Ice Release was created by combining wind- and water-nature Chakra.
But not just any wind- and water-nature Chakra could be combined to create Ice Release.
Otherwise, Kekkei Genkai wouldn't be so rare and precious in the Ninja World.
No one had ever counted how many nature transformations each type of Chakra possessed.
No one knew the logic behind the formation of each nature transformation, or what permissions it required.
To obtain Ice Release, one had to introduce Chakra of another nature at the points corresponding to each nature transformation and its formation logic.
The combinations of the two were endless, and those without the bloodline couldn't force the matter.
That was the rule of the Ninja World: if you weren't born with it, you could never acquire it later.
Eyes were the exception. They were cheats.
Yet Mo Jingxian had broken through that understanding. He had found another way, bypassing Chakra's permissions entirely.
Using sealing runes, he had imposed three restrictions on his own Chakra: "slowness," "inertia," and "isolation."
His Chakra was like an old tortoise, stripped of its vitality.
Instead, the water element within it came alive.
The Water Flood Dragon appeared in his palm again, its color a little deeper than before.
The wind element gradually merged with it. This time, the two elements combined and melded together.
The temperature around them began to drop, and Mo Jingxian released the restrictions on his Chakra.
It no longer seemed quite right to call it the Water Dragon Technique. A huge Ice Flood Dragon wound its way across the grassland.
Wherever it passed, each blade of grass turned into an ice sculpture.
In the height of summer, Mo Jingxian had created a world of ice sculptures.
The Ice Flood Dragon seemed to sense his delight. After circling once, it returned to its master.
It raised its head, waiting for him to pet it.
Mo Jingxian reached out and rested his hand on its head. The cold didn't hurt him; all he felt was a faint chill.
He had created the technique, so he could naturally control its temperature as he pleased.
As he continued to feed it Chakra, the air around the Ice Flood Dragon grew colder and colder.
Gradually, the area of frozen grass began to spread: one meter, two meters...
When it reached a radius of ten meters, he stopped supplying Chakra.
Mo Jingxian had determined the Ice Flood Dragon's limit.
Its core temperature was about eighty degrees below zero, its area of effect had a radius of around ten meters, and it consumed nearly half his Chakra.
He dispelled the technique and took a while to recover.
For now, Ice Release could serve as a trump card, further improving his chances of survival.
There were still many nature transformations to develop for Ice Release, but that would take a lot of time and depended on his understanding of water and wind elements.
There was no need to rush.
For the time being, Ice Release was powerful enough. If he wanted to lower its temperature further, he would need a deeper understanding of the elements. His grasp of wind, in particular, urgently needed improvement.
The last thing was naming it. The technique had started out as the "Water Dragon Technique," and he couldn't be bothered to rename it. He might as well keep the name; it even had sentimental value.
That was about it. His bag held a million ryo in bills he'd extorted from Long Yunzhi. Once he got back, he could replenish his supplies in bulk.
Money was important. Before, he'd had to count out Explosive Tags one by one whenever he used them. He'd been desperately short on cash.
Now he could use Explosive Tags without worrying. If he ran into the Sand Ninja again, he'd throw them by the handful.
If they didn't get blown to bits, the shock would scare them to death.
Thinking of that, Mo Jingxian suddenly found himself missing Long Yunzhi.
What a good guy!
Long Yunzhi couldn't argue, of course. At that moment, he was lying inside Mo Jingxian's sealing scroll. Mo Jingxian was still hoping he could make use of him again once he returned to camp.
After all, waste was shameful.
His gains were tallied, and he'd come into a fortune.
His physical abilities were approaching those of a High Ninja, and he had a wider variety of techniques at his disposal.
As for his combat strength, he didn't even know where he fit into the current shinobi system.
He should have the strength of a High Ninja. If the conditions were right, taking out a few enemy High Ninja would be easy enough.
He could probably trade a few moves with an elite High Ninja, too. At the very least, his chances of survival had risen dramatically.
As for a "Shadow"...
He couldn't think about that. Mo Jingxian felt he was already courting death.
Having sorted out his combat strength, he rested his hands behind his head and gazed contentedly at the sky.
A few white clouds drifted lazily by, and a cool breeze brushed over him.
The grass around him was wrapped in transparent ice, droplets of melting water hanging from each blade and reflecting sunlight in a kaleidoscope of colors.
"By my count, I've been away for quite a while. If I don't go back soon, they might think I've gone rogue."
Before his words had even faded, he vanished from the spot.
The Land of Rain, Amegakure.
On a street not far from the office building of the demigod of the shinobi world, Hanzo of the Salamander, Mo Jingxian held the brim of his hat and looked up.
A towering building rose from the ground. Hanzo usually lived on its top floor, which was built in the shape of a demon's head.
Most of the buildings around it were similar, though none stood as tall or had such an unusual design.
When he had first entered Amegakure, Mo Jingxian had thought he'd stepped into a wasteland.
Towering buildings rose one after another like giants, giving the place a distinctly cyberpunk feel.
The sky was perpetually gloomy, and the rain never stopped.
Walking along a street where steel jungles alternated with old wooden buildings, Mo Jingxian felt as though time had gone awry.
The Ninja World wasn't large, yet it seemed pieced together, each country's style utterly different from the next.
He rather liked the weather here. Even the Chakra inside him felt a little more active.
Mo Jingxian headed for the outskirts of Amegakure. He didn't want to attract any unnecessary trouble.
At this point, Hanzo hadn't yet been toppled from his throne by Akatsuki. He was still the demigod who had dominated an entire era.
