Naruto: Chronicles of A Fire Ninja

"Okay, that's enough. Also, why are you using such a crude version of this jutsu? It speeds up your cell division, shortening your lifespan," Jiraiya asked.

"Sensei, this is all I have. Two fuinjutsu grandmasters and Mitsuru Sensei herself crafted these seals on me. According to Sensei, this is the best version she knows. I know it's inferior to what Lady Tsunade uses, but it's still better than nothing, right?" Kaida asked with a smile, though his emotions inside were in turmoil.

'This is an inferior version? My broken bones are almost completely healed within a minute, and the pain stopped as soon as the healing started. This is the first time I've felt like a true ninja. Is this how Guy feels when he uses Taijutsu? I want to learn it.'

"Sensei is really slacking off too much," Jiraiya sighed.

A confused expression appeared on Kaida's face. Seeing that, Jiraiya continued,

"Even though he doesn't know the perfect version of the jutsu like Tsunade, he could have made it 30% more efficient just by himself. Sigh, looks like my work has increased. Now I have to repair this damage caused by others too," Jiraiya said.

"Sensei..." Kaida started but stopped midway.

"What is it?"

"I want to ask a question I've had in my mind," Kaida said.

"Go ahead."

"Since you can modify this seal and make it better, does that mean you're better than two fuinjutsu grandmasters combined?"

"You could say that," Jiraiya replied in a proud tone.

"Then I have a question about modifying the seal. Since this seal is providing chakra to the healing seals in the body, can we use that chakra to perform jutsu or something similar?" Kaida asked.

"No, that chakra is sent to your body through a predefined path, avoiding your chakra network. If they collide in any way, you'll lose your ability to use chakra entirely. Now, if you want to use it to perform jutsu, that would mean providing that chakra directly to your chakra network. There are better and less painful ways to commit suicide than that," Jiraiya replied.

"Then if we can't use it for jutsu, is there still a chance to use it for increasing strength and speed like we do with normal chakra?" Kaida asked, already expecting the answer.

"Yes, if you had infinite chakra, that is. This jutsu can save your life in dire times, and chakra is crucial for that. If you use chakra to increase your strength, not only will it waste six out of ten parts of chakra in the process, but you'll also lack chakra when you need it most," Jiraiya explained.

"But in cases where my life isn't in danger, and I need extra strength while maintaining my chakra reserves for other things, wouldn't it come in handy?" Kaida asked.

"Didn't you hear how inefficient it is? You'll be wasting chakra like crazy for just a slight increase in strength," Jiraiya said.

"But during an emergency, I'll have extra chakra and, with that, an extra chance in the fight. Also, I can't just rely on the healing part of this seal—I really like my lifespan, Sensei," Kaida added with an awkward laugh.

"......" Jiraiya went silent for a minute.

"Um, Sensei, was my request too absurd?" Kaida asked, seeing how Jiraiya was silent for so long.

"It's not absurd. The absurd thing is that it actually makes sense. Having extra chakra to deal with weak but numerous enemies would be quite a boon. Why the hell hasn't anyone thought of this before?" Jiraiya said.

"Maybe because no one other than Lady Tsunade uses this jutsu, and she already has high chakra reserves. With her near-perfect Mitotic Regeneration Jutsu, she doesn't need to waste that much chakra," Kaida suggested.

"You've been thinking about this for quite some time, huh? You already have so many theories, even though you've just learned this jutsu," Jiraiya remarked.

"Yes, Sensei, but I've been training to learn this jutsu for months. During that time, it was just wishful thinking, but now, with your help, I wanted to know if some of those things are possible or not," Kaida explained.

"Well, the chances aren't zero. I'll have to consult with Sensei about some of the details, but it should be possible for you to use the chakra in the seal for strength augmentation.

But let me tell you, if I hadn't stopped you and we had continued the fight for one more minute at that same intensity, you'd have lost one to two months of your lifespan—at least. You could reach S-rank for a while, but always measure whether the situation is worth that sacrifice, okay?" Jiraiya advised.

"Yes, Sensei," Kaida replied.

'With the damage I'm sustaining during that chakra-enhanced strength usage, one to two months is on the lower side. But it wasn't completely without reason. I wanted to know my true peak power.

If I use the seal with chakra-enhanced strength to strike with a sword slash loaded with fire chakra, that would truly be a frightening attack. Even a low Kage-level ninja's defense would shatter in front of it. Though the chance of using it against them is slim, because while my attack power increases exponentially, my control over the attack decreases considerably. Well, it's a fair trade, I think,' Kaida thought.

"Apart from the topic of whether we should improve the seal or not, let's return to the main point. With this, I know the basic idea of your offense and defense, both of which are at Elite Jonin level. And when I say this,

it's quite a compliment because even some clan heads or minor clans in Konoha aren't at that level in both offense and defense. But there's one point where you lag behind them, and every one of them could defeat you easily—unless you use that seal or your Sharingan. Can you guess what that is?" Jiraiya asked.

"Battle IQ," Kaida replied, already knowing the answer.

"Yes. From what I can tell, you haven't participated in actual fights against strong opponents. Most of your fighting style comes from friendly spars, which isn't bad, but now, with this level of strength, you need some battle awareness too. If not for time constraints, I would've loved to take you on a world tour. You'd have learned many things and gained the experience you need," Jiraiya said.

"Sensei, do you even fight enemy ninja when you go on tours?" Kaida asked.

"Well, they're not always vacations. Most of the time, they're orders from Sensei (Hiruzen) himself. But the enemy ninja you're talking about are different from the ones I fight.

There are many small-time organizations, like the bandit village you and the Uchiha clan are forming. Such organizations are normally guarded by top-level combatants, and if left alone, they make life hell for the common people. That's why I eliminate such groups too," Jiraiya explained.

"The bandit village isn't like that, Sensei. They're people who were forced to become bandits and had a chance to atone for their wrongdoing. That's why I chose to spare their lives and give them a second chance. We've altered their memories too. Now, they'll just live like normal villagers and won't revert to how they were," Kaida said, feeling a bit uncomfortable being compared to such people.

"I know, Kaida. Otherwise, the village would have taken action long before your plan even started. I was just giving an example, not comparing the two. But alas, a world tour isn't feasible in just one month. So, for the next month, this will be your battlefield.

I'll teach you in the morning, and we'll spar in the afternoon. You won't use that seal of yours during our spar. Then, in the evening, we'll work on the shortcomings you show in the spar. Until I find a way to modify your seal, this will be our schedule," Jiraiya explained.

"But Sensei, you said I have these shortcomings because I've only had friendly spars with others and not actual fights. So how is this any different from that?" Kaida asked. Then he suddenly felt a chill, even though the area was warm and cozy.

"Don't worry, this won't be a 'friendly' spar like you've had until now," Jiraiya said with a smile. But to Kaida, it didn't look like a friendly smile—it looked like the hospital was already preparing a bed for him.