“The first thing you must be aware of is that most jutsu carry risks when learning them. If possible and time permits, you must treat all new jutsu similar to how you do fuinjutsu.” Jogan began explaining. “It doesn’t happen very often, but occasionally someone rushes a jutsu they’re unfamiliar with and they severely injure themselves.”
Something must have shown in her eyes, as Jogan held up a hand before her thoughts could run wild. “This was not disparaging you. I am talking about when someone already learned the jutsu. They rush, thinking they’ve got it mastered, then make mistakes in the execution. What happened with you and Mouth Bullet was an example, but not one I am speaking of. Your mistake showed you the risk associated with jutsu.”
Sano nodded, agreeing wholeheartedly. She would not make a mistake like that ever again. Once was enough to cement the lesson within her mind for the rest of time.
“Bring out your scroll for the hiding like a mole technique, please. I will walk you through it, show you an example, and give you tips.” Jogan ordered, voice fully in lecture mode, which was a mode she hadn’t seen since the hospital.
It was nice.
As she burrowed through her bag for the scroll, Jogan continued speaking. “The risk associated with the hiding like a mole technique, is that if you run out of chakra while using it, you can become stuck underground. It is fairly chakra intensive as well, as you suffuse the very earth below and around you with your chakra while using it. You must be aware of your chakra reserves at all times when using it. As you grow and your chakra reserves increase, you will know roughly how much chakra you have and have a better grasp on how long you can keep it up.”
Sano fished out her scroll and opened it up as she joined Jogan’s side. They both looked over the scroll together, and Jogan began pointing out various bits of information. “This is an academy scroll. It has been copied many times. This very copy has been learned by many ninja throughout the village. Rarely, you may learn a jutsu that is not from the village. In such cases, you must be even more cautious when replication or learning the jutsu. Understood?”
That threw her for a loop. Jogan looked ready to delve into the scroll itself, but she looked up and held up a hand to signal him to pause. ‘How do people learn jutsu if it's not from the village?’
Unbothered by the interruption, Jogan readily explained. “Many ways. You may develop a jutsu of your own,” He flashed her a significant look, knowing that she was going for that to learn to speak again. “You may copy a jutsu from another—usually their personal jutsu in a master apprentice relationship… or you reverse engineer or take parts from other jutsu to create one anew. In the war, I grew accustomed to many of the favored jutsu from enemy ninja. I knew their intended effects, I saw their hand signs, understood what the hand signs meant and did, then extrapolated their construction. This is one such way of learning a new jutsu.”
She nodded, seeing how it could be possible if you were more learned in the ways of jutsu creation. Hand seals could be sigils or symbols in fuinjutsu, if she had to compare. They each did something to create an intended effect while ‘powering’ it with ‘cables’ of chakra. You had to make sure the ‘wiring’ was correct, but if it was… then it should do what you designed it to do.
“For hiding like a mole, you must suffuse the ground with chakra. Unlike Mouth Shot, where you concentrate chakra within yourself, or more specifically your mouth, this should be much easier and safer to accomplish. You recently learned how to stick objects to other objects, correct?”
Taken slightly aback by how Jogan knew that, she jerked as she nodded. He tilted his head upwards in a look of superiority as he looked down upon her, but said nothing by the reaction. “It is similar in principle to suffusing the ground. Push your chakra out of your feet and imbue the very earth itself. It doesn’t need to be controlled for now. Go ahead and give it a try.”
Doing as she was told, Sano looked to the ground as she shifted her weight. She circulated her chakra, feeling its flow, then pushed it down to her feet, then out her soles. Unlike water or tree walking, she didn’t hold the chakra in her feet, but sent it outwards.
It was indeed similar to sticking objects to one another, in a way at least. To do that, she had to let her chakra leave her hands and enter the object, then hold the chakra in said object even as she lost contact. It wasn’t easy, but it wasn’t impossibly hard. Shoving chakra into the earth… was easier. She didn’t need to hold it in place for this. The only thing she needed to do was send it down.
As her chakra poured out of her at a steady but sedate pace, Jogan spoke aloud. His eyes were seeing something hers could not as she roamed over the ground . “Good. Now, the tricky part comes next. See here?” Jogan pointed to the scroll, pointing out the next step. “What this is explaining, is the locomotion of the X, Y, and Z axis. Once the earth you want to sink into has been seeped in your chakra, you can speed up or slow your circulation. What you're doing now is the baseline. Faster to rise, slower to sink. Going forwards and backwards is trickier, as what is forwards or backwards if you’re parallel underground? How do you twist and turn underground?”
Jogan was asking questions to get her thinking, and was obviously seeking an answer. Sano took a moment to think about it, when it clicked.
This sounds like… Geometry and Algebra? If she was a point on a Cartesian Coordinate System…
‘Speed up my lower half and slow down my top half? Make my feet rise and my head sink?’ Sano signed, flubbing some of the more unfamiliar words. Jogan caught on anyways, eyes brightening as a smile tugged at his lips. His land landed on her shoulder and gave a squeeze full of pride.
