Chapter 295: The Party; The Secret of Wood Style
Kakashi, Asuma, Gai, and Hyuga Hotaru were ninja of the same grade. Watching them team up to bully Yamato, this junior, Sakura found it quite interesting.
These elite Jonin, who were renowned for their prestige, were also people with emotions and desires in private. They had their own social circles and relationship circles. Although they couldn't post on Weibo or Moments, it was a common thing for them to get together for a meal or a drink from time to time.
The circle of Jonin was very small.
Konoha had only a few tens of thousands of ninja in total. Jonin were one in a hundred, so there were only a few hundred of them. The specific number was top-secret data, but Haruno Sakura could also roughly guess that it wouldn't be too many.
Therefore, they basically all knew each other, or at least had met before, and would nod in greeting when they met on the street.
To have carried out a mission together, then they could be considered friends with a personal relationship—missions that required more than one Jonin to carry out were usually not simple. They relied on each other and helped each other, and a relationship was formed.
Especially after going through life and death together, a life-and-death friendship could instantly turn two people who disliked each other into brothers who could entrust their backs to each other.
The Will of Fire was not just empty words!
The feelings forged on the battlefield, the comradeship obtained between life and death, that was definitely a real emotion that could withstand any test!
The harsher the external environment, especially war, the more it could produce internal cohesion. This was why in just a few short decades, a loose alliance composed of several clans had, after experiencing several world wars, quickly condensed into an indestructible ninja village entity.
With the exception of the Uchiha...
So when the Third shouted political slogans like the Will of Fire every day, no one would feel awkwardly embarrassed, because this was indeed a feeling that everyone shared. The ninja village, in essence, was very close to a united large military camp.
Within the Jonin circle, there were further subdivisions, such as the Anbu circle, a certain squad's circle, the elite Jonin circle, the team leader Jonin circle, and so on.
The people who had come with Kakashi were the ninja in the elite Jonin circle who were more familiar with him, and Hyuga Hotaru and Yamato were the same. The Anbu squads these few people were in were all elite teams ranked in the top twenty. Today, Haruno Sakura could be considered to have officially stepped into this circle, but her situation was a bit special.
Hyuga Hotaru had a stronger presence. She was a high-ranking Anbu, and her squad was ranked second. She could be considered a big shot in the Anbu. The one with the least seniority was Haruno Sakura. Logically speaking, she should have been the one being verbally squeezed today, but...
After watching today's battle...
Hn, everyone tacitly shifted their firepower to Yamato.
A moment of silence for the junior, Yamato.
The cups and plates were exchanged, and after three rounds of drinking, everyone had become much more cordial.
"A toast to Captain Yamato. Please take good care of me in the future!" Sakura said with a bright smile, clinking glasses with the square-faced youth.
The custom here was that one could only drink after coming of age, but... as long as no one else said anything, the tavern owner couldn't control this group of ninja.
"No, no, no, it should be a promising rookie like you who should be taking care of us," Yamato said with a smile, already a little drunk, his face slightly red. "In the future, when Sakura-chan starts a family and a career, who knows, you might even be the head of a Kekkei Genkai clan!"
Sakura gave a dry laugh. Let's leave that kind of thing to Yuki Haku!
She drained the sake in her cup and, following this topic, she asked the question that was in her heart: "Speaking of Kekkei Genkai... Yamato-senpai, did you also create your Wood Style Kekkei Genkai yourself?"
Kakashi and Gai, who were still in a drinking duel nearby, and Asuma and Hyuga Hotaru, who were chatting, also turned their heads to look at Yamato with great interest after hearing this question. The latter also drained the wine in his cup in one gulp, shook his cup to show that he had finished, and then replied, "No, how could I have this ability! To be able to perform two nature transformations at the same time and combine them into one, those are all geniuses! If it were that simple, then the whole world would be full of Kekkei Genkai clans. As for me!"
Sakura quickly refilled his wine, looking at him eagerly.
The square-faced youth took another small sip. The smell of alcohol rose, and he let out a long burp that was full of alcohol, and continued, "My Kekkei Genkai ability comes from Lord First Hokage! No, no, you've misunderstood. I'm not a member of the Senju clan."
"Hn... alright, I'll just say it. This was originally a secret, but actually, there's nothing much to keep secret," Yamato said, spurred on by the alcohol, as he felt the expectant gaze from that pair of sparkling, light green eyes. "It all starts from when I was an infant."
The story was like this.
When Captain Yamato was young, he had been kidnapped by Orochimaru and had become an experimental subject for human experimentation, and had been implanted with Hashirama's cells.
There were sixty infants who had been implanted with Hashirama's cells at the same time, but in the end, he was the only one who, with his strong will to live, had survived the invasion of Hashirama's cells and had stubbornly lived on. In the end, he had become the Yamato of today.
After hearing Yamato's story, Sakura also felt a wave of sighs.
No wonder human experimentation stank in Konoha. This method of Orochimaru's was simply treating human life as grass. No one could tolerate him!
"This is the origin of the Wood Style in my body," Yamato said calmly. His emotions would no longer be stirred by such old stories. He cared about more practical matters. "But, unfortunately, although I've suffered so much, the Wood Style I can cast is still a far cry from the legendary power of Lord First."
"Speaking of which, I also find it quite strange. Sakura-chan, as a genius who can create your own Kekkei Genkai, do you have any thoughts on this matter?"
Under the influence of the wine, Yamato had also asked this question with a thick face.
