Chapter 112: Chapter 110: The Art of Transformation
The academy classroom buzzed with the usual hum of students listening to the lecture. For Ryu, it was just another day of theory, and theory alone wasn't enough to hold his full attention.
He sat at his desk, his fingers subtly rubbing together, emitting faint sparks of lightning chakra. As he practiced his lightning affinity with a single hand—a skill he had been honing for weeks—the tiny crackles, which were hardly audible to him in the noisy children's class, kept him occupied.
"At least this is more interesting than the lecture," Ryu thought, his eyes lazily drifting towards the front of the room where Akane Abe, the Ninjutsu instructor, was explaining the intricacies of the Transformation Jutsu. Still, Ryu wasn't completely ignoring the lecture. His sharp mind recorded every word, storing it away for later review.
"The Transformation Jutsu allows the user to take on the appearance of whatever they choose," Akane said, her voice clear and authoritative. "This is one of the most basic, yet versatile, techniques you'll learn as a shinobi."
Ryu's curiosity was slightly aroused as his gaze shifted to the front of the classroom. He had seen the jutsu in action many times in anime. "It was Naruto's most used jutsu after Shadow Clone Jutsu," he thought with a smirk. "Or should I call that Sexy-No-Jutsu?"
It was a strange jutsu, but I cannot discredit that jutsu as it has its advantages. It did create an opening while fighting Kaguya."
He stifled a chuckle at the memory of Naruto's ridiculous transformations. "But the real question is, how does it work when you transform into something like a shuriken or a sword?"
Akane continued, explaining how the technique could be used to disguise oneself as another person, an animal, or even an inanimate object.
"Though," she added, her tone shifting slightly, "transforming into inanimate objects is the most difficult. "
Ryu's attention sharpened at that. "Inanimate objects, huh? That could be useful for stealth missions," he mused, his mind already racing with possibilities. He imagined himself transforming into a kunai or even a tree stump to avoid detection. "But how do they maintain the transformation under pressure?"
Ryu's mind drifted back to the anime. "Naruto transformed into a giant shuriken once," he recalled. "But how did that work? He didn't just look like a shuriken; he became one. It wasn't just a visual trick." He thought about it for a moment, trying to piece together how such a transformation could be explained.
Akane continued, her voice steady and confident. "It's important to note that while you can take on the appearance of an object or person, the transformation doesn't change your size too much than your own. To add more volume and bulk to transformation, you need more chakra and a thorough understanding of the object's shape, texture, and feel. As a result, you cannot change into something extremely large or small. You'll gain the attributes and physical features of whatever you transform into, like a weapon's sharpness or an animal's fangs, but those features are mostly useless in battle. When fighting, the transformation is easily broken, particularly if you are hit."
One of the civilian students raised their hand, their voice tinged with curiosity. "Why does the transformation break when hit?"
Akane smiled, clearly pleased with the question. "Good question. The transformation breaks if your concentration is disrupted, especially by physical impact. That's why it's not ideal for direct combat. However, it's invaluable for infiltration, intelligence gathering, and creating diversions."
Ryu leaned back in his chair, his mind wandering. "So, it's all about concentration, huh? "If I don't break the consentration, I can keep the transformation active during a fight," he thought. "But what about the Akimichi clan's Expansion Jutsu? That clearly changes their weight and size as well. Turning calories into chakra is understandable, but how does it change size so much?. So I suppose Expansion Jutsu is very different from transformation."
He kept his thoughts to himself, though. No need to complicate things for the others.
Akane continued, "Some transformations take more time and effort to execute perfectly, especially if the assumed form has a different height or wears clothes that the user isn't accustomed to or have details that are hard to replicate. Some transformations are even impossible, as every jutsu has some limits. It's all about observation and practice," she said. "The more you practice, the better you'll be at maintaining the transformation, even under stress."
Throughout the lecture, Akane went into further detail about Transformation Jutsu.
