Railgun: First Kill

Far from the village training grounds, Uchiha Fucheng and Mikoto arrived beside a dammed lake.

The lake, formed by floodwaters blocked by earth and debris, gathered in a small valley.

Neither of them wore their ninja gear; Uchiha Fucheng and Mikoto looked more like a young couple out for a weekend excursion.

"This should do."

Uchiha Fucheng gestured toward the lake surface.

"Let's start by testing the control of three energy types: electricity, magnetism, and waves."

Uchiha Fucheng stood to the side and handed Mikoto a steel rod bent into a spring.

Mikoto nodded, gripping the left and right ends of the spring-steel rod with her hands.

Without any visible exertion, a searing, bright red glow appeared at the center of the spring.

Uchiha Fucheng commented, "The current intensity is very high, comparable to the destructive power of an S-rank Lightning Style jutsu."

Next, Mikoto dropped the glowing rod and pulled two specially crafted kunai from her pocket.

She held the kunai flat in her palms, allowing them to hover nimbly above their heads like drones.

Her magnetic control felt as if they were being pulled by invisible chakra threads.

"Launch!"

Mikoto waved her hands, and the two kunai shot out at high speed.

They flew from the shore toward the center of the lake as if propelled by the force of her arm.

Thirty meters, fifty meters, eighty meters...

Using magnetic propulsion, the range was twice as far as Mikoto's usual method of accelerating kunai with Lightning Style.

The impact force was also significantly greater than a standard manual throw.

Uchiha Fucheng nodded, "Your magnetic control is very similar to the Third Kazekage of the Sand Ninja; it has the flair of the Magnet Release bloodline limit."

Mikoto watched the kunai fly toward the opposite bank, clearly thrilled.

"I've tested electricity and magnetism, but what about waves? How do we test that?"

Uchiha Fucheng smiled, "Don't worry. Remember what I told you?

Waves follow different propagation laws in the air versus conductive materials.

We'll use vibration to test the transmission of waves this time.

In a moment, I'll take this thin metal sheet and stand over a hundred meters away from you.

You try to transmit a wave to my metal sheet; if the energy and frequency of the wave meet the requirements, it will trigger the metal sheet to vibrate."

After speaking, Uchiha Fucheng used the Body Flicker Technique to distance himself from Mikoto.

He stood at the far end of the dammed lake before signaling for Mikoto to begin.

At first, Mikoto's attempts were unsuccessful.

It was only after she coordinated her hand gestures with the angle of her arms that the metal sheet in Uchiha Fucheng's hand began to vibrate slightly.

"I did it!" Mikoto cheered.

Uchiha Fucheng returned to Mikoto's side to continue his explanation.

"Let's test the detection capability of waves. I placed three humanoid targets on the other side of the lake just now. Close your eyes and try to emit short, dense waveforms, then use the reflection and refraction of the waves to determine the exact location of the targets."

Mikoto nodded, closing her eyes as she faced the lake.

She spread her arms wide, and sparks of electricity began to dance across her body.

Zzzzt~

Crackle~

A burst of invisible electromagnetic waves radiated rapidly from where Mikoto stood.

As the waves collided with various objects, they bounced back to her.

"I think I can feel them, but the detection range isn't very far."

This attempt seemed to place immense physical strain on Mikoto.

After three minutes of sustained effort, Mikoto opened her eyes, her face covered in sweat.

"Brother Fucheng, I can detect the humanoid targets on the other side of the lake, and I can even clearly perceive the size and position of rocks and trees as if I were looking at them directly.

But my maximum detection range is only about five or six hundred meters. The larger the area, the more feedback I receive, and it becomes chaotic.

All sorts of wave information make my head ache just thinking about it." Mikoto rubbed her forehead, looking slightly dizzy.

Uchiha Fucheng wiped the sweat from her brow and said affectionately, "It's likely because the range of the waves is too broad. When you release electromagnetic waves with yourself as the center, the scanning area increases geometrically with every extra meter of distance.

