Chakra

Once he got back to the veranda, Tatsuo dropped the box and wiped the sweat off his forehead.

"finally... With this, I'll grow even stronger! Muhahahaha!"

His laughter resounded through the house, weirding out quite a few people.

Smirking, Tatsuo sat down and opened the box back up before retrieving one of the golden weights and strapping it on his right wrist. In quick succession, he did the same with his left wrist and both of his ankles.

Although he just used four out of the twelve golden weights, he could already feel a vast difference.

"Now, let us start... Shall we?"

Getting back up, he placed his hands on the ground and performed a handstand.

After taking a deep breath, he flexed his elbows, allowing them to bend and lowering his head to the ground.

He was doing push-ups with his feet in the air.

Tatsuo felt all of his muscles coming alive as he trained. Weights were really a key factor.

In this manner, he spent the rest of the day training with the four weights. He did every single exercise that he knew would be beneficial.

As the sun started to set, Tatsuo could be seen lying on his veranda, sweating profusely. He felt like his body was on fire.

"Hah... Okay, that's enough."

Feeling like he was finished, Tatsuo struggled to get back on his feet before removing the weights. Once they were off, he felt like a new man.

Not allowing himself to revel in the feeling, he cleaned the weights and placed them back in the box, before retrieving the smaller metallic ones.

He strapped them on and closed the box, hiding it in his room.

The weights he had just strapped on were only half of the ones he used to train, but they were easier to hide under bandages and could be used for everyday activities.

Smiling, he went to take a bath.

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The maids had already prepared the water for him and offered to wash his back. He politely refused, causing them to click their tongues in frustration.

Once inside, he removed his clothes and jumped straight into the hot bath, letting a pleased moan escape his mouth.

"Ahh... Now this is life. I read that hot-springs are common in this area. I can't wait!"

As he enjoyed the hot bath, Tatsuo's thoughts slowly drifted away, falling asleep right there.

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Without realizing it, Tatsuo was back in that dark void from before. The flame was still there, calling for him.

Unable to control his actions, he was once again dragged towards it, and his energy started being rapidly sucked away.

Snapping out of his trance, he realized that it wasn't as bad this time. Almost as if he had more energy available. Looking at the flame, he shouted angrily.

"You! What the hell are you? And why are you taking my energy away? Is this a dream or wha-"

Before he could finish his sentence, the suction went away and he no longer felt like energy was being stolen off him. Sighing in relief, he looked at the blue flame once again.

"Satisfied?"

As if it heard him, the flame started dancing wildly, and a door appeared in front of Tatsuo, leaving him speechless.

"Am I supposed to go through that? Well, it's a dream anyway... No harm."

Making up his mind, he opened the door and what he saw was a white world. Similar to the one he was in just before, but all white this time.

In front of him was a pitch-black scroll, floating there, undisturbed.

"A scroll? This is getting weirder by the minute..."

Not caring anymore, Tatsuo walked up to it and grabbed it. Taking a closer look before untying the string and opening it.

What ensued was a burst of golden light, which blurred Tatsuo's vision and made him lose consciousness.

...

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"Tatsuo..."

'What...'

"Tatsuo."

'Is someone... Calling... Me?'

"Tatsuo-San!"

He suddenly stood up, splashing water all over the place. Turning around, he saw Aiko, accompanied by a bunch of maids whose faces were red like tomatoes.

Some were even drooling.

Aiko, who had her eyes covered, slowly opened up her fingers before screaming loudly and running away. Tatsuo had been in the bath for a while and made her worry, so she came to check up on him.

She hadn't expected this development.

"What's going on? Ah!"

Realizing what happened, Tatsuo quickly turned around and sat in the water.

"Bring me a towel and a new set of clothes! Fast!"

Hearing his orders, the maids snapped out of their trance and quickly got moving. A minute later, they were back, leaving the stuff there before leaving.

"Haah... I've done it now. How am I going to explain this to Atsushi-san..."

Tatsuo sighed as he dried himself up. Putting on his clothes, he walked back into his room before sitting down by the desk.

"Anyway... What was that dream? This is the second time I've had it..."

