From high above, the layout of Konohagakure reveals itself as a fan-shaped village. It leans against the towering and majestic faces of the previous Hokage carved into the mountain, with the Hokage Residence at its center, surrounded and gradually expanding into the rest of the village.
The morning breeze carried a slight damp chill, but many shops within the village had already begun to open for business. Some shinobi and villagers who had just returned from missions or overnight duties were slowly appearing on the streets.
Atop the Hokage Residence stood an elderly man, somewhat frail in build, clad in a white cloak and a white kasa hat marked with the kanji for "Fire" (火). He stood beside the railing, quietly gazing over the lively village below.
Hiruzen Sarutobi brought his pipe to his mouth and took a slow drag. As he exhaled a wisp of smoke, he chuckled softly to himself, his gaze gentle—as though watching over his own child.
"They've arrived," he said suddenly, without turning around. A moment later, he slowly pivoted, revealing a middle-aged shinobi with a scruffy beard and a half-smoked cigarette dangling from the corner of his mouth. The man looked slightly unkempt.
"Old man," Asuma Sarutobi greeted with a yawn, clearly a bit disoriented. "You called me here this early—what's going on?"
"You've already heard of Team 10's punishment," Hiruzen said after a moment of silence.
Asuma looked at his father, puzzled. The order had come directly from Hiruzen himself. To bring it up again now seemed a bit strange.
Still, although Hiruzen was aging, Asuma didn't believe his father had become senile. So he responded, "Shikamaru already turned in the Executioner's Blade. Why are you bringing this up again?"
Hiruzen chuckled at the response and suddenly reached into his robes, pulling out a wooden box, which he then tossed to Asuma.
The box traced a graceful arc through the air and landed squarely in Asuma's hands.
"This is...?" Asuma weighed the box in his hands. It wasn't light. He didn't open it but looked questioningly at Hiruzen.
"The laws of Konoha cannot be broken for a few individuals," Hiruzen said, his expression calm. "Team 10 violated shinobi regulations during the mission in the Land of Waves. Punishment was appropriate."
Asuma's face grew slightly awkward at his father's words.
"But on a personal level..." Hiruzen continued, "Shikamaru, though still a genin, helped you defeat one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist—Zabuza Momochi. As his sensei, you should reward him."
He gestured with his pipe toward the box in Asuma's hands. "You mentioned before that Shikamaru wanted chakra metal to forge a weapon. That box contains chakra metal. Give it to him—as a personal gift."
"Punishment when there's fault, reward when there's merit. That's what makes a worthy superior," the Third Hokage said with a sigh. "Also, tell Shikamaru what I just said. He's still young, and I worry he might hold resentment against the higher-ups if this isn't handled properly."
"Shikamaru's mature. I doubt he would," Asuma replied, shaking his head.
"Good." Hiruzen nodded, accepting his son's judgment and saying no more. "Also, if you have time, go see Konohamaru. Help him with his training. After all, you're his uncle."
The essence of medical ninjutsu lies in utilizing the "Yang" aspect of chakra—the physical energy.
Inside a lab at Konoha's Medical Department, Chiba Gen, clad in a white coat, was instructing Shikamaru, who wore the same attire.
"When it comes to improving chakra control, nothing works better than learning and using medical ninjutsu," Gen said, adjusting his glasses. "Besides, it might come in handy for you someday."
"Chakra is composed of Yin and Yang, like two magnets attracting each other," Gen continued, offering a metaphor. "Medical ninjutsu draws on the Yang component. To learn it, you must find a way to separate those two magnets."
"Why separate them?" Shikamaru asked, frowning. "Because it uses more chakra that way?"
"You're partially correct," Gen replied. "Every person's chakra is unique. Many sensory ninja can identify someone just by their chakra signature. Physical energy is nearly identical across people—it's drawn from the 130 trillion cells in the human body. But mental energy is shaped by a ninja's experiences and beliefs, refined through their will. That's why, unless you isolate the physical energy from the mental, your chakra may clash with the patient's body, reducing the efficacy of medical ninjutsu."
"To make the Yang magnetic force align with the patient's Yin," Shikamaru mused aloud, nodding in understanding. "If you don't separate your own Yin, it'll repel the other person's."
"Exactly," Gen said with a hint of surprise, then added, "But you can never completely separate them."
"To control chakra, you must use mental energy. The same goes for separating physical energy," Gen said, frowning slightly as he elaborated. "After all, the human mind can't be entirely detached from the body. Spirit and flesh are deeply intertwined at a fundamental level."
"Only the Sage of the Six Paths could fully separate Yin and Yang chakra," Shikamaru thought to himself, "maybe his descendants, too."
The Nara clan's secret techniques are built upon the Yin aspect of chakra. Take the Shadow Imitation Technique, for instance. Chakra emerges camouflaged by one's shadow and extends from beneath the user's feet. To control the target, it must reach the target's feet—not just their shadow. If the opponent is standing on an elevated surface, the technique must climb to that height to take effect. (See Note 1)
Advanced techniques like Shadow Strangle and Shadow Sewing are just evolutions based on the same principles. They don't truly strip the mental energy from chakra.
Note 1: In the original manga, when Shikamaru fought Tayuya, he had to make his shadow "climb" up a tree to reach her feet before the technique could work.
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