Future Development Directions of Ice Release

Having awakened Ice Release, Aokiji treasured it like a priceless gem.

With this, he possessed two Kekkei Genkai abilities at once. His future could no longer merely be called bright—it was practically blinding.

Although Ice Release had seemed rather ordinary in the original work, Aokiji knew that the power of ninjutsu depended on its user.

A small stone in an expert's hand could defeat an ordinary person's Shuriken.

For example:

Could the First Hokage's Wood Release possibly be compared to Yamato's Wood Release?

The former could conjure an entire forest out of thin air in the middle of a desert, while the latter could at most build houses...

Using a freak like Hashirama as an example might be too unhelpful, so take another one: could Kisame's Water Release possibly be compared to an ordinary person's Water Release?

That was clearly Ocean Release...

The power of a ninjutsu was mainly determined by how much Chakra was invested into it. With two Kekkei Genkai, Aokiji's Chakra far surpassed that of ordinary people. Brute force could overcome all obstacles; if he developed it properly, Ice Release in his hands surely would not be weak.

As for whether it could reach the absurd level displayed by Admiral Aokiji, that would probably be a tiny bit difficult. Without Tailed Beast-level Chakra, he shouldn't even think about it.

Aokiji had a fairly clear understanding of himself. His potential in terms of Chakra was probably quite good, but growing to Tailed Beast level in the future was likely a long shot. Through normal means, there was probably no hope.

There were only two ways for him to grow stronger: ruthless measures and technology.

The first was simple. Aokiji could just kill someone he cherished, sacrifice his wife to attain enlightenment, and directly awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan.

Dojutsu Power itself was a type of Chakra.

Chakra consisted of Yin and Yang. Dojutsu Power belonged to Yin; it was spiritual energy.

If he awakened the Mangekyō, then theoretically, his Chakra might have a chance of skyrocketing to Tailed Beast level.

But wasn't that insane? What normal person would fucking kill his own wife?

If anyone had to be killed, it should be a brother.

If we're brothers, then come slash me...

That was a joke. (Parentheses.)

In short, Aokiji would not choose the first path, so there was only one road left before him.

Technology.

Technology was the primary productive force.

With Kage-level fighters everywhere in the later stages, if Aokiji merely trained honestly, he really would not be enough to look at. Only technology could keep pace with those cheating bastards.

For now, though, he still needed to work hard and polish his foundations.

He set aside Sharingan training for the moment and focused on improving his Ice Release. With that thought in mind, Aokiji began tinkering with his ability. Even though no one had taught him, strangely enough, certain things seemed engraved in his genes, and he understood them without instruction.

That might sound a little abstract. It was probably like how boys approaching maturity instinctively figured out "that sort of thing."

Aokiji went to the kitchen, turned on the tap, and cupped a pool of water in his hands. He infused Chakra into it. After a few minutes, the water's temperature gradually began to drop, and it slowly floated into the air.

Besides that, he could also use his thoughts to slightly alter the water's general shape, such as changing it from a sphere into an oval, or turning it into a cone. Anything too intricate was impossible; the difficulty rose sharply.

(P.S.: It seemed Haku was like this when he had just awakened Ice Release in the original work.)

Aokiji maintained that state for roughly a few minutes before he could no longer sustain it. The pool of water dropped from midair and splashed onto the floor, spreading into a puddle. A closer look revealed tiny particles within it—ice crystals formed after the water's temperature had fallen to a certain point.

Aokiji wiped the sweat from his forehead. He had not expected such a seemingly simple task to consume so much Chakra.

After breakfast and a short rest, Aokiji kept at it. This time, not only did he improve the duration for which he could keep the water floating, but he also lowered its temperature further.

Having tasted success, Aokiji trained as if he had been injected with chicken blood, immersing himself in it as time slipped away unnoticed.

When he came back to his senses and glanced at the alarm clock, it was already ten o'clock...

He was definitely going to be late.

Aokiji had already made up his mind to establish a slacker persona at school, so being late was nothing to him. Still, he chose to go to school anyway, for no other reason than that he was exhausted from overworking himself and needed to catch up on sleep there.

