A Little Lesson on Ice Release
The Nature Transformation of Ice Release... its simplest application is to use low temperatures to freeze water into ice, and then shape it into weapons or other shapes through Shape Transformation.
This is probably the ultimate level of pseudo- Ice Release that the Snow Ninja from the Land of Snow could achieve.
True Ice Release techniques certainly don't stop there.
"The Nature Transformation of Ice Release... Let's start with the strength of Ice Release without involving Chakra."
Sakura Haruno conjured a pair of glasses on her face, brandished an ice whip, and disguised herself as a Ninja Academy teacher.
The long-awaited Team 7 has begun again...
"Ahem..." Clearing her throat, Sakura began her formal lesson to the students who were all ears, "Generally speaking, the lower the temperature, the harder the ice..."
The hardness of ice, ranging from -5 degrees Celsius to 50 degrees Celsius, is linearly related to temperature.
At temperatures below -50 degrees Celsius, ice has a Mohs hardness of 6, exceeding the hardness of the steel used in standard Kunai and approaching that of high-strength alloy steel and glass. Further cooling can even reach a Mohs hardness of 8 or higher, making it harder than the hardest granite!
In contrast, the hardest substance, diamond, is in a class of its own with a Mohs hardness of 10. Below that, a Mohs hardness of 9 belongs to chromium (and only to the chromium plating on metal surfaces), hard alloys, and corundum. Ice, frozen to the extreme, is right behind. The bone used by Kimimaro, without the addition of Chakra, has a Mohs hardness of only 5.
Ice's hardness, even without Chakra to enhance its properties, is already harder than most materials in the Shinobi World based solely on its physical properties!
"That sounds pretty impressive," Sasuke, feeling like he hadn't understood much despite hearing so much. He only knew that ice would become very hard after cooling down, "But in actual combat, we also have to consider the effects of imbuing it with Chakra."
"Don't rush, let me finish." Sakura adjusted her glasses and continued.
Indeed, in the world of ninjas, it's considered dishonest to ignore the influence of Chakra on anything.
"Regarding the power of Chakra, Ice Release Chakra, as Kekkei Genkai, is naturally far superior to ordinary Chakra used in Release Techniques. You don't deny that, do you?"
"Of course." As a fellow user of Kekkei Genkai, Sasuke was well aware of Kekkei Genkai power; it was common knowledge among ninjas that combined attributes were stronger than single attributes.
Therefore, with the addition of Ice Release Chakra, ice not only becomes harder, but its greatest weakness—its toughness—is also dramatically improved. If Ice Release Ninjutsu takes Nature Transformation to its extreme, it becomes insanely powerful in this aspect—even more powerful than the Shikotsumyaku at its full power.
Of course, it still can't compare to the Shikotsumyaku has unleashed several thousand percent of its power.
To this, Sakura Haruno could only say, "If you try to out -Ninjutsu with him, he'll Chakra you, crushing you with ten or a hundred times more Chakra. That's true thuggery."
Naruto Uzumaki, the overpowered character of Team 7, is such a scoundrel!
She thought that after obtaining the Yin Seal, she had joined the ranks of the scoundrels; she thought that after Naruto left the village, she would rarely encounter such a scoundrel-loving enemy again; who knew that, in the first actual battle, her opponent was a suicide soldier who risked his life to amplify his strength by activating his vital points, Chakra reserves far exceeded hers when she activated the Yin Seal...
Sakura Haruno harbored a deep resentment towards Kimimaro for not being defeated by her, but instead for almost giving her a surprise before his death, which led him to sever his own life.
Just like when Sasuke fought the Ice Clone, he didn't like to drag the fight out until she ran out of Chakra before he won.
Sakura felt that this ending did not fully prove that her Ninjutsu was more powerful than Kimimaro's Kekkei Genkai.
Ice Release is clearly more powerful than Shikotsumyaku.
Coach, someone is trying to cheat and manipulate the score!
Although someone simultaneously activated Cherry Blossom Impact, Yin Seal, and Monstrous Strength Technique, it seems they're using even more cheats...
Of course, it cannot be denied that Sakura Haruno has only been exposed to Ice Release for less than a year, and her development and proficiency in Ice Release are not as good as Kimimaro's control over Shikotsumyaku, which is to be expected.
She still doesn't have a clear enough understanding of the Nature Transformation and Shape Transformation of Ice Release.
The Shape Transformation is fine; it's just shaping the Ice Release Chakra. Ice Release uses ice as a medium, so shaping it isn't difficult. Ice blocks can transform into countless forms. In fact, all sorts of ideas were already stirring in her mind...
However, the Nature Transformation... as mentioned earlier, still only extends to the level of producing low temperatures.
However, the low temperature alone was enough for her to let her thoughts wander and unleash her imagination.
Using the Nature Transformation of Ice Release to cool water and freeze it into extremely hard ice is only the most basic application.
Even though this basic application is already quite attractive, it can lead to many powerful Ice Release Ninjutsu.
Examples include Swallow Snow Storm and Frost Ice Burial.
However, the most exciting part was yet to come.
The world of low temperatures follows completely different rules than the world of normal temperatures.
"Sasuke, you may not have heard of the term 'cold brittleness'... but you should know that most objects lose their flexibility and become brittle at low temperatures."
Sakura Haruno took a Kunai from Sasuke's ninja tool pouch.
Most of the steel weapons used by ninjas were made of ordinary low-alloy high-strength steel that was not designed for use in low-temperature conditions.
She had done her research and found that Kunai usually made of 16 nu hot-rolled steel. The brittle transition temperature of this steel—that is, the temperature at which its toughness begins to decrease—is around -10 degrees Celsius. If her Kekkei Genkai Ninjutsu were to freeze it even slightly, it would become extremely brittle.
It is common knowledge that metals become brittle at low temperatures.
Sasuke, of course, knew this, and therefore nodded without hesitation. "That's true."
However, Sasuke had no idea just how fragile it would become.
That said, even if it becomes brittle, can't it be made up for by adding Chakra?
He watched as the pink-haired girl channeled her Ice Release Chakra. The refined Ice Release Nature Transformation rapidly lowered the temperature of the Kunai to an extremely low level, and a thin layer of white frost quickly formed on the metallic steel surface.
"The temperature of the Kunai is probably around minus 80 or 90 degrees Celsius right now. Why don't you try cutting it?" Sakura saw through Sasuke's thoughts and said with a smile.
Sasuke was somewhat dismissive and casually slashed at it.
Clang!
The normal Kunai in the black-haired boy's hand collided with the Kunai that had been frozen in Sakura's hand. Unexpectedly, the latter became as fragile as a glass rod, so much so that Sasuke Kunai into several pieces with just a casual strike!
"Hmm... not bad!" Sasuke raised an eyebrow slightly, somewhat surprised. Although he knew that Kunai become brittle, this was the first time he had ever seen them become this brittle. The Land of Fire has a mild climate, and even in winter, there are very few days with heavy snow and ice, let alone temperatures of minus eighty or ninety degrees Celsius. Therefore, this was the first time Sasuke had seen Ice Release have such a wonderful use.
"Hmph~" Sakura smiled smugly, "This is just the appetizer, now chop this up."
This time, she conjured an extremely cold, high-hardness ice blade.
Sasuke frowned slightly, the highly concentrated Ice Release Chakra on the ice blade bothering him.
However, he still listened to her and began to Kunai with Sakura's ice blade while wielding his kunai.
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