Chapter 28: On the Applicability of Past Experience
Two months had passed.
Hiiro Rinko had come to a sincere realization: his past self had been incredibly naive.
Yes. That's right.
He had already confirmed with Karura just how "assertive" the culture of the Land of Wind was. Why, then, did he continue to make judgments based on his past experiences?
Have I become dull?
At this moment, with Karura clinging tightly to his left arm and Pakura's chin resting on top of his head, Hiiro Rinko had this regretful thought, all while flawlessly painting a complex seal onto a scroll.
This was a private study room, originally intended for upperclassmen to practice ninjutsu. However, one week after enrolling, Rinko had found Misawa-sensei and applied for the right to use it.
The reason was simple: he couldn't stand being pulled back and forth by Karura and Pakura in front of his classmates every single day.
Rinko had even cast a "help me" glance at Rasa when he passed by, but the latter just hesitated for a moment and then never came near him again.
In that instant, Rinko truly understood that in this cold-hearted shinobi society, the only one you could rely on was yourself.
He would climb to the top, step by step by step! He would stand higher than anyone else!
However, Rinko had only been able to secure this room because he, Karura, and Pakura had formed a "study group." Seeing as they were truly the most outstanding students of their generation, the school made an exception and granted them this privilege.
That being the case, they had to produce some kind of acceptable results.
No one expected a group of first-years to create anything earth-shattering. They just needed to produce something that matched their abilities.
Rinko's chosen project was the Storage Scroll—or more precisely, the Sealing Jutsu (Fūinjutsu) for one.
This scroll was a pre-made item, its internal subspace already expanded using Space-Time Ninjutsu. What Rinko was currently drawing was the sealing formula itself.
This is good, isn't it? Sunagakure needed the Barrier Jutsu and Sealing Jutsu he had "inherited." He would give them just that, and in return, continue his own happy life of research.
At this moment, although Karura and Pakura were pressed against him, both girls were surprisingly quiet, even their breathing slow and shallow.
In truth, they shouldn't have been this close. At first, they had just been watching with bated breath. But as time went on, the two girls had subconsciously drifted closer and closer to Rinko's side.
It was a habit they had formed during their study sessions—which mainly consisted of Rinko explaining and guiding them on Chakra control. One on the left, one on the right. It was fair, and it made it easy to see his notes. It was perfect.
As for Rinko, who was being sandwiched by the girls...
His heart was like still water, without a single ripple. You could even see a hint of Zen-like calm on his face.
It's not like they're some buxom kunoichi with a stunning figure. What's so exciting about two skinny girls whose bones jut into my arms?
But, to be honest, while being at the center of Karura and Pakura's increasingly blatant cold war had caused him a lot of trouble (and gotten him a lot of free bentos), Rinko couldn't, in good conscience, say he was completely annoyed.
While it was true they often interrupted his train of thought, Karura was really cute, and Pakura was cute in her own dorky way. He'd forgive them, for now.
He was 'going native,' as they say.
Rinko had felt it more than once: his mind was being influenced by his physical body. The parts of him that were once inorganic, cold, and even somewhat inhuman had well and truly been softened.
After all, if he were his past self, he would have never accepted the "pestering" of these two girls so lightly, let alone get along with them as peacefully as he was now.
On the other hand, it didn't take long for Karura and Pakura to realize their behavior was causing Rinko a lot of trouble, and they had since toned it down significantly.
It wasn't just Rinko; Karura and Pakura also felt much more at ease. The former was naturally gentle-natured, and the latter wasn't an aggressive type, either.
Forcing yourself to do something you're not good at is a burden for anyone.
But did that mean the girls had given up?
Absolutely not.
They had simply moved their competition from out in the open to under the surface. And Rinko felt that this current state was pretty good.
In fact, he had created this study group precisely in the hopes of diverting the girls' energy toward improving themselves. Looking at it now, he had succeeded.
Pakura, with her rare Fire-nature Chakra in the Land of Wind, couldn't get much help from the Academy teachers. And unlike Rasa and Karura, Pakura's parents were ordinary civilians, so she couldn't get guidance from her family elders, either.
Even so, she had relied on her own talent to become a genius student, second only to Rasa.
This point alone was enough to prove Pakura's talent and the stubborn part of her personality.
It was widely known that among the five basic elements, Fire Release (Katon) had the lowest average training difficulty. Among all known Fire Jutsu, there wasn't even one ranked higher than A-Rank.
But in reality, rather than saying Fire Release was "easy to learn," it was more accurate to say it was "too difficult to control."
In any system of mysticism, the fire element is almost never associated with the term 'fine control.'
Restless, wild, burning freely, incinerating all—this is the most basic, intuitive impression of fire. And something like that should be difficult to control.
Therefore, the development philosophy for Fire Release has always been: 'Just confirm the general direction and range, provide some guidance, and leave the rest to the fire itself.'
If it's hard to control, then just don't control it. Higher-level Fire Jutsu are basically just about increasing the firepower in various ways. The fact that few other types of jutsu exist for it is proof of this theory.
Of course, it wasn't that other types didn't exist, like Fire Release Sealing Jutsu.
But generally, unless it was a jutsu specifically researched for a need for the "fire" property, or just one the user found convenient, most of these niche techniques had better, easier-to-use alternatives in other elements.
This characteristic of Fire Release also led to an extreme polarization among its users.
Most non-Uchiha shinobi with a pure Fire-nature Chakra had average control. But shinobi who were also proficient in other elements were extremely skilled at Chakra manipulation.
Clearly, Pakura was currently in the former category.
The lack of guidance and the influence of her own Chakra nature had made her Chakra circulation quite clumsy.
Eh, what a coincidence.
In this study group, the other two members just so happened to be extremely skilled at fine Chakra control.
Comparing experiences, learning ninjutsu, and then chatting during breaks... what a wonderful school life.
This was what he wanted right now.