Hey guys, here is the new chapter hope you will liked and read thru everything.
If we hit 100 PW I post a extra chapter.
Sorry for not posting any chapters last week. I got sick, felt like absolute shit, and didn't feel like doing anything. I'm slowly recovering, so I'll start uploading again. Don't worry, I'm not abandoning the story!
Don't forget to leave your power stones along with your comment if you have any ideas or opinions that could help me, as well as a review to continue showing your support.
Enjoy the chapter!
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The crystal-clear waters descended from the highest peaks of the sacred mountain range, crashing against polished stones and releasing a humid breeze that brought with it the scent of primitive vegetation.
On the banks of the wide river, sitting on a broad expanse of thick green grass, Sunae and Zoyu took a well-deserved breather after the initial turmoil of their arrival.
The young kunoichi, her hair slightly messy from the previous exertion, watched as the current's ripples gently broke against the young elephant's legs.
Zoyu, still wearing his bronze armor plates that gleamed under the violet light of the sky, maintained a relaxed posture, resting his massive head calmly while rhythmically moving his ears.
"Alright, Sunae, now that the shock of arriving is behind us, it's time to get serious," Zoyu spoke, breaking the peaceful murmur of the water with his youthful yet conviction-filled voice.
"Daigo-san didn't send you two here just to look at the scenery. The main idea of bringing you here is to completely distance you from the village's distractions, the bustle of reconstruction, and the political weight that comes with your family name. Here, it's just you two and your training. To chart the right path, I need you to explain your current abilities to me in detail, leaving nothing out."
Sunae nodded, adjusting her posture on her legs over the grass. She looked at her own hands for a second before raising her gaze to her tutor's intelligent golden eyes.
"To be frank with you, Zoyu... I didn't inherit my father's Crystal Release," Sunae began with transparent honesty.
"In reality, my natural affinity and bloodline limit lean entirely toward Scorch Release, Shakuton, exactly like my mother, Pakura."
Zoyu blew gently through his trunk, causing ripples on the water at the riverbank in a gesture of clear understanding.
"I felt it the moment you arrived," Zoyu replied, tilting his head.
"That sharp heat that burst from your fists when you took your stance is unmistakable. However, let me tell you something very important, Sunae: it doesn't matter if you didn't turn out like your father with the Crystal Release or if you inherited your mother's fire. A shinobi's true strength never comes from what their parents were or weren't. Real strength is born from whether or not you are willing to squeeze every drop of potential out of what you yourself possess."
The young elephant's words resonated strongly in Sunae's mind, bringing a small but resolute smile to her lips.
"I know," the girl continued, straightening her back. "And that's precisely why I haven't limited myself to just copying my mother's style. My way of using Shakuton is quite different from other users. In fact, it was an idea my mother suggested to me when I was younger, telling me it could suit my temperament much better."
"Oh, really? And what is that way?" Zoyu asked, showing genuine curiosity.
"Instead of creating those floating, scorching spheres that evaporate moisture from a distance—which is Mom's standard method—I concentrate and wrap my entire body directly in Shakuton chakra," Sunae explained, raising a hand to show how a fine layer of hot air began to distort the atmosphere around her skin.
"Essentially, I create an armor of absolute heat over my body. It grants me a terrifying defensive capability, because anyone who tries to touch me suffers severe burns, while offensively it converts every single one of my strikes into a direct thermal explosion against the target."
Zoyu opened his eyes a bit wider, clearly impressed by the young girl's tactical concept.
"An armor of direct heat... That requires pretty good chakra control and extraordinary physical endurance so you don't end up cooking yourself," the elephant analyzed.
"Exactly. That's why I've trained so hard with my grandfather and my dad," Sunae added, clenching her fist tightly.
"I have a very tough physical constitution designed for hand-to-hand combat, and I've also mastered the Seven Heavens Breathing technique. Combining that pulmonary conditioning with the Shakuton armor forms the foundation of my style."
