[System Prompt: Congratulations to the host for acquiring a new skill — Advanced Taijutsu]
Shigure sighed silently, feeling a bit helpless.
Despite two days of continuous surveillance, things hadn't gone as smoothly as he'd hoped. He hadn't managed to acquire many new ninjutsu techniques.
Most of the jōnin he observed were focused more on Taijutsu than Ninjutsu.
Fortunately, yesterday he had come across a jōnin proficient in Earth Release, from whom he learned two earth-style techniques:
[Earth Release: Earth Body Substitution Technique]
[Earth Release: Rock Fracture]
These two Earth-style techniques gave Shigure access to the Earth chakra nature.
But today's spying session had yielded even less.
Only three jōnin were training, and all were focused entirely on physical combat.
Still, Shigure managed to upgrade his academy-level taijutsu into Advanced Taijutsu.
And naturally, the difference between the two was massive.
Equipping it in the skill slot would provide a far greater performance boost—especially once the Body Flicker Technique is ready. Using it alongside Advanced Taijutsu would vastly improve his mobility and combat capabilities.
He made a mental note to prioritize physical conditioning moving forward.
As for his chakra reserves, progress had been slow. His skill slot had only contained the Chakra Refinement Technique over the past few days.
As a result, his chakra had only increased incrementally—barely three-tenths more.
Even so, Shigure's current chakra reserve was around 620 times that of a normal shinobi.
It was already reaching terrifying levels.
In terms of Ninjutsu, he had mastered:
Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet
Wind Release: Beast Tearing Palm
Earth Release: Earth Body Substitution, Rock Fracture
Water Release: Random Wave, Surging Wave, Formation Wall, Water Dragon Bullet
With these, Shigure had mastered four chakra natures: Fire, Wind, Earth, and Water.
A ninja who can manipulate four elemental chakra types is already considered an anomaly in the shinobi world.
And on top of that, Shigure possessed Penetration Release and Boil Release.
Penetration Release, when combined with breath suppression, made him a natural assassin—capable of striking undetected.
Boil Release, on the other hand, provided overwhelming destructive power in direct confrontations.
Altogether, he finally had a measure of self-defense he could trust.
Still, Shigure considered this only a temporary measure.
"The Body Flicker calculation is almost done…"
He glanced at the countdown.
Less than three hours remained.
Once it finished, Shigure planned to move forward with developing a new Kekkei Genkai.
Now that he had mastered Fire, Wind, Earth, and Water Release, he could attempt to develop more advanced bloodline limits.
His two top picks were:
Ice Release and Wood Release
The reason was simple: both required the combination of two elemental chakra natures—and Shigure excelled at such combinations thanks to his mastery of Penetration Release.
According to the Great Sage, it didn't matter which one he chose—Ice or Wood Release.
What he needed was mastery over the chakra natures involved in the fusion.
Once that condition was met, the Great Sage could handle the rest.
Shigure had already unlocked one Kekkei Genkai. Any future developments would rely solely on the Great Sage's calculations. There was no need for him to repeat the foundational work himself.
Still, he was torn on which path to choose.
While Wood Release was famously powerful, Shigure believed Ice Release might be a better fit for his unique skillset—especially when paired with his Penetration Release.
Wood Release, on the other hand, required enormous chakra reserves to be fully effective. Without Sage Mode-level chakra, its power might remain limited.
At most, he might only reach a level slightly beyond Yamato.
And as for Yamato's power?
Shigure just laughed.
It definitely required more thought.
Time passed slowly. Shigure returned to his usual spot and waited patiently.
Finally, the countdown ended.
[System Prompt: Calculation complete]
[New skill acquired: Escape Technique — Body Flicker]
In that instant, new knowledge surged into Shigure's mind.
He instantly grasped the wonder of high-speed movement. By converting his body into a flowing stream of chakra, he could evade attacks or reappear elsewhere in a blink.
Condensing his form into a stream and then reforming at another location—this was the foundation of elementalization.
Shigure opened his eyes.
Raising his hands, he began forming hand seals.
He didn't need to practice it—any technique processed by the Great Sage felt as natural as breathing.
Swish!
In less than a second, he completed the hand seals. His body turned into a shimmering flow and dispersed.
The chakra stream rushed forward, reforming his body instantly in another spot.
Feeling the transition from formless stream to physical body, Shigure found it incredible.
[Great Sage: During the calculation, a hidden technique was discovered. The host can initiate further analysis.]
A hidden technique?
He hadn't expected the Body Flicker Technique to lead to the discovery of a secret jutsu.
It turned out to be the Transformation Technique of the Kizuna clan—a rare and mysterious jutsu, though one that had a weakness to Lightning Release.
It could be developed… but wasn't urgent.
For now, Shigure had something more exciting in mind:
"Great Sage, can we apply the logic of Earth Release: Earth Body Substitution to calculate a full-blown Escape Technique using it?"
[Great Sage: Calculating...]
[%]
[%]
[%]
The process completed in less than twenty seconds.
[Calculation complete]
[New skill acquired: Escape Technique — Earth Substitution]
Shigure closed his eyes, immersing himself in the feel of the new ninjutsu.
This latest escape technique was impressive.
The key advantage? His Escape Technique consumed no chakra, unlike other jutsu of similar effect that required chakra expenditure.
Since the result was effectively the same, Shigure would naturally choose the chakra-free option when it mattered.
Now that the Earth Release: Earth Body Substitution had been successfully transformed into a true Escape Technique, it meant one thing—
Other jutsu could be transformed in the same way.
A faint smile formed on Shigure's lips.
[Great Sage: Beginning calculations…]
[Wind Release: Beast Tearing Palm → Transformation Style: Wave Hand]
[%]
[%]
…
[Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet → Transformation Style: Dragon Bullet]
…
[Earth Release: Rock Fracture → Transformation Escape: Piercing Stab]
Wave Hand. Dragon Bullet. Piercing Stab.
Three new techniques.
The first surprised Shigure—he hadn't expected Beast Tearing Palm to evolve into something resembling Yamato's Wave Hand. It was smoother and more refined in form.
As for the Dragon Bullet, it didn't exist in the original canon. It was a variant of the Fire Dragon Flame Bullet, but more compact. The dragon-shaped flame was smaller in appearance—but faster, more focused, and incredibly powerful in terms of piercing force.
Finally, Piercing Stab, transformed from Rock Fracture, was ideal for breaking formations and dispatching multiple enemies at once.
Efficient. Brutal. Perfect for clearing out fodder.
Shigure's smile deepened.
The path forward was becoming clearer.
...
TN:
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