Naruto: Snow Cold

Three hours passed. Tired. I feel fucking tired. I sat on the ground with my left leg crossed, my left arm pressing on the ground, and my right arm resting on my right knee. My breath was deep and uneven, and I was covered in sweat.

But looking up at the tree as I took in large amounts of oxygen, I couldn't help but feel proud of the progress I've made with throwing kunai. Every four out of ten shots, the kunai would actually stay stuck in the tree by the pointy end. Although it still took me time to focus and throw properly...

My mom helped me along the way but mostly stood watching by a tree. She had left half an hour ago to get us something to eat and told me to stay there and keep training if I wanted to. Ninjas really use up a lot of calories... I don't want to imagine how much the Akimichi eat.

Speaking of food, I wonder what kind of stuff this country produces? It probably has plenty of fertile land and adequate climatic conditions; it's likely rich in minerals as well, like gold, silver, iron, copper, zinc... Maybe even oil.

Obviously, they produce rice. Soybeans are a given. Wheat, corn, barley, peanuts, etc.

I imagine industries are a thing, given how much we consume. I don't remember much about geography, but I know some stuff.

I got up after resting for a few minutes and decided to explore around the secluded area. In the distance, I saw that most of the ninjas were gone, and there were still quite a few hard at training. Damn.

Not much to see—just trees, practice targets, and mostly open space. I doubt there were any springs around; otherwise, they would have been used for business reasons. I guess natural carbonated water is out of the question now... How the hell can I make my beloved Coke now? I don't even remember how to carbonate water.

I'll just figure it out later. I need to think of another way to make money.

I went back to where I originally was and saw my mother returning with two bentos in hand.

"Oh, Mom! You're back!" I exclaimed, a smile breaking across my face.

"Yeah," she replied, her eyes sparkling. "I brought yummy food for the both of us." She sat down with a soft smile, patting the spot next to her, inviting me to join her.

We both sat down, said our prayer, and then began eating. I took advantage of the moment to ask her some questions and keep up appearances.

"Mom, earlier you mentioned something about chakra... What is that?"

"Oh dear," she began thoughtfully, her expression turning serious. "Chakra is... to put it simply, our life force. It's the energy that flows within us. Do you see those ninjas using those super cool powers? They use chakra to create fire, water, and all sorts of amazing things. There are five main elements: Fire, Water, Earth, Lightning, and Wind. (Katon, Suiton, Doton, Raiton, and Fuuton.)"

"Oooooh... That sounds cool," I said, my eyes widening in awe.

"Remember what I'm about to say, Amai." Her tone shifted, emphasizing the importance of her words.

I nodded with a seriousness that almost made her snort. I swear, I'm going to grow as soon as possible!

"Fire is strong against Wind, but weak against Water. Wind is strong against Lightning, but weak against Fire. Lightning is strong against Earth, but weak against Wind. Earth is strong against Water, but weak against Lightning. Water is strong against Fire, but weak against Earth. Do you understand all of that?"

"Yeah," I replied, trying to keep up my enthusiasm.

"Good! Now, can you tell me why it's important for me to share this with you?"

"Hmmm..." I held my chin in thought. "I guess it's because I have to learn techniques of all kinds to counter other elemental attacks and determine which one is most effective in any situation."

"Yes, very good, Amai! I actually brought you a little something on my way here."

"Huh?" I leaned in, curiosity piqued. What is she going to give me?

She then pulled out a small piece of paper. Is that what I think it is?!

"Everyone has an affinity for at least one of those elemental natures, and they'll find it easier to control a chakra nature that matches their affinity. This, Amai, is a chakra induction paper. It will react in different ways if someone inserts their chakra into it."

"Uh-huh..." So far, everything aligned with my knowledge of Naruto.

"Fire would make the paper ignite and turn to ash, Wind would split it in two, Water would make it wet, Earth would turn it to dirt and crumble away, and finally, Lightning would cause it to wrinkle. Can you expel chakra from your fingers?"

I nodded frantically, pretending to be excited.

"Ah, my little genius!" She hugged me suddenly, she's fucking strong...! "Now, give it a try, dear."

"Okay..." My expression shifted to one of intense focus as I guided my chakra from my pathways to my fingers, forcing it out through the tenketsu.

The paper reacted almost immediately. The top left became wet, the top right split apart, and to my surprise, the bottom half turned icy. Cold. Very cold.

Both my mother and I stared in shock.

"T-Three affinities... Water, Wind, and is that... Ice?" she stuttered, struggling to recover from her astonishment.

She began chuckling, and I remained stunned. Does this mean I'm from the Yuki clan? Haku was a very skilled ninja, so I must have quite a bit of potential within this body of mine.

"Huh? Why are you laughing, Mom?" I asked, confused.

"We have truly, truly lucked out with you, my dear," she said, her laughter subsiding as she looked at me with pride.

"Is Ice rare?"

"Indeed, Amai! In fact, I don't think I've ever seen a single Konoha shinobi use Ice Release of all natures. You're special, Amai. You see, I wasn't going to tell you this until later, but sometimes there are mutations in people's blood that allow them to use certain abilities. These are called 'Kekkei Genkai.' In your case, it combines both your Water and Wind release to give birth to 'Ice Release.' I honestly don't know much about it, so you'll have to ask your father, okay?"

"I see... Thank you, Mom! I promise to train hard and become strong!" I declared, bringing my fist up in front of my face.

"I'm sure you will." she replied, resting her left palm on her cheek as she looked at me, amused.

We finished our food and headed to get Jun his own share. Two whole boxes... Ninjas sure do eat a lot!

When we returned to the apartment, we waited for Jun. Ugh, I probably stink from all the training and sweat. Speaking of training, I need to get back to my physical routine and start practicing the Leaf Technique and Wall Walking Technique again. I guess I'll start tomorrow.

"Amai, you should probably take a bath. Want me to prepare it for you?" she asked, amusement dancing in her eyes as she looked at my state.

"No, I can do it myself. I think," I replied. Yeah, I can definitely do it! I'm not a baby!

"You're so smart, Amai. We'll buy you some nice clothes tomorrow or the day after, alright?" she said with a warm smile.

"That sounds lovely. Thanks, Ma." Shoot, I'm already getting way too attached to this lady!

I headed to my room, picking out a set of clothes to wear. Then, I made my way to the bathroom. Shower, here I come!