In the future, we need to find a way for you to control the direction and the spread angle of the waves.

If you only scan a very narrow angle, it should reduce the strain on your body."

Mikoto, who had lowered her head to wipe away sweat, pinched Uchiha Fucheng's palm hard before casting a subtle, fleeting glance toward their left.

Fucheng was instantly alert!

He understood that Mikoto was signaling that there were enemies nearby.

It seemed that her earlier electromagnetic scan had allowed Mikoto to discover an unusual adversary.

The two acted as if nothing were amiss, continuing their conversation as if nothing had happened.

Fucheng decided to go ahead and set up the Railgun they were about to test.

"Mikoto, take this custom coin. First, extend your right arm, then imagine electromagnetic force constructing one magnetic ring after another along the direction of your arm.

These magnetic rings will form a slender channel that extends straight toward your target.

Once the magnetic channel is complete, you can flick the coin with your thumb and use the magnetic rings to accelerate it in sequence, pushing it to the highest speed you can achieve."

As Fucheng explained, he helped Mikoto adjust her arm into the correct posture.

Mikoto first tested a low-energy Railgun attack using a smaller amount of electricity and magnetic force.

Crackle. As the electric light flared, the coin followed Mikoto's flick, slamming into the lake surface and carving out a trench of water over twenty meters long.

A massive spray of water erupted, refracting brilliant, seven-colored light under the sun.

"Success!"

Mikoto looked at Uchiha Fucheng happily, and as she turned toward him, she mouthed the words, "He's still there."

Fucheng held Mikoto's palm and gently slid his finger across it.

He wrote the word "Ambush" directly onto her palm.

Seeing Mikoto's expression indicate she understood, Fucheng nodded affirmatively and continued loudly, "Then this time, use your maximum energy output to test what level of power it can reach under high-load conditions."

Facing the lake again, Mikoto extended her right arm, holding an identical coin in her hand.

Crackle.

Activating the electromagnetic force once more, it was as if an invisible electromagnetic acceleration rail had been mounted onto Mikoto's arm.

In an instant, Mikoto's arm suddenly pivoted on the spot!

The Railgun shifted from the direction of the lake directly toward the spot where she had just discovered the unknown enemy.

The coin shot out at extreme speed, trailing a massive arc of electricity without a moment's delay.

From where Mikoto stood, the coin streaked straight toward a thick tree that would have required two people to wrap their arms around.

A massive, circular hole exploded out of the left side of the tree.

White fragments mixed with soil and a large cloud of rising smoke erupted from behind the tree.

The roar of the Railgun was actually much slower than the explosion itself.

Fucheng laughed heartily, appearing at the site of the explosion with a Body Flicker.

His laughter drifted over from the distance.

Amidst the gradually settling dust, Mikoto saw Uchiha Fucheng running over, happily waving at her while holding a white, humanoid creature whose upper body was barely intact.

"What is this?"

Mikoto looked at the mysterious humanoid creature, feeling a slight chill run down her spine.

Uchiha Fucheng looked at the half-body in his hand and realized he actually knew the exact identity of this thing.

"This is a type of biological clone called a White Zetsu."

Looking at the lower half of the White Zetsu that had been blown to pieces by Mikoto, Uchiha Fucheng felt a bit curious.

He even reached out and tore off a piece of the White Zetsu's body tissue.

He squeezed it in his hand to feel it, discovering that the White Zetsu's flesh was nothing like biological limbs.

Fucheng analyzed, "No blood, no softness of human tissue; it feels more like a flexible vine when squeezed."

Fucheng walked over to Mikoto, where he discovered another miraculous detail.

The White Zetsu, despite having only half a body left, was actually twisting its arm in resistance.

The White Zetsu had been capable of speech, but as Fucheng approached Mikoto, the half-bodied creature seemed to turn into a hollow clone shell with absolutely no consciousness!

A system prompt appeared in Fucheng's mind.

Whether to assimilate the clone: Construct Misaka Network.