When we left for training the next day, Jiraiya had led us out past the terraces and down into a quieter bay near the eastern edge of the island, where the surrounding horseshoe-shaped rocks had blocked out the wind and herded the ocean into a single focal point, washing the rocky beach. It was pretty early when we got there, barely past dawn, with a heavy mist covering the land, right up to our knees.

  "This will do," he said, dropping his pack beside a big rock stuck in the rough sand, "We won't be disturbed here, and we also won't cause trouble for the Uzumakis."

  Minato and I exchanged a glance, a bit unsure what he meant by causing trouble... we are here to train, not to... I don't know, blow up something of theirs... are we?

  "We're not fighting anything?" I asked, looking around, "Some beast this time and not people perhaps?"

  "The only thing you are going to fight against today," Jiraiya replied, looking at me. "Is going to be against yourselves."

  Like shadow-clone style or... is this a metaphor? But before I could ask, he reached into his sleeve and pulled out two small rectangular slips of paper. Of course, they looked ordinary, very thin, with an off-white color...

  "What's that?" Minato asked, but I already knew before Jiraiya-sense answered, because I remembered it from the show.

  "Chakra paper," he stated, watching us. "It was developed a long time ago to test elemental affinity, and before we develop anything further, we will have to see what you are born with. It will help you set your path, instead of fumbling around blindly." With that, he handed one to Minato and one to me. "Channel a small amount of chakra into it," he instructed us, crossing his arms. "And try to do it evenly. Don't flood it like you try to make the biggest fireball, just feed it a bit."

  Minato looked down at it immediately, holding the paper between his fingers as he began preparing himself to gently infuse his chakra into it, while I was simply watching him. Aaaand... Nothing. Then our eyes met, and apparently, he was waiting for me to do it, just as curious, not wanting to be the first to go through with it. Hah! With a smile, I decided to go for it, so I let my chakra rise from my body, guided it down my arm into my fingers, and from there onto the paper.

  At first, nothing happened, but a second later, the center of the paper darkened and a faint loop of smoke rose from the edges. Then, the moment I increased it, suddenly, the sheet blackened and burned from the middle outward, going up in flames with a wooshing sound.

  "Fire," Jiraiya said simply, "As expected."

  Across from me, Minato's paper fluttered just then, as it split apart, cleanly, with a vertical tear down its center.

  "Wind," Jiraiya nodded, "Also, just as expected."

  "Wind release…" Minato muttered, blinking his eyes, then glancing at me, "We are indeed a good combination, Renji."

  "You could say that." I grinned, but before we could continue, Sensei interrupted us.

  "Boys, elemental affinity isn't just a decoration to your jutsus," he explained in a serious tone, "Because it's the nature of your chakra, the affinity that your body prefers, it's also the foundation of your futures. You can't go against it, and you must use it when advancing... Otherwise, you will simply fall away to the wayside and become nothing. Don't take this as a game."

  "What type do you have, Sensei?" I asked out of curiosity because I don't remember whether it was ever mentioned... probably was there in a wiki or something, somewhere in an appendix...

  "Fire." Jiraiya answered, and then added with a smile, "And earth."

  "One can have multiple?" Minato asked, a bit surprised.

  "One can develop them with time, yes," Sensei snapped his fingers, and a small spark left his fingertips, "But if you don't have the inherent connection to the element... It may never work out. That is why this test is important; it shows the main affinity you must develop. It will be your strongest tool for the future. No one is limited to one element," he added, "but your primary affinity determines what will feel natural and what you may develop as your secondary."

  "I'm fine with working only on one for now," I shrugged, elbowing Minato, knowing where his thoughts were going at the moment, and quickly began pulling him back to the present. "Don't try to eat the whole chicken at once."

  "I'm not..." He grumbled, rolling his eyes.

  "Now comes the boring part." Jiraiya chuckled, looking at us, "Because you will have to gain control over it." And with that, he pulled out from nowhere a stack of leaves, handing it over to Minato and me.

  "For wind users, the first step is simple in concept. Infuse your chakra into a leaf… and try to cut it. That's all!" Of course, Minato picked one up immediately, holding it between two fingers, but before he could do anything, Sensei raised a finger warningly, "Not with brute force," he added. "Wind chakra is about refined precision. Try thinning your chakra and making it sharper. You have to cut it, just like how it affected the paper. If it tears just because of the amount you push through, it doesn't count."

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  Listening intently, Minato nodded his head before he closed his eyes. Then, instead of pinching it, he placed the leaf on his palm, making sure he wasn't making any mistakes... and began channeling chakra into it. At first, nothing... It was expected, somewhat, but then, the leaf trembled slightly and... it split, not completely, but it did. However, it wasn't a clean cut; it was very jagged and uneven, making Minato frown as he looked at it.

  "Too much," Jiraiya said, being encouraging with his tone, "You forced it, but having a result this fast is already a good sign."

  "I'll try again," Minato adjusted himself immediately, reducing his chakra output with the next one. This time, the leaf quivered… then got a tear at its edge, with a much cleaner line, but barely cutting into it. "…I see."

  Of course you do, I chortled, rolling my eyes, and seeing that Minato was getting the hang of it, Jiraiya turned towards me.

