Prototype of Light Release

"No way? Am I really a genius? Or..."

Xuanhui entered the library from his bedroom, intending to find some relevant books.

The moment he pushed open the door, he found Orochimaru sitting inside, reading.

"Yo! Xuanhui, what brings you here so late? Did you miss your teacher?"

Had Orochimaru become cheerful enough to crack jokes on his own?

"I came to find some books. There are some things I can't figure out."

"Then take your time. If there's anything you can't work out, come ask me."

Xuanhui passed Orochimaru's seat and walked over to the bookshelf in the center.

He tapped the black screen, and the electronic display lit up.

Xuanhui opened the search engine and searched for books with the keyword "yin and yang" under the tag "ancient texts and allusions."

Once the search was complete, several numbers appeared on his left forearm.

He picked up a ladder and moved through the neatly arranged rows of bookshelves.

"One yin and one yang are called the Way. What follows it is goodness, and what fulfills it is nature..."

"Motion and stillness have no end; yin and yang have no beginning?"

"Among the Five Elements, each has yin and yang. Yin gives rise to the five viscera, while yang gives rise to the six bowels..."

Could this be why the Yin–Yang Release awakened by the Sage of Six Paths could nullify any ninjutsu?

At present, his Yin Release and Yang Release merely generated, merged with, and reinforced one another. He had yet to reach the level of casually molding Yin–Yang Release with his bare hands.

"These two attributes are really important! It looks like I'll need to use yin- and yang-attribute chakra to study kekkei genkai..."

After reading enough, Xuanhui returned to Orochimaru's seat, only to find him gone.

He thought Orochimaru had returned to the battlefield, but when he turned around, he saw him fiddling with the screen.

"Xuanhui, this thing is useful! Why didn't you show it to me earlier?"

"Huh? Didn't I demonstrate it before?"

Xuanhui walked over to Orochimaru and showed him how to use the electronic touchscreen and search engine.

"Amazing! The touchscreen probably works on a principle related to temperature, right?"

Orochimaru looked as though he was about to take it apart to study how its components worked.

Xuanhui hurriedly stopped him and changed the subject.

"Teacher, do you know much about Yin Release and Yang Release chakra?"

"Yin–Yang Release? As far as I know, aside from the secret techniques of clans like Ino–Shika–Cho, it is mostly used for enhancement..."

The two discussed Yin–Yang Release for half an hour.

If Jiraiya had not been about to summon the door back in a few minutes, they might have talked all night.

Still wanting more, Xuanhui bade Orochimaru farewell and returned to his bedroom. He hugged a scroll and studied it, not feeling the slightest bit tired.

Xuanhui discovered that his life had become more structured.

In the mornings, he followed Hiruzen Sarutobi to learn theory and new ninjutsu.

He practiced the clan's secret techniques in the late morning, then practiced the Uchiha Clan's Fire Release ninjutsu in the afternoon.

At night, he studied scrolls. Occasionally, he brought his underlings along for lunch.

The endlessly repeating days were all part of accumulating experience. The process of building up before making a breakthrough was dull and tedious.

About a month later, the entire shinobi world received major news.

The Hidden Rain Village had declared war on all its neighboring countries, including Konoha.

Hanzo the Salamander was currently fighting on the battlefield against the Hidden Sand Village. Rumor had it that he had already clashed with the forces of Chiyo and Ebizo for some time.

Yet this did not delay the war effort. The Hidden Rain Village still chose to send troops against Konoha, and flames of war had already begun to rage along the border.

According to Orochimaru, no powerful shinobi from the Hidden Rain Village had appeared. It felt like they were trying to lure the enemy in.

As for the Chunin Exams, Orochimaru had already submitted an application to the higher-ups. In two months, Xuanhui would be able to take part in them.

Over the past month, he had constantly trained in chakra nature transformation and shape transformation.

Unexpectedly, he seemed exceptionally gifted in this area.

From the Uchiha Clan's Great Fireball Technique to later ninjutsu such as Dragon Flame Release Song, he seemed to learn faster and faster.

The more he learned, the more quickly he understood new ninjutsu afterward.

Perhaps it was time to begin researching kekkei genkai.

He could feel the chakra within his body stirring restlessly, as though it was unwilling to remain limited to basic ninjutsu training.

Xuanhui had thought about kekkei genkai for a long time.

The occasional distraction during training, the sudden pauses while eating, the tossing and turning in bed as he pondered it.

"Both Lightning Release chakra and Fire Release chakra are highly destructive. In terms of pure offense, the other three chakra attributes fall far short...

How should I fuse them... to bring out the characteristics of both?"

Xuanhui had tried coating his left hand in Lightning Release chakra and his right hand in Fire Release chakra.

It was difficult! But he still managed it!

"What do they have in common..."

Xuanhui simply brought his two hands closer together, only to nearly trigger chakra disruption. He coughed up a mouthful of blood.

Until that morning, when he put on thin clothes and went outside.

The sky was faintly bright, as though the sun was about to rise.

The slightly chilly wind invigorated him, making his thoughts feel much clearer.

He climbed Hokage Rock and sat atop the Third Hokage's stone face, gazing toward the whitening east.

He raised his left hand. Lightning Release chakra coated it, crackling sharply.

He raised his right hand. Fire Release chakra blazed fiercely upon it.

"No ideas... What do they have in common..."

The sun seemed about to rise.

"Another new day... Lord Hokage will be busy all day again and won't have time to spend with me..."

"If only Minato would grow up faster. Why can't he grow up faster?

Minato... you're Konoha's Yellow Flash..."

A ray of morning light happened to fall across Xuanhui's profile.

!

Almost instantly.

An idea pierced through his mind.

"Right... There doesn't seem to be any Light Release in the shinobi world..."

"Lightning, fire, and light are all visible yet untouchable things.

Lightning, flames, and light all involve the principles of electromagnetic waves, and all contain tremendous energy, don't they?"

"If we're talking about the most suitable option, Light Release is definitely the first choice!"

At Konoha's outpost far from the border, Jiraiya and Orochimaru stood atop a hill, keeping watch.

"Orochimaru, why did you take Xuanhui as your disciple? It doesn't seem like you care much about whether he's a genius."

The two were on guard duty and happened to start talking about it.

"If I had to say... I think his attitude toward research and life is precious. In that respect, he's a lot like me.

He'll rack his brains over a rigorous scientific topic and often comes to me with questions.

Some of his ideas are genuinely novel too. They make me feel that, sometimes, when you have a like-minded companion by your side, there's nothing in this world that's truly difficult."

"Hahaha! Shouldn't your like-minded companions be Tsunade and me?"

"He isn't just my disciple. He's also my companion."

Orochimaru turned his head and looked into Jiraiya's eyes.

"You two are as well."