[Refining started] [Estimated time: 10, 9, 8...]
Liu Yun held his breath, his eyes fixed on the countdown as it ticked toward zero.
[Refining successful]
Seeing the words pop up on the screen, he silently exclaimed.
Praise Kushina!
Rather than rushing to check the equipment's attributes, he turned to the Kubikiribōchō.
"Keep refining!"
[Refining started] [Estimated time: 10, 9, 8...] [Refining successful]
"Yes!"
Only a Shinigami Mask remained on the table, its mouth wide open as though it were roaring.
He reached out and picked it up, and a system notification appeared.
[Requirements not met. Unable to refine]
But I've already memorized the hand seals...
Liu Yun could only put it down. Apparently, unlike the Great Fireball Technique, memorizing the hand seals didn't count as learning the Reaper Death Seal.
He would have to spend more time studying the Reaper Death Seal.
After putting away the mask and money, he opened his inventory and looked at the two freshly forged pieces of equipment inside.
[Kiba] [Quality: Blue] [Trait 1: Lightning Summoning] [Effect: Instant activation. Summons a bolt of lightning.] [Trait 2: Heaven-Splitting Lightning Serpent] [Effect: Consumes a large amount of chakra to summon lightning and form Lightning Armor, then releases numerous lightning serpents to attack. The lightning serpents can transform into lightning swords.] [Note: If you don't want to kill the Mizukage, why even become a Kirigakure ninja?]
Liu Yun's mouth twitched. What did it mean, "If you don't want to kill the Mizukage, why even become a Kirigakure ninja?"
He ignored the strange note and turned his attention to the two traits.
The first trait was simple: summon lightning, with instant activation at that.
When he had fought Raiga Kurosuki, the lightning Raiga summoned had given him no end of trouble.
He had needed complete concentration, relying on his reflexes and speed to dodge. A moment too slow, and he would have been struck.
He had only managed that because Raiga Kurosuki had to raise and cross his twin blades to summon lightning.
Otherwise, even Minato Namikaze would have struggled to dodge it.
"Instant activation... does that mean what I think it means?"
Liu Yun couldn't help feeling tempted.
If it truly activated instantly, without any warning, every enemy he fought from now on would have to take a lightning bolt first!
The second trait delighted him even more.
In the original story, Lightning Release: Heaven-Splitting Lightning Serpent was considered Kiba's ultimate technique. Both Raiga Kurosuki and Yugiri had used this ninja blade to perform it.
It had two stages.
In the first stage, it released hundreds of lightning serpents to attack.
In the second stage, if the enemy survived the lightning serpents, they would transform into lightning swords and strike from different angles.
Its power was formidable.
He hadn't expected this technique to become an equipment trait.
"The first trait is a single-target attack, and the second is an area attack."
"I could develop a whole new combat style around this piece of equipment..."
Liu Yun nodded in satisfaction and looked at the second piece of equipment.
[Kubikiribōchō] [Quality: Blue] [Trait 1: Bloodthirst] [Effect: Absorbs enemy blood to restore chakra.] [Trait 2: Broken Blade] [Effect: When the ninja blade in use breaks, strength increases greatly, and the Bloodthirst effect is greatly enhanced. Duration: 10 minutes.] [Note: If you don't want to kill the Mizukage, why even become a Kirigakure ninja?]
"Kirigakure really is a land of remarkable people. Do all seven ninja blades have the same note?"
Liu Yun rubbed his chin, a strange look on his face.
The Kubikiribōchō's two traits weren't complicated.
The first used enemy blood to restore chakra.
The second greatly enhanced the first trait's effect after the blade broke.
"That does fit the Kubikiribōchō's own abilities..."
To him, the Kubikiribōchō's ability to absorb blood and repair itself was of limited use.
If not for its blue quality, he wouldn't have chosen this ninja blade.
Then again, if it could restore chakra, its value changed immediately.
Put simply, enemies would become soldier pills-with no side effects.
With this trait, his chakra shortage would become much less of a problem.
As long as his opponent wasn't too much stronger than him, he could sustain himself through combat and wear them down to death.
"Equip!"
The two pieces of equipment appeared in his equipment slots.
Liu Yun let out a soft grunt.
The familiar warmth surged through him, accompanied by a tingling sensation throughout his limbs and body, as though tiny arcs of electricity were coursing inside him.
Deep in the forest.
"Lightning Summoning!"
Liu Yun looked at a herd of wild boars nearby and activated it with a thought.
Boom!
The next instant, a silver-white lightning bolt abruptly descended with a piercing roar.
All Liu Yun saw was a flash of white light.
The boar's entire body went rigid, trembling violently as wisps of smoke rose from it and the smell of scorched flesh spread.
Liu Yun swallowed, his eyes widening. It really was instant!
He didn't need to raise and cross two blades to summon lightning like Raiga Kurosuki. A single thought was enough.
That speed... even with his greatly enhanced reflexes, he would struggle to react. It was too fast.
He carefully checked his chakra reserves. He had used a little less than twenty percent.
"For that effect, the chakra cost is pretty reasonable. From now on, any enemy I meet gets a lightning bolt first."
As the herd scattered in all directions, he quickly followed. He hadn't finished testing the equipment traits yet.
After several rapid flickers of movement, he intercepted a burly boar.
The boar before him was enormous, over two meters long, its body covered in thick, dark-brown bristles. Its long, upward-curving tusks gave it a vicious appearance.
A boar this size could easily threaten human lives, and missions to cull wild boars often appeared in the village.
The boar snorted and panted, staring fixedly at him.
Liu Yun placed his hand on his sword's hilt.
A second later, he vanished from the boar's sight.
Cold steel flashed, and a streak of blood appeared on the blade.
The boar let out a squeal and charged at him in a frenzy.
Liu Yun dodged aside and easily leaped into a tree.
That slash could have killed it outright, but he had only inflicted a shallow wound to test the [Kubikiribōchō]'s trait.
He could indeed feel a tiny amount of chakra returning.
But it was still far from replenishing the more than ten percent he had just consumed.
"Again!"
He leaped down from the branch, engulfing the boar in an unbroken flurry of slashes.
As the wounds on the boar multiplied and more blood flowed, he could feel his chakra recovering a little faster.
A few minutes later, all the chakra he had consumed was restored.
By his calculations, even if his chakra ran dry, he could fully replenish it in less than half an hour.
Liu Yun's eyes lit up.
Chakra was a combination of physical and spiritual energy.
For the vast majority of ninja, the only way to restore chakra was through food, sleep, and rest.
Soldier pills essentially used carefully proportioned medicinal ingredients to restore stamina in a short time, squeezing out more chakra.
They could serve as an emergency measure on the battlefield, but they absolutely couldn't be used for routine recovery.
Across the entire Shinobi World, few people could rapidly restore chakra without side effects.
There were Uzumaki Clan members with their naturally unusual constitutions, Tsunade with the Yin Seal she would have in the future, and jinchūriki with tailed beast chakra to burn.
Now he had become one of them.
"Maybe there's more to it than that..."
"Lightning Summoning!"
With a thought, he sent a silver-white bolt into an empty patch of ground, blasting a smoking crater in the earth.
His chakra reserves dropped by more than ten percent again.
At the same time, he drew the ninja blade from his back, its edge already riddled with chips and its blade marked with cracks.
"I wonder if this will work?"
He snapped the ninja blade.
[Kubikiribōchō] trait 2: Broken Blade.
When the ninja blade in use breaks, strength increases greatly, and the Bloodthirst effect is greatly enhanced.
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