"Finally, the mood is right for a little training!" Naruto cheered as he, Tsukiko and Jiraiya gathered in a secluded forest above the town's crater. Tsukiko was looking forward to what Jiraiya was going to train them with.
"Here! Have a water balloon each," Jiraiya said, throwing over two water balloons. Tsukiko and Naruto caught them, and the white-haired girl stared at it in confusion. "You two saw the Jutsu that I just used, right?"
"Yes," Tsukiko and Naruto answered.
"What Jutsu did it look like to you?" Jiraiya asked.
"It looked like you made your opponent spin violently," Naruto said while Tsukiko simply answered, "It was a Wind Style Jutsu,"
"Right, it was a Wind Style Jutsu," Jiraiya said. "And it was spinning," He held his water balloon on his palm and they watched as the water inside of it began to spin without him doing anything.
"Whoa!" Naruto said when the water balloon suddenly burst. Tsukiko stared at the water that had splattered out. How did he do that without doing anything?
"The tree-climbing exercise to learn to gather and maintain Chakra in necessary places, and the walk on water exercise to learn how to release a set amount of Chakra," Jiraiya said. "You did both of these, right? And now, with this water balloon exercise, you'll learn how to create a stream of Chakra. In other words, spinning,"
"Create a stream of Chakra..." Naruto repeated. Tsukiko frowned to herself. Wasn't all this for a Wind Style Jutsu? She couldn't work that well with Wind Style... She only knew the basics of them, and those are all she ever used.
"I'll give a more detailed explanation of the Jutsu once you get these first steps down," Jiraiya told them. "First, you must gather and maintain Chakra in your hand using the tree-climbing technique, then you steadily release a set amount of Chakra using the walking on water technique. Then, you push and churn the water in the balloon with the Chakra!"
"I get it, dattebayo!" Naruto shouted. "Then, you spin the water in the balloon faster and faster until the balloon pops, right?"
"You're catching on more and more quickly!" Jiraiya said. "Okay, today, we're going to train until evening," Naruto and Tsukiko nodded in agreement.
The two of them held onto their water balloons and began to work on them. Tsukiko stared at her blue and white ball, concentrating on getting the Chakra into her hand. Once she had gotten the first step done, she moved to bring a steady stream of Chakra into the water inside the water balloon. It didn't take long for her to feel it swirl inside.
"Usa," Tsukiko muttered as she tried to put more and more Chakra into the force of the spin so that it would burst like Jiraiya's. Next to her, Naruto let out a strangled yell.
"I've done it!" Naruto shouted. "The water is turning! It seems like it is going to be easier than I thought to break it," He looked at Tsukiko. "Have you got it, Tsukiko-Chan?!" She nodded.
"Then, I'll go and take a little rest until it's done," Jiraiya said as he walked over to the nearest tree and settled down. "...with this!" Tsukiko sweat-dropped when Jiraiya pulled out a bottle of sake from his vest.
"Should you be drinking so much in the middle of the day?" Tsukiko asked him. "What if you get alcohol poisoning and you die? What are Naruto and I going to do then, Usa?" Jiraiya gave her a suspicious look – was she already planning his death like her mother at that age?
"I need to kill the time, Tsukim – I mean, Yurihime," Jiraiya said. Tsukiko seemed to have been glaring at the bottle of sake too furiously to notice. "And I also need to get some sleep,"
"Huh!" Naruto said. "The way it's going, it won't even be an afternoon nap!" Tsukiko nodded in agreement.
"Is that so...?" Jiraiya asked. "Call me when it is broken," Tsukiko's water balloon burst in her hands and the two males looked at her. "Seems like Yurihime has already gotten done with her first step," Naruto was shocked. "Shirayuri, keep training with the water balloons until Naruto gets done with his,"
"You better get it right soon," Tsukiko told the shocked blond next to her. "We've got to get to the next step quickly," Naruto nodded, determined, and went back to his practice.
☾
The daylight grew on and on, and Tsukiko found herself staring at the sinking sun rather quickly. She had already practiced quite with her water balloons and had now grown a little bored with it, but Naruto seemed to be struggling still. He could make the water spin but he couldn't make it burst. Quite honestly, Tsukiko had an inkling that her Water Affinity helped her in it.
