[POV: 3rd Person]
[Scene: Naka River]
[Track Change: Deltarune Ch. 1 'Scarlet Forest']
"Precisely, that's why these fusion Ninjutsu are so important, not only for ourselves but Sasuke and Naruto will use them as well. If I can create these fusion Ninjutsu for our traits I will know how to best guide their own trait Ninjutsu." Asriel said.
"Mmm, I understand." Fugaku said gruffly.
"Lets first start by adding Magic with the [SOUL] hand seal." Asriel said before signing,
[SOUL -> Snake -> Ram -> Monkey -> Boar -> Horse -> Tiger]
He took a deep breath and tried to use the [Great Fireball Technique] but it failed, sputtering from his mouth. He was confused before thinking it was possible that using the [SOUL] seal first put too much Magic in the Fireball. Trying again Asriel attempted to summon the fireball from his hand instead, like he would if he was using [Fire Magic].
It worked but it was strange. The fireball was no longer a large orange fireball but now a head sized ball of a tri-colored fire. A stable red core surrounded by a seemingly heavy, dark blue layer and a jittery purple outer layer. Asriel realized that he just pulled from all the Magic in the SOUL and not a specific trait.
Fugaku was surprised by the colorful flame, but he didn't show it. He didn't know what advice to give at this moment, this was beyond his expertise. He was now thinking of waiting for Asriel to finish before helping him optimize this new technique, after all it was still based on [Great Fireball Technique].
Asriel tried again, this time only using Renjiro's PERSEVERANCE in the process. It succeeded, a small but stable purple fireball rested calmly in Asriel's left hand. Because it was his own Magic, he felt that while the fireball didn't hurt him, it was still very hot. Now it was time to test if this changed anything.
Asriel moved his hand noticing it would stay in the same place relative to his hand. Since Asriel hadn't expelled the fireball from his mouth like normal, the first thing he thought of was to try throwing it.
He wound his arm back before doing a clumsy throw at a nearby tree. What was strange was that as soon as he released the fireball it didn't drop at all. It continued in a perfectly straight line from where he threw to the tree. Once it hit the tree, it exploded in a small burst of fire before embers fell to the ground turning the grass a discolored purple.
This went unnoticed by Fugaku and Asriel, after all, from this distance it looked similar to scorched grass.
Additional testing was needed. Asriel created another fireball, but this time he threw it with the intention of it taking a turn to the right. When he threw it the fireball still went straight, Asriel was confused.
'Why isn't it turning right?'
As soon as he thought that, the fireball abruptly changed direction. While retaining it's speed the fireball suddenly started moving to the right, hitting another tree and leaving another patch of purple stained grass under the tree.
Asriel and Fugaku were shocked, and Renjiro was panicking!
Asriel had just casually broke Newton's First Law of Motion!
'LAWS OF PHYSICS DON'T JUST BREAK!!!
What kind of Magic is this!? Wait a minute...
It WAS Magic...
Never mind then...
I guess my theory was accurate at least.'
Renjiro calmed down slightly, but Fugaku hadn't. He walked up to Asriel and asked,
"What... WHAT WAS THAT?!" Fugaku shouted.
Asriel starts stuttering,
"Uh.. it... um... (The Magic failed.)" Renjiro interrupted.
"Failed? But it changed direction like you wanted, right?" Fugaku asked, confused.
"It did change direction, but it was because Asriel over-translated the fireball due to lack of control, not on purpose, but on accident. Therefore it failed our original goal. However, this is a good secondary prize."
"Ah, I see." Fugaku started, "It's not that the result wasn't good, it just wasn't what we wanted. If Asriel had stopped translating the fireball it would have resumed it's initial trajectory, making a Z-bend pattern instead of the sharp right turn we just saw."
"Exactly." Renjiro confirmed.
"But what's this over here? The grass seems to be singed, not black, but purple."
Fugaku stepped on the now purple grass, suddenly a gray heart shaped object appears in front of Fugaku's chest, his SOUL. After it appears it immediately pulses a purple glow before turning completely purple.
