Buy One, Get Two Free

Bang, bang, bang...

The Fushan squad had gathered in one place. Hideki was practicing Fire Release, and Haku was practicing his Sensory Ninjutsu, but it wasn't long before both of them were drawn to what Fushan and Suifeng were doing.

Fushan held a wooden stick and struck Suifeng without holding back.

The blows weren't particularly fast, but they were powerful. Suifeng neither dodged nor evaded; he simply made basic defensive movements, and sometimes even deliberately met Fushan's stick head-on.

"Teacher Fushan, what are you doing? Practicing your ability to take a beating?" Haku asked curiously.

"Oh, no. Suifeng wants to develop a new Body Technique, and he's already made some progress!" Fushan said, never pausing as the stick thwacked against Suifeng's body.

"╰(*°▽°*)╯ A new Body Technique developed by Suifeng himself? That's amazing! He's still so young, and he can already develop his own techniques!" Haku instantly transformed into a fangirl—no, a fanboy.

"He calls this technique Iron Body. He tenses his muscles all at once, making them as hard as iron and giving himself powerful defenses. He said it was specifically for dealing with Kakashi, but when he actually ran into Kakashi, he had real iron blocks strapped to his body. So I'm very suspicious that he was lying to me before!"

Haku:

Hideki: (￢_￢)!

He'd developed a Body Technique called Iron Body, but when it came time to duel, he'd strapped actual iron blocks to himself!!

That was just...

"I couldn't help it! Developing a new Body Technique isn't easy. I've only had a little over a month. How could I possibly succeed and make it practical in combat? What am I, the Sage of Six Paths?" Suifeng grumbled after taking a heavy blow to the waist.

"Bang!"

"Hey, I said... Wait...!"

The stick came down even harder, and Suifeng's cry grew louder. But then he suddenly raised a hand and yelped, "Wait, wait, I—I think I've got it!"

"(⊙_⊙)?"

"Huh... You've got it? What's going on?!"

You've got it? What's going on?!

Fushan and the other two had no idea what he meant. Fushan stopped swinging the stick he'd been using to whack Suifeng.

"Yes, yes, that's the feeling!"

Suifeng stood where he was, striking a strange pose. His eyes were half closed, as if he were sensing something.

"Yes, that's it, just like that! When I was talking just now, my muscles started trembling on their own. Then the flow of chakra, the circulation of blood...!"

Suifeng's expression froze. Just a moment ago, he'd been chatting while taking hits. Maybe because he'd been talking or getting worked up, the muscles around his waist had involuntarily trembled when he was struck. In that instant, the chakra in his body had suddenly merged with his rapidly flowing blood, following those tiny vibrations, and a faint warmth had arisen within him.

It had only been a trace, but he'd caught it.

"Vibrations—the adjustments and vibrations of the muscles!"

He'd had a flash of inspiration.

He had the power of imagination, and plenty of ideas, but ideas were one thing. What he'd seen in the anime in his previous life had only been part of the story, not a manual. The Six Powers, Haki, Gyo, and all that were fictional concepts. Anime couldn't possibly teach you every step of how to train them. And even if it did, they'd change in a different world with different rules.

Just like his Zanpakuto, which had adapted to the laws of this world and become part of it, Body Techniques like the Six Powers had to adapt to this world and become part of it too.

What was the biggest difference between this world and the world of One Piece?

Chakra, obviously. Chakra was the key difference.

The power system in this world revolved around chakra, not Haki. If he wanted to master the Six Powers, he had to take that into account, even though they were purely physical techniques!

With only a general idea and no knowledge of the specific training methods—and an entire dimensional barrier between him and their source—figuring out the Six Powers had amounted to little more than guesswork.

He'd had some clues before, but he hadn't grasped the key. That was why the results hadn't been very good. But just now, when he'd taken that blow, his muscles had vibrated, instantly setting his blood and chakra in motion and producing the true effect of Iron Body.

So this was how Iron Body really worked in this world?

"Teacher, I've had a new idea about Iron Body. I'd like to take a few days off!"

"Sure!" Fushan gave Suifeng a long look. "Will a week be enough?"

"More or less!"

Suifeng nodded. During this time, he'd been training with the Military Police Force and studying Medical Ninjutsu with Wako, which had given him a deeper understanding of the body. Combined with this accidental breakthrough, a week should be enough to figure out Iron Body.

...Scene break...

Five days later, at Suifeng Residence

"I only wanted to study Iron Body. What is this?!"

Looking at the basin-sized, black-and-red pit before him, which gave off white steam, and feeling the changes within his body, his expression grew even more peculiar.

Kekkei Genkai: Lava Release

He had Fire, Earth, and Lightning chakra natures, which made him fairly talented. But he was only a Genin, and a newly graduated one at that. He'd never even considered studying Chakra Nature Transformation, let alone had any interest in it.

He'd only been studying Iron Body. How had he ended up getting the Lava Release Kekkei Genkai as a bonus?

That was right. His rapidly vibrating muscles had set a large volume of blood flowing at high speed, causing his chakra to react chemically with the blood in his body. After developing Iron Body, he'd clearly felt a strange change in his body.

More specifically, he could clearly feel that his body had grown stronger, improving by an entire level. He was able to produce more chakra, and its quality seemed to have changed too. So he tried Fire Release: Great Fireball. Instead of pure flames, he spat out magma.

Considering the changes in his body, how could he not realize that the nature of his Fire and Earth chakra had fused, forming the Lava Release Kekkei Genkai—and that he was at its very source?

The newly formed chakra had nourished his body, greatly improving his physical abilities. His chakra had increased substantially as well, reaching Chunin level. Then his Sharingan had naturally evolved into a two-Tomoe Sharingan.

Was this a buy-one-get-two-free deal?

No, strictly speaking, it was only buy one, get one free. The Sharingan didn't count!

He'd never cared about the Sharingan's evolution, not since he got Red Ghost.

The question now was, should he tell his clan that he'd acquired a new Kekkei Genkai?!

Of course he should!

There was no need to think twice. Only by telling the clan could he prove just how talented he was, get more of the clan's resources directed his way, and receive more attention.

Lava Release was a Kekkei Genkai, but compared with the Sharingan and Byakugan, it wasn't all that powerful. It only gave him an edge over ordinary ninja.

Wait, could it be that his Zanpakuto, Red Ghost, could make Kekkei Genkai evolve?!

The thought suddenly flashed through his mind.

"Have I become the protagonist?!"

PS: 1. Please recommend and bookmark!

2. One of Little Whale's reasons for not being able to keep reading fanfiction: the power systems don't match, and the mixed-in powers feel weird. So this story will start integrating them through Body Techniques!

3. Whenever Little Whale thinks of another lesson, he'll write it down in a sentence to remind himself not to make the same mistake!