53. Mango Tree

Getting rid of Chakra occurs after passing the first year of training. One must achieve the appropriate physical progress for the body to afford the loss of Chakra and be able to execute three basic Control Techniques promptly.

Getting rid of Chakra is brutal and leaves individuals in a tough state for even several weeks. It's the first Trial of Will that the Trainee Monk must undergo to become a Junior Monk.

Under normal circumstances, a Shinobi or any other person would die on the spot when getting rid of Chakra, but during this process, one of the Elder Monks assists in severing the Chakra from the Life Energy, allowing the Trainee Monk to survive. The survival rate is about 60%, and not everyone gets rid of their Chakra immediately after a year of training; many people postpone it to a few months later. On the first day of every month, such a session with the Elder Monk takes place, and many people participate in it.

Monks from Monk families that have lived in the Fire Temple for generations do not undergo this process. This is due to not using Chakra, and even the frequent occurrence of Chakra Circulation System destruction during childbirth.

Naruto was born with a destroyed Chakra System and didn't really hate it, whereas Monks do such things to their children with their future in mind. When Naruto first heard about it, he had to pause in disbelief. It might have seemed like sick behavior to normal people, but for the Monks, it was an opportunity to ensure a better future for their children.

Naruto had the opportunity to undergo the process of getting rid of Chakra after a little over two weeks. He had a sufficiently strong physical body and had mastered three basic Control Techniques, so his Master allowed him to do so, but Naruto refused.

Naruto could survive without Chakra in his body, but getting rid of Chakra was a process of severing the Chakra from the Life Energy. Although Naruto's Chakra wasn't as strongly connected to Life Energy as it is in normal people, it still was to some minimal extent. If Naruto went through this process, his lifespan could be affected, and he didn't know what could happen, so he preferred not to risk it. Moreover, if he did it, Naruto couldn't use Chakra anymore. The Elder Monk sealed the bodies of the Hermit Group members so they couldn't produce Chakra.

Previously, it is said that Elder Monks destroyed Chakra Systems, but it was very risky, and the survival rate was then only 10%. This was due to the heavily innervated and sensitive Chakra Circulation System at the age of over six years. Children under this age found it easier to survive the Chakra Circulation System destruction process, but rarely is this process performed now.

The recognized best way was to sever the Chakra from the Life Energy and seal the Chakra Circulation System to avoid interfering with Chakra inadvertently. Later on, when the body got used to living without Chakra, some Elder Monks destroyed their Chakra Systems, but not everyone did it. Most people simply forget they have something like a Chakra Circulation System in their bodies.

One had to get rid of their Chakra and sever its connection to the Life Energy in order to acquire the Gift of the Hermit Group. Without this process, one couldn't acquire Human Energy. At least that's what was said; Naruto isn't entirely sure about it, it's possible he could acquire the Gift of the Hermit Group simply by not interfering with Chakra for some time. However, it would be much more difficult.

Naruto went for training on the training ground early in the morning. All the Trainee Monks were already there, waiting for the Leading Monks to start the exercises.

Out of the corner of his eye, Naruto noticed that girl from yesterday. She stood at the very front, and she seemed to sense his arrival because she turned towards him. Naruto ignored her malicious gaze and waited for the official start of the training.

Although he hadn't been here for long, he already felt changes within himself. His sensitivity to Energy had slightly increased, he could better control the heat in his body, and even Chakra was easier to manipulate. After all, Chakra was also a kind of Energy.

The hours-long training sessions consisting of repeating specific movements were truly fruitful.

After four hours of exercises, most of the Trainee Monks went to have a meal; some stayed to continue training for a while longer. Breakfast could be eaten within a few hours, which was convenient for those who trained harder.

Naruto finished his training after over five hours. Besides him, there were still a few people on the training ground, including that two-faced girl. Despite everything, she was dedicated to her training. Naruto hadn't paid attention to her before, but now he saw how hard she was training. Her movements were a perfect embodiment of beauty and perfection; she executed everything at the same level as Naruto.

After breakfast, Naruto thought he would be able to continue perfecting himself in peace, but his sensory sense detected a visitor.

Chō-sen was waiting for him hidden around the corner of the building, probably wanting to cause trouble for him.

Naruto couldn't help but snort. He changed the direction of his route, avoiding her from afar. She'll probably be greatly annoyed by his evasion, but that's not his concern. He didn't want anything to do with that girl.

"It feels like being in a novel, when the trashy antagonist appears out of nowhere, waiting to be beaten by the main character."

...

"Do you have grandchildren, Sensei?" — Naruto asked his Master as soon as he met him that day.

"I'm over a hundred years old, of course, I have descendants." — Shoka-sen replied as if it were the most obvious thing.

"I met a certain girl, she's quite annoying and seems to want to cause trouble for me. Her name is Chō-sen." — Naruto confessed and was curious about the old man's reaction, but it was blank. He didn't even frown or anything.

"Oh, that child..." — the old man simply said. It looked like he wanted to sigh but restrained himself.

"Do you have a bad relationship, Sensei?"

"No, she's just an incompetent child, ignore her." — the old man instructed Naruto. Apparently, he wasn't interested in her life and considered her more of an irritation.

