Naruto: The Sarutobi Who Can't Spark

With six months of basic training behind him, Raijin turned his attention to ninjutsu. But the first harsh reality of ninjutsu is chakra control, the intricate dance between physical and spiritual energies, which is the foundation upon which all ninjutsu techniques are built. Before diving into flashier jutsu, he needed to achieve control over his chakra and potentially expand his chakra.

The milestone of maintaining leaf concentration for two hours had given him confidence. His mind turned to more advanced chakra control exercises: tree climbing and walking on water surfaces. Eventually, he hoped to master the complex Rasengan technique.

Tree Climbing: This training involves climbing a tree without using hands and focusing the chakra on the feet. If the chakra stream is weak, Raijin will lose his footing on the tree and fall off. If it is too strong, he will be pushed away from the tree, causing a small fracture in the tree. It was a perfect test of fine control.

Water Surface Walking, this training involves walking onto the water and focusing the chakra on the feet. This is more difficult than tree climbing because Raijin must constantly change the amount of chakra emitted from his feet with each ripple, each subtle movement of the water's surface. Mastering this would give him the intricate control needed for advanced techniques.

Rasengan involves gathering chakra in the palm of Raijin's hand, which he spins rapidly in multiple directions to contain the chakra into a spherical shape. This was the most difficult because he had to learn to spin chakras in different directions while increasing their power as desired and, lastly, containing them to form a sphere while maintaining both rotation and power. It would test every aspect of his control.

'Too much work ahead.' Raijin thought, 'I need to start reading seriously and develop proper study habits.'

The act of pretending to study that Raijin had done at the beginning worked out well with Haruko, but during their taijutsu training, she realized his true intellectual capacity—his ability to absorb and process information quickly. And so, he decided to study seriously.

"A balance between brain and brawn." This was the most important element of Shinobi. Superior physical abilities could turn the tide of battle. But no matter how skilled in the ninja arts the body was, if a ninja was unable to make appropriate decisions, failure was almost inevitable. And in the world of the ninja, failure was directly linked to death.

The following week marked the beginning of his intensive studies. Raijin immersed himself in the clan library's vast knowledge: The history of the ninja continuing from the Sage of Six Paths. Alliances, treaties, and laws of uniformity among the different lands. Fundamentals, advanced techniques, practical strategies in fighting. Theory on physical ninja arts, Kekkei Genkai. Introduction to chakra, Tailed Beasts, Ninja Beasts. Overview of sage barriers and natural energy fundamentals. And many other documents, books, and thesis.

Though Raijin possessed knowledge of these subjects, he lacked a deeper theoretical understanding.

Despite Haruko and Raijin's formal training had ended, her clone remained a constant presence, guiding and supporting his learning. The initial awkwardness faded, eventually coming around, and the atmosphere eased out between them.

When Raijin expressed his interest in pursuing chakra control and ninjutsu, her support went beyond mere instructions, she looked after his development and invested in her student's future.

His first attempt at tree walking showed promise. Though he occasionally overloaded his chakra, causing small fractures at the point of contact, he managed many steps up the trunk. 'Eight months of leaf concentration is finally paying off,' he thought with satisfaction.

The daily tree-climbing exercise quickly bore fruit. In just four days, Raijin reached a point where chakra flow to his feet became almost second nature, as natural as standing on solid ground. This rapid progress caught Haruko's attention, her eyes widening in surprise as she watched him master what typically took weeks to learn.

"Say Raijin, did you practice climbing trees before?" she asked, unable to mask her amazement.

"Ah, yes clan elder. I have been practicing chakra control since…since the start of our six-month regime." Raijin replied with a modest smile.

Though suspicion flickered across Haruko's face, she chose not to pursue it further. Instead, she found herself privately admiring his dedication. When Raijin inquired about other chakra control exercises, she could only offer the standard trilogy: leaf concentration, tree climbing, and water surface walking.

Undeterred, Raijin established a rigorous schedule. Mornings were dedicated to water walking practice, while afternoons found him buried in texts, studying the intricacies of human anatomy.

His rapid progress continued to astonish Haruko. When his development in shurikenjutsu and taijutsu amused her, witnessing his extraordinary chakra control left her truly awestruck.

However, Haruko's constant surveillance through her clone posed an unexpected challenge. Raijin found himself unable to practice the Rasengan, a technique he hoped would help strain and expand his chakra reserves. The solution came in the form of nighttime training, after dinner when he could finally work in peace.

One afternoon, after his chakra control exercises, Raijin went shopping. He purchased an assortment of rubber balloons with varying durability and several hard rubber balls. These simple tools would become the foundation of his increased chakra reserve.

That night, after dinner, he began his first attempt at manipulating the chakra in his palm. The amount he managed to gather seemed impossibly small, especially compared to the chakra he used during tree climbing exercises. This stark difference highlighted his limited chakra reserves more clearly than ever.

After dinner, he began circulating his chakra over the palm. The amount he could spin was so small it questioned him about his chakra overloading during tree climbing. This was evidently because of a very low chakra within him.

On his second attempt, exhaustion overwhelmed him. His chakra was completely depleted, and Raijin had no choice but to surrender to sleep.

…

After weeks of rotating the chakra using balloons, Raijin observed some development in his chakra which had increased by a small amount. Yet despite this progress, the perfect rotational form he sought remained elusive.

"Pomegranate and Marigold," he muttered one evening, watching another balloon refuse to burst.

"This is taking forever. That knucklehead Naruto managed it in just a month," He wiped the sweat from his forehead, grimacing. "Though he did have practically infinite chakra to work with."

Raijin sat back, assessing his progress with analytical precision. "It's fascinating. I don't have endless chakra, and my recovery rate is above average at best. But something's different—I can manage five attempts now instead of two."

A curious grin spread across his face, bordering on unsettling. "The quantity hasn't doubled, but the quality... it's become denser, hasn't it?"

…

At precisely five, Haruko arrived at the training ground, her footsteps silent against the ground. The cloth bag slung across her shoulder clinked softly with each movement, drawing Raijin's curious gaze.

Kneeling gracefully, Haruko spread her arsenal across the ground; gleaming shuriken catching the light, sleek kunai arranged in neat rows.

"Today's lesson is different," Haruko announced, producing a strip of dark cloth. "You'll dodge these while blindfolded. You must hone your instincts beyond mere sight." Her lips curved into a knowing smile at Raijin's widening eyes. "Don't worry – I'll start within your capabilities. The pace and number will increase gradually, but you'll be surprised how quickly your other senses compensate."

As the blindfold settled over Raijin's eyes, the world transformed. He could sense nothing but utter darkness.

After four weeks, every rustle of leaves, every shift in the air then had become magnified. The first shuriken whispered past his ear – previously close enough to make him flinch, but slow enough to dodge. With each throw, his movements had become more natural, more instinctive, as if his body learned a dance.

Hours passed in this deadly ballet until the first slight injury in one of his arms.

Haruko gathered her weapons, "Well done," she said, and for once, there was no trace of teasing in her voice. "You're beginning to adapt to a shinobi's greatest weapon; instincts."

Whereas Raijin was still surprised by Haruko's praise. Usually when Haruko praised Raijin, it was bound to have some sarcastic hint about him being inadequate and such. But today there wasn't even a hint of sarcastic tone on her compliments.

'It's definitely weird.' Raijin muttered under his breath when the assault continued.