Zoyu remained silent for a few seconds, moving his trunk in circles as he processed all the information in his mind. Then, he released a cheerful snort that vibrated through the surrounding air.
"Wow! You have an incredibly powerful and aggressive arsenal, Sunae," Zoyu exclaimed with an enthusiastic smile on his features.
"You know what? Hearing how you outline your style reminds me so much of myself when I was younger."
Sunae tilted her head, intrigued by the comparison between herself and a giant elephant.
"You? What do you mean by that, Zoyu?" the kunoichi asked curiously.
Zoyu let out a small chuckle and settled his massive body comfortably on the grass, ready to share his story.
"You see, when I was just a calf in this valley, I was completely obsessed with the idea of learning the Elephant Sage Mode," Zoyu recounted, looking toward the distant peaks illuminated by the white light.
"I nagged my grandfather over and over to teach me the secrets of senjutsu, but he always brushed me off, telling me in that slow voice of his that I wasn't ready and lacked maturity. Frustrated by his refusals, I went straight to my mother to demand that she train me herself."
"And what happened?" Sunae inquired, paying rapt attention to the story.
"Mom flatly refused as well," Zoyu continued, shaking his head. "But she didn't leave me empty-handed. She gave me a piece of advice that would completely transform my fighting style. She told me: 'Zoyu, stop chasing a supreme power you can't yet comprehend and focus on developing your seismic sense. Make the earth beneath your feet the absolute foundation of all your abilities.' At first, I didn't fully get it, but I listened to her. I began training my perception through the vibrations of the rocks and the ground."
Zoyu tapped one of his front feet gently against the dirt, and instantly, a small invisible pulse expanded in waves along the riverbank.
"Thanks to that advice, I discovered how incredibly fun and lethal it was to use seismic sense as the pillar of my combat," the elephant proudly continued.
"My attacks went from clunky to deadly and precise. I almost never missed a strike because I could feel my opponents' movements even before they initiated them. And best of all, by mastering that earthly foundation, I realized I was building the true groundwork so that, in the future, when I reach maturity, Sage Mode will come to me naturally."
Sunae listened to every word with utmost focus, nodding slowly as she absorbed the message of his story. The young elephant's determination aligned perfectly with her own.
"That's a great story, Zoyu, and it shows how strong you've become," Sunae remarked, looking closely at him.
"But... I sense there's something else you haven't brought up yet, right?"
Zoyu stopped the movement of his ears and looked back at her. The elephant's expression turned somewhat more serene and serious.
"I knew you'd realize," Zoyu admitted, nodding his head. "That's right. There is a crucial factor inside you that you haven't spoken about. I want you to tell me about it yourself."
Sunae lowered her gaze for a brief moment, crossing her arms over her chest. The light atmosphere around them suddenly grew denser. When she raised her eyes again, the serenity on her face had been replaced by deep solemnity.
"I am a Jinchūriki... the Seven-Tails," Sunae revealed in a low, yet firm voice.
"Although throughout my life I've managed to channel small portions of its chakra during times of dire need, the reality is that we've never had a direct conversation or conscious contact... except recently."
Zoyu remained in absolute silence, listening intently without interrupting her.
"After the battle during the invasion, when I indirectly crossed paths with the scale of power of the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki, something shifted inside me," Sunae explained, tightening her fists.
"Since that battle, I've been having recurring dreams. I see the silhouette of a massive armored insect with six beetle wings and a visor-like tail, wrapped in a greenish mist. I feel its restless presence inside my seal, but I don't know exactly what it wants or how to approach it without losing control."
Zoyu let out a deep exhale that kicked up a light cloud of dust on the shore.
"I understand," the elephant said with a mature, measured voice.
"That is a very delicate matter, Sunae. The bond between a Jinchūriki and their Tailed Beast is a connection no one else can resolve for you. Eventually, you will have to face the Seven-Tails face-to-face in your mental plane and establish the terms of your coexistence."
The elephant took a step forward, raising his trunk in a resolute gesture.
