Kaede bounced onto the stage, tapped the mic, and blew into it once. "Pfft—nice gear."
He glanced at Gianna. "Miss, may I borrow your guitar?"
Curious, Gianna nodded, and an aide handed it over. Kaede turned to the bassist, drummer, and keys. "Back me up, please. If it goes well, the princess will have prizes. I only play in C. I'll give you the intro—watch my cue."
He picked out a quick run, then leaned to the mic. "Mic check. I'm a shadow clone of Kaede. Whatever happens next has nothing to do with the original, okay? Last chance to bail—anyone want out, leave now."
A ripple of dread went through the staff.
Kaede grinned and riffed, half-rapping a rowdy warm-up until a stern voice from the wings cut in—"Wait. That was just a warm-up." Kaede cleared his throat, pointed toward the princess box. "Ready? Hey—look at this bowl. Big and round—like that face—hey, hey—alright, alright, I'll behave."
He tapped the mic again. "At noon someone asked me a question. This is my answer. The song is called 'Flower Sea.'"
He strummed a clean, familiar progression, whistled a bar, the drums eased in, and he rolled into the intro. A clear, young voice rose over the band—then he let the melody carry without quoting lines, pouring the answer into tone instead of words.
…
Morning. Training grounds behind the residence.
A vast Water Prison churned in midair. Kaede stood atop the lake, palms pressed to the roiling sphere.
"Turn… turn! Why does it collapse the moment I let go?" He released his hands; the sphere sloughed into the pond with a heavy whoosh.
He re-centered, pushing chakra back in. "Output density up. Front-load control. Keep injecting steadily…"
In the nearby pavilion sat three near-identical beauties, two bald monks, Biwako-san, and Hinata-sama. Ennosuke knelt nearby, calm and attentive, pouring tea. "He's been 'playing in water' since six," someone murmured. "Call him?"
The Second Princess shook her head. "No—we're here to apologize. We'll wait."
Kaede scowled at the sphere. "Edison tried a thousand filaments. I've done a hundred and twenty passes on this composite technique. Don't get discouraged—failure is the mother of success. I've got the control and the reserves… so what's wrong? Ratios tested… still collapses the instant I let go… is it that I don't have water nature?"
He drove chakra in harder. The prison brightened, a low hum starting deep in the core. Balance tipped; vapor skinned off in wisps. Then—hanging before his face—a blue-white, arm-wide Spiral Sphere coalesced, quietly shedding light.
"…What the—"
Everyone in the pavilion surged to their feet. The glow tingled across the skin; even the unflappable elder monk exhaled. "Terrifying. An A-rank, no-seal technique, forged in a single morning."
Kaede stared, stunned. He knew the three stages of learning a spiral—form, rotation, power—but he hadn't expected to skip straight into a Great Ball Spiral Sphere by brute-forcing control. The price bit immediately: nearly a fifth of his chakra, gone in one breath. No wonder most people couldn't learn it.
He exhaled, mind racing. Add wind nature, and it becomes the A-rank Wind Spiral Sphere. Push it to completion with nature transformation, and it upgrades into the S-rank Spiral Shuriken. But without Sage Mode, the wind edge backlashes through the body, tearing the user's cells. Power with a cost.
He let the giant spiral fade, water hissing back into the pond. Then he rolled his shoulders, eyes bright. "Again."
(End of Chapter)
[Check Out My P@treon For +20 Extra Chapters On All My Fanfics!!][[email protected]/euridome]
[Thank You For Your Support!]