Chapter 61: C-Rank Jutsu Are the Foundation
Kaito nodded and asked curiously,
"Why learn Wind Release: Dragon first? Isn't Wind Release: Beast Wave Palm easier to master than Wind Release: Dragon?"
Renjiro was pleasantly surprised that Kaito asked this specific question, and he felt impressed by Kaito's analytical thinking ability. He replied,
"I have some special training plans for your Wind Release: Dragon development, so don't worry about the difficulty. As for the learning sequence, once you've mastered Wind Release: Dragon, learning Wind Release: Beast Wave Palm will become significantly easier."
Kaito nodded, thinking to himself,
"That's true, but it doesn't mean learning Wind Release: Dragon will be any easier initially!"
Renjiro then turned to Hodaka expectantly. Hodaka stated reluctantly,
"I've decided to learn Body Flicker Technique, Earth Release: Stone Shuriken, Earth Release: Earth Spear, Earth Release: Rising Stone Spears, and Water Release: Water Shuriken."
Both Kaito and Mieko immediately noticed the distinct sadness in Hodaka's voice. Renjiro thought with mild exasperation,
"I know you don't particularly like ninjutsu, but do you have to look at me like I personally owe you a million ryo?"
He ignored Hodaka's attitude and analyzed the technique selection.
"Like the Senju, the Hyuga Clan also emphasizes Earth Release and Water Release. The Gentle Fist embodies both the hardness of earth and the flexibility of water. Therefore, even if they don't naturally possess these affinities, they train in these elements regardless. Fortunately for him, he does have Earth Release. However, he only selected one C-rank technique, and all the others are D-rank jutsu. It seems I'll need to take a gradual approach with his training."
Renjiro asked again,
"Explain your reasoning."
Hodaka answered with the explanation his father had forced him to memorize,
"Body Flicker Technique improves my movement speed. My Gentle Fist is limited by its attack range, so I can use Body Flicker to force enemies into close-quarters combat. If enemies maintain distance outside my attack range, I can strike them with Earth Release: Stone Shuriken. If fighting on water, I can use Water Release: Water Shuriken against them. Earth Release: Earth Spear prevents enemies from escaping easily, and Earth Release: Rising Stone Spears targets enemies who jump to avoid the initial spikes."
Renjiro nodded, thinking to himself,
"The Hyuga Clan traditionally uses Earth Release: Earth Spear in combination tactics. However, I need to have him learn more C-rank Earth Release and Water Release techniques eventually."
Renjiro looked at his three students and announced,
"Now I'll explain why I assigned you this exercise. But first, answer me this—what rank of jutsu do you want to use in combat?"
Mieko immediately declared enthusiastically,
"I want to learn and use S-rank jutsu!"
She then looked at Renjiro with hopeful, eager eyes.
Renjiro chuckled inwardly and looked at the other two children.
Kaito appeared deep in thought, while Hodaka looked genuinely nervous. He was sweating profusely and stammered awkwardly,
"I... I think D-rank jutsu are sufficient!"
Mieko glared at Hodaka with obvious anger after hearing that pathetic answer.
Renjiro looked at Kaito and asked,
"Kaito, what about you?"
Kaito regarded his instructor thoughtfully and said,
"I also want to use A-rank or S-rank jutsu eventually, but I don't know how much chakra they typically require. If using just one S-rank technique completely exhausts my entire chakra reserves, then it becomes somewhat meaningless in extended combat, doesn't it?"
Hearing this analytical answer, Renjiro smiled with satisfaction and thought,
"Perfect. This kid's analytical ability is genuinely excellent."
Renjiro explained,
"You're absolutely correct. This exercise was designed for you to identify jutsu that suit your individual capabilities best. No matter what rank you eventually achieve as a shinobi, your most frequently used techniques will still be C-rank jutsu. The reason is simple—jutsu above B-rank consume massive amounts of chakra, which severely affects performance in prolonged battles."
He paused for a moment to let the genin absorb this information. He continued,
"Therefore, what kind of shinobi you can ultimately become depends largely on your mastery of C-rank techniques."
He looked directly at Mieko and emphasized,
"It's not about how many C-rank jutsu you learn, but rather how skillfully you can execute them."
Then he turned to Kaito and instructed,
"Kaito, perform Wind Release: Great Breakthrough on those trees over there."
Kaito nodded, formed the proper hand seals, and executed Wind Release: Great Breakthrough.
The technique generated powerful gusts of wind that caused branches to shake violently, and numerous leaves and small branches fell to the ground.
The wind pressure left visible cuts on most of the tree trunks. A minute later, the wind dissipated completely. Kaito thought to himself,
"Alright, that was approximately 25% of my maximum output for this technique."
Renjiro announced,
"Very good. Now observe this carefully."
Renjiro also formed hand seals and then performed Wind Release: Great Breakthrough himself.
The power of his technique exceeded Kaito's by more than ten times.
The devastating wind blast swept through several trees, and three of them were completely uprooted from the ground.
Even though the technique wasn't directed at them, Kaito, Hodaka, and Mieko all felt the immense pressure of the wind and had to brace themselves against the ground.
Hodaka and Mieko were thoroughly shocked by what they witnessed. But Kaito had only one thought running through his mind:
"Isn't this illegal deforestation? Shouldn't someone call the authorities or environmental protection! Old man, Hashirama Senju is no longer alive, and nobody else can just create replacement trees out of thin air anymore."
Mieko asked with genuine enthusiasm,
"But how did you do that? Why is your technique so much more powerful than Kaito's?"
Renjiro replied simply,
"Because my mastery of this technique far exceeds Kaito's current level."
Kaito grumbled internally,
"That's not entirely accurate, old man. You also used another trick—you simply infused significantly more chakra into this technique than I did. Though I suppose you're also more efficient with your chakra manipulation."
Renjiro continued his explanation,
"And this wasn't even my full power, nor have I achieved complete mastery of this technique. If it were the Hokage performing it, he could flatten an entire forest with just this one jutsu."
Mieko, Kaito, and Hodaka looked genuinely surprised and excited hearing this revelation—or at least two of them did.
Kaito sighed internally,
"Hiruzen in this reality is far more terrifying than his portrayal in the series. I genuinely wonder if Orochimaru can actually kill him during their eventual confrontation."
Renjiro felt satisfied with his students' reactions and concluded,
"Therefore, what you need to focus on learning and truly mastering is C-rank jutsu. In the future, these techniques will comprise the foundation of your combat arsenal. Of course, this doesn't mean you shouldn't learn higher-ranked jutsu—the additional power they provide proves extremely valuable. However, if you don't master a solid foundation of C-rank techniques first, you will never become truly strong."
Mieko and Kaito nodded with understanding, but Hodaka still appeared somewhat reluctant.
Renjiro looked directly at Hodaka and stated firmly,
"Hodaka, no matter how exceptional your taijutsu becomes, if you don't master several effective C-rank jutsu, you will never become a powerful shinobi."
Hodaka lowered his head and muttered softly,
"Even without ninjutsu, I can still become an extremely strong shinobi."
Renjiro sighed with resignation and announced,
"Alright then, I'll arrange a sparring match between you and Kaito right now."
Mieko pouted because she wasn't included in the demonstration spar.
Renjiro had Hodaka and Kaito take their positions facing each other.
As they walked to their designated starting positions, Renjiro secretly whispered instructions to Kaito.
[+500 Power Stones = +1 Extra Chapter]
[+10 Reviews = +1 Extra Chapter]
If you enjoyed this chapter, leave a Review!
P*atreon/DarkFoxx (30+ advanced chapters)