling of being cared for; it made his corpse-like existence feel warm. Therefore, he didn't rush Chiyo to hasten their journey.
Among the Five Great Nations, the Land of Wind boasts the largest area and the largest population.
However, the vast majority of this massive southwestern country consists of unusable deserts and badlands, and its annual rainfall is scarce.
The harsh living conditions forced the citizens of the Land of Wind to build their villages almost exclusively in desert oases.
The scarcity of usable land meant the Land of Wind struggled to be self-sufficient in food. Vegetables and grain relied heavily on foreign trade. Inconvenient transportation often led to exorbitant markups on imports, while the price of their exports was frequently driven down.
It could be argued that the Land of Wind maintained its status as one of the Five Great Nations basically by relying on its large population and the unbroken tradition of excellent talent emerging from Sunagakure.
Like other settlements in the Land of Wind, Sunagakure itself was located within an oasis in the vast desert.
The routes required to reach it would change with the shifting seasons and the volatile desert climate.
If Chiyo were alone, she could indeed return from the Land of Rivers to Sunagakure much quicker, but taking Rinko along was a different matter.
After all, he was only a six-year-old child. His physical constitution simply could not withstand such high-intensity travel. Moreover, the Land of Wind was unlike other countries; he needed time to adjust to the harsh desert climate.
During the first few days upon entering the Land of Wind, Rinko was practically in a constant state of heatstroke. This not only worried Chiyo immensely but also made him keenly aware of the fragility of his own body.
Fortunately, the Uzumaki Clan's constitution proved reliable. After a few days of adjustment, the high temperatures that were intolerable to ordinary people no longer affected him significantly.
But to be safe, Chiyo still taught him the method of Chakra refinement to enhance his physical fitness.
Chakra, simply understood, is a mix of spiritual energy and body energy. Given this essence, Hiiro Rinko, possessing the soul of a Special Grade Cursed User and the body of an Uzumaki, should have easily generated a massive amount of Chakra.
But the reality was otherwise.
No matter how simple the definition, the actual operation involved countless details pouring out from every aspect.
It's like mathematics: while it starts simple, you should immediately be on high alert the moment you see that cursed character X, preparing for hell. (Self-mockery.)
For example, the rotational direction when mixing spiritual and life force. Chakra has two rotational forms based on its flow direction: left-spinning and right-spinning. A person can determine their own Chakra's natural rotation direction from the way their hair grows. Aligning with this direction can improve efficiency.
But determining the optimal angle and speed of rotation, and whether one can maintain this refined refinement through the subconscious for prolonged periods, required constant trial and error.
Another detail was the most efficient flow through the body's Chakra Pathway System (Keirakukei). How to completely fill every part of the system—which is distributed throughout the body like blood vessels—without waste, and how to fully mobilize all 361 Chakra points (Tenketsu) to minimize blind spots in Chakra release…
These details, which vary entirely from person to person, cannot be figured out by anyone else.
It was precisely because of his past experience with Black Flash (a state of extreme focus/efficiency in Jujutsu Kaisen) that he knew how much this detailed refinement could benefit his strength. That's why he wasn't focused on simply refining the quantity of Chakra right from the start.
Besides, after coming into contact with an energy system completely different from his previous life, how could he not be fascinated by it?
But in Chiyo's eyes, the whole thing was starting to get terrifying.
She certainly wouldn't teach Rinko the kind of nuanced details that require years of accumulated experience to gradually adjust and master—details that many shinobi never even notice in their lifetime.
A child his age achieving autonomous Chakra refinement in a single day was already remarkable. Chiyo's initial plan was just to guide him in testing his Chakra limits.
But how did things progress to this stage?
I never asked you to hold back your talent. I'm not the jealous type.
But what do you mean by researching these things now? Where is your beginner's confusion?
You're only six, right? At this rate, you'll be a Jōnin at twelve, inventing forbidden jutsu at twenty-four, and truly become the Kazekage!
As your guardian (not really), I might have to put everything I have into training you.
Seriously.