"The first stage of training is to infuse wind-nature chakra into a kunai and throw it. That's all you need to accomplish for now."
Kazekaze Chiran casually tossed a kunai, which landed firmly in a wooden stake.
"Pay attention to the marks around the kunai—the traces left by the wind-nature chakra dispersing. The damage radius must be at least one centimeter. Mastery of nature transformation is always based on precise chakra control."
Hardy, Baki, and Pakura each picked up a kunai and followed suit.
Baki's kunai, infused with wind chakra, created a cut several centimeters long around the point of impact.
Pakura achieved a similar result, though her cut was slightly shorter than Baki's.
"Doesn't seem all that hard, does it?"
Hardy, without using any special abilities—just his own chakra—found that he'd already met Kazekaze Chiran's requirements.
Even so, his control over wind-nature chakra, without relying on special powers, was now several levels higher than before.
"It's probably because Hardy is a puppeteer—he's naturally better at fine chakra control," Kazekaze Chiran remarked, a little surprised but quickly finding an explanation.
"Maybe so," Hardy replied, scratching his head.
What Chiran said made sense, but based on his own assessment, while he should be better than Baki and Pakura, he didn't expect to succeed in one try.
"Since Hardy has already met the requirement, let's move on to the next step."
Kazekaze Chiran picked up a leaf, held the stem in his left hand, and, with a swipe of his right index finger, sliced the leaf cleanly in two.
"Wind is inherently fluid. It's easy to cut a leaf with wind chakra attached to a sharp kunai, but doing it with just your finger is much more diffi—wait…"
Chiran paused, looking at Hardy.
In Hardy's hand were two halves of a leaf, which, when put together, formed a perfect whole.
"Uh… I've been practicing the ninjutsu homework left by Lady Chiyo, so maybe that's why my Wind Release control has improved a lot recently," Hardy explained.
"I see!" Chiran nodded in realization.
Chiyo was a legendary figure, nearly on par with the Five Kage, so it was no surprise Hardy had such skill.
Moreover, Hardy usually relied on puppet techniques in battle and hadn't shown much of his Wind Release ability before. If Chiran had tested him more on Wind Release, he might have noticed something unusual.
"The next step is this," Chiran continued.
He cupped a new leaf between his hands. When he opened them, the leaf had been sliced cleanly in two.
"Without using any tools or relying on visual cues, you must cut the leaf using only the most basic method. Generally, it takes most ninja about half a year to achieve this. After that, the next stage is to use Wind Release chakra to continuously cut through fluids like waterfalls or rivers.
Once you can do that, you've basically mastered Wind Release nature transformation. You can then incorporate this cutting ability into your jutsu, or even add wind-nature transformation to other techniques.
There was once a survey in our Sunagakure: among our jonin, the average time needed to master the basics of Wind Release nature transformation was about a year. I did it in five months.
Your talents are at least on par with mine back then, which is why I believe you can master Wind Release nature transformation within six months."
Hardy watched as Chiran displayed the two halves of the leaf and tried for himself.
His leaf was shredded into pieces.
This result made Pakura and Baki breathe a sigh of relief.
If Hardy had nearly mastered Wind Release nature transformation in one go, these two "geniuses" might have suffered a blow to their confidence.
"Hmm… actually, you're already doing better than I did on my first try. The main trick is to imagine the wind chakra as two opposing currents. When these currents rub against each other, they generate powerful cutting force. Try again—since you've come this far, I think you'll master Wind Release nature transformation in two or three months."
"Thank you, Captain Chiran," Hardy said gratefully.
"Alright, take tomorrow off to think things over. You can keep practicing for now—I have other matters to attend to."
With a casual wave, Chiran left.
Pakura and Baki continued practicing with their kunai.
Hardy picked up a fallen leaf, rolling it between his fingers, deep in thought.
He seemed to recall something similar from before.
When Naruto was trying to incorporate Wind Release nature transformation into the Rasengan, Kakashi specifically asked Asuma, who was more skilled with Wind Release, to instruct him.
The method Asuma taught was almost identical to what Chiran had just demonstrated.
Naruto, as he remembered, used hundreds of shadow clones and managed to master the leaf-cutting technique in a single afternoon. The next step, cutting a waterfall, was completed with Kakashi and Yamato's help...
…It took some effort.
And then there was Uchiha Sasuke. When Kakashi was instructing Naruto, didn't he mention that Sasuke had mastered the nature transformation of Lightning Release in just one month, three years ago?
Of course, the Sharingan, which can see chakra flow and copy jutsu, must have helped Sasuke, but it can't be denied that his talent for Lightning Release is truly top-tier.
So what about me?
Hardy tried once again, following the trick that Kazekaze Arashi had mentioned.
He opened his palm. Two halves of a leaf lay quietly in his hand, the cut smooth and vertical.
"Tch, I'd better not tell them, so I don't discourage them."
Hardy shredded the leaf to pieces with Wind Release, glanced at Pakura and Baki who were still throwing kunai, and sat down again.
Looks like I really am a genius now.
…
…
Demon Slayer World.
Mt. Tate, Risen Temple.
"Pa!"
"Pa!"
"Pa!"
In the spacious courtyard, Hardy held a bamboo sword, exchanging moves with the old monk Morioka Nen.
To ensure effective practice, he deliberately "held back his strength."
In fact, he simply didn't use chakra to enhance his body, keeping his strength and speed within the range of a normal human.
"Pa!"
The old monk struck Hardy's wrist with his bamboo sword, knocking it from his hand.
"Thirty-seven moves! Senior Hardy lasted thirty moves against Mr. Morioka this time! You lost!"
Sagawa Kingen held out his hand to Akiba Kama beside him.
Reluctantly, Akiba pulled a candy from his pocket and handed it to Sagawa.
"Amitabha, Hardy-kun, your swordsmanship has reached the threshold. You can now begin learning Wind Breathing from this old monk."
So tired…
My schedule has been a mess lately. After writing that chapter in the evening, I slept for two hours, then finally finished this chapter before midnight.