“Very good! Very good, indeed.” Jogan’s voice even carried a hint of pride as well. It made her cheeks grow hot from the praise. “You’re absolutely correct. I am surprised you caught on so quickly. Now, once oriented in a different direction underground, you can go forwards and backwards by doing the same thing, in a different axis. You may always know where the surface is by feeling where the surrounding chakra ends. Footsteps and other movement can be felt when weight displaces the dirt or grass your chakra is suffused in. This lets you know if someone is above you, letting you track their location and movements.”
“Once you have movement mastered, then you can begin to learn how to move the earth around you. Covering your tracks is a must to use this in the field. Your chakra is in the earth, so it's under your control to an extent. Earth is solid. It remembers its form well…”
—---------------------------
Over the course of a week, Sano learned a lot from Sensei Jogan. Yes, the late nights, busy evenings, and early mornings took their toll on her, but she was learning so much! In spars during class, she had been improving slowly but surely, implementing the advice and moves Jogan continued to show her from the Konoha taijutsu style she never got to learn. The village's taijutsu was designed to be fluid and interchangeable, letting her implement sequences into her own style and recognise many moves her classmates were aiming for which she never knew before.
When it came to ninjutsu, she had finally stiffened up her spine enough to delve into the earth with Hiding Like a Mole—with supervision, of course. It was… something of an experience. At first, she had thought it’d be like swimming through solid rock. Sadly, she found in a mild bit of horror and panic that she was blind while underground. Her sight had to be replaced by sensing her own chakra within the earth and extrapolating where she was within it. The closest thing she could reference it to, was something like echolocation. When Jogan walked atop the ground she infused with her chakra, she could feel his footfalls bang against her sphere of influence. It was eerie, and took awhile to adjust too and recognize, but the jutsu worked flawlessly.
It did drain chakra like nothing else she’d ever experienced before though. She could keep up the technique for only two minutes before needing to come up due to being in the ‘danger zone’ of chakra reserves.
Still, it was the first real jutsu she’d learned to a degree to which Jogan had said she could use it without supervision. All in all, it was a bunch of math and chakra control/usage making it work. Never had she thought that math of all things would come in super handy! Thankfully, she was pretty good at math—she even went to college for… for? Forgot… but it probably had something to do with math!
Work at the northern supply depot was quickly coming to an end as well, and she finally got her chakra expenditure per tag down to a flat seven percent! She was improving! After class, today would be her last day and she’d get her promised pay. Koji hasn’t spoken to her in an unofficial capacity since Jogan began walking her to work everyday either, which was mildly suspicious. He only came to check on her work, remarked on them, then went on his way.
Still, she was pretty sure he knew she blew up a few more tags than needed at the end of the day… At least he didn’t say anything about it.
Last and not least… She felt happy and content about her life now. Which, to be logical about it, didn’t make much sense. Perhaps it was some childlike brain plasticity forcing her to accept her new lease on life and all that it entailed, or perhaps it was finally feeling like she had someone there who understood what this life was like. She didn’t know, but the fear of what she was learning faded quickly… Still, that didn’t mean she didn’t know what was coming. The tools and skills she was learning were for fighting people, not saving.
Sooner or later, she’d take a life. Hopefully, it’d be much, much, much, later… but already, she was hardening her resolve for the eventuality. Until it happened… she’d live the best she could.
“That’s it for today. Make sure you spend time mastering the three jutsu we’ve been learning in class. At the end of the week, you will all be tested to see where you stand in an official capacity.” Tanaka-sensei spoke from his podium, knocking Sano out of her thoughts.
Chairs skidded over wood and bags were grabbed as the whole class stood and collected their things to leave. Sano followed suit, following the mob outside to the waiting arms of many parents. She scanned the crowd after not seeing Jogan standing at his usual spot. Slowly, her heart began to sink as her eyes roamed over group after group…
“Sano, over here.”
Following the sound to the voice, she let out a deep breath as she smiled. Jogan stood far away from the usual spot of parents, talking with the older gentlemen who had once brought Murakumo Kurama to school—his grandpa, if she were to guess. Murakumo was already there, speaking with the man as Sano hurried over at a jog.
“Sano. This is Kotarou Kurama, Murakumo’s grandfather.” Jogoan introduced her, and Sano smiled at her guess being correct.
‘Hello.’ She signed as she turned to face the kindly looking Kotarou, seeing if he understood.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Aburame-chan. Murakumo has spoken highly of you, and your uncle is a very distinguished shinobi. You have big shoes to fill.” Kotarou’s eyes crinkled, teasing her.
Murokumo looked like he was dying of cringe, but Sano didn’t see anything cringe about a dotting grandfather. Kotarou ignored Murakumo’s pleading look and cut to the chase. “I’ve been told you seek to learn Genjutsu?”
‘Yes.’ Sano signed, probably too quickly to be casual. She had an inkling of where this question was leading…
“How about you come over to the Kurama clan compound after you’re finished with your afterschool work? I believe there’s much that could interest a young kunoichi with high aspirations and an even higher standard to live up to. Also, Murakumo would be pleased. Isn’t that right, Murakumo?” Kotarou continued in his honeyed voice.
“For the clan’s sake, please stop.” Murakumo’s face looked like he bit into a lemon.
Sano couldn’t help but silently laugh. Both at the great chance before her, and at Murakumo’s—her friend’s—agony.