Kekkei Tōta

"Prepare yourself. My training will be grueling from here on out. If you don't meet my standards, I won't be stopping anytime soon."

As he spoke, Uchiha Aka pulled two sheets of paper from his pocket and explained, "Before the formal training begins, I'll first test your chakra natures so I can tailor the lessons to your individual needs."

Aokiji and Fugaku nodded in turn and took them.

Fugaku asked, "How do we test our chakra natures?"

"Good question."

Uchiha Aka cleared his throat and thoroughly explained everything related to chakra natures, fully displaying his love of teaching.

Fugaku understood. Eagerly, he poured chakra into the chakra test paper. Before long, the right side caught fire while the left side wrinkled.

"You possess Fire Release and Lightning Release. Without exception, both are extremely powerful ninjutsu."

Uchiha Aka was not surprised. Uchiha Fugaku's father, Uchiha Raiha, possessed both Lightning and Fire natures, so it was only natural for Fugaku to have an affinity for those two chakra natures as well.

Chakra natures were somewhat hereditary. The more proficient someone was in a certain nature's techniques, the more likely their descendants would be born with an affinity for that chakra nature, making it easier for them to cultivate.

The older the clan, the more this held true. The Uchiha Clan was a typical example—nine out of ten Uchiha were skilled in Fire Release.

Upon hearing that he possessed two highly destructive chakra natures, Fugaku raised an eyebrow at Aokiji provocatively.

Although he could not defeat Aokiji right now, he did not believe his talent would lose to Aokiji's.

Aokiji chuckled. As expected of the protagonist's father; their chakra nature affinities were exactly alike.

Then it's my turn to show off.

Aokiji picked up the chakra test paper and poured chakra into it. He had tested this thing once before, and it had shown only one reaction: burning. Since then, Aokiji had awakened Ice Release. He wondered what would happen if he poured chakra into it again now.

A moment later, the chakra test paper reacted. First, the left side began to burn. Then the right side changed as well. Unlike any of the reactions Uchiha Aka had described, it froze solid, giving off a faint chill.

Fugaku stared in shock. "What's going on? Why did it freeze?"

After saying that, he looked toward Uchiha Aka beside him, his eyes filled with inquiry.

Uchiha Aka looked completely dumbfounded. He had never seen anything like this in his life.

(PS: The original story seemingly never mentioned how Kekkei Genkai ninja would react when tested directly, so let me show off a little.) At that moment, Elder Itachi, who had barely spoken until now, finally said, "That is Ice Release."

Ice Release?

Uchiha Aka said in surprise, "You awakened Ice Release?"

This both shocked and delighted him. It was not the Sharingan, but it was still a Kekkei Genkai.

Aokiji asked strangely, "What? Elder Itachi didn't tell you?"

"..."

Uchiha Aka had only received the assignment to teach Aokiji and nothing else.

He finally understood why Elder Itachi had specifically arranged training for Aokiji.

But he could not understand what Elder Itachi was thinking. He had sent such an outstanding seedling to the Medical Team to become some Medical Ninja. It was simply a waste of talent.

However, since Elder Itachi had arranged it this way, he must have had his own considerations. As a subordinate, Uchiha Aka could not pry into it. At least, not for now.

But the problem was, he was not an Ice Release Kekkei Genkai ninja. How was he supposed to teach him? Although Aokiji also had a high affinity for Fire Nature chakra, he could not possibly neglect his Kekkei Genkai and focus solely on Fire Release, could he?

Under normal circumstances, Kekkei Genkai techniques were generally stronger than the Five Basic Natures, and they were harder to counter since they were formed from two natures.

Seeing Uchiha Aka cast Elder Itachi an inquiring look, Elder Itachi closed his eyes, as if saying: Don't ask me. I don't know either.

Uchiha Aka: ...

Behind the scenes, Uchiha Madara lowered his head slightly, his gaze deep as he seriously considered the matter.

He had only learned yesterday that Aokiji possessed Ice Release. It was an unexpected little surprise.

During his years of surveillance, Uchiha Madara had discovered that Aokiji seemed to suffer from victim paranoia. Sending Ninja Cats to approach him rashly might alert him, so Madara had only kept him under minimal surveillance.

Uchiha Madara was not afraid that Aokiji, at his age and strength, would notice anything. What he truly worried about were unstable factors—things as mysterious as coincidence and luck.

