Flame Shield

Magic Shield is one of the most commonly used defensive spells by mages.

Unlike armor spells that enhance one's own state, shield spells typically form a protective area around the mage, blocking external damage.

Satoru had never heard of such a thing in the Shinobi World...

It seems shinobi don't pay much attention to personal defense. Their barrier ninjutsu is also very powerful, but it focuses more on collective protection and requires dedicated personnel to maintain.

Or rather, all ninjutsu has this issue: it requires the caster to continuously supply Chakra to maintain its effect.

This is also a major key constraint on the development of personal defensive ninjutsu.

However, magic is clearly also good at sustained enhancement effects.

Although the Magic Shield only lasts for one minute, it doesn't require maintenance!

"Three types of shields: Arcane's Prismatic Shield, Flame's Flame Shield, and Frost's Frost Shield."

Satoru had been studying defensive spells for a while. The principles behind the three high-level shield spells are similar, but they have different effects depending on the element forming the shield.

Moreover, forming an eggshell-shaped barrier is not very realistic—that thing obstructs vision too much!

The transparent, eggshell-shaped protective area, externally manifested as a protective orb, is the true state of the shield.

Prismatic Shield is a shield formed by Arcane Power. Its appearance is three gorgeous Arcane Orbs. Not only is it beautiful, but it can also increase resistance to various spells.

Flame Shield is a shield formed by gathering fire elements. Its appearance is three burning fireballs. It's super dazzling and can burn enemies in close combat.

Frost Shield is a shield formed by gathering frost. Its appearance is three chilling ice balls. It's also beautiful and can freeze enemies in close combat.

The three shields rotating around his body as three orbs reminded Satoru of Truth-Seeking Balls...

For the same reasons as before, Satoru had to temporarily put aside Prismatic Shield and Frost Shield, and focus on practicing Flame Shield first.

And it's a dual version of magic and ninjutsu.

At the very least, he had to ensure his father, this protective umbrella, could learn it, right?

"This is so hard for me..."

As an anomaly, Satoru had to use his full brainpower to survive well in the disaster-prone Shinobi World. He's going all out!

Finally, a month later, when Might Duy, in his excitement, almost beat an elite Anbu Chunin to death and successfully obtained special mission authorization, Satoru's first defensive spell was also successfully developed!

The magic and ninjutsu versions of Flame Shield look the same, but their underlying principles are different.

By utilizing a method like "Water Walking," which involves continuous Chakra output, Satoru successfully integrated nature transformation into it, developing the ninjutsu version of Flame Shield.

However, the difficulty of practicing this technique was somewhat beyond Satoru's expectations.

Originally, the Water Walking technique was not something everyone could do; among Genin, it belonged to the excellent, requiring extensive practice.

And now, adding fire-style nature transformation, the difficulty of this technique directly increased to C-rank.

As for directly forming orbs with Chakra...

Heh, it's not a shield just because it has three balls attached. That transparent, eggshell-shaped protective area is the essence of the defensive spell.

"As usual... I can just leave the development of jutsu to the old man."

Satoru was very fortunate to have his father as his backing.

With his Arcane knowledge, Arcane Power, the mysterious connection between Arcane Power and Chakra, and the help of The Book of Medivh itself, Satoru had a natural advantage in analyzing ninjutsu.

But being too conspicuous wouldn't work. It wasn't unheard of for someone his age to learn a C-rank jutsu, but developing a C-rank jutsu was too shocking.

Mitokado Homura spent some effort learning this jutsu, but regarding its practicality...

"Satoru, I've also noticed that your Chakra reserves are much larger compared to others your age."

With fireballs spinning around him, Homura carefully experienced the jutsu and said seriously to Satoru:

"But this kind of continuous Chakra output is too burdensome for ordinary shinobi."

"To maintain a certain level of defense, the amount of Chakra output cannot be too small, and excessive output wastes Chakra."

"Although this Flame Shield is a C-rank ninjutsu, to truly unleash its value, it requires at least Jonin-level Chakra reserves. However..."

After thinking carefully, Homura suggested:

"The idea of a 'maintenance jutsu' is very good. Some modifications can be made. Normally, activate the jutsu with extremely low Chakra, and the fireballs don't need to be fully displayed, just sparks would suffice."

"When needed, instantly increase the Chakra output to form the fireball defense. This way, its practicality can be elevated to a higher level, allowing Chunin and even Genin to use this jutsu to save their lives."

"Wow..."

Satoru's mouth opened in surprise.

As expected, the older generation knows best.

The problems Mitokado Homura raised were sharp and accurate, all issues Satoru hadn't considered that would arise in the practical application of this jutsu.

"As expected, what I lack the most is practical combat experience. The precious experience gained in practical combat for using jutsu is indispensable for developing a practical jutsu."

Not having truly been on the battlefield yet is the biggest problem Satoru faces.

Rich combat experience is the fundamental basis for whether a ninja can be called an "elite," not just combat power.

This is also the fundamental reason why Homura and the Third Hokage insisted that Duy, whose combat power far surpassed that of ordinary Jonin, must accumulate merits through actual missions.

What's the point of having high attack power if you get instantly killed by Genjutsu, traps, or Ninjutsu the moment you step outside?

"As expected of the old man. Then I'll leave the naming of this jutsu to you... I'm going to go improve it!"

Watching Satoru disappear immediately, Mitokado Homura helplessly pushed up his glasses.

"This brat... not only is his brain sharp, but he's also humble. He's just a bit too green."

Thinking that Satoru was just a child under eight years old, Homura shook his head with a wry smile.

"Honestly... without realizing it, I've always overlooked that."

"Especially in these past few years, I've gradually gotten used to Satoru's way of thinking, which is comparable to an adult's."

After submitting the Ninjutsu version of Flame Shield to his father, Satoru received official certification to use the magical version of Flame Shield.

Although the Shinobi World had countless strange jutsu, Satoru still had to act cautiously until his strength reached a certain level.

With Satoru now possessing defensive spells, the young Ino-Shika-Cho trio suffered greatly.

Its dazzling appearance also became one of Satoru's trademarks.

The side effect was that every time he cast Flame Shield, the swirling fireballs always made Satoru's thoughts wander.

"I always feel like there's something I need to vent..."

That guy Kai's three orbs... they were green.

But no matter what, at the start of the new academic year, Satoru had finally deciphered 30% of The Book of Medivh.

Through this, Satoru accessed the long-awaited content within the transformation branch of Arcane magic.

It involved the principles of spatial manipulation spells.

First was the pride of mages, the most widely used spell – Blink.

"Blink can be used to quickly escape enemy pursuit, or to prevent careless mages from falling off cliffs. Unless absolutely necessary, do not attempt to use Blink to avoid death from falling. A single mistake with this trick can cost you your life."

The explanation for Blink's application in The Book of Medivh was filled with sarcasm.

This was probably why the explanation for Slow Fall followed this statement.