Lightning Style Armor, simplified version?

"..."

Every time Uchiha Ao looked at this success rate, his heart ached.

Ninety-eight percent, with a mortality rate? What's the difference between that and suicide?

Forget about progressing, he didn't even dare to touch it!

The only reasons he succeeded before were luck, and the fact that the Lightning Release Chakra he used that time was minimal, not even covering a quarter of the Limbic System in his brain. That's how he barely managed to survive.

Even with such caution, a second too late and he would have nearly suffered a mental breakdown.

It was clear how dangerous this secret technique was.

"For now, this method has to be put on hold. In the original story, Second didn't experience much stimulation between unlocking One Tomoe and Three Tomoe. Perhaps there are other methods within the clan."

Even if there weren't...

Since this secret technique was marked as a partial scroll, there must be a way to perfect it. Perhaps after perfection, the mortality rate wouldn't be so outrageous.

Crack! Crack!

After thinking it through, Uchiha Ao felt his stamina had mostly recovered. He stood up, stretched his muscles, and then sped towards the border of the Land of Fire.

"I haven't seen Kagami Uchiha in a while. As an elite guard, he's likely also at the border. For the growth from One Tomoe to Three Tomoe, besides secret techniques, he might be able to offer me some good ideas."

Three days later, at the Land of Fire's Underground Exchange.

"Two Million Taels, please."

The Scarface Man, dressed in a high-necked shirt, pressed one hand on a fiery red scroll while extending the other towards a Black Robe Hooded Man, his expression indifferent.

"I haven't looked yet, how can I confirm the authenticity of the information?"

The Black Robe Hooded Man glanced deeply at the scroll, his tone laced with displeasure.

"The Underground Exchange is spread throughout the Shinobi World. We won't ruin our reputation for just you. Also..."

As he spoke, a flicker of impatience flashed in the Scarface Man's eyes, and he was about to retract the scroll.

"You can choose not to trade, but we won't refund the deposit."

"Wait!"

The Black Robe Hooded Man quickly called out, pulling banknotes from his pocket. "I'll pay, I'll pay!"

The Scarface Man counted the banknotes, and after confirming they were correct, he tossed the scroll over, simultaneously opening the tightly shut stone door behind him.

"Please."

The black-robed man took the scroll without examining it closely. His figure flickered, and he vanished from his original spot.

The Scarface Man watched his departing back, a slight smirk tugging at his lips:

"Someone from Kumogakure, huh? Record his features and sell them off, that's another deal done.

Next!"

After leaving, the black-robed man took many detours, traveling dozens of miles before daring to stop and catch his breath in a quiet mountain forest.

Even after stopping, he didn't let his guard down. He formed hand seals, and two balls of crackling Chakra attached themselves above his eyes as he scanned his surroundings.

A moment later, after confirming he wasn't being followed, he let out a long sigh and relaxed, removing his hood.

Beneath the hood was a face that, while possessing the common features of the Land of Lightning, looked incredibly fierce due to a knife scar on his cheek.

Nibi Ge opened the scroll and examined it carefully. After a moment, a flicker of anger flashed in his eyes.

"These black market dealers at the exchange! Millions in commission fees, and all I get is such vague information. Once this reconnaissance mission is complete, I'm definitely reporting this to Kinkaku and Ginkaku, and we'll flatten the Land of Fire's Underground Exchange.

Especially that man, I'll kill him with my own hands!"

Nibi Ge clenched the remaining hundred thousand banknotes in his hand hatefully, the indifferent expression of the Underground Exchange boss flashing in his mind.

In Kumogakure, he was a collateral relative of the Yotsuki Clan. While still some distance from becoming a Special Jonin, ordinary people would at least nod respectfully when they saw him.

When he went to village shops, if he casually took something costing no more than 950 yen, no one would dare say a word.

He never expected that after one mission, more than half of his hard-earned savings would be drained. And the worst part was, it wasn't reimbursable...

"It's not like I stole the Raikage's underwear, is it? Why do I have to go on such a difficult mission..."

BOOM!

Suddenly, a Blazing Fireball crashed down precisely where Nibi Ge had been sitting.

Instantly, flames billowed, and dirt and sand flew everywhere.

"What's he babbling about?"

Uchiha Ao stood on a nearby tree, tilting his head and picking at his ear. Within his Crimson Eyes, a pair of Single Tomoe spun ceaselessly.

He didn't even have the most basic Warning Trap. He truly doubted if the other party was even a ninja.

He leaped lightly, landing not far from the explosion, and said with a strange expression:

"We're still dozens of kilometers from the Land of Fire's border. How could Cloud Village be here?"

Zzzt!

Just then, Nibi Ge's ferocious black face suddenly appeared behind him. His raised right hand was condensed with violent blue arcs of electricity. His dark palm was like a sharp sword, fiercely stabbing towards Uchiha Ao's heart, as Ao had his back to him.

"Die, arrogant brat!"

However, just as the lightning-filled palm was about to pierce Uchiha Ao's back.

Uchiha Ao's lips curled slightly. With a "Bang", his entire body instantly turned into a bolt of lightning.

"Lightning Style: Lightning Clone!" Nibi Ge exclaimed.

This was an A-rank Ninjutsu that even he hadn't mastered!

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Three Kunai shot from different directions. Nibi Ge braced with his left hand, spun his body around, and then lightly swept with the lightning attached to his right hand, knocking away all the incoming Kunai.