Moreover, the number of Ninja Cats he had sent to Konoha was small—the more there were, the easier they were to expose—and they also had other things to monitor. This was why Uchiha Madara had not learned until yesterday, when Aokiji revealed his Ice Release Kekkei Genkai, that the boy was an extremely rare Dual Kekkei Genkai ninja. He was even more satisfied with him now.

Because of this, the direction of Aokiji's development as a Tool person would undergo a major change.

If he remembered correctly, Kekkei Genkai ninja who possessed Ice Release lived in the Land of Water. He could look through their training materials on Ice Release and then provide them to Aokiji.

As for whether they would be willing to give them up, that was not within Uchiha Madara's consideration. He could simply control them with the Sharingan and be done with it.

Besides that, Boil Release Kekkei Genkai ninja had appeared in the Land of Water in the past. In other words, there should be at least some insights there regarding the fusion of Water and Fire chakra.

To become Uchiha Madara's perfect Tool person, aptitude alone was not enough. He also needed tremendous strength. Thus, Aokiji having Ice Release and the Sharingan was not enough. In Madara's eyes, that only made him an ordinary ninja in the conventional sense.

If Aokiji awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan in the future, perhaps he would qualify. But the side effects of an ordinary Mangekyō were too obvious. Madara had not heard of Aokiji having any biological brothers, and even if he did, it would likely be difficult for a pair of Tomoe Mangekyo Sharingan to emerge.

"Straight Tomoe" Mangekyo Sharingan was the term Uchiha Madara had specifically created for his own special Mangekyō Sharingan based on its pattern.

Although the conditions for awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan were harsh, many had appeared throughout the Uchiha Clan's long history. Yet because of its obvious side effect—eventual blindness—losing one's eyes was more unbearable to an Uchiha than death.

The Uchiha Clan had always been desperately searching for a way to resolve those side effects.

After generations of tireless research, they discovered that the Mangekyō Sharingan's eventual descent into blindness might be because the eyes could not bear such powerful Dojutsu Power. Thus, they came up with a theoretically feasible solution: fuse two pairs of eyes to enhance their capacity.

To minimize rejection, the two pairs of eyes had to be of the same level and belong to direct blood relatives. This made the already harsh requirements even harsher. Yet even after painstakingly gathering a pair of Mangekyō Sharingan from direct relatives, success remained extremely difficult, as though some crucial catalyst was still missing.

It was only when Uchiha Madara had given up all hope that he luckily gave birth to history's first pair of "Straight Tomoe" Mangekyo Sharingan.

Therefore, the primary direction of Uchiha Madara's training for Aokiji was not the Mangekyō Sharingan, but Kekkei Tōta. Only then could Aokiji be considered a truly qualified Tool person.

Unless it was Wood Release, an ordinary Kekkei Genkai alone was not enough to catch his eye.

As a power that surpassed Kekkei Genkai, Kekkei Tōta naturally fascinated Uchiha Madara, who had always been deeply interested in power.

Kekkei Genkai fused two chakra natures, while Kekkei Tōta fused three.

But that explanation was not entirely correct. More accurately, it was formed by fusing two Kekkei Genkai. And those two Kekkei Genkai could not be just any two—the principle was somewhat similar to fusing two pairs of Mangekyō Sharingan into a "Straight Tomoe" Mangekyo Sharingan. The primary requirement was reducing mutual rejection.

The two Kekkei Genkai had to share one chakra nature. Take the Kekkei Tōta that currently existed in this world as an example.

(Wind + Earth) + (Earth + Fire) = Dust Release. Based on this, Aokiji's development direction was obvious as well.

Aokiji was born with Ice Release (Wind + Water), as well as the innate affinity for Fire Nature chakra he possessed from being born an Uchiha.

Then Aokiji's development direction was undoubtedly: (Wind + Water) + (Water + Fire) = ???

Wind + Water = Ice Release, which Aokiji already possessed.

Water + Fire = Boil Release. There were also relevant fusion materials in the Land of Water. In a sense, Aokiji truly was very "lucky."

The Land of Water had cultivation methods for both Ice Release and Boil Release, and that Land of Water just happened to be under the control of Uchiha Madara.

Of course, relying on this alone, it would still be difficult for Aokiji to develop Kekkei Tōta with his own ability. It would take at least twenty or thirty years. But did he not have Uchiha Madara behind him to help develop it?