Jiraiya had long passed out from indulging in a few bottles of sake. Tsukiko had never really seen anyone so drunk that they passed out but she figured there that was always a first for everything. So, while he slept, Tsukiko snuck around and played with her Wood Style and Crystal Styles – she was sure that he wouldn't have allowed her to use them out in the open.
But Jiraiya's Jutsu had made Tsukiko wonder if there was a Water Style Jutsu she could learn. Kakashi had taught Sasuke Chidori – which was Lightning Affinity. And Jiraiya was going to teach Naruto this Jutsu – which was Wind Affinity. And Tsuiko wanted to be like them as well.
Lightning and Wind Affinities may not go together well but Water Affinity went with both. Water Style could be used in conjunction with Lightning Style to increase the flow of electricity and increase the damage, and when used with Wind Style, it increased the concussive and destructive power of the Water Style.
For Tsukiko, it was a win-win situation. Her Affinity correlated with the Affinities of her friends, her comrades. Now, all she needed to do was learn some good Water Style Jutsu, but she wondered if there was someone in Konohagakure who could teach it to her. Tsukiko really wanted to master Water Style – more so than Wood Style or Crystal Style.
"Come on, Usa," Tsukiko muttered to herself as she focused on her hand, trying to form water out of nowhere. If she wanted to be as great as Senju Tobirama, Kambayashi Suzuran and Senju Tsukimi when it came to Water Style, Tsukiko knew she needed to bring even a drop of water from somewhere with no source of water.
Senju Tobirama and Kambayashi Suzuran, Tsukiko looked up to them because they were the greatest Water Style Ninjas to ever exist in the history of Shinobi – they could bring a wave of water from seemingly nothingness. And here she was, struggling to create a small ball of water on her own hand. It would take her years and years if she wants to do that...
"How many times have I told you to not be so hard on yourself, Usahime?" Okuninushi asked, sounding quite irritated at her. "It puts boulders in your head and that makes it difficult for me to squeeze around it when I want to have a walk, and it makes your head heavier for you,"
"I apologise, Usajii," Tsukiko replied, frowning. She dropped to her bottom and held her head in her hands, trying to think of a way to get the water to move with her. She can control Chakra, but can't she bring the water out of nowhere?
"See? You can't even hold your head up if you continue to pile boulders of worries in your brain," Usajii mused. "And you're looking for the wrong solution – Tobirama, Suzuran or Tsukimi never brought water out of nowhere. Have you forgotten how energy works? Usahime! Tell me the definition of the conservation of energy!"
"W-What?" Tsukiko stammered before rushing through her words, "The law of conservation of energy stats that energy can neither be created nor be destroyed, but it can be transformed from one form to another,"
"Exactly," Usajii replied. "While those Water Style Jutsus that are propelled from one's mouth use the water inside the body through the conversation of Chakra, those feats that those three accomplished were that they were surrounded by energy that they could convert into water. They used the water in the atmosphere, the water vapours in the air or the moisture in the earth.
"If you are able to manipulate those two sources of water, you will receive the results that you wish to accomplish. The more you practice, the better results you will get. Don't get all disappointed and worried when you don't get things done in the first go – you want to learn. And you wonder why I don't interfere in your battles,"
"Yes, I understand," Tsukiko said, thoughtfully. "So, I have to focus on collecting the moisture from the surroundings, even if there is no stream or source of water... Usa! I'll try that," Tsukiko focused on her hand once more. "I've got to do this, because I want to learn a Jutsu as well, like Chidori and Pervy Sage's,"
Even though she now understood what to concentrate on, it still took Tsukiko quite a while to actually create the ball of water on the palm of her hand. Finally, Tsukiko returned to where Naruto had been training to see what he had accomplished so far with the technique –
"Oh, man! Why doesn't it break!" Naruto screamed, still struggling to make the water balloon burst in his hand. His scream woke up Jiraiya as well.
"Huh?" Jiraiya asked. "Are you done with it?" Tsukiko sighed and leaned against the tree, crossing her arms as she did so.
"Ah... Well... It's almost done or how should I call it," Naruto said hurriedly. Jiraiya yawned loudly and that made Tsukiko yawn herself and realise how tired she really was.
