Although these strange gloves were a bit unusual, after trying them on a few times, they actually turned out pretty good. Except for slightly poor breathability and possible discomfort if worn too long, no other drawbacks were noticeable. Such minor shortcomings were truly negligible for a ninja.
"How does it feel?" Tsubaki watched Mizuki testing the gloves with hopeful eyes.
"Not bad at all. No issues whatsoever." For a taijutsu practitioner, half-finger knuckle guards might be more suitable. However, Mizuki didn't belong to that type. Ninja tools with excellent chakra conduction properties suited him best.
"Hey, you still haven't told me what these are made of? The material feels great. Must've cost quite a fortune?"
"As long as you're satisfied, I'm happy. Actually, it wasn't that expensive since most materials were self-sourced."
"Self-sourced?" Mizuki asked curiously, "When did we start having such weird stuff lying around here? Where exactly did you get this odd stuff?"
Tsubaki smiled without answering immediately, then pulled out a huge weapon.
"Huh? Isn't this my trophy?"
What she took out was Hidan's Bloodstained Triple-Bladed Scythe. This weapon was truly exceptional. Withstanding Mizuki's punch strong enough to knock down tailed beasts with minimal damage wasn't something ordinary weapons could achieve.
Such special material weapons were extremely difficult to obtain. Besides paying top dollar to commission renowned craftsmen, there were very few ways to acquire them. Take Land of Waves as an example—Kakashi Hatake killed Zabuza Momochi but didn't bring back her Cleaver Sword. Besides political considerations like avoiding criticism from Kiri, an important reason was simply that others found it hard to use.
Weapons possessing tremendous power and special significance often had restrictions like Summoning Techniques, Sealing Techniques through contracts. Once their inheritors were identified, some weapons could even automatically activate summoning or sealing techniques to return forcibly. Therefore, sometimes these immensely powerful weapons served only as display trophies with little practical value.
Therefore, Mizuki didn't turn in the Bloodstained Triple-Bladed Scythe, and no one raised any objections either. After all, he'd won it through his own strength in battle. Besides, not many people were interested in claiming it anyway. As for those enchantments Hidan added to his Bloodstained Triple-Bladed Scythe—those summoning and sealing techniques—do you really think something like that could stop Mizuki?
"Tsubaki, how exactly did you manage this?"
Mizuki looked strangely at Hidan's favored weapon—the Bloodstained Triple-Bladed Scythe—which now became a Bloodstained Double-Bladed Scythe. The bottom blade was completely cut off from its base.
The weapon's toughness went without saying. Even using Sage Mode, Mizuki needed considerable effort to bend it. Yet here it was, missing a huge chunk.
"This..." Tsubaki replied somewhat awkwardly, "You said this weapon itself was decent, just inconvenient to use and hard to modify. So I decided to give it a shot..."
"A shot? How exactly?"
"That's it."
As he spoke, Tsubaki pressed his hands together and slowly pulled them apart. A swirling sphere of pale blue chakra formed between his palms, crackling with tiny arcs of lightning as he manipulated it.
"Oh, that's what you meant."
Mizuki immediately understood upon seeing the chakra. The combination of wind and lightning nature transformations created astonishingly powerful energy—an alarming level of destructive potential. In terms of sheer strength, Mizuki was undoubtedly stronger in Sage Mode, but when facing a powerful jutsu like this—one Tsubaki couldn't even touch directly—the practical advantage went to Tsubaki.
"I just wanted to test if this weapon really was as unmanageable as people said," Tsubaki continued, seeming slightly embarrassed about having turned one of Mizuki's prized items into a defective piece just days after acquiring it.
"So that's why you made these gloves?"
"Yeah, I took some scrap metal pieces and had someone help me forge them."
"Just scraps?" Mizuki raised an eyebrow, though he decided not to press the issue—after all, an entire blade had already vanished.
"This kind of recycling isn't bad, but there must be more to it. A little bit of chakra-reactive metal alone shouldn't make something this strong, right?"
"Some parts also came from your trophies—the broken puppet fragments you brought back from last time."
"Puppets?" Mizuki blinked, then quickly realized what Tsubaki meant—the shattered remains of battle-worn puppets. Red Sand of the Desert was among the greatest Puppet Masters and unquestionably a masterful weapons artisan. The materials used in his precious puppets were invaluable beyond measure. Surviving both intense combat and Mizuki's fire release techniques in Sage Mode proved their rarity and quality. Mizuki had collected quite a few of these remnants during his spare time, always hoping to find some future use for them. He never expected Tsubaki to get first use of them.
