"Remember, the first step is rotation. The second is power. The third—fixation, maintenance, and enhancement!"
That was Shigure's personal summary.
Naruto, of course, was utterly confused. But even if Shigure couldn't fully explain it, the demonstration made things much clearer. Naruto now had a solid idea of what he was supposed to do.
As for the balloons and rubber balls needed for practice, Naruto went off to get those on his own.
Meanwhile, Shigure continued honing his chakra control.
Yesterday, he had managed to stretch his chakra thread to twenty meters. Today's goal? Keep it highly condensed, maintain its thickness, and push the length to thirty-five meters!
That was his task for the morning—and from the looks of it, he could finish before lunch.
By the time Naruto returned, arms full of training materials, it was already midday.
And just then, Shigure completed his final round of chakra extension.
"While maintaining high-density chakra, I've managed to stretch it to thirty-seven meters."
A satisfied smile tugged at Shigure's lips.
"Great Sage, are we good now?"
[Great Sage: Chakra control level has reached and exceeded projected expectations. Calculation time has been shortened.]
So his progress was ahead of schedule. That was always nice to hear.
"Should I keep going, then?"
[Great Sage: No further enhancement necessary. Chakra control has surpassed necessary parameters. Additional training will yield diminishing returns.]
Alright then—no need to waste time grinding stats that were already maxed out.
"Shigure! Lunchtime!"
Naruto had returned—again—with a pot, matches, and several packs of instant noodles.
"I brought some cup noodles. Pick your flavor!"
"…Huh."
Shigure turned around to see Naruto eagerly setting up his makeshift stove. It looked like he was ready to camp out.
But hey, instant noodles weren't a bad idea.
After a quick meal, Shigure had to admit—Naruto's noodles actually tasted better than expected. Clearly, he had a lot of experience cooking them.
"Shigure, earlier I saw you using chakra to make those silk threads. What was that about?"
"Chakra control training."
"Chakra control? What's the point of training that?"
Shigure chuckled. "The better your chakra control, the more powerful and efficient your ninjutsu becomes—across the board."
"Seriously?! Then once I master the Rasengan, I'll give it a shot too!"
"Chakra control is a fundamental skill every shinobi needs to master."
With his chakra control training complete, Shigure had cleared the first step in preparing for bloodline fusion.
Next up: nature transformation.
He needed to raise the power of two kekkei genkai—Boiling Release and Ice Release—to meet fusion requirements.
Ice Release wasn't too far behind. Shigure had already placed two Ice Release techniques on his skill bar, which meant nature transformation training was progressing steadily.
If he focused now on boosting Boiling Release, Ice Release would likely catch up passively in the meantime.
So for now, he simply needed to assign Boiling Release to his skill bar and let passive growth do the work. At this rate, it should only take a few more days.
If Shigure actively trained, he might be able to complete it in just a day.
There was no need to waste another two.
Besides, mastering Boiling Release doesn't only depend on developing its elemental nature. Practicing actual Boiling Release ninjutsu could also help deepen his control over the element itself.
Right now, Shigure only had one Boiling Release jutsu under his belt—Boiling Release: Peerless Power!
It was incredibly powerful, no doubt. But opportunities to use such a technique were limited.
It worked well as a finishing move, but Boiling Release deserved more versatility.
Since he was already working on mastering the element, why not try developing several new Boiling Release techniques? That way, he could train both application and elemental control at the same time. Two birds, one kunai.
Boiling Release, a kekkei genkai, possessed two primary traits: heat and corrosiveness.
Heat caused the chakra to reach a boiling point, greatly amplifying its destructive power.
As for the corrosive aspect—Shigure thought it was worth exploring as well.
In the original timeline, Mei Terumi had used the Boiling Mist Technique to melt Sasuke's Susanoo.
That kind of corrosive power? Terrifying.
But…
Techniques like the Boiling Mist Jutsu had serious drawbacks.
First, they required an enclosed space—otherwise, the corrosive mist wouldn't affect the enemy efficiently.
Second, the mist spread slowly. In a large chamber, it would take time before the fog could fill the area and deal any real damage.
And even then, the corrosive effects didn't activate instantly.
To Shigure, it just wasn't good enough.
"Great Sage, what do you think about integrating Boiling Release into the Rasengan?"
Shigure glanced at Naruto, who was struggling to pop the water balloon, then asked the Great Sage in his mind.
[Great Sage: Theoretically feasible. However, if the host wishes to use Boiling Release's corrosive properties for direct damage, there are complications. The explosive gas produced by a Boiling-infused Rasengan could also harm the host.]
"Even if it's my chakra? I can't avoid it?"
[Great Sage: While the corrosiveness could be resisted, the shockwave from the high-temperature burst would still affect the host. And if the Rasengan is thrown from a distance, the chance of a direct hit drops significantly.]
So that's how it is. That makes Boiling Release a poor match for the Rasengan.
[Great Sage: Analysis suggests that the most optimal way for the host to utilize Boiling Release is to channel it through a weapon.]
A weapon?
Shigure looked down at the ninja sword Zangetsu strapped to his waist and drew it.
"But… how do I channel it into this?"
Even if Zangetsu was forged from special materials, could it really endure prolonged exposure to boiling corrosion?
What if the enemy survived, but his own blade didn't?
[Great Sage: With the host's current chakra control, it's possible to wrap the blade in a dual layer of chakra—high-density chakra on the inside and regular chakra on the outside. The outer chakra layer can be converted into Boiling Release, granting the blade both high heat and corrosiveness.]
[Combined with the host's swordsmanship, this would drastically enhance lethality.]
That could work…
But Shigure thought it might be possible to take it even further. What if the inner high-density chakra was also Boiling Release—but only altered for extreme heat—while the outer layer was converted for corrosiveness?
Wouldn't that be even more devastating?
[Great Sage: Analyzing.]
[Analysis in progress…]
[Estimated feasibility: 80%.]
"Alright then. Let's try developing this technique!"
[Calculating…]
[10%...]
[20%...]
...
TN:
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