"But until that moment comes, my job here is to make sure your body and mind become an impenetrable fortress," Zoyu declared.
"We are going to work shoulder to shoulder to refine and elevate your Shakuton techniques, your hand-to-hand combat, and above all, your mastery over Shakuton and your breath control."
Sunae sprang to her feet, dusting off her pants and showing she was more than ready for action.
"Where do we start?" the kunoichi asked, her eyes sparkling with anticipation.
"First, we will acclimate your body to much more extreme temperature levels," Zoyu instructed, pointing his trunk toward an open area on the riverbank filled with massive rocks.
"So that your Shakuton armor doesn't drain you or cause collateral damage, your body must become one with the heat. And to achieve that, we must push your control of the Seven Heavens Breathing to a level you've never maintained before."
Sunae narrowed her eyes, immediately grasping the scale of the challenge.
"The 4th Activation..." Sunae whispered.
"Exactly," Zoyu confirmed. "I want you to push the Seven Heavens Breathing all the way to the Fourth Activation. I need you to maximize your chakra's internal combustion, forcing your lungs to process a massive amount of oxygen to accelerate your blood circulation. With that, we'll push your movement speed and the power of your hand-to-hand strikes to their absolute peak while keeping the heat armor active."
Sunae didn't hesitate for a single second. She walked with firm steps toward the center of the basalt clearing, stopping about ten meters from Zoyu. She planted her feet firmly on the hard rock, shoulder-width apart, and let her arms fall to her sides as she closed her eyes to focus.
She drew a deep breath, filling the lower part of her lungs to maximum capacity.
"Seven Heavens Breathing... First Activation!"
A burst of compressed air blew from Sunae's mouth as her heartbeat accelerated rhythmically. Without breaking the flow, the young girl inhaled again with greater intensity, forcing her ribcage to expand.
"Second Activation!"
With the second breath, her pink eyes gleamed brighter, making her look brimming with energy. Sunae gritted her teeth, feeling her body temperature begin to rise drastically.
"Third Activation!"
With the third, an orange chakra aura erupted, and a blast of scorching air radiated in all directions, instantly drying out the moisture from nearby plants.
Sunae's skin took on a faint reddish tint, and veins mapped subtly across her arms and neck. The oxygen inside her body was burning at a breathtaking speed, but the young kunoichi relished the exponential increase in raw physical power.
Zoyu watched the sequence with admiration, keeping his seismic sense active to monitor the girl's cardiac strain.
"Very good, Sunae! That's your comfort zone right there!" Zoyu shouted over the roar of the aura. "Now break your limit! Synchronize your Shakuton with the airflow in your lungs and reach the fourth stage!"
Sunae let out a cry of determination that echoed throughout the canyon. She snapped her eyes open, now glowing with an almost incandescent pink brilliance, and took a massive, deep inhalation, vacuuming up a huge volume of air from the valley.
"FOURTH ACTIVATION!!"
The impact of the chakra release was so brutal that the basalt surface beneath her feet cracked in a spiderweb pattern. Simultaneously, her Shakuton reacted to the acceleration, surging from every pore of her body and instantly fusing with the breathing aura.
The result was spectacular. A dense armor of yellow and orange flames, radiant as a miniature sun, completely shrouded Sunae's figure. The heat radiating off her was so overwhelming that the river water nearest to the bank began to bubble and release vast plumes of white steam. The thermal distortion surrounding her made her silhouette appear to ripple in the air.
Sunae gasped lightly, feeling the crushing pressure the Fourth Activation exerted on her muscles and the scorching energy of the armor trying to overload her endurance. However, thanks to her grandfather's conditioning and her father's supervision, she kept her feet planted firmly on the ground, refusing to yield.
"Astonishing!" Zoyu exclaimed, feeling the intense heat waves even from his position.
"That is a formidable density of power! But having power ignited means nothing if you can't move freely in the middle of battle. Show me that speed!"
