11 11: A Difference In Quality
Seija's sixth birthday rolled around and boy has she been busy.
- - - - -
The first change started about three months after Nagato's awakening. Seija had received an assignment from her mother:
"Climb that tree without using your hands."
Of course, Seija had been told about this before. The Tree Climbing excercise was one that most children in the academy didn't even learn until they graduated and were taught the technique by their Jonin sensei. So she set herself to work. First she recalled the feeling of flowing her chakra to specific parts of her body from the Leaf Sticking excercise. Then she placed one foot on the tree and flowed her chakra to the sole of her foot...
*Thud*
And then she was bounced off the tree to about two meters away and fell flat on her back.
'Huh. That was weird. I could've sworn I didn't use that much chakra.'
She tried it again, with less chakra this time.
*Thud*
Same result. Maybe a little less distance on the launch, but she was still launched off of it.
Seija's brow furrowed. 'What the heck?! I'm barely using any chakra here!'
She decided to search her memories for an answer. About a week prior she found that a few new ones were unlocked. She tried to recall anything about the Tree Climbing excercise from them...
'There!'
She found something. A memory of one Naruto Uzumaki and another unknown boy... maybe an Uchiha judging by the symbol on his shirt... trying to perform the very same exercise for the first time. Naruto tried to walk up the tree and covered the sole of his foot with chakra, but he slipped because he didn't use enough. The Uchiha boy tried as well, but he ended up breaking the surface of the tree and bouncing off, just like she did.
The weird part of that memory was that it looked like they were using the same amount of chakra. Maybe it was a limitation of the artistic medium, but that's what it looked like...
So Seija tried again, lowing her chakra use to the point that she couldn't even see it at the edge of her foot anymore.
And this time she slipped!
'Finally! So why the heck do I need to use so little?'
She fell into thought again and started going through everything she knew about what she could do with chakra so far.
'Ok so I can use it to stick things to me... I can use it to increase my strength... I can use it to cast Jutsu... Hey now that I think about it, didn't mom sing my praises for casting over thirty E-rank Jutsu in a row? Now that I think about it some more... I never asked how many times would be normal...'
So she headed in to the house and asked.
- - -
"Oh? That's an odd question since you're trying to climb a tree. But sure, I'll tell you. An absolute beginner like you should take about four or five E-rank Jutsu before becoming tired out." Himiko answered.
'...HUH?!'
- - -
So now Seija was back outside thinking again.
'So I have way, way more chakra than normal then? Didn't Naruto struggle to cast Jutsu due to his huge chakra supply? But I'm not having that issue at all... my chakra flows easily and powerfully, like it's practically begging to be used.'
She looked back at the tree.
'And that Uchiha boy was using the same amount as him, but it was too much for tree walking, like it was for me...'
And something clicked inside her mind. Just a theory for now. And not one that really helps her at all for the moment. But a solid one.
'There might be a difference in quality. Naruto's difficulty with casting Jutsu might not have just been caused by the amount itself!'
'Naruto's chakra was a lower quality than the other boy's. Not 'low' by any means, but lower than the Uchiha's for sure. It was harder to move, harder to use, and even though he had tons of it, his bigger Jutsu like the Rasenshuriken drained him in just a few shots. Maybe being a Jinchuriki had something to do with it? I can't imagine that creepy bubbling red chakra was all that pure...'
She considered the thought before continuing. Something was missing from that explanation but she just couldn't quite put her finger on it, so she ignored it in the end since the theory was still sound.
'The Uchiha boy on the other hand was from a clan that always took pride in their quality genetics. The 'best Fire Style users in the world' with the 'strongest kekkei genkai' they always said. And if it comes to genetics, nobody out-matches me. I'm pretty sure dad said I've got some Uchiha in me too, along with all that other stuff.'
She raised her right foot again. This time she placed it against the tree and attempted to slowly increase the amount she used as she held it there, starting from zero.
In just a couple of moments, she felt a more solid connection and tentatively lifted her other foot off the ground. She slipped slightly and quickly increased it a smidge more.
'Alright! It's stuck! Ok, now the other one...'
She ativated her Byakugan and used it to perfectly balance out her left foot with the exact same amount.
*Step*
'Yes! Now release the right foot... and put it down again further up.'
*Step*
She had done it. She was walking up the side of the tree. And her theory about quality was becoming more solid by the second. Staring at the amount of chakra she was using with her Byakugan, and feeling around her core, she came to a surprising realisation.
'I'm regenerating faster than I'm using it. That's how little this is costing me right now. Naruto and the other boy couldn't do it all day. They went back to that house in... I think it was the Land of Waves? And when they got there they were both equally exhausted, even though they should've had very different chakra levels to start with.'