After winding through the streets, he finally found a shantytown on the edge of the village. This was the destination of his trip.
Low houses huddled close together in the cramped space. The streets were muddy, and the stench of garbage hung in the air.
Mo Jingxian stopped in front of a house and pushed at the door.
The bottom of the door scraped against the ground with a shrill noise, and firelight spilled from inside.
He looked in, then raised his hand and knocked twice on the dilapidated wooden door.
There was only one child inside, a girl of about five or six. Her face was smeared with dirt, making her features hard to discern.
Only her eyes reflected the flickering firelight, again and again.
The girl crouched beside the fire and stared at him blankly. She showed no hostility, but made no move to stand and ask what he wanted, either.
"Kashima Yui!"
Mo Jingxian entered the house, and the little girl warily backed away.
From her reaction, he knew he had the right person.
Kashima Yui's circumstances were somewhat unexpected. Perhaps something had gone wrong with her father's arrangements.
But she was alive, and that was the best news.
As for anything else, Mo Jingxian had no intention of getting involved.
At worst, he'd leave her some money before he went. That would be the least he could do.
"Don't be afraid. I mean you no harm."
After soothing her, Mo Jingxian crouched down and spoke gently:
"I'm a friend of your father's. I've come to retrieve something."
At his words, the little girl seemed even more frightened and staggered two steps backward.
Kashima Yui's reaction was somewhat unexpected.
"You dare come back?"
An angry threat came from outside the door. A girl of fifteen or sixteen stood blocking the entrance.
Mo Jingxian slowly rose and turned to face her.
Blue hair, a paper flower in her hair, and the combat uniform of a Rain Ninja.
She was White Tiger Konan of Akatsuki, unmistakable.
She was still very young, though, and far from reaching her peak.
Mo Jingxian had noticed Konan's arrival long ago. Judging by her tone, however, she seemed to harbor some inexplicable hostility toward him.
"I think there's been a misunderstanding. I'm only here to retrieve something of mine."
This simple mission couldn't be described as merely having a few twists and turns.
Now he just wanted to find the document and get out of this mess as quickly as possible.
"Nothing you want is here. Get out!"
Even a clay Bodhisattva had a temper, and Konan's aggressive tone annoyed him.
"You want me to leave? Do you have the strength to make me?"
Faced with the taunt, Konan's expression remained dark. She raised her hand and sent a Kunai flying.
Mo Jingxian stood still, making no attempt to dodge the three Kunai flying toward him.
Konan had been testing him with that attack, and his response was far beyond what she'd expected.
When the Kunai were only a meter away, he raised his arm.
As casually as picking something from a bag, he caught one between his fingers.
The other two passed through his body and struck the wooden wall behind him with two dull thuds.
Looking at the paper Kunai in his hand, he found it quite interesting.
"That's a fine technique. You use Chakra to change the structure of matter. If I'm not mistaken..."
Mo Jingxian met Konan's gaze and nodded in approval.
"You can use a small amount of Natural Energy. Am I right?"
"Kid, the way you talk is really annoying."
"You'll get used to it. Try adjusting."
After their brief exchange, Konan realized she'd misunderstood. He had nothing to do with the thugs who had been mistreating Kashima Yui.
So after that one attack, she didn't strike again.
Mo Jingxian didn't mind. He took out one hundred thousand ryo and looked around before setting it on the only stool in the house.
"Your father left this for you. I've brought the money. Now give me the thing. You know what I mean."
Kashima Yui looked at Konan. When she saw that Konan wasn't stopping her, she knew what to do.
The little girl ran outside. Five or six minutes later, she came running back.
She held an oilcloth-wrapped bundle in her arms and stopped abruptly in front of Mo Jingxian.
"H-here."
Her voice was barely audible. She lowered her head, afraid to look at his face.
Mo Jingxian took it and unwrapped the layers. Inside lay the document, stamped with a lacquer seal.
Ah, he'd crossed three countries just for this. He'd finally gotten his hands on it.
In a good mood, he ruffled the little girl's hair and put the document away.
"Konan, I've been looking all over for you. So you were here."
As the voice fell, two boys about Konan's age walked in.
Mo Jingxian had guessed right. It was Yahiko and Nagato.
His gaze swept over them, lingering for a moment on Nagato's red bangs.
Yahiko had blond hair and a kind expression. He naturally gave people a sunny, approachable feeling.
After entering the house and noticing someone else there, Yahiko took the initiative to greet him.
"Hello, there. I'm Yahiko. May I ask who you are...?"
"He's nobody important."
Konan cut in at just the right moment.
Yahiko seemed to think Konan's words were hurtful, or perhaps he wanted to explain on Mo Jingxian's behalf.
"Well, she doesn't mean..."
Mo Jingxian nodded to Yahiko in greeting, then flashed outside. A few breaths later, his figure disappeared into the rain.
Akatsuki was a bottomless pit at this point. With several old schemers in the Ninja World keeping an eye on it, there was no way it could turn out well. He didn't want to get involved.
Yahiko scratched his head awkwardly. Why did this feel so strange?
"Um, Konan, Nagato said he sensed your Chakra here. Did you just fight someone?"
Konan thought back to the methods Mo Jingxian had used. There was something about them she couldn't quite put her finger on.
She answered hesitantly: "He was a really annoying kid, but his 'technique' was strange. It didn't seem like an ordinary ninjutsu."
Just then, Nagato, who had remained silent the whole time, suddenly spoke.
"What he used wasn't ninjutsu at all. It was somewhat similar to Senjutsu."
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