My Techniques are a bit off

A single standard unit of chakra for the Earth Release: Hiding like a Mole Technique could sustain the summoned Mountain Drake for five times the usual duration, adding an extra 150 seconds to its existence. This significantly enhanced the value of the jutsu.

When doubling the chakra input, the Mountain Drake's size increased, its spit projectiles hardened, and its flying speed improved, but its duration remained unchanged.

When the dragon activated its invisibility, it became completely transparent. Even during flight, it made no sound or disturbance. However, the moment it launched an attack, chakra usage caused ripples to appear on its body, revealing its location. This meant it couldn't attack while staying completely hidden.

The ability to spit stones had considerable potential. Although the projectiles weren't particularly fast, they could track targets. Moreover, the stones weren't just simple rocks—they could be shaped into forms like spikes, making them highly lethal.

Multiple Mountain Drakes could be summoned simultaneously, with their consciousness seemingly shared.

Interestingly, the chakra consumed for invisibility and stone attacks wasn't drawn directly from Link's body, as was the case with substitution techniques. Instead, the dragon consumed its stored chakra, which directly shortened its existence. During attacks, there was no upper limit to the chakra usage—the more chakra the dragon used, the larger, faster, and more destructive its projectiles became.

This hinted at a subtle yet significant difference between the relationship Link had with his substitution techniques and his Mountain Drake summon.

On a side note, while the dragon looked fierce and rugged with its scaly armor…

"Turns out it's just a long-range magic type and doesn't know how to fight up close."

Link sat in the barbecue restaurant, stuffing freshly grilled meat into his mouth. The morning's ninjutsu training had drained his stamina, leaving him utterly exhausted. By the time he'd staggered into Yakiniku Q, he felt like he could devour an entire cow.

And it wasn't just physical exhaustion—his wallet was suffering too. He'd just spent a fortune on a C-rank ninjutsu scroll, clearing out most of his savings. Routine expenses like food, smoke bombs, ration pills, and kunai were already a financial burden.

"But I'm a chunin now—I deserve to celebrate! Even if I have to eat dirt tomorrow!"

Watching Link wolf down his food, Iris stared in amazement. "As expected of the boss—strong in battle and even stronger at eating!" Motivated, Iris joined the feast with equal enthusiasm.

Ami rolled her eyes silently but didn't comment.

Meanwhile, Nara Ensui, ever the refined one, ate politely. Seeing how much his students had matured in just half a year, he felt a rare sense of satisfaction. Despite his dislike for playing babysitter, guiding these kids had turned out to be oddly rewarding.

"Hmm, I'm definitely not taking on another squad after this one."

After their meal, the four left Yakiniku Q. Nara Ensui handed Link a scroll and said, "A gift to celebrate your promotion to chunin."

He paused, then turned to the other two students. "You two better work hard too. When you make chunin, you'll get gifts as well."

"Thank you, Ensui-sensei." Link accepted the scroll graciously. Glancing at it, he noticed the kanji 忍 ("Nin") inscribed on its surface—clearly, it was a jutsu scroll.

Nara Ensui chuckled. "From now on, you'll be taking on missions and leading the team yourselves."

Their lunch conversation had revealed Link's reluctance to immediately dive into high-difficulty missions with his team. As such, their previous arrangement of a jonin, chunin, and genin squad operating together was no longer feasible for missions ranked B or higher.

"Well then—" He waved. "See you all later."

"Shwoop!" With that, he vanished.

Link held the scroll in his hand, turned to his two teammates, and flashed a confident smile. "Since that's the case—your special training starts now."

"I'm totally ready!" Iris shouted, raising both arms enthusiastically.

Ami sighed at his boisterous outburst but smiled nonetheless. "I'm ready too."

"Boss!" x2

…

At the Seventh Training Ground

Standing atop a rock, Link looked down at his teammates with a serious expression.

"What is chakra? Can anyone tell me?"

Iris immediately answered, "Chakra is the energy created by mixing mental and physical energy!"

"Good. Now, can anyone explain how to use chakra to perform a jutsu?" Link continued.

"Hand signs?" Ami ventured cautiously.

"Training!" Iris declared confidently.

"Idiot! You extract it from your body and guide it with hand seals!"

"…"

Watching the two argue, Link finally spoke. "You're both correct, but neither of you is entirely right."

"The foundation of jutsu lies in chakra. To transform chakra into a usable ninjutsu, there are two main processes—"

"Shape transformation and nature transformation."

"I know about nature transformation!" Iris chimed in enthusiastically. "My chakra has a wind nature!"

"Wind, like the protagonist, huh?" Link thought. Chakra nature wasn't a secret—far from it. In fact, chakra testing paper was widely available, and understanding one's chakra nature was essential for learning elemental jutsu.

"I have a fire nature," Ami added.

Link nodded. "Shape transformation determines the 'form' of the chakra in your jutsu. Adding wind, fire, or other natures enhances its effects, which we call nature transformation."

"Almost every jutsu combines these two processes," he explained. Though there were exceptions, such as the Tailed Beast Bomb, which Eight-Tails once described as being "like vomiting."

"Take the Three Basic Techniques, for example."

Transformation Jutsu lays the groundwork for shape transformation.

Clone Jutsu emphasizes chakra composition, the essence of nature transformation.

Substitution Jutsu involves using chakra to stimulate cellular activity for speed bursts, serving as a foundation for taijutsu.

This is why the Three Basic Techniques, despite being E-rank, were mandatory at the Academy. Mastery of these techniques significantly eased the learning curve for other jutsu.

Though Link's jutsu tended to manifest… uniquely, his understanding of ninjutsu was well-rounded.

This insight stemmed from his scientific mindset—knowledge rooted in logic, observation, and systematic analysis.

To him, chakra and ninjutsu were nothing short of a science—a system of knowledge he meticulously observed, tested, and refined.

~~~

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