One Year

Six months later.

"Ice Release: Ice Spike Technique."

Beside the training ground's pool, Qi Shuang quickly formed a simple sequence of hand seals. A stream of clear water surged upward from the pool before him, and the instant it rose, it condensed from top to bottom into a white spike.

"Go!"

He aimed at an empty patch of ground across the pool. With a thought, the ice spike suddenly shot off the water under his control, heading straight for the spot he had locked onto.

Thud! Crack!

After a muffled impact came the sound of something breaking.

He leaped across the pool and carefully examined the spot where the ice spike had landed.

The ice spike, about a foot long, had broken into two pieces.

Half of it was embedded in the ground, while the other half had fallen onto the surface.

The half on the ground had already shattered into several pieces, while the half embedded in the earth was covered in obvious cracks. Perhaps because it was lodged in the ground, it had not completely fallen apart.

"The hardness still isn't quite enough?" He picked up a fragment of ice from the ground and frowned slightly.

Ice of this hardness probably could not withstand a direct clash with a Kunai or other ninja tool. It would be easily smashed apart and blocked.

The comforting part was that ice this hard could still inflict considerable damage if it struck someone directly. If it hit an opponent's vital point, it could likewise kill them in a single blow.

The prerequisite was that he had to actually hit his target!

"Forget it. This will do for now." After thinking for a moment, he shook his head.

To further increase the ice's hardness, he would need to work harder on his understanding and control of Ice Release.

However, understanding and controlling a particular type of Ninjutsu was no simple matter. It required a great deal of time to master that technique's characteristics and thereby increase its power.

Even though Ice Release was his Kekkei Genkai talent and he could use it innately, he still had to study it painstakingly to bring out its full power. He could not display the same might as his predecessors from the very beginning.

Compared to ordinary ninja, the advantage possessed by those with Kekkei Genkai was that they started from a higher point. Studying their innate abilities was more convenient than having other ninja study basic elemental techniques.

Perhaps the time they needed for research was shorter, but that was only relative. In the end, they still had to spend a great deal of time building up their foundation.

Moreover, the further one advanced in studying Ninjutsu, the more difficult it became.

His Ice Release had already reached the limit he could achieve within a short period. If he wanted to progress further, he had no idea how much more time he would have to spend.

And what he lacked most right now was time.

In another six months, he would have to take the next round of the Ninja Academy graduation exam.

Whether he graduated or not, he would probably be sent to the front lines. The fighting there was growing increasingly intense, and manpower was in extremely short supply.

The difference was that if he failed to graduate, he could only become a disposable pawn. If he graduated successfully, he could become a promising seedling Kirigakure would carefully nurture.

Still, given the current situation, the possibility of him failing to graduate was practically zero.

His performance over the past six months had been witnessed by several Ninja Teachers, and they all praised him highly.

No one had ever doubted that he would graduate.

"Right now, my Ice Release still relies heavily on water sources. I'll spend these remaining six months studying Water Release." He thought this silently.

In his current condition, it was not impossible for him to use Ice Release on dry ground. However, without a water source to support him, casting Ice Release would be extremely strenuous, especially since the casting speed would become very slow.

On the battlefield, the speed of casting could very well determine whether someone lived or died!

He did not want to die miserably at someone else's hands merely because he was too slow to cast his technique.

Therefore, studying Water Release and providing the crucial casting environment for Ice Release was an extremely urgent matter for him.

Fortunately, Ice Release was formed by combining the Chakra Nature Transformation of Wind Release and Water Release.

In other words, the Nature Transformation of Ice Release naturally contained the Nature Transformation of Water Release.

Since he could use Ice Release, learning Water Release would naturally be much easier for him than for an ordinary ninja.

This was also why those with Kekkei Genkai were always labeled geniuses and became objects of envy. The blessings left by their predecessors were simply too convenient.

Only when studying Earth Release, Lightning Release, and Fire Release—three basic elemental techniques unrelated to Ice Release—did Qi Shuang truly stand at the same starting point as other ordinary ninja.

However, because he possessed Ice Release innately, he was naturally attuned to the Water and Wind attributes. Water overcame Fire, while Fire overcame Wind, so given his elemental affinity, studying Fire Release would naturally be more difficult for him than for other ninja.

This could also be considered a major "flaw" of those with Kekkei Genkai.

Besides his own advantages, he also had the advantage of his external environment.

This was the Land of Water's Kirigakure, where most ninja were skilled in Water Release. Several of Qi Shuang's teachers also knew Water Release ninjutsu.

Although Chakra Nature Transformation was not part of the Ninja Academy's standard curriculum, he could privately ask several teachers about the Nature Transformation of Water Style Chakra.

Especially during this critical period, everyone was happy to offer him some guidance, strengthen his abilities, and cultivate an outstanding combat asset for Kirigakure.

The six-month period passed in the blink of an eye. With his innate talent and his teachers' guidance, Qi Shuang successfully learned Water Release.

However, the power of this Water Release was somewhat underwhelming.

There was nothing he could do about it. Time was too tight. Being able to master Water Release at all had already been difficult enough, and he had no time to worry about the power of his Water Release ninjutsu.

Fortunately, he had only learned Water Release as a temporary foundation for using Ice Release. He did not care about its power for now. He would have plenty of time to study and build it up slowly in the future.

For the moment, it was enough.

The next round of the ninja graduation exam arrived as scheduled. However, because of the previous year's Zabuza incident, Kirigakure's higher-ups had urgently changed the examination rules.

The ninja graduation exam in Kirigakure no longer required students to kill someone in order to pass.

They only had to defeat three challengers in succession to graduate successfully and become qualified Genin.

Standing on the arena, Qi Shuang easily defeated the three classmates who came to challenge him, smoothly advancing from a trainee ninja to a qualified Genin.

It was an outcome he had expected. Facing a group of classmates who, for the most part, could not perform Chakra Nature Transformation and knew only the basic Three Body Techniques and Taijutsu, his Ninjutsu had an overwhelming advantage.

As for the other Kekkei Genkai users and exceptionally talented people among his classmates, he did not encounter any of them. Perhaps the teachers had manipulated the arrangements behind the scenes, preventing trainee ninja who were fully capable of graduating from "slaughtering one another."

This increased the number of students who graduated.

Just as he expected, on the very day he graduated, the higher-ups sent over a supervising teacher. The teacher immediately took him and two other newly graduated Genin to the front lines, with no intention of having them perform various miscellaneous daily missions first.

They did not even spare these inexperienced youngsters. From this, it was clear that the fighting on the front lines had truly reached an extremely critical point.