"Well, at least they're being put to good use. But tell me, Tsubaki—who crafted these? Whoever did has great skill. If I need anything else worked on next time, I should give them a shot too."
"There aren't that many famous weapon shops in Konoha," Tsubaki said. "This time, I visited one you know—the family shop of your old Ninja Academy classmate, Tenten. Their craftsmen are really skilled."
"That place," Mizuki nodded thoughtfully. It wasn't unfamiliar to him. While he rarely needed heavy supplies of ninja tools or engaged in large-scale melee combat—which meant replacements weren't frequent—he'd occasionally dropped by out of curiosity and had seen Tenten watching the shop more than once.
"As long as you're satisfied," Tsubaki smiled appreciatively, then impulsively dismantled the weapon. Fortunately, the material quality was decent enough to repurpose the leftover chakra-reactive metal into other things, resulting in minimal waste.
Mizuki examined the now damaged scythe and tested the snug fit of the glove against his palm.
"Not bad at all… though it's a shame—it used to be such a flashy weapon. Now it looks like some hideous monster. Can't really flaunt that around anymore. Guess I'll have to start from scratch later. What should I remake it into…?"
"Putting aside these trivial matters for now," Mizuki said to Tsubaki, "I'm quite satisfied with this gift. Good job. However, next time don't worry too much about such insignificant things."
"Okay." Tsubaki nodded happily.
"Then that's settled," Mizuki continued. "Now let me see that jutsu you just performed. How far have you developed it?"
It was an unprecedented fusion of two distinct chakra natures—completely unknown to Mizuki. With no references to rely on, Mizuki wouldn't risk reckless experimentation—especially not by testing such a novel technique on Tsubaki's body, which was especially dangerous. Even ordinary ninja tools couldn't withstand its effects for long, clearly showing how hazardous it was. [Rasengan Shuriken] nearly crippled Naruto's arm—the unexpected power of that technique was clearly far from harmless.
Tsubaki once again stretched out both hands, demonstrating this strange mixed-natured jutsu before Mizuki.
Unlike over two months ago, this time the performance wasn't as flashy and wild—it was under much better control.
"Still not much progress in practicing the Breath-Sealing Art? Logically speaking, since you're already familiar with sealing techniques, why is it so difficult?"
"Not much progress yet. Performing such fine manipulation at the cellular level is extremely hard."
"But then why do you handle this particular jutsu so well?"
Looking at the pale blue chakra sphere rapidly rotating between Tsubaki's palms, thin filaments of dazzling electricity streamed outward from its core. They danced across the surface like razor-sharp electric blades—controlled precisely by Tsubaki.
"I always feel controlling it directly is quite simple, but when it comes to chakra flowing inside my body, it simply won't obey me."
Well, everyone has their own strengths—Mizuki finally grasped the true meaning behind that saying. Tsubaki possessed an enviable talent for chakra nature transformation techniques but struggled greatly with internal chakra flow and control. After numerous attempts, even the most fundamental Breath-Sealing Art still lacked practical utility.
"Have you noticed any changes happening to your body?"
"No, except I feel pretty tired if I use it for extended periods."
By conventional standards, Tsubaki could even be seen as having an unknown Kekkei Genkai. But whether there were any potential dangers involved was still unclear.
"Has any conclusion come out from comparing results with your shadow clones?"
"Hmm, no findings yet."
The artificial Jinchuriki fiancée Chiharu Tsubaki was created before the completion of the Wind and Lightning mixed-natured jutsu—if there had been any bloodline transformations, they should've already been detected.
"Just that…" Tsubaki hesitated, as if recalling something.
"What is it?"
"Speaking of this, recently one of the test subjects has been making me feel uneasy. Mizuki, you're certain that person is truly dead?"
"Of course, that guy is definitely dead. What's wrong?" Upon hearing it was a White Zetsu duplicate, Mizuki couldn't help but ask with concern, "You did use the cell-stimulating pills, right?"
"I did, Mizuki. But... the cells from a body that's been dead for quite some time still held onto such powerful chakra. Mizuki, be honest—just who exactly is your enemy? Wait, no... I should be asking what kind of being this enemy even is?"
"I don't know either. Look, Tsubaki, this is our home. I will protect the village."
...
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