As soon as he steadied himself, he began to scan his surroundings non-stop.

However, he couldn't see any trace of Uchiha Ao.

"Could it be..."

After a long while, Nibi Ge seemed to realize something. He suddenly looked up, and saw a fireball dozens of meters wide, smashing down at him!

"!!"

In a moment of crisis, he quickly used the Body Flicker Technique, narrowly avoiding the fireball's blast radius. However, the shockwave from the explosion still sent him tumbling, rolling and scrambling!

"...As expected, the Kindness Technique. That's twice now, and I haven't even touched the corner of that bastard's clothes."

Uchiha Ao half-crouched on the tree trunk above Nibi Ge's head, looking down speechlessly.

To be honest, his encounter with this person was purely coincidental. He had seen his suspicious movements and decided to test him with the Kindness Technique first. He hadn't expected the other party to actually be from Cloud Village.

Although he didn't hold back with this Great Fireball Technique, he hadn't expected that even with such a good opportunity, he still couldn't harm the opponent.

"Speaking of which, the opponent should be using some other Lightning Style jutsu by now.

My Sharingan is already itching for a fight!"

Thinking this, he deliberately stood up and beckoned to Nibi Ge.

As expected, upon seeing Uchiha Ao's demeanor of completely disregarding him, Nibi Ge, who had just stabilized himself, instantly became enraged. Several veins bulged on his dark forehead.

"Arrogant!"

Before his words even fell, a faint blue arc of lightning Chakra surged around him. Like an arrow of lightning, he instantly flashed before Uchiha Ao, his palms once again gathering wisps of violent electric arcs, thrusting fiercely towards him!

That speed was several times faster than before!

"This speed, could it be..."

He had no time to think as the sharp lightning-like sword-palms swung rapidly!

Uchiha Ao's scarlet eyes suddenly contracted. While rapidly recording the Chakra circulation pathways, he instantly activated Thunder Breathing.

Under the dual enhancement of his Sharingan and Thunder Breathing, everything around him seemed to slow down by more than ten times in his eyes. He mobilized almost every muscle in his body, twisting his body into an unnatural posture.

Zzzt...

Just like that, the extremely sharp lightning palm-sword grazed past his body. Yet, even so, the electric arcs on the palm-sword still tore at his clothes, mere inches away from him.

"!!!"

In his rage, Nibi Ge forgot the inertia generated by his immense strength. This fatal oversight almost made him lose his balance.

Seeing this, a cold glint flashed in Uchiha Ao's eyes. He raised his right hand in response, fiercely grabbing Nibi Ge's neck, his face filled with terror, and slammed him down!

Boom!

Under that immensely powerful force, Nibi Ge cried out in pain again as his robust body crashed to the ground!

Without giving him a chance to react, Uchiha Ao pressed his left knee onto his head. As he drew a short blade from his waist, he brought his hands together and fiercely plunged the blade towards Nibi Ge's throat.

Thwack!

Hot blood splattered out, drenching Uchiha Ao's face, adding a touch of ferocity to his handsome features.

However, it wasn't over yet.

He abruptly pulled out the short blade and flickered away, retreating to a safe distance. Only then did he scan his surroundings with his scarlet eyes, searching for any potential enemies.

Only after thoroughly confirming that there were no supporting ninjas around did Uchiha Ao leap to Nibi Ge's corpse. He added a few more stabs before finally releasing the Chakra that had attached to his body with a sense of relief.

"Hoo... It's a shame I have no foundation in genjutsu. Otherwise, with just the Sharingan's dojutsu, this battle would have been much easier.

And that ninjutsu... why does it resemble the Raikage's Lightning Release Armor so much?

Could it really be..."

With this thought, Uchiha Ao began to form hand seals based on the ninjutsu he had just recorded with his Sharingan. Instantly, a surge of lightning Chakra attached itself to his entire body.

[Lightning Release Armor (Simplified Version) 0/100]

"As expected!"

He tried to clench his fist tightly, but his brow furrowed.

After research, he discovered that this simplified version of the Lightning Release Armor, apart from its chakra attachment method being superior to Thunder Breathing, only offered a slight improvement in both amplified strength and speed compared to Thunder Breathing.

"That's true. If an ordinary ninja could possess the secret art to activate Lightning Release Chakra Mode, that would be truly strange. But it's not a complete loss. When I have free time, I'll study this ninjutsu carefully and see if I can combine it with Thunder Breathing."

After dispersing his chakra, Uchiha Ao began his favorite part.

Looting!

Following the method he had rehearsed countless times in his mind, he rummaged through the corpse. In no time, he found two scrolls and over a hundred thousand silver taels on him.

"Yo, quite wealthy.

Hmm? What is this scroll... it's a diary? Let me see what's written... 'When a man says no, he means yes'... 'A real man should be with men'... 'Chrysanthemum care and maintenance'...

Holy crap, what kind of garbage is this... gag... My eyes!"

Uchiha Ao held onto a tree and vomited for a while. He quickly threw the scroll aside, then angrily kicked the grandson again. Afterward, as if feeling dirty, he wiped his shoe on the tree.

Spit!

Bad luck!

With the previous lesson learned, he hesitated for a long time this time before mustering the courage to look at the other scroll.

However, this time, after only a short while, his eyes suddenly widened.

This is...

If he could deliver this information to the Hyuga Clan, would they be so moved that they would publicly reward him with a Byakugan Cute Girl?