Hozuki Shingetsu, who was preparing to fight over there, never would have imagined that this battle would somehow get him a wife.
At that moment, he was exchanging friendly pre-battle trash talk with Kaguya Hirotoshi.
"You should feel honored to have earned the right to fight me. When you're old and gray, you can proudly tell your children that you never regretted wasting your years or felt ashamed of your mediocrity, because you once fought Hozuki Shingetsu, the current 'God of Shinobi.'"
The words made everyone around them seethe with anger, itching to rush over and beat him up. And that went doubly for Kaguya Hirotoshi, a battle-crazed man.
"Shikotsumyaku: Ten-Finger Drilling Bullets!"
Kaguya Hirotoshi raised both hands. With a series of sharp whistles, several white finger bones sliced through the air and shot toward Hozuki Shingetsu. At the same time, Kaguya Hirotoshi sprang forward, trying to close in and draw Shingetsu into the close-quarters combat where he excelled, the moment Shingetsu dodged.
Hozuki Shingetsu watched the incoming finger bones and smiled faintly. He didn't dodge, simply waiting for them to reach him.
When the Ten-Finger Drilling Bullets struck Hozuki Shingetsu, his body seemed to turn into a pool of water. Ripples spread across the spots they hit, and the projectiles passed right through him, continuing onward.
As old rivals of the Hozuki Clan, the Kaguya Clan naturally knew how to counter the Hydrification Technique. Aware that ordinary Taijutsu attacks were useless against it, Kaguya Hirotoshi activated his Kekkei Genkai as soon as he closed the distance.
"Shikotsumyaku: Dance of the Camellia!"
Kaguya Hirotoshi reached across with his right hand, pulled a bone sword from his left shoulder, and swung it at Hozuki Shingetsu.
Ordinary Taijutsu couldn't break through the Hydrification Technique, but this bone sword was made from bones extended out of his body through Shikotsumyaku. Not only was it incredibly hard, it was also an excellent conduit for his Chakra, making it perfect for countering the Hydrification Technique.
"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"
Hozuki Shingetsu naturally didn't dare take the attack head-on. But he wanted to test the power of a new jutsu he'd been developing, so, hidden by the huge splash from the clash between the bone sword and his jutsu, he quietly activated another technique.
Soon, his face began to flush red, and all the skin exposed on his body turned crimson. Even wisps of steam seemed to rise from his head.
With the jutsu bolstering him, he felt as though he had boundless strength, and his physical abilities had undergone a qualitative leap.
He immediately closed in, trying to engage Kaguya Hirotoshi in a straight-up brawl.
"Are you trying to get yourself killed?"
This was exactly the kind of fight Kaguya Hirotoshi wanted. But before he could even enjoy it, something felt wrong the instant their fists and feet collided.
"This strength... Could he be a Taijutsu specialist?"
Hozuki Shingetsu's Taijutsu attacks had become too powerful for him to ignore. Kaguya Hirotoshi immediately put aside his underestimation and began fighting seriously, technique by technique.
For a while, the only sound on the field was the steady thud of their bodies colliding as they fought at close quarters.
"Does that jutsu imitate the Yotsuki Clan's Lightning Release Chakra Mode?"
Many of the Jonin watching from the sidelines had dealt with Kumogakure. After a brief look, they recognized the origins of Hozuki Shingetsu's technique.
"But it's clearly incomplete. It looks powerful, but it does a lot of damage to the body, and it probably can't be maintained for long. It's nowhere near comparable to the Lightning Release Chakra Mode."
"Even so, creating a jutsu like that at just twelve years old is enough to earn Hozuki Shingetsu the title of Kirigakure's genius. Given time, he might even truly create a complete Water Release Chakra Mode."
Like the other Jonin, the sharp-eyed Hozuki Zangetsu had naturally spotted the flaws in the technique. But he wasn't worried. He believed his son had more than just this one trump card.
The Water Release Chakra Mode I came up with is still a long way from being complete! I've only been using it for a few minutes, and my body's already struggling to hold up.
Hozuki Shingetsu silently assessed his condition. He figured he could maintain it for at most one minute. Any longer, and it would cause irreversible damage to his body.
That's right: the technique Hozuki Shingetsu was using was his own take on the Water Release Chakra Mode, inspired by Kumogakure's Lightning Release Chakra Mode.
As someone who had crossed over from another world, Hozuki Shingetsu naturally knew how the Lightning Release Chakra Mode worked. It used tiny electric currents to continuously stimulate the body's cells, greatly increasing their activity while using the electricity to speed up the transmission of nerve signals.