Ryu realised, "It's not about wrapping yourself in an illusion. It's about manipulating your chakra and from a cocoon around your body to temporarily mimic the properties and visuals of the object. When Naruto transformed into a shuriken, he wasn't just changing his appearance—he was altering his chakra to match the object's structure. The sharpness, the weight distribution, the aerodynamics—it was all replicated through chakra manipulation."
He nodded to himself, satisfied with his realisation. "That's why it's so hard to maintain during combat—because you're constantly adjusting your chakra to keep the transformation stable."
The bell rang, signalling the end of the lecture, and the students began to file out of the classroom. As the class wrapped up, Akane gave one final piece of advice. "Remember, mastering the Transformation Jutsu is essential for your Genin promotion. Practice it regularly, and don't underestimate its importance."
Ryu packed up his things slowly, his mind still lingering on the possibilities of the [Transformation Jutsu]. "Maybe I'll experiment with transforming into something big and multiple hands. I can also experiment with combined transformation just like Naruto and Gamabunta or Kiba and Akamaru did," he thought.
But today, his solitude didn't last long. Two civilian students, Fumi Suzuki and Takeshi Yamamoto, along with Saya from the Uchiha Clan, approached him. Ryu raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised. He wasn't used to people approaching him so casually.
"Hey, Ryu!" Fumi called out, a wide grin on her face. "How's your lightning affinity training going?"
Ryu looked up, blinking in mild surprise. "They're actually interested," he thought. "That's new." He shrugged and replied, "It's going well. I've been focusing on improving my chakra control after learning tree-climbing and water-walking."
Fumi's eyes widened in awe. "Wait, you can walk on water?" she asked, her voice filled with disbelief.
Ryu nodded, swallowing a bite of his lunch before answering. "Yes, but it's not as hard as it sounds. Once you master tree-climbing, water-walking is just the next step."
The kids' eyes practically sparkled with excitement. Since they had no one to teach them ninjutsu at home, every bit of knowledge was like gold to them.
"Can you teach us?" Takeshi asked eagerly, his voice filled with hope.
Ryu paused, considering the request. He realised that for these civilian students, every chance to learn was precious. "They don't have the same resources as the clan kids, and even in the academy, even the basics are very basic; the jutsus are very restricted, and only exceptional talents are given access to forbidden jutsus," he thought. "Maybe I can help them out a bit, even if its just the basics."
He smirked, enjoying their enthusiasm. "Sure, but only if you can stick a leaf to your forehead for two hours straight."
The students groaned in disappointment. "That sounds boring," Fumi muttered, crossing her arms.
Ryu chuckled, shaking his head. "I did the same exercise before my grandfather agreed to teach me tree-climbing. Trust me, you can't do water-walking without mastering tree-climbing first. And you can't master tree-climbing without good chakra control."
Saya, who had been quietly listening, nodded in agreement. "He's right," she said, stepping forward. "Chakra control is the foundation of everything. If you can't control your chakra, you won't be able to perform any advanced techniques."
The children exchanged glances, clearly unsure if Ryu was teasing them or if the leaf-sticking exercise would actually benefit them. Saya, however, dispelled their doubts.
"I've watched him train," she said, her voice calm but firm. "Ryu doesn't do anything pointless. The leaf exercise is all about chakra control, and it's the first step to mastering tree-climbing and water-walking."
Ryu glanced at Saya, surprised by her support. "I didn't expect her to back me up like that," he thought. He knew Saya had been copying his training regime for months, but he hadn't realised how much she had learnt from it.
Saya continued, explaining to the other students how mastering chakra control made learning difficult jutsu easier and improved the potency of those jutsu. "If your chakra control is weak, even the simplest jutsu will drain you," she said. "But if you master it, you'll be able to perform advanced techniques with ease."
The students listened intently, their doubts slowly fading. After hearing Saya's explanation, they decided to give Ryu a chance and heed his advice.
Ryu smirked, satisfied. "It appears that I have a few new students. When was the last time I accepted students? Literally, it was a lifetime ago," he thought. "Maybe this won't be so boring after all."
##PoWeR StOnEs##
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