Suddenly, Tatsuo felt a scorching pain coming from his forearm. Looking at it, he saw what looked like a pitch-black lightning symbol appearing on it.

Before he could ask himself what happened, a bunch of information started flooding his brain. The pain was excruciating, almost making him scream out loud.

He sat there, holding his head, processing the new information.

"Thunder... Legacy... Raijin... Techniques... Scrolls..."

What he learned shocked him through the core.

"It wasn't a dream... That scroll was real! Very real!"

Ignoring his new tattoo, he quickly reached into a cupboard, taking out a blank scroll. Using a brush, he started writing like a madman, as if he was scared to forget.

After an hour, he was done. In front of him lay an exact copy of the scroll he saw in his dreams. Opening it, he couldn't believe his eyes.

"Primal Thunder... First destruction. What does all this mean?"

Reading on, he understood.

"Here's the first part... Raijin Constitution. He who trains in this will achieve a body impervious to any and all electricity, becoming one with the element. What!?"

These were the contents of the scroll:

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[Raijin Kenpo] (Thunder God Constitution)

He who trains in this will achieve a body impervious to electricity, becoming one with this element. The user's chakra will have a strong lightning nature, and Jutsu of this type will be enhanced.

Mastery of this technique comes in three differing stages. In the first stage, the user's lightning techniques will be blue, in the second one red and in the third black.

Depending on which stage the user is at their hair color will change to one of the three colors every time they use a lightning-nature technique.

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"With this... I can become a ninja."

Getting this far, Tatsuo ran into a problem, making his head droop down.

"But... I don't know how to use chakra at all... Is there anything on chakra itself, rather than the techniques?"

Thankfully, there was.

"Chakra is energy that everyone produces; Those who run out of chakra will die. It circulates throughout the body in a network called the Chakra Pathway System..."

Taking a deep breath, he continued reading. His eyes glued to the scroll.

"Certain groups, such as the Ninja clans, have learned to generate more chakra and release it outside their bodies to perform Jutsu ."

"Chakra is created when two other forms of energy, known collectively as one's stamina, are moulded together. Physical energy is collected the body's cells and can be increased through physical training."

"Spiritual energy is derived from the mind's consciousness and can be increased through studying, meditation, and experience. These two energies becoming more powerful will in turn make the chakra more powerful."

"At any given time, a ninja will have a "maximum" amount of chakra that they can use before it runs out and they need to rest to replenish it. With practice this maximum can be increased, but they are limited to the quantity that their genetics grants them..."

Tatsuo felt his understanding of this mysterious energy increase. He at least knew what it was now.

"Because chakra takes a great deal of training to build up, the key to its use is being able to control and conserve it. This is called chakra control."

"To have good chakra control, a ninja should only mould as much chakra as they need to perform an ability. If they mould more chakra than is needed, the excess chakra is wasted and they will tire out faster from its loss."

"If they don't mould enough chakra, a technique will not be performed effectively, if at all, likely creating problems in a combat situation. I see..."

"To build up chakra in the body, spin it into a tight spiral; Hand seals are often used to manipulate chakra more easily, allowing ninja to execute their techniques faster and more effectively."

Reading this, Tatsuo suddenly felt enlightened. If spinning chakra through this 'Chakra Pathway System' was the way to build it up, maybe his respiration technique did just that.

"That would explain the sudden bursts of power... So it WAS chakra all along. I may have inadvertently increased my chakra reserves without knowing it."

All his physical training and meditation seemed to have payed off so far, making him smile. With newfound motivation, he continued reading.

"Chakra can also be used for general performance enhancement. By moulding the chakra into key points of the body, it will augment their physical prowess."

"Also, when creating a Jutsu, the two methods of manipulating chakra are referred to as shape transformation and nature transformation. Shape transformation deals with controlling the form, movement, and potency of chakra, while Nature transformation deals with changing the physical properties of chakra into an element."

The scroll mentioned more details, but they weren't that important. Tatsuo now had an expert-level understanding of chakra.

"Chakra sure is a mystical thing. I can't wait to use it!"