Chapter 10 Chakra
A shadow of the same size as the previous one gradually solidified in the air.
It seems that this is all the chakra that the Nine-Tails can currently release from the seal.
The fox settled in front of him, eye to eye with Naruto, paws crossed and tail swaying lazily.
"Can you teach me how to use chakra now?" Naruto begged, "Please?"
"Of course, kid." Kyuubi reminded him patiently, "So, what do you know about chakra?"
Naruto tried hard to search the memories in his mind and found that he was not completely ignorant.
"There are five types of chakras? Your type determines which type of chakra you are best at using."
Kyuubi snorted and shook his head.
"It's worse than I thought. Wrong. I don't mean to disparage your Iruka-sensei, he did his best, but most humans are wrong."
"About chakra properties?"
“About the word ‘attribute.’”
"You mean, people don't have attributes?"
"What I mean is that just because someone is more comfortable drawing chakra from a certain place doesn't mean they only have one type of chakra."
Naruto shook his head, his brows furrowed.
"I don't know."
“Let me explain from the beginning.”
The fox said this, reaching out and breaking off a willow branch.
"Chakra, in its most basic form, is energy produced by life. It's everywhere - trees and flowers, rocks and soil, the air you breathe, the water you drink, everything contains chakra. Most things produce so little chakra that it's almost imperceptible, but powerful beings like ninjas or tailed beasts can create and control vast amounts of chakra."
There was a slight flash of energy, and the willow branch turned into a white light. Kyuubi flicked his fingers lightly, and the white light stayed between them obediently.
"There are seven main forms of chakra. The first five make up the balance of nature: earth, water, fire, wind, and thunder."
Kyuubi said as he pulled out five balls of energy of varying sizes from the glowing chakra.
The first was grey-green, like an ancient rock;
The second was azure blue, clear and transparent like crystal;
the third glowed bright red;
The fourth moved quickly but had no color;
The last was a crackling sphere of interwoven black and silver light.
They rotate slowly in the space left by the central ball of light.
"Each chakra can be extracted from the part where it is located."
"Where?"
Kyuubi nodded.
"Each of these elements that make up the balance of nature also corresponds to the balance of living things. They permeate and dominate specific systems, and the chakras in these systems lie dormant most of the time until someone attempts to extract the chakra for the first time, at which point they are awakened."
"Wait, stop." Naruto raised his hand, signaling the other party to stop. The Nine-Tails paused, his eyes full of interest. "So what you mean is that everyone has these five types of chakra, and in the same amount, but people usually only use one of them? Why?"
"Most human ninjas are born with one chakra channel open, or they find it easier to open one channel than the others. I think this is where the concept of 'attributes' originally came from. In fact, if a person only uses one type of chakra throughout their life, it may cause the other channels to atrophy."
"Shrinking?"
"They degenerate and become useless, like muscles that aren't used for a long time. They just... stop functioning."
"That sounds terrible."
Kyuubi nodded seriously.
"So, before you start refining chakra, I'm going to teach you how to open all five chakra channels. Remember," Kyuubi said, raising his claws, "training five chakra sources at the same time means you'll need to spend five times as long to learn, not to mention I've got other training content prepared for you. Can you do it?"
"Will this make me stronger?" Naruto asked, because that's what matters most.
“It wears you out. For a while, it becomes all you do.”
The Nine-Tails paused, and Naruto didn't say anything, waiting patiently, because he knew that the next part was the key.
The tailed beast grinned, revealing a mouthful of fangs.
"But it will also make you stronger in ways you never imagined. Are you ready, kid?"
Naruto gave a confident smile in return.
"of course."
Kyuubi laughed. "I knew it," he said, pressing the claw of his index finger against the first energy ball, the one that looked like a moss-covered rock.
"Now, do you remember how you communicated with me using the seal?"
Naruto nodded.
"Now do as I say, but instead of entering the seal, enter your own body. I will tell you which type of chakra you are looking for and where it comes from. You need to find it in your body and try to pull it out, awaken it. Can you do this?"
This sounds complicated, but what Naruto lacks the least is perseverance.
"I can try."
"Let me know when you're ready."
He adjusted his shoulders, relaxed his body, slowed his breathing, closed his eyes, and nodded when he could clearly hear his heartbeat.
He felt something like sand rolling over his chest and then stopping.
He could feel the energy almost touching his skin, he could feel the touch of Kyuubi's claws pressing on his sternum, it was so real. Kyuubi's voice echoed in his ears, the tone was a little strange.
"Earth Chakra represents strength. It is known for its endurance and steadiness." He felt a sharp pain as the chakra ball was pushed into his chest. "It resides in the bones."
The energy penetrated his body, just a little bit, spreading slowly to his ribs.
The energy was heavy and dense, flowing slowly through his body at its own rhythm.
Naruto tried to remember the feeling, then followed Kyuubi's instructions and tried to find the same energy in his own bones.
