Growing Pains

Although the Spirit Light Jade relies on a massive amount of chakra to provide the power for its launch, its destructive potential far exceeds that of the Rasengan.

This is not because the former consumes more chakra, but rather due to the fundamental difference in how their power is unleashed. Compared to the Rasengan, the Spirit Light Jade utilizes its energy more efficiently, making its power harder to deflect or mitigate upon impact.

The power of a Rasengan manifests as a single-directional spiral. Upon hitting an enemy, the high-speed rotating chakra acts like a vortex, grinding into the target with high pressure. However, because of this unidirectional force, the Rasengan often sends enemies flying. While this works well against ordinary ninja, powerful opponents can often use the momentum of being knocked back to dissipate part of the force, significantly reducing the damage they sustain. This is why, when Naruto later faced formidable foes, the Rasengan was largely useless in the early stages of a fight, serving only as a finishing move once the opponent had lost the ability to resist.

The Spirit Light Jade developed by Yuehua Ai is different; while it inherits all the advantages of the Rasengan, it also improves upon most of its flaws.

The way the Spirit Light Jade releases chakra differs from the Rasengan: while the Rasengan uses a single-spiral release, the Spirit Light Jade utilizes a dual-spiral release—one clockwise and one counter-clockwise. These two opposing forces cancel out the possibility of the attack being deflected. As the Spirit Light Jade clings tightly to the enemy, the two forces also interfere with and bind the target's movements. Finally, the power of the two main chakra streams concentrates at the center of the sphere, triggering a collapse of the core and causing a secondary, overlapping explosion.

Although it lacks the piercing power of the Rasengan, the Spirit Light Jade boasts higher destructive force and, thanks to its binding field, a much higher hit rate.

When it comes to offensive ninjutsu, crowd control and high accuracy are far superior to mere piercing power!

"Swish, swish—"

A wind vortex swirled up, and chakra glowing with a soft white light gathered at Yuehua Ai's fingertips. In the blink of an eye, a chakra sphere the size of a dragon's eye hovered silently at the tip of his index finger.

The milky-white sphere was surrounded by a thin, shimmering electron cloud, with occasional flashes of white electricity. Though it possessed no inherent lightning attribute, the high-speed rotation of the chakra and the fluctuations in energy caused ionization in the surrounding air.

"Bang!"

Yuehua Ai straightened his arm, his fingers forming the shape of a gun.

A flash of white light vanished in an instant, trailing a long, meteor-like tail as it tore through the curtain of rain and struck the surface of the river in the distance!

The water in that area seemed to freeze for a split second, followed by strange, distorted ripples. Then, light began to erupt, rapidly expanding from a single point of brilliance!

"Boom—!"

Like a muffled thunderclap, a massive ring-shaped shockwave expanded across the river. The surrounding water was pushed aside, revealing a three-meter-wide void that the river could not immediately fill.

"Hoo—"

Yuehua Ai let out a long breath. Looking at his masterpiece on the river, he shook his aching hand and nodded with satisfaction.

The Spirit Light Jade consumes chakra far too rapidly. With Yuehua Ai's current reserves, even if he used no other ninjutsu, he could manage at most two shots per battle.

The Spirit Light Jade sits between A-rank and S-rank in terms of power, and a complete version can easily crush other ninjutsu of the same level. But in a ninja battle, raw power isn't everything. If he were facing a group of enemies and exhausted his chakra on two Spirit Light Jades without finishing them off, the situation would become dire.

Therefore, although the Spirit Light Jade is his trump card, it is not meant to be used lightly—unless he possessed chakra reserves like Nagato.

Having a powerful technique that one cannot easily use is undoubtedly frustrating. To find a strong ninjutsu suitable for his current stage, he decided to trim down the Spirit Light Jade. While maintaining the basic principles, he reduced its size and lowered the chakra output. Thus, he successfully experimented with a stripped-down version: the Spirit Light Bullet. What he had just released on the river was this modified version.

While the power of the Spirit Light Bullet was impressive on the river, to Yuehua Ai, who had experienced the full explosion of the Spirit Light Jade, it could only be called "decent."

After all, it was a reduced version, and the experiment was conducted on water. While the visual effect was stunning, its destructive power on land would not be nearly as dramatic. Its power was roughly on par with a standard explosive tag, just with a more advanced method of energy release.

The Spirit Light Bullet cannot compare to the full Spirit Light Jade in terms of raw power, but for Yuehua Ai right now, its cost-effectiveness is far higher.

Against the enemies he has encountered so far, whether they are hit by a Spirit Light Jade or a Spirit Light Bullet, the result is essentially the same. Compared to the Spirit Light Jade that drains him dry, this version, which he can fire five or six times with ease, is undoubtedly the most suitable for him.

Releasing such high-damage ninjutsu also places heavy demands on the body. Just as Yuehua Ai was using chakra to soothe the meridians in his hand, a soft, teasing female voice sounded from behind him.

"Ai, you're at it again. If Master Jiraiya finds out, he's going to lose his mind!"

Yuehua Ai didn't need to turn around to know who it was. As a sensory ninja, very few people could approach him without him noticing.

Looking at the many white-bellied fish and frogs floating on the river, Yuehua Ai awkwardly scratched his head. His previous Spirit Light Bullet had stunned or killed everything within a ten-meter radius. The fish were one thing, but the frogs gave him a massive headache; it reminded him of the time he was caught by Jiraiya while secretly roasting frogs.

