Aeternum: Group Chat

Aeternum: Chat Group

Chapter 7: Konohagakure no sato (5) - Nature

One Week Later

Rias exhaled in exasperation as she looked up at the ceiling of the apartment's dining room. It had been three weeks since they met Jiraiya. They had talked a bit more with the eccentric and perverted shinobi these days. However, their conversations revolved around chakra and its mysteries, especially with Harry taking the lead in their conversations.

Rias simply listened in curiosity, and had thought of a few things to help Koneko, her tower. Sadly, she could only do that, or walk around the village and eat. If it weren't for the shinobi they now truly knew was spying on them, she couldn't do much else. Rias would have loved to train with her power of destruction in the face of so many ideas that had been born from seeing Naruto's training and the jutsus that some shinobi occasionally launched on the streets, either to help or simply training in some fields further away from the streets.

Harry had advanced quite a bit for someone not born in this world. Apparently, Jiraiya had taken a bit of a liking to him for the curiosity he had that others didn't. This led to the sannin teaching him the other two jutsus that made up the two basic ones: Henge and Bunshin. Also, thanks to Harry's Memory-Maker, he was able to learn Katon: Goukakyuu no jutsu, Katon: Gouryuuka no jutsu and Suiton: Mizurappa. Of course, he had also trained alongside Naruto in the Kage Bunshin.

Harry's chakra levels weren't that great to begin with, so he has also trained his body to be able to grow his chakra to adequate levels without feeling tired when using said jutsus. The first time he used Kage Bunshin no jutsu, he ended up tired with a strange looking Naruto.

And now, Harry decided to go out to train some more with Naruto. Rias decided to follow him and ask Jiraiya for something. She was already a little tired of just waiting and staying still. She had an idea to use her power of destruction and train him.

When they arrived at the training ground they always visited, they saw Naruto trying to summon toads. That was another amazing technique that needed a contract with a special kind of animal. When the two travelers saw Gamabunta a few days ago, they gasped and their eyes widened.

"Guys! Good morning!", Naruto stood up and greeted them by waving his hand from further away.

"Oh... Harry... Rias... It's good to see you again", Jiraiya just smiled at them from beside Naruto.

"Um...", Rias nodded. "I wanted to ask you something important"

"Shoot", said Jiraiya.

"Do you think you can use your influence to make us Leaf shinobi? I've seen them train so much that I can't sit still any longer."

Jiraiya raised his eyebrows before frowning.

"Why exactly? If you're asking me this, you should have a reason to start training."

Rias exhaled a bit before speaking, "I have a special bloodline power. And I really didn't want to draw attention or seem suspicious. I know how distrustful shinobi villages can be."

"Bloodline you say?" Jiraiya looked at Rias in surprise. "Could you show me?"

Rias nodded and raised her hand towards a tree. A crimson sphere appeared in front of her right hand and then a pillar of the same color was shot out, completely swallowing the tree and the others behind it.

"Wooaah," Naruto looked surprised, as did Jiraiya, but he didn't say a word.

"That wasn't an elemental bloodline... What is it?"

"Power of destruction," Rias replied. "A power capable of destroying everything it touches."

Jiraiya was now impressed, but instead of accepting Rias' request, he formed hand seals and hit the ground, summoning two small but old toads.

"Jiraiya-chan?" the male toad said a little surprised at being summoned.

"What's wrong, Jiraiya-chan? It's weird that you summon us when you're not fighting," the female toad asked with doubts and a little annoyed.

"Ma, Pa... I have a little surprise right now."

"Rias... can you use that attack again?"

Rias tilted her head in curiosity, but nodded anyway. She raised her hand and fired her Power of Destruction. When the Elder Toads saw and felt Rias' Power of Destruction, their jaws dropped slightly and they could only say two things.

"Shinra Banshou..."

Harry, who had been studying everything he could about chakra, inhaled a little sharply. He was no expert, but from the meaning of those two words alone, he could draw some slight conclusions.

"So... is it really as I thought?", Jiraiya commented seriously. When Rias first fired her Power of Destruction, Jiraiya could sense something surprising from that power. Something that, if he hadn't been paying attention, he wouldn't even be able to notice.

"Young girl! What is your name and how are you able to use that?!", Fukusaku asked excitedly.

"Uh... I'm Rias Gremoy. That was my bloodline... is something wrong?"

"Um... Rias," Harry called out to his friend with a slightly incredulous expression.

"Yes?"

"I can't sense your power of destruction like Jiraiya or the toads. But, just by listening to Shinra Banshou, I can tell that...", Harry looked at the male toad.

"Fukusaku"

"Thank you... as I was saying, I can tell that Fukusaku may have sensed elemental natures of your power of destruction."

"What?!", Rias exclaimed in surprise.

"The young man is right, Rias-chan," Shima nodded, jumping forward. "With the power of your bloodline, we were clearly able to sense 'all things of nature'. And this is not just things like fire, wind, water, earth, and lightning. But also Yin-Yang."

"But... how is that possible?" Rias asked with doubt in her expression and voice. She never heard this kind of thing from her mother or brother. "Also, I have never trained with chakra."

Fukusaku shook his head: "I can sense it, your chakra is especially powerful and a great amount more on top of that."

Jiraiya nodded with his arms crossed: "Pa is right, Rias. I already told you about the connection between energies. However, this does not mean that a person without chakra does not have said energies in their body. All... absolutely all living beings have spiritual and physical energy. Some more than others between the two, but there it is."

"Spiritual energy is usually kept in the skull and physical energy under the abdomen. But, chakra is only called such, when the connection between the two is achieved."

"That is why you are strange Rias. You do not possess that connection, but a large amount of both energies. And, yet, you can use the combination of all things in nature."

