Fox Spirit

A massive fireball burst from his mouth, wrapped in blazing flames as it shot forward. Wherever it passed, the ice on the ground rapidly melted away, exposing bare earth.

Before the fireball even drew close, the Polar Bear felt its scorching heat and bolted in terror. If it ran any slower, was it supposed to stay behind and become Bear Paw?

The Polar Bear fled, but Aokiji was in no hurry to chase it.

Don't chase a cornered enemy, lest something unexpected happen along the way.

The seals on the ground were enough to feed him for quite some time.

After Tsunade had mocked him last time for being an Uchiha who could not use Fire Release, Aokiji had specifically gone through his grandmother's Training Notes and found a relatively basic Fire Release technique to practice.

Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu.

It was the most common ninjutsu among the Uchiha. Any Uchiha worth the name could use a decent Great Fireball Jutsu.

The principle was to form hand seals quickly, refine the Chakra within the body, gather it around the throat, then expel it in one breath.

It looked simple, and it really was quite simple.

Following the hand seals in the notes and copying them step by step, Aokiji first became proficient with the sequence. He used it with ease, then nearly burned his home down...

Although his usual efforts had played a part in reaching this point, the deciding factor was probably his own talent.

Since transmigrating into this world, Aokiji's greatest gain had been this exceptionally gifted body.

Compared to the ordinary natives of this world, Aokiji had the advantage of an information gap. But his greatest advantage was actually this body itself. This was the greatest Golden Finger allowing him to survive in this world.

If Aokiji had transmigrated into a body with ordinary talent, many of his later plans could never have been carried out.

In his previous life, everyone knew the saying, "Are kings and generals born to rule?"

But in this life, it was a rhetorical question.

Kings and generals—do you have the bloodline? Bloodlines really were something in this world.

The descendants of Kekkei Genkai Families were so much stronger than the children of Common Ninjas that there was no comparison. It was not obvious at first, but once they grew older and activated the Bloodline Power in their bodies, ordinary Common Ninjas would be lucky just to eat their dust from behind, let alone keep up.

Take casting ninjutsu as a typical example. It was not simply a matter of learning hand seals and possessing the corresponding Chakra. The principles involved were extremely complicated and could not be explained in a few words. But there was one hurdle that could never be bypassed: the body.

People had different bodily structures, and the flow of Chakra through their bodies differed when they used ninjutsu. The more complex and advanced the technique, the more obscure and difficult it became.

This was why different people found it differently difficult to learn ninjutsu. A technique might be A-rank difficulty for one person, but B-rank or even lower for another.

Uchiha Itachi learning the Great Fireball Jutsu instantly after seeing it once was because of this.

Hand seals could regulate this process quite effectively. But regulation was ultimately only an aid. Through the Sharingan, one could observe some simple Chakra flows and imitate them.

But for talented ninjas, none of this was a problem. They could just clap their hands together and get started. Regulate my ass—what a waste of time.

Right, Senju Hashirama?

A good body was not merely advantageous when casting ninjutsu. It also gave one an unparalleled advantage in researching ninjutsu.

Developing ninjutsu was like putting out a fire. To extinguish a fire, one needed a water pipe and a faucet.

The faucet was Chakra, while the pipe was the correct method.

An ordinary person had ten thousand pipes laid out before them, and no single pipe could reach the burning point on its own. They had to find pipes of matching types and sizes that could connect to the faucet before they even had a chance of reaching the source of the fire.

But talented ninjas might have only a hundred pipes before them, and those pipes were long and thick. Find the right one, use it directly, and a single pipe would do the job.

The cost of trial and error alone created an enormous gap in time. Otherwise, why would Tobirama have been able to develop so many bizarre yet powerful ninjutsu?

Because of intelligence? Not entirely. When it came to intelligence, the Nara Clan was stacked to the brim. So why had they not developed any ridiculously awesome ninjutsu like that? Instead, they were still living off old capital and using Shadow Jutsu...

As a member of the Uchiha Clan, Aokiji was born with Fire-nature Chakra. Combined with his awakened Ice Release, and since Ice Release was a Kekkei Genkai formed from wind and water, he now possessed three Chakra natures. His starting point was already higher than that of an average Jonin.

Aokiji gathered his thoughts and gave the dead seal another Great Fireball Jutsu. The Icy Snow Land was full of nonflammable things like "Boruto: Naruto Next Generations," so he could only keep the Great Fireball going continuously to grill it.

Before long, the seal's corpse had been roasted beyond recognition, charred on the outside and tender within. It looked cooked.

Seal meat was said to be rich in protein. Aokiji had never tasted it in his previous life, so today he would have a proper try.

Aokiji tore off a piece of charred yet tender skin and meat and took a bite. It actually tasted pretty Xing. Back in his previous life, he would have had a Prison Seat waiting for him.