Thinking of Jiraiya's expression—a mix of despair, near-collapse, and eventual explosive rage—Yuehua Ai felt a chill. His backside had nearly been scorched that time, and he certainly didn't want a repeat of that experience!

Putting on a pitiful expression, Yuehua Ai blinked his wide, innocent eyes and grinned.

"Sister Konan, you wouldn't betray me, would you!?"

Konan snorted. This guy only called her "Sister Konan" when he was begging for mercy; otherwise, he always addressed her by her name!

Although she knew his little tricks, seeing him act so innocent and pitiful made it hard to stay stern, and she couldn't help but be amused.

"Alright, stop acting. Your performance is way too exaggerated, Ai!" Konan said, her tone doting despite her sharp words.

"Hehe!"

Yuehua Ai shrugged.

"By the way, Konan, what are you here for?"

As expected... hearing him call her by her name again, Konan pouted in frustration.

"Did you forget that Master Jiraiya said he would be testing our training today?!"

Konan continued, still sounding annoyed.

"Oh..." Yuehua Ai patted his head. He finally remembered. Three days ago, Jiraiya had indeed mentioned checking their progress today and told them to be prepared, but he had been so immersed in simplifying the Spirit Light Jade that he had completely pushed it to the back of his mind.

"When does the test start?" Yuehua Ai asked.

"It's starting now. Master Jiraiya is already waiting for us over there!" Konan pointed in a direction and turned, signaling for him to follow.

"Oh, oh!"

Nodding, Yuehua Ai obediently followed behind Konan.

Following in her footsteps, watching the girl's graceful movements, and sensing the information from his perception, he recalled the subtle change in her expression earlier. Yuehua Ai couldn't help but mutter to himself, "Master Jiraiya really doesn't know how to pick a day. He doesn't even consider how Konan might feel!"

"What was that?" Even though Yuehua Ai's voice was soft, it didn't escape Konan's ears.

"Ah?! Nothing! I was just praying that Master Jiraiya's test won't be too difficult!"

"Hmph!" Konan, who was in front, suddenly stopped in her tracks. Yuehua Ai, completely unprepared, slammed right into the girl.

"Don't think I didn't hear you clearly. Ai, you've really learned some bad habits from Master Jiraiya!"

The collision caught Konan off guard as well. Once Ai awkwardly stepped back, she pouted and shook her fist at him.

"What are you talking about? How could I learn bad habits from that lecherous old man? I was just genuinely concerned about your health, Konan. I didn't want a certain girl to be crying and scaring herself again!"

"Ai!!!"

Hearing Yuehua Ai's words, Konan's face turned bright red, as if it were about to start smoking. She let out a huff of indignation, reached out to pinch both of Yuehua Ai's cheeks, and tugged gently, squishing his small face into all sorts of shapes.

"You little brat, you aren't allowed to say another word! If anyone else hears you, I won't let you off!"

Konan glared at Ai with a "fierce" look in her eyes!

"Ow, ow!"

Seeing the girl's shy, frustrated expression, Yuehua Ai didn't dare pull any more stunts. He could only mumble a reply.

"Hmph!" Konan rolled her eyes at Yuehua Ai before finally pulling her hands away from his face. Looking at his insincere response, she felt a wave of helplessness. Thinking back to that incident, she couldn't muster any real anger; in front of this little brat, she had almost no secrets left!

Two years ago, when she was thirteen, her body had entered puberty, and with it came the anxieties of youth.

Because they had all been orphans since childhood, there was no one to communicate with or teach them about physiological changes. The initial development in certain areas had already left her feeling uneasy, and when her first period arrived, seeing the uncontrollable flow of blood, she had nearly suffered a complete mental breakdown.

She found it impossible to speak of her condition, having nowhere to vent her inner distress and worry. The fact that the bleeding continued for several days made her fear she had contracted some incurable disease, causing her immense suffering. She still remembered how she had been in a daze all day long, feeling listless no matter what she did.

Jiraiya, that thick-headed guy, hadn't noticed her situation, and neither had Yahiko or Nagato. In the end, it was Yuehua Ai who discovered something was wrong.

Distressed by her own body, she had hidden away from the others immediately after training that day, retreating to her room alone to wipe away her tears. Later, while she was cleaning the blood from her body, she was caught by Ai, who had come to check on her after noticing her strange behavior.

Since Ai had seen everything, she had simply given up and told him all about her worries and pain. Who would have thought that after listening, Ai would burst into laughter, tell her it was all just her own overactive imagination, and then proceed to give her an unforgettable lesson in physiology.

As time passed, she realized that everything Ai had explained to her was completely correct. But thinking back on it all, the sheer vulnerability of that moment still made her want to crawl into a hole. Fortunately, he was just a child, and he kept his mouth shut—he hadn't told anyone else!

Sigh, I really have no secrets left in front of Ai. Even when my "relatives" visit, I can't hide it from him at all. Oh my, it's just so embarrassing!

Konan sighed helplessly in her heart, but no matter how hard she tried, there was nothing she could do about it!

Looking at Ai, who was once again pretending to be completely oblivious, Konan could only grit her teeth in secret.

She reached up to rub her cheeks, trying to dissipate the flush on her face.

Once she felt her face wasn't quite as hot, she first threatened Ai with a sharp look. After he swore repeatedly that he wouldn't leak a word, she grabbed Yuehua Ai and hurried toward where Jiraiya was waiting.