Chapter 131: B-Rank Jutsu
As usual, the trio treated the journey as a competition.
Kaito followed closely behind Renjiro. A few seconds later, Mieko and Hodaka arrived as well.
Renjiro looked at his students and said,
"Congratulations on becoming chunin so quickly. Very few people achieve chunin rank in less than a year after graduating from the Academy. As the Hokage mentioned, this means our squad is being disbanded."
He smiled warmly and continued,
"I'm proud to have students like you."
The three bowed respectfully and said in unison,
"Thank you, Sensei, for your careful guidance!"
The training under him over recent months had been incredibly valuable! They'd made tremendous progress!
Renjiro continued,
"However, we'll still do one final mission together. I'm going to take you on an A-rank mission."
This made them excited. Mieko asked eagerly,
"Really, Sensei?"
Generally speaking, it was rare for a chunin to participate in an A-rank mission. Only when the leading jonin specifically requested it would a chunin have the opportunity.
Renjiro nodded.
"The mission will be after your training with the Hokage. Focus on that first. Also, you must continue training hard in the future. I believe that with dedication, all three of you can become elite jonin."
The students promised to train diligently. Eventually the group dispersed.
Mieko and Hodaka headed home, while Kaito walked toward the jutsu library. He wondered,
I wonder what B-rank Wind Release techniques are available. I remember Danzo's Wind Release: Vacuum techniques were all B-rank, so will they be there too?
Kaito entered the B-section of the library and immediately searched for Wind Release jutsu. After reviewing all available techniques, he sighed in disappointment.
Damn, nothing like the Vacuum techniques. Not even Kakuzu's Wind Release: Pressure Damage. However, there is Wind Release: Infinite Breakthrough, which should have a similar effect and looks easy to learn.
Besides that, the worst part is there are only four B-rank Wind Release techniques here: Wind Release: Blade of Wind, Wind Release: Spiraling Wind Ball, Wind Release: Gale Palm, and Wind Release: Infinite Breakthrough.
Among them, Gale Palm seems less useful for my style. Wind Release: Blade of Wind looks like an advanced version of my wind blade technique. However, its effect is much weaker than my actual sword. But I should still learn it since it's straightforward.
Only Wind Release: Spiraling Wind Ball and Infinite Breakthrough are solid additions to my arsenal.
He sighed again and continued searching through jutsu of other natures. Unfortunately, he didn't find anything particularly impactful.
He memorized the hand seals for Blade of Wind, Infinite Breakthrough, and Spiraling Wind Ball.
He left a shadow clone to continue studying the remaining techniques in depth, then Body Flickered away.
He appeared at the Hokage Tower and entered a room on the ground floor. A genin was sitting at the desk. Kaito asked,
"Are there any training grounds available right now?"
The genin on duty nodded and asked,
"What type of training are you planning?"
Kaito replied,
"Wind Release techniques."
The genin checked the schedule and said,
"You can use Training Ground 23. How long do you need it?"
Kaito replied,
"Until nine this evening."
The genin recorded the information in his logbook and said,
"Alright, I've reserved the training ground for you. The fee is two thousand four hundred ryo. Also, please don't start any forest fires."
Kaito nodded and paid the fee.
He checked the map posted in the room, found the location of Training Ground 23, and left.
Training Ground 23 was located in the southwest sector of Konoha, quite far from the residential areas.
Upon arriving, Kaito found that the trees here were very tall and extremely thick. He looked around thoughtfully.
I don't think ordinary Wind Release techniques could uproot these trees. But pressurized and enhanced ones should be able to damage them significantly.
Kaito extended his sensory field to ensure no one was monitoring him. He didn't detect anyone nearby.
He formed hand seals and used Wind Release: Infinite Breakthrough.
He exhaled a powerful gust of wind. Immediately, a small localized storm formed on the training ground. After several minutes, it gradually dissipated.
Kaito analyzed the results.
Not bad. Unlike Great Breakthrough, which focuses purely on creating strong winds in one direction, Infinite Breakthrough creates an actual storm system. According to the scroll, if used in desert conditions, it could cause a sandstorm, especially with a powerful user. Similarly, on water, it has the potential to create a small hurricane.