"Oh, boy," Jiraiya said. "It seems like I went beyond an afternoon nap and had a deep sleep," He stood up from his place.
"Hey, hey, how do I break it?" Naruto asked. Jiraiya tried to take another swing of his sake and Tsukiko rolled her eyes when she saw that only a drop had been left behind.
"Didn't I tell you I can't give you a detailed explanation until it's broken?" Jiraiya said. Neither said anything. "Well, all right, I get it. Naturally, you're supposed to realise it through trial and error when mastering a Jutsu, but I guess I'll teach you just a tiny bit on the Jutsu... You, try rotating the water!"
"He's asking you," Tsukiko said to Naruto when he waited for her to do it. Naruto realised it and she sweat-dropped. But he took a water balloon and held it onto his palm, making the water inside it spin.
"Right or left, which direction did you imagine when you rotate it?" Jiraya asked. Tsukiko anticipated Naruto's answer.
"Well... to the left," Naruto answered.
"Hey, come over here," Jiraiya said. Naruto walked over and Jiraiya placed his hand over Naruto's head. "Hmm... I thought so," Naruto looked confused. "You are in fact a right rotation type,"
"Right...?" Naruto asked. Tsukiko sighed.
"In order to build up your Chakra, it is necessary for one to blend the energy," Tsukiko told him. "So, everyone subconsciously builds up Chakra inside the body by rotating it. And whether the rotation at that point is to the right or to the left, differs individual to individual,"
"Correct," Jiraiya said, nodding approvingly. "Therefore, if you imagine the rotation of the water balloon opposite to that of your rotation type in this training, your Chakra flow divides and resists and the momentum of the rotation does not get on track. You should be able to figure that kind of stuff on your own,"
"But how did you figure out that I'm a right type so fast?" Naruto asked.
"That can be deciphered from the cowlick on one's head," Tsukiko answered. "It is pretty much determined that you're a right type if a whorl rolls to the right and you're a left type if it rolls to the left. It's one of the many methods,"
"Huh, so I have a right roll!" Naruto said, excited.
"Yes, so if you want to rotate it, you have to imagine a right rotation," Jiraiya replied. "And good job, Yurihime! At least one of you two has the capacity to read a book," Tsukiko smiled.
"I never really paid attention to that until now..." Naruto muttered.
"But this Jutsu is just the one for you," Jiraiya said. "Hand signs is completely unnecessary. All you need is Chakra. There is no need to learn a finicky hand sign! It's okay to be stupid!"
"Hey, I'm not stupid!" Naruto complained. "I'm the man who's eventually going to become a Hokage! It's easy once you understand! This Jutsu, I'll completely master it if I got three days, dattebayo!"
"Three days, huh?" Jiraiya repeated. "This Jutsu is a Ninjutsu that the Fourth Hokage passed on to us. It took him three whole years to perfect this Jutsu... This Jutsu is second from the top on the six degrees of difficulty in mastering... It's an A-rank, super high-level Ninjutsu. In order to learn this Jutsu, there are three steps in the training.
"This 'Water Balloon Bursting' is the first step. There's no point in explaining anymore to someone who can't even clear the first step," Jiraiya egged Naruto on. "Do the rest yourself! Take care! I'm going to return to the town. I have to gather some information. What will you do?"
"I'm not going to go back yet!" Naruto said. Tsukiko looked at him in surprise and quickly added, "I will stay back with Naruto and practice some more,"
"So long, then... Don't go overboard with it," Jiraiya said to the two. Tsukiko watched him leave the place and head down to the town.
"Why didn't you head home? You could've rested," Usajii said. "It's not safe for you to be groggy in case those Akatsuki men return," Tsukiko looked at Naruto and walked to the side where she could practice on her own.
"Fourth Hokage made a Jutsu," Tsukiko said. "And the Second Hokage made dozens. If they can make Jutsus, why can't we try one? We can make something out of Water Style," Usajii let out a such a long sigh that it made Tsukiko sigh as well. "What?!"
"Those two were geniuses," Usajii said. "Do you think you can make something within days? We've just learned how to get water into your hand out of 'nowhere'," Tsukiko's cheeks blushed deeply and she rolled her eyes. "Rather than creating, you can perfect something else,"
"I was thinking about the same thing," Tsukiko replied adamantly. "All those strong Jutsus out there – they don't take Water as seriously as Fire or Lightning! I want to create a Jutsu that will prove to them that Water is a worthy contender! It's not just used to sweep people off of their feet but also fight and defend!"
