Chapter 12: Elements 1
Jiu Lama whistled softly.
"The speed at which you master it is a little disturbing."
"Hey, Kurama..." Naruto opened his eyes and looked at the fox who looked very pleased with himself, "Is there any special reason why we are doing this?"
Jiu Lama's eyes widened slightly, but then it smiled again, and laughed even more happily.
"Smart kid, that's right, there is a method to my madness. There is a stability ranking among the natural element chakras. The earth attribute chakra is the most basic, so I asked you to awaken it first."
“Like the foundation of a building, right?” Because he was beginning to really understand, really understand.
Not only did he understand what the Nine-Tailed Fox meant, he also began to understand what it meant to him.
“It’s the most stable, so it’s best to lay the foundation first so that other things don’t collapse, right?”
Jiu Lama started laughing again.
"That's right, clever boy. If soil is the foundation, then what is water?"
Naruto thought for a moment and scratched his chin absentmindedly.
“Is it a stabilizer?” he said, because that’s the right word. “Or is it a buffer? It keeps the balance, making sure one element doesn’t overwhelm the others.”
"What makes you think so?"
"Because water can restrain fire, thunder and wind, but earth can't, it can prevent them from hurting each other? Water can't restrain earth, but it doesn't need to do so. Is this why we practice earth attribute chakra first, so that water can cover it without any worries?"
Kurama laughed again, his laughter full of warmth. He patted Naruto's head with his claws condensed from chakra and ruffled his hair.
Kurama's chakra form was so real that his golden hair stood up like dandelion fluff. A warm current surged into Naruto's heart, almost making him breathless.
"Why so many questions, kid? You got it right."
Naruto had to take a few deep breaths to make himself comfortable enough to talk without bursting into tears.
He wiped his eyes, making sure he wasn't crying.
"Did I really do the right thing?" His voice was still trembling, not steady at all.
"Of course." Jiu Lama said affirmatively, pinching his nose with his paw and teasing him.
Naruto snorted in dissatisfaction and struggled to dodge, but Kurama just laughed even louder. Naruto liked to hear him laugh like that.
"Water Chakra is called the Arbiter, while Earth Chakra is the foundation. It protects the other unstable elements and ensures that the five Chakras coexist harmoniously in your body. Of all the elements, only water can come into contact with the other four, just like blood flows through the various systems of the human body."
"What about the remaining three?"
Jiu Lama gently poked his forehead with a hint of gentle reproach.
"Think for yourself. You've done well so far, do you think you can keep it up?"
Naruto nodded, and because he didn't really know what to say, he began to imagine what it would be like to have a brother.
"Is the next one fire attribute chakra?" he asked, and this time, his voice did not tremble, and he was proud of it.
Jiu Lama nodded and scooped up the energy ball that was glowing crimson with his claws.
Naruto received his instruction and focused his attention back into his body.
He could feel the warmth of the energy ball penetrating through the fabric of his shirt and into his body, this time lower than the previous two times - just above his belly button.
"Fire Chakra represents will. It is known for its passion and intensity. It resides in the stomach and throat."
The energy was strange - it was warm, yet oddly empty, and without Kurama's support it would quickly dissipate from his body, faster than the other two chakras.
He was familiar enough with the feeling to know that something was missing from it.
He searched for that warm feeling within himself but found nothing, only a cold shadow, something dark and dormant.
Will, eh?
Jiu Lama said it was passionate and strong, but he couldn't feel it, only empty coldness.
But fire needs fuel, right? It needs a spark to start it.
What, then, nourishes the will?
The answer suddenly became simple. The will longs to be satisfied, so what does it want most?
He wanted friends, he wanted family, but more than that, he wanted the power to protect them, power strong enough so that once he had his family, nothing could take them away from him.
So he seized upon this desire, gathered it together, and threw it into the flame.
The energy flickered in his stomach, burned quickly, and then burned fiercely in his throat, and he felt as if he could burst into fireballs at any moment.
The flames expanded like a supernova, sending heat to every cell of his body.
He could taste the gunpowder, and every breath he took made him feel like he was in the middle of a forest fire.
He felt as if he could run for kilometers, as if he was supposed to, as if no obstacle in front of him could stop him from moving forward.
With the clarity in his blood and the stability in his bones, he felt he could face the world without fear.
He snorted, laughed happily, shook his head like a drowned rat that had just come out of the water, and then pulled himself out of the wonderful feeling.
"Wow, it's like a generator! Or a booster? Anyway, it provides energy for other things, right?"
Jiu Lama chuckled.
"Well said, brat. Fire attribute chakra is like an amplifier. It can expand chakra outwards and enhance the dormant energy in other attribute chakras."
“So that’s why it’s in the middle?”
"Yes."
"so cool."
Naruto wished he could start training right now, skip the remaining steps, and start becoming stronger directly, but he still had two types of chakra that had not been awakened. It would be a pity if he missed something more important because of his impatience.
"Is it time for wind-attribute chakra now?"
"You know what to do." Naruto entered a meditative state again, waiting for Kurama to give him the fourth energy ball. "Wind attribute chakra represents change. It is known for its rapidity and unpredictability." He pressed the energy ball on the other side of Naruto's sternum, flush with where the heart is. "It is in the lungs."