While Aokiji was eating with gusto, he suddenly caught sight of a white shape in the corner of his eye. It vanished in an instant.

Aokiji narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze deep, and said to himself, "Yoshi, I'm full. Time to get moving."

As he spoke, he stretched lazily, slowly rose to his feet, and left...

Only then did the creature that had been hiding in the shadows cautiously poke its head out. Its Body as White as Snow, it had two Fluffy Ears atop its head. Its face was slender, and its round, darting eyes looked like two embedded gems.

It was a White Fox.

After confirming that no one else was around, the White Fox licked its lips and, with great cunning, sneaked toward the roasted seal.

This was how it lived. It secretly followed fierce carnivores, then waited until they had mostly left before picking through some Leftovers to eat. Commonly known as scavenging.

Its original target had been the bear, but after the bear was driven away, its target naturally fell upon the Bipedal Beast. It hoped to scavenge something as it usually did.

Perhaps because the cooked meat was simply too delicious, the White Fox excitedly began to Speak Human Language. "Wow, this meat is so good! I need to hurry and eat more. Once the others get here, I won't have another chance."

It was so absorbed in stuffing its face that it failed to notice someone silently standing behind it. By the time it realized, that person had already lifted it up with one hand.

Looking at the harmless little boy before her, the White Fox panicked like crazy. Wasn't this the Bipedal Beast that had sent Brother Bear running with a single fireball? "Aah—!" Her Flower Face went pale with fright as she screamed, "Don't eat me! My meat doesn't taste good at all!"

He had searched high and low only to find it without any effort. Aokiji had actually caught a Summoned Beast that could Speak Human Language. He had to seize this chance and interrogate it properly. "Don't worry. I'm not interested in fox meat. Answer a few questions for me, and I'll let you go. I'll even give you the seal meat on the ground. How about it?"

"Really?" The White Fox blinked, her bright eyes charming. "As long as you don't eat me, I could even be your wife."

Aokiji gave her a sidelong glance, then lowered his gaze. Judging from the fact that it had no male organ and its adorable voice, he would tentatively consider it female.

But he was not hungry enough to become King Zhou. He chuckled. "In your dreams. Talk to me once you can take human form."

"Take human form?"

The White Fox tilted her little head, her face full of confusion.

Aokiji stopped joking. "All right. From now on, I ask and you answer. To show my sincerity, I'll put you down first."

Aokiji set the White Fox down and began questioning her.

The White Fox nodded like a pecking chicken.

Still, this female fox felt pretty good to the touch. Aokiji could not help stroking her. This felt far better than petting cats or dogs.

The White Fox did not resist. It was not that she was enjoying it or anything—her eyes had merely narrowed into slits.

After all, grooming her fur was usually troublesome. She had to lick it with her tongue. Now that she had a tool person to groom her, why not?

There was just one thing she did not understand. Why did this Bipedal Beast keep touching her for no reason? She scratched her little head with her short, sturdy claws and asked him.

"Oh, this? It's a sign of affection. It means I trust you."

There was nothing wrong with what Aokiji said. Didn't normal people pet cats and dogs like this? He had merely swapped a cat or dog for a fox. What was the problem?

Do not think dirty thoughts just because she was female.

Otherwise, be careful, or she might sue you for gender and species discrimination.

The White Fox understood. So this was a display of closeness. "I see. Then touch me more."

Some animals did indeed lick one another's fur to show intimacy. "Then don't just touch my upper body. Touch other places too, like beneath my belly."

Beneath her belly? (-_-||) "Uh..."

"It's too deep there. My claws usually can't reach it." The White Fox explained troubledly, "And if it's to show closeness, wouldn't licking each other with our tongues work even better?"

With that, the White Fox stuck out her pink little tongue and licked Aokiji's finger to show affection, hoping to become more familiar with him.

She thought that this Bipedal Beast could breathe blazing flames and was so powerful. If she followed him in the future, would she not be able to stop going hungry? Would no one bully her again?

For a moment, the way she looked at Aokiji changed. This was a long-term meal ticket.

Feeling the soft, warm sensation on his finger, Aokiji closed his eyes, shook his head, and wiped his eyes clean.

Maybe he had been single for too long. His eyes had lost focus, and he was hallucinating. Even a female fox was starting to look delicate and pretty...

Aokiji stopped petting the fox. If this continued, he might start hallucinating again.

"Huh? Why did you stop touching me?"

"I think this is enough."

Form is emptiness, emptiness is form. I'm not King Zhou.

Aokiji silently chanted in his heart.

"All right."

The White Fox lowered her head and scratched it, a trace of disappointment flashing through her eyes.

"My name is Aokiji." Aokiji asked, "What's your name?"

With her head lowered, the White Fox answered obediently, "My name is Fox Spirit."

Aokiji: ...