If Kakashi or Sasuke had asked this question, it would have been a normal exchange. But this was his first time meeting Sakura. If Sakura happened to be the kind of ninja who valued her ninjutsu secrets very much, then this question would probably be met with a cold shoulder.
Haruno Sakura smiled faintly.
This kind of casual guidance, as long as it was something she understood, Sakura naturally wouldn't be stingy about helping out a little. Coincidentally, she was also very interested in the difference between Yamato's and the First's Wood Style.
"Hn, Wood Style is a product of the simultaneous transformation of Earth Style and Water Style..." Sakura said. "Captain Yamato, may I be so bold as to ask you to demonstrate your Wood Style?"
Yamato nodded, spread his hands, and performed the Earth Style nature transformation with one hand, and the Water Style nature transformation with the other. Then, he clapped his hands together!
The wooden chopsticks in front of him twisted for a moment, and then they quickly grew thicker and longer. One end grew roots, and the other end grew branches and leaves. In just a few short seconds, it had formed a small tree!
"This is the nature transformation of Wood Style," Yamato said with a proud smile.
"No matter how many times I see it, I still find it very magical!" The crowd watched the performance in Yamato's hands with rapt attention. Kakashi praised.
"Hehe, not at all. I'm still a far cry from Lord First," Yamato said humbly, his face full of pride.
"It's essentially the same as my Ice Style. It's also a mixture of two affinities," Sakura said, pursing her lips and pondering for a moment. "Lord First must have added the nature transformation of Yang Release!"
Her previous thoughts on the relationship between Yin-Yang Release and Wood Style were just speculations. Now, after seeing Yamato's Wood Style, she had basically confirmed this point.
Yamato's Wood Style, its strength was about the same as her Ice Style. The First's Wood Style was so powerful because it had been infused with the Yang Release nature transformation!
Oh, right, and probably also Sage Mode.
"Yang Release nature transformation?" Yamato frowned, clearly hearing this term for the first time.
"Yes," Sakura nodded and said. "A mixture of two affinities is called a Kekkei Genkai. A mixture of three affinities is called a Kekkei Tōta. That is a power that is even stronger than a Kekkei Genkai! However, because Kekkei Tōta is very rare, it is customary to call all these special cases Kekkei Genkai..."
"According to the materials my master gave me, as well as the notes I've read elsewhere, I can basically conclude that the First's Wood Style is actually a Kekkei Tōta formed by the fusion of Earth, Water, and Yang, not a Kekkei Genkai synthesized from Earth and Water!"
The few people present all frowned, lowered their heads, and silently pondered.
"As for Yang Release," Yamato touched his stubbled chin, "I've also mastered the nature transformation of Yang Release! Why is it still not working?"
He cast his Wood Style again, and then activated the nature transformation of Yang Release. However, the power of his Wood Style did not increase significantly.
"The same Wood Style, the First Hokage's power is at least five times greater than mine," he said, looking at the block of wood that had extended from his palm.
Haruno Sakura shook her head.
"It's not enough to just simply master Yang Release and then cast them in sequence. Listen up, Yamato-senpai," she said seriously. "You must cast all three nature transformations at the same time and fuse the three chakras into one!"
She pondered for a moment and said slowly, "It's just like how you can't form Wood Style by just casting Earth Style and then Water Style. The key is to perform the nature transformations at the same time! This is the difficulty of a Kekkei Genkai. It requires you to be distracted and do two things well at the same time. And a Kekkei Tōta requires you to be distracted and do three things well at the same time!"
This was the first time she had explained her thoughts to someone other than Tsunade.
These were also conjectures that she had only recently begun to think about.
When she was organizing her words, every sentence was said very cautiously, very slowly. They were spoken only after careful consideration. So after saying these words, she felt that she had also benefited a lot. What had originally been just a vague idea in her mind had become clearer and clearer as she spoke.
At this time, Kakashi raised his head and suddenly interjected, "It's just like what you said before, like drawing a circle with your left hand and a square with your right hand at the same time, right!"
He dipped his finger in some water and tried it on the table. The square and the circle he drew were crooked, and their original shapes could not be seen at all.
"For an ordinary person, it's impossible to be distracted and do these two things at the same time. And a Kekkei Genkai also requires you to draw the circle and the square very precisely! In fact, it's already very difficult for an ordinary ninja to cultivate one of the ninjutsu to a very profound level."
Yamato pondered for a moment. The chakra light in his hand flickered on and off as he tried to see if he could fuse Wood Style and Yang Release. After trying for a long time, he leaned back in his chair in dejection and sighed. "It's still not working! Being distracted with two uses is already difficult enough. I can't even imagine being distracted with three!"
Hyuga Hotaru, seeing Yamato's disappointed look, couldn't help but laugh. She ignored him and turned her head to ask curiously, "Sakura-chan, how did you train your Ice Style back then?"
Kakashi smiled faintly. "She only took seven days to preliminarily master Ice Style! That time was during the Land of Waves mission..."
Although it had only been a year and a half since that incident, Sakura always felt that it had been a long, long time ago.
Back then, when she was still a tender rookie, Zabuza's strength had seemed as unfathomable as a deep abyss. But now, if she were to face Zabuza, who was about the same level as Kakashi, she would basically be in a position to win.
Zabuza's Water Style would basically be completely countered by her. As for his sword skills, she didn't care about them now either.
The so-called deep abyss, after she had grown up and looked back, was just a small ditch...
But back to the matter of Ice Style.
The reason she had been able to master Ice Style so quickly back then, apart from her many years of comprehension of Water Style, was also partly due to her unique spiritual structure...
This involved her secret as a transmigrator.
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