My Techniques are a bit off

As everyone knows, ninjutsu is categorized into six levels based on learning difficulty.

S-rank: Secret and forbidden techniques—rarely accessible to ordinary shinobi.

A-rank: Extremely high-difficulty ninjutsu—similarly out of reach for most.

B-rank: Jonin-level difficulty.

C-rank: Chunin-level difficulty.

D-rank: Genin-level difficulty.

E-rank: Academy-level techniques.

There's also a separate category for Kekkei Genkai and unique clan techniques, which don't fall into these ranks due to their specific learning requirements.

In general, the higher the difficulty level, the greater the chakra consumption and the more demanding the physical and technical requirements. Both chakra nature transformation and shape manipulation become stricter as the difficulty increases.

The Earth Release: Hiding like a Mole Technique, a C-rank earth-style jutsu, is one of the least chakra-intensive techniques at its level.

Still, it consumes more chakra than the D-rank Earth Release: Headhunter Jutsu and is slightly harder to master.

"Good thing my jutsu always end up being a bit different from the originals…" Link thought, relieved as he meticulously studied the Earth Release: Hiding like a Mole Technique scroll.

To his surprise, a significant portion of the instructions detailed the best digging postures, which was… a little disheartening.

With his level of chakra control, learning a chunin-level jutsu wasn't an issue. Medical ninjutsu, for example, requires jonin-level chakra control, and even the respected Medic Nin Mokusa once mentioned that, with enough chakra, Link could qualify as a medical ninja.

After carefully reviewing the scroll, Link felt confident he had fully grasped the technique. He moved to an open field, focused his chakra, performed the seals, and activated the jutsu—

As expected, just like with his other jutsu, the chakra for the standard Hiding like a Mole Technique vanished before leaving his body.

The ground trembled slightly. Then, countless sandy-yellow particles rose from the earth, quickly converging in midair. The particles coalesced into a translucent, winged creature with defined scales and a stony texture. Its bright yellow eyes gradually flickered with life.

"Why does this… look so familiar?"

It suddenly hit him—this thing resembled the Dragon monster from a video game in his previous life!

Hiding like a Mole Technique = Mountain Drake?

While Link stood there stunned, a small consciousness seeped into his mind. The creature exuded a vague sense of affection.

The dragon, about the size of a crow, flapped its stone-like wings and perched on his shoulder.

"Invisible, flying, capable of spitting stone projectiles—it's pretty powerful as a summon, but does it have to be so tiny?"

As Link processed the creature's abilities, he reached out and patted its head. Its coarse, stony surface felt strangely satisfying. Though it was an ugly monster in the game, its shrunken form had a quirky, endearing charm.

"Looks like, similar to my Transformation Jutsu, I'll need more chakra to increase its size and power…"

After about thirty seconds, the small dragon flapped its wings one last time and disintegrated into dust, scattering across his vest.

"My brand-new vest!"

Link lamented, carefully brushing the dust off. Konoha-issued vests were free the first time but required payment for replacements. He didn't want it getting ruined before even entering a battle.

Returning to his thoughts, Link evaluated the jutsu:

1. Chakra Consumption: A single standard unit of the Hiding like a Mole Technique drained about 10% of his chakra. It was the most chakra-intensive technique he'd learned so far—significantly more than even the Headhunter Jutsu.

2. Practical Utility: Unlike his Substitution Jutsu, this technique created a stable, multifunctional summon. Its invisibility and flight gave it incredible strategic potential in battles, making it worth further development.

3. Scalability: If increasing the chakra input could expand the summon's size and power, he might someday ride a massive dragon into combat. That would easily give him an overwhelming advantage against most enemies.

Despite these exciting prospects, Link noticed the earthy residue on his vest and sighed.

"Should I just go home, change clothes, and wash this vest before heading out for barbecue?"

After some thought, he decided to finish testing the jutsu first.

This time, he channeled about 20% of his chakra—double the previous amount—and activated the technique.

The effects were similar: earthy particles rose and formed a dragon. But this time, the creature was the size of a large dog.

"That's more like it!"

The additional chakra produced notable results. The larger size suggested the jutsu scaled efficiently with chakra input. However, the creature's appearance was less "cute" now—its features were more rugged and beastly.

A hint of displeasure flowed through their shared link, as if the dragon didn't appreciate its new form.

"Wait… it has self-awareness?"

Link was stunned. The dragon clearly had its own consciousness, albeit a basic one.

Was it the same entity as the smaller dragon he'd summoned earlier?

The dragon affirmed this through their shared mental connection.

"This little guy is smarter than I expected…"

Link smiled as he touched its rough, stony body. A flying, invisible summon with a certain level of intelligence could have immense potential, especially for gathering intelligence.

Duration Issues

The summon's existence seemed limited by his chakra reserves. However, the dragon conveyed that as long as he provided a steady stream of chakra, it could persist indefinitely.

Testing this, Link placed a hand on the creature and funneled more chakra into it. After consuming another standard unit's worth, the dragon seemed stable, but he was left with less than half of his reserves.

The resulting physical fatigue and soreness reminded him of the toll chakra usage had on his body.

"Next, I'll test its capabilities…"