Inheritance

The Power of Combination

"What will I be doing on Wednesdays and Saturdays?"

At this Jiraiya smirked slightly.

"Well on those days... You'll be doing weapons training with Yuugao."

The Next Day

Naruto finished the relatively short sequence of hand seals and brought his right hand up to his mouth, with his index and middle fingers extended in front of him. He then exhaled heavily, expelling the chakra he had been moulding at the back of his throat, and combining it with the chakra gathered at the end of his fingers.

"Katon: Kasumi Endu no jutsu!"

The result was a light mist billowing out from his mouth, filling the majority of the clearing before him. It wasn't heavy enough to obscure his vision, yet it was still thick enough to be clearly visible.

"Yes! I finally did it!" Naruto exclaimed, the excitement in his voice clearly audible.

"About time too, gaki. That's a totally basic technique, the easiest of the ones I want to get you practicing today." Naruto looked up at surprise at this statement.

"You mean this isn't the only jutsu I'm going to be learning today?"

"Of course not. I don't know if you noticed, but this jutsu isn't particularly useful by itself. I'll be teaching you three more jutsu today. One of which you should have down by the time we're finished; the other two however, might take you a few days, if we work at them intensely enough." The blonde struggled to contain his excitement at hearing this. No matter how much he tried to be more serious about his shinobi training, the thought of ninjutsu still sent him overboard. "However, I first want you to join me up here." The Sannin continued, indicating his position in the tree overlooking the clearing. "I'm going to show you exactly how powerful this technique can be."

Naruto was up and sitting next to Jiraiya almost instantly, allowing Jiraiya to start weaving his own set of hand signs.

"Katon: Komakai Kaki."

Jiraiya fired a miniature version of the Goukakyuu no Jutsu directly towards the mist that Naruto had created, and the blonde looked on, curious as to what effect the seemingly tiny fireball could possibly have. Naruto leant forward in fascination as the fireball approached the mist. As the two jutsu finally met, the area the pair had been training in was swept by an unbearable wave of heat, as the mist ignited upon contact, transforming the previously placid area of Konoha into a tangible inferno. Naruto, although not being within the blast radius itself, could feel the hairs on his arms singe from merely the heat created, and despite only seconds passing, he was already beginning to sweat.

"Amazing..." Naruto muttered, as the roaring flames died down, leaving behind the scorched earth as evidence of their existence.

"Glad you liked it." Jiraiya replied, the smugness generated by the blonde praise emanating from him in waves. "But can you tell me why that jutsu combination is entirely useless in a practical combat situation?" Naruto was initially dumbstruck by Jiraiya's insistence that such a powerful attack was useless. However, once he got round to actually think about it, it didn't take him long to see what his Sensei was talking about.

"...Firstly, it would be too slow to activate in a fight against another shinobi. They would just try to get out of the mist, considering that it doesn't cover a particularly large area, or at least disguise how much of an area it does cover. Secondly, it would be difficult for you to use the Katon jutsu without getting caught in the blast radius. It also puts any comrades in the vicinity at risk."

"Thats exactly correct." Jiraiya answered, ever so slightly impressed with the improved analytical skills his student was displaying. It was obvious that he had been studying outside of what he had been required to do to catch up.

"So why have me learn it then?" Naruto called back, almost whining. He had spent a good few hours learning the mist technique, and he'd be damned if it was for nothing.

"The reason I taught you Katon: Kasumi Endu no Jutsu, and am about to teach you Katon: Komakai Kaki no Jutsu is three fold. Firstly, Kasumi Endu teaches you to mold Katon chakra from within your lungs, which is what ignites when you use all Katon jutsu. Then, Komaki Kaki will teach you to ignite the chakra using the correct hand seal whilst maintaining enough control so that you do not burn your own mouth. This hand seal is what is missing from the mist technique, preventing it from igniting as it leaves your body. Essentially, this is a far safer, and faster way of learning to use Katon chakra; which is notoriously difficult to handle if it is not your natural elemental affinity. This means that you will be able to learn the third of the jutsu I wish to get you started on today, Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu relatively easily."

"Secondly, this combination can be useful in select situations. Due to the fact that Kasumi Endu, providing it is not ignited, can last for a relatively long time; it can be used to set up particularly devastating ambushes, if you can funnel your enemy into the mist. It can also be used to destroy areas containing multiple structures and buildings, should your mission require it. Thirdly, I wanted to give you an example of exactly how powerful combinations of different elemental jutsu can be, which leads you into the final technique I want to get you practicing today, Fuuton: Daitoppa."

Naruto almost cried out in excitement as he leapt down from the trees, into the barren clearing below, that now looked startlingly out of place amidst the vivid green of Konoha. Jiraiya leapt with him, landing just in front of the boy, so that he was facing him. He formed the ream seal with his hands and created two Kage Bunshin.

"Okay, I want you to create two groups of five Bunshin, and each group join up with one of mine. One group will work on Komaki Kai, and the other will work on Fuuton: Daitoppa. Goukakyuu no Jutsu can wait until you have completely learnt Komaki Kai. I want the original over with me, we're going to work on your taijutsu."

***

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