Becoming the Tsuchikage in the Naruto World

Chapter 21: C-Rank Ninjutsu

Learning ninjutsu isn't as simple as reading a scroll or watching someone else perform it once.

In Ishiro's previous-life memories, there was Uchiha Itachi mastering the Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique on his first try after seeing Fugaku perform it. But that didn't mean ninjutsu was easy to learn. Just look at how hard Sasuke worked, even though he was incredibly talented.

So typically, a ninja might need ten or even dozens of tries to get a feel for a jutsu. But how many times can they afford to cast it, given their limited chakra? Someone like Ishiro, who can only manage a single C-rank ninjutsu per day, would have to invest around thirty attempts to master a single technique – possibly a full month of focusing nearly all his chakra on that one skill each day.

And even after spending that month, he'd only have learned the jutsu in a rudimentary sense. Becoming proficient – i.e., raising the success rate in different environments and possibly reducing the number of hand seals – can take far longer. Plus, most ninjas spend much of their time on missions, requiring them to keep enough chakra in reserve to stay battle-ready. Otherwise, they'd be courting death.

Because of this, the ninja world developed a special supplement (more of a medicinal dish than a drug) that can quickly replenish chakra consumption without harming the body. These "medicinal meals" are packed with ample nutrients, letting a person extract chakra many times per day. If taken for every meal, a ninja could theoretically draw an extra 50C worth of chakra per day, enough to practice a C-rank jutsu dozens of times in a single day. Constant practice like that can speed up the learner's search for the "right feeling" they need.

Typically, a single batch of this medicinal meal covers thirty servings. Eating it three times a day will last about ten days. In those ten days, a ninja could attempt hundreds of C-rank ninjutsu casts, greatly improving their chance of mastering the technique. Usually, the village awards one batch of such a medicinal meal when a ninja is newly promoted to Chūnin, helping them learn at least one C-rank jutsu. After all, being a real Chūnin squad leader means more than just a title.

Of course, while the village offers the medicinal dish, the ninja must shoulder the cost of purchasing the jutsu itself.

As for Ishiro, his parents had left him two C-rank ninjutsu scrolls, which spared him quite a bit of expense.

Holding the reward token from Lord Onoki, Ishiro headed to the contribution office, then registered at the exchange center. He exchanged enough resources for "one and a half" C-rank ninjutsu – in other words, 45 servings of the medicinal meal.

Next, he spent 90 points to hire a pro chef to prepare the dishes. This fee wasn't unreasonable – back when Ishiro was copying books, he earned 2 points per transcription, so spending 2 points on a single batch of cooking seemed fair. Plus, professionally cooked meals had better results.

Wasting no time, Ishiro began eating the medicinal meals at noon the same day. Their effect was obvious: after eating, he felt an excess of energy coursing through him. If he didn't use it up, he would likely suffer symptoms like nosebleeds. In severe cases, over-energizing could damage the body.

Knowing these risks, Ishiro didn't hesitate. He immediately followed the instructions in the Earth-Style Wall scroll to start channeling his chakra.

He chose Earth-Style Wall first for its relative simplicity. The jutsu primarily gathered chakra in front of the user to form an earthen barrier, in contrast to Earth-Style Spike, which required controlling the direction and number of earthen spikes.

Ishiro's hands flashed through 17 seals over nine seconds – an unfamiliar pattern of molding so much chakra at once. Kneeling down, he pressed both hands to the ground and poured 1.3C of chakra into it.

Nothing happened. Not even a tiny mound, let alone a wall. Though he knew a C-rank jutsu would be tricky, seeing no effect whatsoever was deflating.

Still, the meal's effect was kicking in, letting Ishiro draw another full charge of chakra without feeling drained. He resumed forging chakra time after time, gradually getting closer to forming an actual wall of earth.

At first, there would just be a tiny lump of soil, then a bigger mound. Realizing he was off track, Ishiro shifted his control again, forming a small ridge of earth. Step by step, he built up the correct approach, and soon, a rudimentary earth wall began taking shape.

Through repeated attempts, Ishiro finally succeeded in learning Earth-Style Wall after using about 27 of the 45 servings of medicinal food over 9 days. Each day, after mealtimes, he would spend over an hour practicing.

Now, he could form the jutsu in about five seconds with 14 hand seals, achieving a 100% success rate. He had trimmed the number of seals from 17 down to 14, and the chakra consumption from about 1.3C to around 1.1C.

He couldn't help feeling grateful for his transmigration and his powerful spiritual energy, which gave him incredible chakra control and drastically shortened the typical training curve. Normally, a newly minted Chūnin could expect to blow through a full 30-serving batch of medicinal dishes just to cast a C-rank jutsu once or twice successfully.

But Ishiro not only learned it, he also brought it to a point of near-mastery, achieving a perfect success rate and shaving off several hand seals. His casting speed now rivaled D-rank jutsu like the Clone or Transformation Techniques.

Most proficient ninjutsu (Substitution Technique): about 1 second total, 3 seals.

Clone, Transformation, Earth-Style Wall: around 1 second for 2.6 seals each.

With Earth-Style Wall fully in hand, Ishiro planned to rest a bit before tackling his next jutsu. Practicing Earth-Style Wall had also boosted his understanding of Earth-nature chakra, enabling him to shift his chakra to Earth-nature at will.

He decided to skip Earth-Style Spike for now and focus on honing his Water-nature chakra. After seeing how practicing Earth-Style Wall quickly enhanced his affinity for Earth, he wanted to learn a Water Release jutsu to similarly boost his Water-nature mastery.

Originally, he'd gained 1000 contribution points, and after receiving his S-rank mission reward, his total soared, enough to buy a standard B-rank jutsu if he wanted. Multiple C-rank jutsu would be even easier to afford.

So he headed to the exchange center to pick a Water Release technique suitable for him. Scanning the list, Ishiro excluded moves that required large amounts of chakra – that was still his weak point. He wanted something emphasizing refined chakra control to leverage his strength.

He noted the Water Arrow Jutsu the Mist ninja had used against him was also on the list but ultimately decided against it. Water Arrow fired a swarm of arrows in a small area, more of a scattershot. Ishiro preferred a single-target jutsu.

Eventually, he settled on "Water Release: Water Thread." Among C-rank Water Release techniques, its offensive strength was relatively low, condensing water into a single point for a focused strike. Water Release, to begin with, wasn't known for high direct damage, and Water Thread was even weaker than most of its kind. But it used compression, giving it significant future potential. In his previous-life memories, two masters—Fukasaku of Mount Myōboku and the Second Hokage, Tobirama—could compress Water Release to "cut" through objects. Water Thread worked similarly, albeit at this stage it lacked the density to slice anything. It was more like a precise projectile.

Still, it only consumed 0.9C of chakra—perfect for practicing Water-nature transformations. And because it wasn't too practical in actual combat, it only cost 1000 points, at the low end of the C-rank jutsu scale.

Ishiro purchased Water Release: Water Thread, giving a longing glance at the high-priced sensory ninjutsu list, then left the exchange center.