The chakra required is almost twice that of Great Breakthrough. Pressurizing it should make the storm larger and last longer. It's very useful for causing widespread damage or preventing enemies from escaping.
I also need to practice performing this without hand seals. But that shouldn't be too difficult.
He walked to a nearby tree, formed several hand seals, and used Wind Release: Blade of Wind.
Immediately, concentrated wind chakra formed around his hand and struck the tree. Four deep cutting marks appeared in the trunk. Kaito analyzed,
Simple! Just as I expected. The chakra requirement is quite low too. The advantage of this technique is that I don't need to actually swing a sword. So once I can use this without hand seals, I can surprise opponents with it, especially when they're focused on blocking my actual blade.
He moved to another tree, formed more hand seals, and used Wind Release: Spiraling Wind Ball.
An invisible sphere of compressed wind slowly formed in front of him. It moved toward the tree and struck it, exploding on impact!
The tree shook violently! The trunk was damaged significantly but didn't quite break.
Kaito analyzed critically,
This is way too slow. This technique is somewhat different from my other Wind Release jutsu. However, the impressive thing is that it's extremely quiet. It made almost no sound until impact, and no wind dispersed from the technique itself.
So if I can increase its speed, this would be an excellent assassination technique. However, using it in one-on-one combat might be difficult. Any skilled opponent would easily dodge it. This doesn't solve my problem of needing a lethal mid-to-long-range technique.
Kaito thought for a moment and decided,
For now, I'll focus on Blade of Wind and Infinite Breakthrough. As for Spiraling Wind Ball, I'll decide after learning new jutsu from Hiruzen and Renjiro. They both should realize I need a technique with better range and lethality. I wouldn't be surprised if they've already arranged something.
Kaito trained with both techniques for the next six hours until his chakra finally began depleting significantly.
He leaned against a tree and chuckled to himself.
The hand seals for both techniques have been reduced to just one. Soon I'll be able to perform them without any seals at all.
He looked up at the darkening sky and thought,
It's been about six hours since I started. Perfect timing.
He sat in a meditation posture, recovering his chakra.
Twenty minutes later, the shadow clone in the library dispersed on its own. Kaito received its memories and remaining chakra.
He gained detailed information on all B-rank jutsu available and learned the hand seals for Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall.
Kaito was somewhat intrigued by this information.
There were two methods to perform this technique. One was to expel mud from the mouth, form it into a wall, and harden it with chakra. The second was to slam one's hands on the ground and raise a wall from the earth itself.
Kaito thought to himself,
Hmm... The first method would be more difficult for me, and I already have Wind Release: Rotation Shield for aerial defense, so it's best to focus only on the ground-based method.
He continued meditating for another forty minutes. After recovering sufficient chakra, he stood up and formed several hand seals. He slammed his hands on the ground and used Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall.
A wall five meters wide, two and a half meters high, and about thirty centimeters thick rose from the ground. Kaito inspected the wall and concluded,
Not bad. I need to improve the formation speed, but the defense looks solid. Let me test it.
He created a Wind Clone and positioned it behind the wall. He walked to the other side and formed a Wind Blast sphere.
He threw the Wind Blast at the wall—aside from a few scratches, the wall sustained no real damage.
He smiled and threw several explosive tags, which detonated against the wall, leaving a few surface cracks. But the structure remained solid.
He formed more hand seals and used Wind Release: Spiraling Wind Ball.
The compressed wind sphere launched toward where the explosive tags had detonated. It impacted and exploded, creating a significant dent in the wall about twenty centimeters deep!
Kaito analyzed,
So the combination of Spiraling Wind Ball and explosive tags almost broke through. If I channel more chakra into the wall initially, it should withstand most jutsu attacks—except for large-scale techniques and probably Lightning Release.
He then used a standard Great Breakthrough technique. Due to its wide area of effect, the wind simply bypassed the wall and hit his Wind Clone, dispersing it. The result was exactly as Kaito expected.
Kaito spent the rest of the evening training until his chakra was completely depleted, then grabbed dinner and headed home.
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