She was accounting for the drain of her Byakugan in this equation of course. If she kept it active forever - disregarding the damage it would take - she would eventually run out of chakra by using it at the same time as tree walking. But if she turned it off and got used to tree walking without it, then she really would be able to do it infinitely.
'That means that quality equals efficiency! The Uchiha boy was able to last just as long as Naruto, even with a much smaller chakra supply than him. Add on your natural chakra regeneration, and techniques like tree walking become cheaper than dirt!'
'Maybe that's part of how I was able to cast so many Substitutions in a row. I'm somewhat doubtful that even I have that much raw chakra, so perhaps the sheer quality of it was what made that Jutsu so cheap to cast? Is that why my chakra is white instead of blue? A sign of quality?'
With this theory in hand she headed back to her mother to announce her success at climbing the tree. She would have to plan around this theory of chakra quality in the future. She could easily see herself screwing up a delicate technique and injuring herself or others by using too much power if she wasn't careful. Like the Medical Ninjutsu she was planning on having her mother teach her soon.
She had realised that since her memories were returning faster she would be able to make use of her past life's modern education, specifially her knowledge of biology, to massively speed up the process.
They didn't teach kids stuff like that in the academies, so most new medics had to go through a grueling few years of education in a poorly-understood field of study. This was pretty much the sole reason why there were so few trained medics, and fewer still who could also defend themselves; most ninja couldn't spare the time for all that learning. For Seija, though, it would be easy. Should be, anyway. She hoped.
- - - - -
The second change came much closer to her sixth birthday, only a month prior.
[-World Message-]
[-Because three or more system users have activated their systems, the Global Chat function is now online.-]
That message appeared. And with it came her first interaction with her fellow reincarnators.
[-Global Chat-]
[-Reincarnator #2: "Yooooooo! It's working!"-]
[-Reincarnator #2: "Anyone else here?"-]
[-Reincarnator #4: "Yep! Though I think it's just the three of us. You there, #1?"-]
She debated whether or not she should respond.
'Hmm~... nope! I think I'd rather keep to myself, thanks.'
"[Would you like me to mute the notifications from the Global Chat, Seija?]"
'If you would be so kind, Firewall.'
[-Global Chat-]
[-Reincarnator #1 has muted the Global Chat.-]
[-Reincarnator #2: "Wh-... Son of a bitch! Doesn't even want to speak with us..."-]
[-Reincarnator #4: "I mean, it's fair enough I guess. We are technically competing against each other."-]
[-Reincarnator #2: "Naaaaaahhh. Only if you try to steal my beloved Konan from me! I can't wait until I grow up some more and get to leave the village. I gotta find her before anyone else does!!!"-]
[-Reincarnator #4: "Dude... what? She's a person, why the hell would she accept some random guy? I'm not competing with you, just wondering why the hell you would think something like that."-]
[-Reincarnator #2: "Harem system, bro! I can do anything as long as my target's a cute girl! I can't wait to start tracking down some others too. I mean, don't you think Hinata is super cute?!"-]
[-Reincarnator #4: "Ok, creep. Hinata hasn't even been fucking born yet. I'm out of here."-]
[-Reincarnator #4 has muted the global chat.-]
[-Due to all but one person having muted the Global Chat, the Global Chat will temporarily shut down until that number rises past one again.-]
'At least one of them has some sense. Reincarnator #2 might become a problem though...' Seija thought as she sighed to herself.
It looked like some reincarnators really will go out of their way to cause issues. She had better keep an eye out for them going forward.
Maybe she'll ghost the Global Chat for a while as more and more of them start to show up there.
"[Seija. Once more than 10 reincarnators have access to the Global Chat, the Group Chat function will unlock. The more intelligent reincarnators will likely only share sensitive information directly to their allies, not in the Global Chat.]"
'Gah! Please don't jumpscare me like that, Firewall!'
"[Almost one year ago now, I asked you if you wanted me to stop responding to your surface thoughts. You did not answer.]"
'Right... sorry. Yes I would like you stop doing that so frequently.'
"[Affirmative. I will now only alert you when I believe something important to your ongoing safety comes up. Usually.]"
'Thanks.'
"[You are welcome.]"
And with that she felt his presence fade into the back off her mind.
'Right. I've got work to do.'
She had been improving her Bukijutsu and Taijutsu for these past several months, and she had long since passed her father's strength. Not his skill of course, but there was only so much he could keep up with as a civilian, and yesterday she'd bruised one of his ribs with a lucky punch that slipped under his guard. Her mother quickly healed his body, but it looked like poor Ryoku's heart and soul would never quite recover from the shame of losing to his daughter before she even turned 6, the age that she was supposed to begin learning Taijutsu from him in the first place.
