(NSS)Chapter 7: Mito Tokugama (Patreon)

She did too as not more than a day later I met this tutor after coming home from the academy for the day. 

"I'm home!" I called as i walked into the house and took my shoes off to not track dirt in. 

"We are in the dining room!" My mom called back and I set off down the hallway towards the dining room.

Our house wasn't very big in truth as we only had about two thousand square feet of space split between six rooms of medium to small size. Most of our property was actually empty land or beast residence where we kept my chakra beasts since they can't all fit in my room(believe me I tried). They didn't mind though since most of them were used to it by now and the only ones in the house were the smaller sort like my cat and snake.-

I wasn't surprised when I walked around the corner and saw that there was someone new sitting at the table drinking from a jug of sake. It was a woman in a loose set of standard issue ninja garb with short black hair and a long blade sheathed at her waist. Just as I was observing her she was also observing me. 

"Ho! Looks like this gig might not be boring after all." she said with an amused smirk breaking the silence.

"Kenzo Mizuyama." I introduced myself but didn't take my eyes off the woman as I sat down at the table.

"Mito Tokugama, your mom here asked me to teach you chakra flow but you don't seem the sort to use a blade. Care to explain?" Mito asked after introducing herself and explaining why she was here.

"Have you met Ren yet?" I asked not answering her directly.

"I can't say as I have, why?" she asked curiously.

I pointed to the sandy yard outside the open door next to the dining room. "Ren come!" I commanded and the ground began to ripple as Ren unburied itself and marched over to the door.

Mito had her right gripped around the handle of her blade with a serious look when Ren appeared. I ignored that and rubbed ren up on his hard green carapace just behind his eyes where he liked it. It was a spot his feet couldn't reach so he often got sand stuck there that irritated him a bit.

"Awfully dangerous pet you got there kid but considering what clan your dads from can't say as it's all that strange. Whats it got to do with you learning chakra flow though?" Mito asked while relaxing once she was sure that Ren wasn't a threat. That didn't mean she didn't keep a close eye on it though in case it suddenly turned hostile.

"I am trying to copy these with my hands but obviously my hands aren't designed to tear through things the same way which was why I was using chakra to fill the gap. My mom told me that the actual technique I was trying to create already existed in the for of chakra flow which leads us to this point." I explained calmly while holding up Rens pincers that were the size of a dinner platter and razor edged with curved dagger like tips.

"So let me get this straight, you are trying to learn how to use chakra flow to copy your scorpions claws?" Mito asked with an odd expression.

I nodded seriously "I can make my chakra flow along my fingers but I can't figure out how to stop[ it from cutting me as well as whatever I grab. It's quite frustrating." I said like that whole statement wasn't the most insane thing ever.

"Is he serious right now?" Mito asked my mom who nodded helplessly.

"If your mom is half as competent as she seems she has likely told you that chakra flow is designed for blades. What she hasn't told you is probably WHY that is. By it's nature the technique is entirely geared towards destruction and as a result causes damage to whatever it is applied to hence the need for a hard durable material like a metal blade. What you sound like you are attempting to accomplish is instead pointing that destructive force in only a single direction and thus allowing you to safely use it with your bare hands." Mito said seriously.

I nodded "That makes sense, so how do I do that then?" I asked curiously.

"Before that though can you show me how far you have gotten on using chakra flow so I have an idea where to start. Use a kunai." She said not answering my question but since her request made sense I pulled out a kunai and channeled my chakra along it's edge as tightly and sharply as I could.

There was a nearly inaudible humming sound as I did so and Mito's eyes widened in astonishment before she pulled out one of her hairs and tossed it at the kunai where it was split apart on contact.

"Where on earth did you find this little monster Mitami? His chakra flow is even better than mine!" she said in shock.

I frowned "Really? I thought it was supposed to be brighter and louder?" I said confused since that was how my mom described the technique.

"Quite the opposite in truth. When the technique first learnt it is highly visible and loud because the level of chakra and chakra control needed to use it well is extremely high and most learning the technique only have the chakra but not the control to minimize the edge created. At it's highest level the amount of chakra needed is miniscule but the control needed to hold the edge at that small a size is monstrous. This is why true masters of the technique are nearly impossible to notice when they are using it as the edge is nearly microscopic and thus invisible." she explained seriously.

"So I haven't mastered it then? Disappointing." I said unhappily.

"Oi Oi! Don't act like mastering this is supposed to be easy you little brat! It usually takes decades to get where you are for a normal talented samurai. Freakish talent aside you clearly have extremely tight control over your chakra for whatever reason so you should be able to learn the technique that would allow you to create an edge without cutting yourself, chakra layering." she said more than a little irritated.

"Chakra layering? I am not familiar with this term, explain." I said curious.

"It's not surprising you haven't heard of it. Chakra layering is an advanced for of chakra manipulation that involves separating the chakra used in a technique in different layers. Most extremely high end jutsu's use it when molding the chakra internally which is why the number of hand signs need for them tends to get rather ridiculous if you don't know how to layer your chakra manually." she said seriously.

She then held out her hand and the familiar glow of blue chakra manifested above her palm. To my astonishment however it began to form a swirl yet if you looked closer the chakra underneath the swirl was completely still. Mito was sweating heavily while focused on her palm entirely before retracting her chakra and panting in exhaustion.