"That's quite ambitious," Usajii mused. "And what are you going to name that Jutsu if you create it?" Tsukiko stopped and frowned to herself as she thought about it. "It should be a suitable name, shouldn't it? Everything begins with a name,"
"What do you think of Benzaiten?" Tsukiko proposed. "Divinity of the Reasoning Faculty, one of the Seven Gods of Luck? We could call it 'Water Style: Benzaiten'," She furrowed her eyebrows. "And you should we could bring out moisture from anything – and we can do that from our hands too, can't we? Conversion of Chakra..."
"It's something I could only expect from you," Usajii replied, suppressing a sigh. "Are you going to mould it on the basis of the Jutsu Jiraiya has been teaching you?" Tsukiko nodded. "And how will you find out whether it is effective or not if you don't want to destroy the trees? You're not going to use it on Naruto, are you?"
"No," Tsukiko said as she laughed. "I'll just use it on the rocks around here or make Wood or Crystal structures to destroy," She sat down on the ground. "Now, Usajii, I have to concentrate a lot so please give me some space in my head,"
Usajii said nothing and vanished into the depths of her brain where his little 'house' was. Tsukiko began to concentrate on her hand, trying to bring out the Chakra from within the skin without physically spitting out water from her mouth. If Naruto has promised to master that move in three days, then she can very well work something out for herself, too.
For the next two days, that's all Tsukiko and Naruto did. While Naruto worked on breaking the ball, Tsukiko tried to perfect the shape of her water ball, immersing it with huge levels of Chakra that left her absolutely exhausted by the end of the day.
Jiraiya, on the other hand, was spending more and more time with the women of the town – totally gathering more information on the whereabouts of Tsunade. Tsukiko was really looking forward to meeting that woman. She wanted to learn how to commit to Medical Ninjutsu and perfect it to the degree she did.
When she used to be in the Academy, Tsukiko's favourite subject had always been how the human body worked and how the Chakra flowed through it. And she was pretty sure that she was the only one in her year who knew how poisons worked on a body. Tsunade must know so much more about the human body, and Tsukiko wanted that knowledge.
"Don't end up exhausting yourself out by merely thinking of future plans," Usajii commented. "Focus on one thing at a time," Tsukiko nodded and returned to perfect her new Jutsu that she planned on naming her first creation. "And sleep properly at night, Usahime!"
☽
"Tsukiko-Chan?" Naruto asked, the morning of the third day of their training. Tsukiko, who had been sitting in the open window of the hotel room, looked over at the blond who seemed to have awoken by Jiraiya, who was passed out. "Didn't you sleep?"
"I slept a little bit," Tsukiko muttered. "But he's been snoring so loudly and he absolutely reeks of alcohol – it was difficult to sleep for one straight hour," She nodded at Jiraiya. Naruto sighed and seemed to agree with that she said.
"Let's go have breakfast, I'm hungry, dattebayo!" Naruto said. Tsukiko nodded in agreement and waited for him to get changed as she looked back out of the window, watching the people walk pass as they went on with their business.
Tsukiko was pretty sure that she had perfected what she had wanted to do with her new Jutsu. She had certainly managed to create a perfect sphere of water and fill it with Chakra, she just now had to see whether it would cause considerable damage to the structure she had created. If it did not... Tsukiko was ready to pull her hair out. It had been too exhausting for her to fail.
"Thank you for the food," Tsukiko said to the lady and joined Naruto on the table for their breakfast. The blond had taken quite some time to get ready but at least they made it alive to the breakfast table, Tsukiko mused.
"Huh?" Naruto said. Tsukiko looked up and saw that he had been unable to hold onto his chopsticks due to how badly his hand was shaking. "Kiko-Chan! What's wrong with me?!" He tried to hold the chopsticks again but they dropped out.
"I think you went a bit overboard with your training," Tsukiko muttered. "Calm down, I'll help you eat, sheesh," Tsukiko sighed and held the two pairs of chopsticks in her hands to eat herself and feed the screaming blond.
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