  "For you, it's about controlling the ignition and then the intensity of the fire; otherwise, it will just burn everything."

  "Isn't that the whole reason behind it?" I asked, while he placed a thicker leaf in my hand.

  "No, it isn't." He said, looking into my eyes, "If you can't make it work, all your jutsus will simply drain you without a chance to stay standing in a prolonged battle. So, your task is to NOT burn it completely. Infuse it and singe only the edges."

  "That sounds... annoying," I muttered, realizing it won't be easy indeed.

  "Of course it is." He chuckled, crossing his arms and watching me.

  Taking a deep breath, I exhaled slowly. Let's see... I don't think regular fire and chakra-made fire are the same, but I still tried to think through everything I knew about how fire works. At the same time, I let the chakra gather in my palm, causing the leaf to smoke instantly. Damn it, already too much as it curled up and then disintegrated. There wasn't even really any fire, just a sweep of heat, and the leaf was gone.

  "Subtlety," Jiraiya said dryly, "Try to empty your senses and focus on the heat, to be able to control it properly. Fire jutsus are not only about burning your opponents down; they also have many other uses. What if you want to protect yourself with it? You don't want to burn yourself, no? Or you will end up summoning a jutsu and then proceed on fighting butt naked!"

  "Yes, Sensei, that would not be... ideal." I nodded and took a deep breath before I tried again.

  This time, I suppressed the flare that wanted to burst out again by doing my best to control my flow. Deciding to use my brain rather than just force it, I began imagining my chakra as oil. I let it spread across the surface of the leaf, without trying to make it 'catch on fire,' and... apparently it was working. The leaf darkened as I did that, while the edges glowed faintly red... but then woosh! All of it went up in flames the moment I lost my focus.

  "Better," Jiraiya nodded, smiling at me, "You two will do just fine. Don't rush it, and you will get the hang of it. You already made more progress than most of the shinobi I knew while growing up. Elemental training is about transforming chakra before its release," he explained with patience. "Most shinobi never fully master the transformation stage, yet look at what you are doing already. The average shinobi simply just memorizes hand seals and brute-forces the rest. As you were taught in the Academy, hand-seals are a crutch. The better you are, the less you will use, and this is mainly because you can also master your elements. By the time you will be my age, you won't even need hand seals to release jutsus of your nature!"

  "So... we are just going to do this until we succeed?" I asked, looking at him, watching him slowly nod while sitting down on the rock he threw his bag down at.

  "Yes!" He stretched, pulling out a bottle and a small cup, putting them down next to him, before reaching for a notebook and a pencil. "Go on, I never said you can stop!"

  "Well," I glanced at Minato, as we both just shrugged with a smile, "It is training..."

  ...

  ....

  ......

  Turns out, doing the same thing, over and over again, stops being fun after the fifteenth leaf. The mist had lifted by the time we were deep into it, and the sun had climbed high enough to chase away the morning chill... not that any of that actually mattered. By now, Minato sat cross-legged amidst a small pile of halved leaves at his side, but neither of them was good enough to count as good enough to stop.

  "Reduce it further," Jiraiya called lazily from his rock from time to time, not even looking up from his notebook, probably writing one of his stories.

  "It won't cut if I thin my chakra more than it already is."

  "It will," Jiraiya replied, "That is the whole reason for this training. If you think you can't do it, then give up."

  While he was struggling in his own way, my twentieth leaf had just turned to ash.

  "That was close," Jiraiya said, clearly talking to me. "Almost got it."

  "I know!" I snapped back, wiping soot off my fingers, grumbling, because I felt it... I almost did it! Before Minato... Okay, calm down. I can do this! "But close is not what I need, isn't it?" I chuckled, shaking my head to regain my focus.

  "Exactly."

  Damn it, fire wasn't built to be subtly lit, so it felt like I was going against nature's own desire to burn things down.

  But then again, all I knew about fire from my old life flashed through my mind, and I let my imagination run with it, incorporating it into this world's chakra system. Well, at least that was what I was trying to do. I had to look at chakra as the fuel to the fire, so I had to also think about how the fire could burn, spread, or act. Not to mention, what about 'fire' that is created through fusion? Like... the sun? Can I... do that? Well, the answer was that the leaf in my hand burned up in a blazing flash.

  "If your chakra spikes too fast, the reaction spikes too fast," Jiraiya said without looking at me.

  Yeah, I get that... but whoa... I looked at my hand because I felt the reaction of my chakra was immense just a moment ago, as I began imagining how fusion worked, to my knowledge... Huh... It also told me that the problem wasn't the output but my acceleration method for transforming my chakra. So, I tried again...

  "Finally...!" I let out a breath because this time around, I pinched the leaf with two fingers while its edges were smoking, but it didn't turn to ash yet!

  As for Minato, he was also grinning, with a perfectly split leaf. Apparently, we did it at the same time... tsk, I almost got you!

  "I'll be damned..." Jiraiya murmured, putting away his notebook, "It's not even lunchtime, and you both did it..." He stood up, looking over us, being deadly serious, "Well... I didn't expect it but... Okay. We will move to the second phase then... To teach you the proper nature release."