"Come with me, I have something to show you today." — Shoka-sen said after a moment and stood up from the ground where he was meditating.

They both left the courtyard where Naruto trained in the afternoons and went to a place where mango trees grew, on the outskirts of the Fire Temple.

Next to the walls of the Temple grew tall fruit trees where during the summer, you could eat juicy mangoes.

Shoka-sen approached one of these trees and placed his hand on it.

"I would like to show you a certain philosophical example related to the mating period of spiders, but it's not the time for that." — the old man said, and Naruto felt weird hearing that. Was this guy trying to teach him about animal mating?

Shoka-sen ignored his student's strange look. "Imagine this tree is a strong individual, and its fruits are its children, small and delicate."

"It's late spring, mango trees don't have fruits now." — Naruto pointed out.

"It doesn't matter," the old man smiled faintly.

His hand, touching the tree bark, glowed white as the Hermit Group's Gift energetically entered the mango tree.

Naruto watched expectantly, anticipating what would likely happen. The tree leaves regained their colors, and buds bloomed on the branches. A minute later, fruits appeared; they were still small and immature, but soon they had a ripe color and were ready to eat.

The old man picked two mango fruits and handed one to Naruto. "Try it; they're three times better than normal because they contain a part of my Energy."

Naruto peeled the skin and bit into the juicy fruit, indeed tastier than usual.

"It reminds me of Wood Release. If I didn't know you were a Monk, I could swear you possessed the legendary Release," Naruto chuckled. It was really similar; he wondered if the Hermit Group's Gift could replicate Wood Release, even to a small extent.

"I manipulated the vitality of the tree and, with Energy, forced it into sudden growth. Repeating this several times would result in the death of the plant."

"Oh, that's not as cool," Naruto muttered, finishing the mango.

"Thank you for the meal, Sensei. But why all this?" Naruto was curious about what was going on in his Master's mind, yet he felt a bit disappointed if that was all.

"Look at what you have left," Shoka-sen instructed, and Naruto looked at his empty hands.

"You mean the seed? I threw it on the ground."

Shoka-sen picked up the mango seed between two fingers and raised it to chest height, drawing Naruto's attention. "This is the essence of a human, its true form. The delicious pulp represented the innocence of every child, but innocence fades. With mangoes, it can be eaten, rot, or be destroyed by external forces. Innocence falls away, leaving you, adulthood, the true and fully aware form."

The old man knelt on the ground, creating a small hole for the seed, which he then placed inside.

"As you enter adulthood, you make decisions, but it all boils down to one thing: inner desires. You satisfy your hunger and desire, seek strength, work, friends, a beautiful woman, family..."

Covered with a few centimeters of soil, the seed began to crack and slowly sprout. Its green stem broke through the soil, climbing upwards.

"Isn't it amazing?" Shoka-sen's voice oozed sarcasm. Naruto sensed such a change in tone from him for the first time.

"Desires are weak foundations. Weakly rooted in the soil, they lead to weak plant development; it may continue to grow, but it may stop someday. However, in most cases, the plant will break," the old man's foot descended on the plant, crushing it with his strength.

"Sometimes a disease will occur, killing the plant. We, humans, are those who have experienced internal problems and fractures. However, most often, it is an external force that destroys everything we have built on weak foundations."

"What are the roots in a plant, my student?" Shoka-sen turned to Naruto.

"It's strength."

"Correct, raw strength is the roots, the foundations of ourselves, on which everything is based. However, strength comes from human desires, and as you can see, these simple desires have been destroyed," Shoka-sen pointed to the broken plant under his feet.

"The mango tree is a strong unit, as I told you to imagine. Why does this plant stand so high and proud, despite the possibility of destruction?"

"Because of its roots," Naruto replied.

"The mango tree has built sufficiently strong foundations to not be destroyed by external forces or by itself, such as disease. Of course, it will die someday; everything passes," Shoka-sen said, touching the tree bark again. He closed his eyes and seemed to communicate telepathically with the plant.

"What is strength, true raw strength? Is it huge reserves of Energy? Maybe a strong body, character, or mind? Or the versatility of Shinobi and Chakra techniques? All kinds of skills, from the simplest survival, communication, to martial arts?" The old man asked a series of questions, and Naruto wasn't sure which answer was the true one.

Each of them could be correct or something else entirely. Naruto analyzed everything in his mind and after a moment opened his mouth to answer, but quickly closed it.

"Don't hide it, just say what you've come up with. I'm curious about your answer," the old man encouraged Naruto with a slight smile.

"It's adaptation to every situation and life-threatening danger," Naruto replied.

"Very possible, that's one of the closest correct answers."

"So what's the answer?" Naruto was getting a bit impatient.

It could be a bit of everything, combined and mixed into one whole.

Shoka-sen chuckled lightly, "I'm not entirely sure yet."

"What...?!" Naruto wanted to shout out loud, but he was speechless for a moment.

"Haha...! Your mimicry is quite good; I feel the same as you," the old man clapped his hands, impressed by the performance.

While Naruto was still stunned, Shoka-sen approached the seed discarded by Naruto and inserted it into the ground with one finger.

"The lesson is not over yet; keep observing, my student."