Hozuki Shingetsu had wind, water, and lightning Chakra natures, but knowing the principle didn't make him willing to casually attempt the Lightning Release Chakra Mode.
First, nerve signals were far too sensitive. If he failed to control the intensity while converting Chakra into Lightning Release, he could easily fry his brain and turn himself into an idiot. Second, as a secret technique of the Yotsuki Clan, it had undergone a long process of development from scratch, so Hozuki Shingetsu didn't think he could simply reproduce it.
But he could still try to make a knockoff Water Release Chakra Mode based on the same principle.
The core of the Lightning Release Chakra Mode was to give the body faster reflexes, greater physical strength, and more explosive power. Starting with the goal and working backward, Hozuki Shingetsu had devised a Water Release Chakra Mode that could produce a similar effect by accelerating blood circulation and raising his metabolic rate.
As it happened, the Hozuki Clan's Hydrification Secret Technique allowed its users to control the liquids in their bodies with absolute precision.
So, through plenty of trial and error, and thanks to this body's decent talent for ninjutsu and the lively mind of a transmigrator, Hozuki Shingetsu had managed to create an incomplete version of the Water Release Chakra Mode that was at least usable.
With this mode boosting him, Hozuki Shingetsu could even hold his own against Kaguya Hirotoshi in Taijutsu... But that was all he could do.
Kaguya Hirotoshi wanted to end the fight cleanly and quickly, and he'd had enough of this kind of battle. At last, he unleashed a second Shikotsumyaku technique.
"Shikotsumyaku: Dance of the Larch!"
In an instant, dense bone spikes erupted from all over Kaguya Hirotoshi's body, like a forest bursting from the earth. The bones shone a ghastly white in the sunlight, and their hardness was clearly beyond what an ordinary attack could break.
"The Strongest Shield of the Shikotsumyaku..."
As an old rival, Hozuki Shingetsu knew the various abilities of the Shikotsumyaku inside and out. He knew this technique could greatly increase its user's defense, while the bone spikes it produced were the bane of Taijutsu specialists.
"Water Release: Water Gun Technique!"
Hozuki Shingetsu extended his hand like a pistol. The tip of his index finger turned into a drop of water, which shot toward Kaguya Hirotoshi.
Whoosh!
The attack whistled through the air and struck Kaguya Hirotoshi's outer layer of bone, but didn't cause the slightest damage.
"Water Release: Water Bubble Technique!"
A dense mass of foam-like bubbles flew toward Kaguya Hirotoshi, their surfaces refracting the sunlight into a rainbow of colors.
Developed by the Second Mizukage, this jutsu's bubbles were more than just water; they also contained a considerable amount of oil, making them remarkably effective at corroding hard objects.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The bubbles exploded as soon as they touched Kaguya Hirotoshi, and smoke instantly engulfed the entire field.
"Didn't work?"
Hozuki Shingetsu narrowed his eyes, watching the figure slowly emerge from the smoke as he considered his next move.
"Haha! Your attacks can't even get through my defenses. How are you supposed to beat me?"
Aside from being a little dirty from the explosions and having used up some Chakra, Kaguya Hirotoshi hadn't suffered any real damage. He taunted Hozuki Shingetsu at point-blank range.
He wasn't just going to win this battle. He was going to win in style!
"Shikotsumyaku: Dance of the Clematis: Vine!"
Kaguya Hirotoshi roared as Chakra surged through him. The bones in his right arm began to grow wildly. Soon, they burst through his skin and encased his entire arm, forming a spiral spear at his fingertips.
"Shikotsumyaku: Dance of the Clematis: Flower!"
Kaguya Hirotoshi raised his left arm and slowly pulled his spine out from the back of his neck, turning it into a whip that he held in his hand.
Now Kaguya Hirotoshi was a fearsome sight, bone spikes jutting out all over his body, a whip in one hand and a spear in the other.
If Dance of the Larch was the Strongest Shield of the Shikotsumyaku, then Dance of the Clematis: Vine could undoubtedly be called its Strongest Spear.
On the battlefield, when a Kaguya Clan member used Dance of the Larch and unleashed both Dance of the Clematis: Vine and Dance of the Clematis: Flower, it usually meant he was fully caught up in the fight and had brought out just about all his strength.
This fighting style, combining the Shikotsumyaku with exquisite Taijutsu, was often the Kaguya Clan's surest way to defeat their enemies.
And that was exactly what was happening. With Dance of the Larch combined with Dance of the Clematis: Vine, even Hozuki Shingetsu, bolstered by his incomplete Water Release Chakra Mode, was in dire straits under Kaguya Hirotoshi's assault. It looked as if he would lose at any moment.
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