Kid, believe in yourself. Even if you can't use ninjutsu, you can still become a great ninja!"
"Come on, let's keep pushing our limits! Can't finish? Then try doing fifty laps on your hands!"
"…"
Chiba squinted at the overly enthusiastic Guy and sighed inwardly.
He knew Guy meant well.
But as someone who had transmigrated into this world, Chiba was painfully aware of the limits of taijutsu alone.
Sure, it was powerful—But only to a point.
Take the Eight Gates—one of the most extreme taijutsu techniques. Powerful? Absolutely. But like fireworks, it was a momentary brilliance that quickly faded from the ninja world. Chiba didn't want to be a firework.
Besides, he was the same age as Lee. Even with hard work, pure taijutsu would only get him to Rock Lee's level.
And what was Lee's level, really?In the decisive battle, even after opening six gates, he could do little more than boost morale. He could only stand by helplessly while his teacher risked everything.
Chiba was sure—Lee must've felt completely powerless in that moment.
And he didn't want to experience that himself.
So he understood well: taijutsu alone isn't the future.
But he had no other choice.
Two years ago, he transmigrated into the Naruto world—And discovered a mysterious orb of light in his consciousness.
Soon after, he realized he lacked talent in nature transformation, genjutsu, and even the most basic three Academy techniques were beyond his reach.
But—
After some experimentation, he discovered the benefits of the light orb.
First, he had incredible chakra control.Second, his taijutsu potential was top-tier.And third, he had precise muscular and physical control.
In fact, according to Guy and some instructors, even most jōnin couldn't match his level of control.
As for the third benefit…
He learned ridiculously fast.
He suspected it was tied to the mysterious light orb. Over the past two years, he also noticed that the orb seemed to grow stronger as he learned and explored new things.
Which meant he had to keep innovating.
Sorry, Guy-sensei.
"Chiba, if you're bad at ninjutsu and genjutsu, are you giving up on taijutsu too?"
Guy's face was filled with disappointment.
He had taken both Chiba and Lee under his wing because they were hard-working kids who didn't care about what others thought.
But now—
After two years of perseverance, he was going to give up? Was his will so easily shaken?
"Guy-sensei, I'm not giving up. I'm looking for another path. Lee and I just can't use nature transformation—but we still have chakra, and my control is excellent. That means I can create jutsu that don't require it."
Chiba stood up and resumed running, panting as he spoke.
"No hand signs, no elemental nature—just pure chakra. If I can compress it enough, the destructive power could be just as strong."
"But…"
"Like this."
Chiba extended his right hand and formed a compact orb of chakra in his palm.
It wasn't the Rasengan—But it was a highly compressed chakra sphere with destructive force.
Guy glanced at it, his expression shifting from curiosity to surprise.
This…
Rasengan?No—it wasn't quite the Rasengan yet. Just a basic chakra ball.
"We run by the river a lot, and I've been thinking… If I could make it rotate like a vortex, wouldn't that boost its power even more?
Chiba continued.
He wasn't wrong.
Ever since he transmigrated two years ago, he had been trying to replicate the Rasengan.
But rather than copying the manga's balloon-popping method, he took the principle behind it and secretly trained for two years—quietly mastering the technique.
He now began to rotate the chakra.
The inner chakra spun like a mini cyclone, while the outer form remained stable and smooth.
Guy was silent for a long moment.
"Did it ever occur to you to add more layers of rotation—more directions?"
"Huh? You're right! Why didn't I think of that?"
Chiba's eyes lit up as he tried it immediately, but the chakra orb collapsed.
He wasn't discouraged, though—he prepared to try again.
Then, Guy spoke in a solemn voice:"Kid… that jutsu already exists. It's an A-rank technique called the Rasengan."
"What? It already exists?!"
Chiba feigned shock.
"Yes. Your technique is the same as the Fourth Hokage's Rasengan," Guy said with a nod.
Lee stood quietly at the side, his face unreadable—but clearly shaken.
"This..."
"Don't worry. Sometimes minds just think alike. If your genjutsu and nature transformation talent were stronger, you might've become an incredible ninja."
Guy sighed.
Even without those talents, this child hadn't given up. He had the insight and wisdom to develop a jutsu from non-elemental chakra…
What a waste of potential.
"It's fine, Guy-sensei. When the Sage of Six Paths closed one door for me, he opened another. I'm grateful—and I believe even without nature transformations, I can still become strong!"
Chiba's tone was firm.
Lee finally spoke up, eyes wide with admiration.
"Even though Chiba-kun can't use ninjutsu either, the fact that he created a jutsu like that... It's amazing!"
"We'll train in taijutsu—and also in non-elemental jutsu. We'll combine the two!"
"That's called nin-taijutsu," Guy interjected with a smile.
After a pause, he nodded with new resolve."Let's go. No matter what, taijutsu is our foundation. Back to training!"
"Yes!"
The three resumed their harsh training, but each carried different thoughts.
Even as they pushed themselves, a quiet seriousness lingered in the air.
Only when the sun began to set did they finally part ways.
Chiba returned to the small residence assigned by the village, mind still replaying the day's events.
Of course, his goal wasn't just to combine taijutsu and jutsu. But as a civilian-born ninja, access to higher-level knowledge was limited.
If he casually started talking about chakra-enhanced strength, natural energy, or sage arts, the higher-ups wouldn't just take notice—Danzo's Root division might invite him in for "tea."
"Sorry, Guy-sensei... but I really don't have any other path to take."
He was twelve now, with graduation approaching fast—And in just a few more years, the Fourth Great Ninja War would erupt.
Time was running out.
Still—
He hadn't abandoned ninjutsu.
At home, Chiba began refining chakra again, shaping and compressing it outside his body.
He'd already learned how to form chakra threads, using them to control kunai and shuriken.But that wasn't the result he wanted.
As his chakra ran low, he opened his notebook.
"Not enough force. Can't pierce targets. Need a way to refine it further."
"So far, Rasengan has the most destructive power."
"I can't add nature transformation to it—but there's still room for improvement."
He drew two lines extending from the word Rasengan.
One read: Release SpeedThe other: Compression/Output Increase
He then brainstormed ways to integrate it better into actual combat.
He couldn't be like early Naruto—just charging forward with a glowing ball in his hand.