In a fraction of a second, Zoyu stomped heavily on the earth. Thanks to his seismic sense, he erupted three huge rock pillars straight out of the ground, encircling Sunae as target dummies.
Sunae needed no further instructions. With a burst of speed boosted by the Fourth Activation, her figure vanished in a flash, leaving behind only a trace of superheated air and molten basalt.
BOOM!!
The first rock pillar shattered into a thousand pieces instantly as Sunae reappeared before it, driving a straight punch infused with the Shakuton armor. The force of the impact didn't just physically smash the stone; the extreme heat turned the flying fragments into glowing gravel before they even touched the ground.
Without losing momentum, she launched herself off her left foot, executing a flawless arc through the air.
BOOM!!
A second pillar was sliced diagonally by Sunae's spinning kick. The thermal shock caused the rock to fracture with a deafening crack. Finally, before the last pillar could even settle, Sunae dropped from above, hammering down with both fists.
CRACK-BOOM!!
The third stone structure was reduced to dust and ash, creating a small heat shockwave that swept across the clearing.
Sunae landed smoothly on one leg, maintaining a high guard for a couple of seconds before exhaling a massive cloud of superheated Air. Slowly, she began scaling back the airflow of the Seven Heavens Breathing, deactivating the Fourth Activation and letting the Shakuton armor gradually dissipate into a fine mist of heat.
The young girl fell to her knees onto the stone, bracing her hands on the ground as she panted heavily. Her skin was visibly flushed and drenched in sweat, but her eyes beamed with absolute satisfaction.
Zoyu walked slowly over to her, using his trunk to scoop up cool water from the river and gently shower it over Sunae's head like a refreshing rain, helping her regulate her body temperature.
"Hahaha, that was simply spectacular, Sunae," Zoyu praised with a broad smile.
"You managed to hold the Fourth Activation alongside the heat armor without losing your form during your strikes. Your explosive speed over short distances rivals that of fast shinobi, though I can see there's still plenty of room for improvement."
Sunae looked up, letting the cool water wash the sweat from her face, and let out a soft laugh of relief.
"Thank you, Zoyu... but I feel like my muscles are protesting pretty hard from the strain," Sunae admitted, getting to her feet slowly but with steady steps.
"Sustaining that level of Shakuton drains my oxygen reserves really fast."
"That's completely normal," the young elephant reassured her.
"It's only the first day of training. Your body needs to adapt gradually to the overload. We will work on this day after day until holding the Fourth Activation and the Shakuton armor becomes as natural to you as breathing."
Zoyu glanced toward the valley's horizon, where the daylight was starting to yield to darker hues, marking the passage of the day.
"Besides," Zoyu added mysteriously,
"As your physical mastery and chakra control reach their peak, your mental stability will increase too. And when you are ready, facing the Seven-Tails inside you won't be a problem anymore—it will be the next step toward your true power."
Sunae looked down at her hands, feeling the faint tingle of chakra still humming through her pathways. The image of the giant armored insect from her dreams flickered briefly in her mind, but this time she felt no anxiety or fear. She knew that with proper training and Zoyu's guidance, she would find the answers she needed.
"I'm ready for whatever comes," Sunae affirmed, keeping her gaze fixed on the horizon of the Elephant Valley. "I won't stop until I've surpassed all my limits."
"Good! That's what I like to hear. I'm making you my first disciple, Sunae, so I want you to keep three things in mind throughout this training period," Zoyu said.
Nodding with a smile, Sunae awaited the three guidelines she would need to remember and keep in mind.
"First will be mastering the Fourth Activation. Second is making sure your heat armor isn't just ambient heat around your body, but a condensed, true protective layer. And lastly, when you manage to open a dialogue with the Seven-Tails, uniting everything you've learned here—provided the Seven-Tails agrees."
"Perfect, Sensei Zoyu! Sounds great, I've got them stored in my mind!"
Zoyu released a resounding trumpeting call of approval that rang out across the entire sacred valley. The training plan was officially drawn up and underway, marking the beginning of the young desert heiress's grand transformation.