Aokiji washed his face. Just as he was about to head out, he glanced at the pillow by his bed. After a moment of silence, he stuffed it into his backpack, pushed open the door, and headed toward the Ninja Academy with practiced familiarity.

Sure enough, the moment he entered the classroom, the students in the middle of class all looked over at him strangely.

Aokiji scratched his head and said awkwardly, "Um... am I late?"

The teacher sternly asked, "Aokiji, do you know what time it is?"

Aokiji answered with a proper attitude, "An explanation is a cover-up, and a cover-up proves the facts. I'll go stand outside as punishment."

"Uh..." The teacher was thrown off by Aokiji's upright attitude. He had thought Aokiji would defend himself. After coughing twice, he said, "Forget it. Since this is your first offense, go back to your seat."

"There's no need to say any more, Teacher. Do not do evil because it is small, and do not refrain from doing good because it is small. Your kindness and forgiveness toward me are actually indulging my wrongdoing."

His words were passionate and stirring, and with a grand sweep of his hand, he looked utterly righteous. The teacher was left completely baffled.

So forgiving you was somehow my fault? "Uh, if that's the case, then go stand outside as punishment."

"Alright, thank you, Teacher."

Aokiji gave a deep bow. As he left, he even thoughtfully closed the door behind him.

After that whole performance, no one in the class could make heads or tails of him.

"Continue with the lesson."

The teacher clapped his hands, signaling for the students to pay attention and not let Aokiji distract them. Class came first.

Hearing that the lesson inside had resumed as usual, Aokiji, who had been punished to stand in the corridor, let out a grunt. Using his elbow as a support, he propped his cheek on his fist and lay on his side on the floor.

Sleeping while slumped over a desk during class—how could that compare to lying down comfortably?

Just as Aokiji was about to take a nap, he suddenly thought of something rather troublesome.

Awakening Ice Release was a good thing.

Kekkei Genkai were exceptionally rare in this world.

But precisely because they were so rare, he had far fewer examples to draw from when learning Ice Release than when learning the Five Basic Natures.

The only place where he could trace it back to its roots was the Yuki Clan in the Land of Water.

The Land of Water was out of the question. As an Uchiha Clan member from Konoha, who knew how he would die if he went there? He had to find another way.

His mother had died early and left behind no inheritance. All Aokiji could do was fumble his way through it himself, building a cart behind closed doors. Training Ice Release like that would undoubtedly result in painfully slow progress.

He had to find a proper path for developing Ice Release.

He could use the Sharingan to copy the techniques of those Ice Release Ninja. Developing ninjutsu took a great deal of time, after all—how could it be faster than copying someone else's homework?

Just like Copy Ninja Kakashi.

But exposing his Sharingan seemed rather troublesome.

He needed to think of another approach.

He remembered that, in the original story, the Land of Snow seemed to have a type of Ice Release created by utilizing the natural environment. Though it was not the genuine article, he could still use it as a reference. Even without Kotoamatsukami, Aokiji believed he could win people over with virtue. Surely the ninjas there would understand him.

Once his thoughts started flowing, Aokiji came up with another possibility as well.

Could Gaara of the Sand's sand be used as a reference too? The structure of ice meant it could not be freely broken apart and recombined like Gaara's sand, but he could take a different approach and make use of snow.

The principle behind Gaara's ninjutsu was to infuse Chakra into sand and manipulate it. If he infused Chakra into snow instead, it should achieve the same effect.

He could imitate Gaara by storing snow in a ninja tool—a gourd—in advance, then taking it out during battle to use, producing an effect similar to Gaara's Absolute Defense.

Of course, putting it into practice definitely would not be as simple as merely infusing it with Chakra. For now, he had only come up with an idea. The road ahead was still long, and he would have to explore it bit by bit himself.

Thinking of all this, Aokiji could hardly suppress his urge to go back and train. He was brimming with energy now and no longer wanted to sleep.

"Slide."

The sound of a paper sliding door came from behind him.

Sensing that something was terribly wrong, Aokiji turned his head with the creaking stiffness of mechanical gears. A certain middle-aged man, having been deceived, was glaring at him with a murderous gaze.

Aokiji promptly went along with it. "Uh... hello, Teacher."

The teacher roared, "Aokiji—!"