"WHAT!? Wait... This is what happened to Danzo in your [FIGHT], right? But this is Purple not Blue..."
"Yes, when we fought Danzo I used the [Blue Magic] ability of [Gravity Manipulation], now you are under the influence of a [Purple Magic] ability. Based on what we have seen with the Fireball, this should have some similarity with translation and vectors. Fugaku, do you have a kunai on you?" Renjiro asked.
"I do, why?"
"We are going to test something, are you fine with a short spar?"
"I don't mind, I am curious as well."
"Alright then, Asriel, you are up.
Here are the rules, Asriel can only use shuriken-sized [Star Blazing] projectiles to Attack Fugaku. Fugaku, while under [Purple Magic] is only allowed Dodging and Blocking with kunai.
The win condition is for either Asriel to successfully hit Fugaku once, or for Fugaku to not be hit after one minute.
Asriel, I know it isn't in your nature but I will say it anyways. This is a spar, there should be no intent to harm in your Magic, understood?"
"Of course! Don't treat me like a kid!" Asriel said.
"You ARE a kid, dummy." Renjiro said while smirking. "Ready Fugaku?"
"Anytime." He said flatly.
"Begin!"
[Track Change: Deltarune Ch. 1 'Vs. Susie']
[POV: Fugaku]
Asriel raises his arms as a white light emanates from his hands. Suddenly a dozen small five-pointed stars appear behind him. Pointing in Fugaku's direction the [Star Blazing] attacks fly through the air towards Fugaku.
The Magic attack was soon to reach Fugaku, a few aimed at his shoulders and arms, others at his legs, none at the chest. Clearly, Asriel was purposefully avoiding vital spots. They weren't very fast but there were enough to make Fugaku start to act on instinct.
Fugaku started to sidestep, but the motion felt odd, stiff even.
'Why couldn't I sidestep? I felt the opening. My body just—locked.'
He brushed it off as being rusty and continued. Luckily, because he moved early he was able to block the remaining [Star Blazing] attacks with his kunai.
Meanwhile, Asriel is watching Fugaku's dodge,
[POV: Asriel]
'I know Fugaku is strong, but that was a rookie's movements. Grandpa Gerson beat that kind of movement out of me on day two. No way that's just sloppy footwork. Something's binding him.'
To confirm, Asriel quickly summoned another set of [Star Blazing] attacks, before sending them in waves. The first wave was a set of eight curving stars that would attack from the side, the second was 6 stars from the front at Fugaku's legs to force Fugaku out of his comfort zone.
[POV: Fugaku]
'Deflect the first wave, dodge the second. Child's play.' Fugaku thought.
When the waves of [Star Blazing] attacks reached Fugaku from his left he once again expertly blocked the stars with the Uchiha's Shurikenjutsu, which he could use even without activating his Sharingan.
But when the next wave came, dipping low towards Fugaku's thighs and shins, he dropped his weight to ready himself to jump.
'What the hell? Again? Damn it!'
Fugaku immediately noticed something was wrong, the movement was too abrupt, it wasn't fluid at all. However with the wave of [Star Blazing] attacks coming he didn't have time to think.
Fugaku activated his Three-tomoe Sharingan. The [Star Blazing] attacks slowed perceptively while he moved to jump backward. But once again he felt an abrupt change in his movement, instead of going backward, he jumped straight up, avoiding the attack but not properly repositioning himself for the next wave.
[POV: Asriel]
Asriel smirked.
'Fugaku can cleanly block and deflect, but he can't dodge and change directions more than once in the same beat. This is just like what Renjiro told me. I can see it in his face, he's asking himself why his body won't respond. About time to change things up.'
[POV: Fugaku]
Fugaku was sweating slightly at this point.
'My stance feels like I am on rails. I feel like I'm being funneled… No, stay sharp. Adapt. Even if my body's off, I can read his eyes and the star's trajectories. I won't lose.'
Asriel sent another [Star Blazing], not toward Fugaku's legs, but deliberately to the side of his face, an attack meant to force a reaction.
Fugaku snapped his head aside, kunai instinctively rising to guard.