"Jiraiya-chan! I would like to take Rias-chan to Myoubokuzan!"

"Eh?... Well... of course, I don't care about that, but you have to ask her."

"What is Myoubokuzan?", Rias asked curiously.

"It's the place where the summoning toads live. A special place rich in nature energy."

"You too, kid," Shima pointed at Harry, who raised both eyebrows. "You're clearly more in tune with nature energy than a normal person. You need to learn how to use that so it doesn't become dangerous."

Naruto just listened from the side with a pout. He wanted to keep training, but he didn't want his friends to leave. The two of them had been something new to him and they never judged him. In fact, they supported him in his dream of becoming hokage. As slight as that support was, it was there and he had never received it, even from his genin friends.

"Then... we'll be leaving now."

. . .

When the two travelers appeared in Myoubokuzan, they were surprised by the harmony of the place. The plants were huge, even taller than normal trees. There were small toads everywhere, playing and some training.

Harry was the most surprised. He let out a gasp when he felt an energy he had never felt before embrace his body. And, even though it felt warm, it created a small pressure on his body that made it seem a little dangerous. And, for some strange reason, his body attracted this strange energy to him; Harry had to try hard not to let it enter his body.

"It's more than I thought...", Shima commented, looking at Harry who had a frown on his face as he tried hard not to let the energy of nature enter.

"Why... haven't I felt this... before?", he asked worriedly. If the energy of nature was everywhere, why hadn't he felt this attraction before? That was his question.

"The energy of nature that exists in this place is many times denser and more powerful than elsewhere," Fukusaku replied seriously. "If you want a more apt comparison: The energy of nature in this place is like a lake, but with the aggressiveness of a stream's rapids. In other places with a higher population density and human constructions, it would be like a simple stream at a slow speed."

"You're having difficulties because the energy of nature hits your body hard."

Rias looked at her friend a little worried. If he was already having difficulties, she didn't want to know what she would have when creating the connection to form her chakra. Having a power that is born from all things in nature, then it might be more complicated for her to sense the energy of nature in this place.

Harry understood Fukusaku's point, but he began to think about the reason for having an attunement to the greater energy of nature. And he theorized that it could be because of his magic and the 'gene' that made it magical. If his world had a strange energy, then perhaps the 'gene' that made him magical allowed him to absorb this energy that somehow influenced his spiritual energy. By always passively absorbing this energy from his world, it probably made it easier for his body to sense and absorb other similar energies.

When the group arrived at a strange dwelling, they all went inside and the two toads sat in front of the two travelers with serious expressions.

"Never, in all our lives, did we expect to find two such promising young people. From today on, we will train them in the energy of nature and chakra in general. I hope they try hard, because it will be a hard training."

The two nodded with determination. They both knew that this would make them stronger and they could have more freedom in their respective worlds. It was something they both wanted more than anything.

"Now... Ma will help Rias-chan awaken her chakra. In the meantime, I will help Harry-chan with training," Fukusaku jumped up and looked at Harry, tacitly asking him to follow him. The young wizard nodded and followed him immediately.

. . .

Fukusaku stood at the edge of a fountain with an amber-colored liquid. In the middle of the fountain, there was a statue of a wise man and a waterfall behind the statue, which let the liquid fall from above.

"This special oil will help you perceive spiritual energy much better than now. You have to undress and meditate on it. When doing this, you must not lose the concentration of your internal energies, so that you can balance them with the energy of nature."

"Do you have any questions before we begin, Harry-chan?"

"Yes...", Harry nodded. "Before we begin, I would like to understand chakra better. I already know quite a bit of what Jiraiya taught me. But I would like to learn the theory behind nature transformation and shape manipulation."

Fukusaku nodded. "That's good! Having a solid foundation is something few actually do. By having knowledge of the essentials, you can determine what you can or cannot do."

"Sit here," Fukusaku pointed to the side of him and Harry walked over before sitting down.

"Well...", the toad nodded seriously. "The transformation of nature is a rare thing. And I don't mean in quantity, but in how it presents itself in people."

"From the little chat earlier with Jiraiya-chan, I can assume that you know of the connection between the three energies."

Harry nodded.

"Well...when this connection between the three energies is created, it results in the recovery of chakra, but also in the birth of a person's affinity in the five elements of nature," Fukusaku taught and spoke slowly, so that Harry could digest the knowledge as he went.

"Do you know what psyche is, Harry-chan?"

"No...", Harry shook his head.

"The psyche is part of an individual's life force. Bound to their body in life and detached from it upon death," Fukusaku replied, causing Harry to tilt his head in slight surprise.

"So it's a term for the soul?"

"Yes..." Fukusaku nodded. "But the psyche also has two functions: it allows the organism to orient itself in the world, and to assume an active and independent position in the environment, allowing it to survive based on the development that its intelligence allows it."

"But the most important thing when it comes to affinity is the first function. How the first function is achieved is through cognitive reflexes – sensations, perceptions and thought – and active reflexes – emotions and feelings – all of this, finally converges in another connection with the three energies, thus creating a person's affinity with the five elements of nature."

"For example, let's take Naruto-chan as an example. Right now he doesn't know it, but he has an affinity with the wind. Naruto-chan is a fearless child, with the potential to be powerful, but he is also naive and unpredictable. All of this together with the respective connections, produce the birth of his affinity."

"However, never think that everyone will be the same. Someone who is cunning, intelligent, and with a lethal disposition, could also be attuned to the wind element."

"I see...", Harry sighed a little. "I understand now, and I never thought it was so complex."

"You're right," Fukusaku nodded with a small smile, "But nature has never been simple."

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