Naruto: Power in Play

Chapter 16

Chapter 16

[Chakra manipulation has leveled up!]

[Chakra manipulation: [Novice] LVL 5/25 (2%)]

The way that the System quantified his skill progress has always intrigued Ando. Especially how it put a level cap on certain skills. How could it know how far the skill could be pushed? And what did it mean to reach mastery?

Alas, as always, Ando had too little information to keep on going. Simply forcing things would just leave him confused, and drawing inaccurate conclusions. It was a waste of time. Unlike his chakra training.

A leaf gently fell down from Ando's forehead. Twisting in the air until it landed on his lap. The leaf appeared wrinkled, and soft to the touch. No longer as fresh as it used to be. A testament to how long Ando has been using it for his training. And also proof that chakra, when used without any destructive intent, was completely harmless. At least, Ando's chakra was.

He expected to see a hint of his chakra nature by observing the reaction of the leaf to prolonged exposure to his chakra, but alas, things were not so simple.

Shaking himself free of those distracting thoughts, Ando picked the leaf one more time and placed it on his forehead. His hands automatically assumed the ram handsign, which enhanced mental focus and the ability to control chakra with the mind.

With his eyes closed, Ando completely focused on the task at hand. The natural flow of his chakra was disrupted, a small portion of it was removed from the cycle and followed the natural pathways to his forehead, sipping through the pores of his skin, and finally making contact with the leaf, where it met a small, almost inexistant resistance, and flooded the leaf.

If one were to look at Ando at this moment, in the dim lighting of the early morning, they would notice that his forehead was glowing a light shade of blue. It was a sign that he was employing too much chakra to hold the leaf. Which would have normally blown the leaf away. That is, if it had not penetrated through the leaf.

But it did, and by extending his control over that chakra—an action that required far more focus than just controlling the chakra inside of him, Ando willed the leaf to stick to his skin.

And just like that, Ando completed the Leaf Sticking Jutsu.

Now, the next issue to tackle was to reduce the chakra he was using to hold the leaf in place. Slowly, he dispersed the chakra, which was surprisingly easy to do. The world seemed like it was starving for it. If he just lacked a little bit of focus, or control, then his chakra would dissipate in the atmosphere, just like salt in the water.

And if too much was dispersed, then, the leaf would fall off.

Ando opened his eyes as he gazed at the leaf that fell down into his lap one more time.

The orphan shook his head and looked around. The room was dim, lit only by the faint glow of the early morning, and the air was heavy with the remnants of his focused exertion. His body ached from the overnight practice, but the progress he had made in his chakra control filled him with a quiet sense of accomplishment.

He glanced at the clock, noticing that he still has some time before he had to go and meet up with Chika at their usual training ground. Ando thought about it for a while and decided to head towards the refectory to have some tasty treats. He deserved it after all the training he forced himself to go through.

He gathered his things and stepped outside, suppressing a shiver as the cool morning air brushed against his tired skin. The academy grounds were quiet at this hour, with only a few early risers moving about.