'Too close. Asriel is not truly aiming for winning yet. I feel it, he's watching me like a predator…'
But in the next instant, he was proven wrong. Two more [Star Blazing] sailed in a cross-pattern.
'Block high, slide back-right'
Fugaku's thoughts shattered as his leg once again betrayed him, freezing against the command. Panic jolted his chest.
'I can't move. I literally can't move that way!'
He dropped backward, kunai flaring up just in time to deflect one [Star Blazing] while the other sliced past his hip, leaving a sting.
"Match Over!" Renjiro announces.
[Track Change: Deltarune Ch. 1 'Scarlet Forest']
[POV: 3rd Person]
As Renjiro said this the [Purple Magic] started to fade and ended.
*Hiss* "That stings, but it hurts much less than a real shuriken does." Fugaku said.
Asriel walked over speaking, "That makes sense, even though I didn't intend to harm you, I still did intend to attack you, some pain is normal. If I did intend to harm you, you would be in much more pain than a normal shuriken."
Asriel stopped in front of Fugaku and quickly healed the minor damage Fugaku took, before they both walked back to towards the dock and sat at a bench.
"So," Fugaku started "What was that? Why was it so hard for me to move?"
"Renjiro told me it was similar to how I manipulated the fireball. But didn't go into detail as he wanted me to figure it out during the spar."
"It likely has the properties of limiting omni-directional movement. The target can now only move along a single axis at once. Think of it like this, Fugaku, how did you decide between blocking or dodging?" Renjiro asked.
"It mostly revolves around what is the quickest way to avoid being damaged while being able to respond to continued threats. If I can't block and stay in my favorable position I would dodge and reposition to stay in control. Usually this involves simple movements like sidestepping, jumping, or using [Body Flicker Technique]." He said simply.
"But what if you can't?" Renjiro asked flatly.
"What do you mean?" Fugaku asked.
"Well when you jump to the sides you are likely moving on three axis at once. Jumping moves you up the Y-axis, moving sideways moves you on the X-axis, and since you likely aren't moving perfectly sideways you are also moving on the Z-axis.
Under [Purple Magic] you can only move on ONE axis at any time. Do you understand now?"
Hearing Renjiro, Fugaku started sweating before speaking,
"So that's it. I couldn't jump backwards because I moved both up and backwards, but since my thoughts were to jump, I moved up first instead of back.
Just manipulating projectiles would be enough to cause devastating damage. In the last war there was a Lightning ninja who could use [Magnet Release] to make unavoidable tracking projectiles, but this is beyond even that. Just having an above average proficiency in Shurikenjutsu and [Purple Magic] would be enough to be a Special Jonin."
(A/N: Hey readers, I wanted to ask if you are still enjoying reading this Fanfic. I don't get many comments or reviews beyond (Nice! or Tftc) A few are real suggestions and critiques, which I APPRECIATE, as it shows that they care and want the story to be the best it can be.
[[[Shoutouts to Readers 'Silverstorm8' and 'Xybora' for their constructive feedback and to 'TgNovels' for their regular encouragements!
Special thanks to Readers 'Xybora', 'NovelReadingSlime', 'Patrick Hardy', and 'Skorno' for their feedback in the Brainstorming Chapter!]]]
It's hard to stay motivated when you aren't given any feedback that you are doing well, so I really value these comments.
If you are enjoying, PLEASE drop some Power Stones, and even if you ran out, at least write a Comment with some feedback.
I have a Auxiliary chapter where you can drop suggestions, and the Reviews are always open for feedback.
Additionally, sorry for the delay, I was having problems with my insurance not wanting to pay for my ADHD medication, so I couldn't properly focus on writing without being distracted by a few things,
A. A fly in my room that loves to try and sit just inside my vision, yet right outside my reach. (Little Bastard)
B. Webnovel notifications for other works being updated, distracting me as I want to read them as well.
C. Weird craving to watch a Minecraft Modded Let's Play from 2014 (Minecraft FTB Blood and Bones by SSundee) if your interested. Watched him constantly growing up.