"I'm really looking forward to it. Just what kind of Kekkei Tōta will you develop..."

At the thought that a Kekkei Tōta would be born by his own hand, even Uchiha Madara could not stop a smile from appearing on his lips. By extension, the Puppet he controlled displayed the same expression.

At the same time, Aokiji noticed Elder Itachi suddenly giving him a meaningful smile, making his scalp tingle.

I don't think I offended you, sir. Why are you giving me such a creepy smile?

GENDER: female G: Zhou Qing G: Bai Qiuran

Bai Qiuran's hand halted mid-air. He looked at the girl frozen in place, blinking.

Zhou Qing maintained her posture of pulling the sword, her delicate face completely blank. Her mind was currently swept by a violent storm; a profound sense of absurdity washed over her.

She had unleashed her ultimate technique, the one she had poured all her cultivation and determination into, yet the other party had caught it with just two fingers. Furthermore, the terrifying sword qi that could shatter mountains and split rivers had completely vanished the moment it touched those fingers, without even stirring up a breeze.

This was not a battle between a master and a disciple; this was an adult stepping on an ant. No, an ant at least had to exert some effort to crush, whereas she felt like she was striking a wall of the universe itself—an immovable, eternal barrier.

"Master..."

Zhou Qing withdrew her sword in a panic, taking three steps back. Her voice trembled slightly as she looked at Bai Qiuran with a gaze akin to viewing a ghost.

"How did you do that?"

"I told you, your foundation is unstable."

Bai Qiuran withdrew his hand, putting it behind his back with a solemn expression.

"You've only been cultivating for a few days, yet you are already eager to learn high-level sword techniques. Your understanding of qi is superficial, and your control over your spiritual power is chaotic. If you were fighting an opponent of the same realm, your internal energy would have already exhausted itself halfway through that move."

Zhou Qing opened her mouth, wanting to refute something, but she found she couldn't say a word. Because everything Bai Qiuran said was true; she had indeed rushed it. Seeing her senior brother and the others display such majestic sword techniques, she had naturally felt envious and eager to try, secretly practicing behind their backs.

"However..."

Seeing the girl's head drop in dejection, Bai Qiuran softened his tone and added:

"Your talent is indeed exceptional. To be able to grasp the initial form of the Nine Heavens Sword Art in just a few days proves that your aptitude is top-tier. It's just that you are too impatient."

"Master, then what should I do?"

Zhou Qing raised her head, her clear eyes filled with anticipation.

"What you need to do now isn't learning any fancy sword techniques."

Bai Qiuran pointed at the vast training ground before them.

"Go chop wood. Ten thousand logs a day. When you can cut them all into uniform sizes without using a shred of spiritual power, relying purely on physical strength and the angle of the blade, come find me again."

"...Ah?"

Zhou Qing's face instantly collapsed.

Time flew, and spring turned to summer.

On the peak of Qingming, the clouds rolled and unrolled, and the spiritual energy grew increasingly dense.

In the past few months, Zhou Qing's daily routine had completely changed. Every morning, before the sun had even risen, she would be holding an ordinary iron axe, standing before a pile of millennium-old iron-wood behind the back mountain, rhythmically swinging down.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Crisp sounds echoed through the valley. At first, she could only chop a dozen logs a day before her arms went numb and her palms blistered, causing her to cry in private. But as days passed, under Bai Qiuran's occasional, strict guidance, she began to find the rhythm.

She learned how to breathe in sync with the swings, how to gather her scattered strength into a single point, and how to leverage the momentum of heaven and earth rather than brute force alone.

Today, Zhou Qing swung her axe down once more.

Crack.

The final piece of iron-wood split down the center, perfectly dividing into two halves of identical thickness and weight, without a single stray splinter.

Zhou Qing wiped the sweat from her forehead, letting out a long breath. She looked at her palms; the blisters from before had long since turned into calluses, and her once-soft hands now possessed a steady, firm strength.

Ding!

A crisp notification suddenly rang in her mind, though only she could perceive it.

[System Notification: Congratulations to the host for completing the basic training phase.]
[Physical strength has increased significantly.]
[Comprehension of the "Basic Sword Stance" has reached Perfection.]
[Unlocked: Advanced Technique - Flowing Water Sword.]

Zhou Qing stared blankly at the floating golden text in her vision. Ever since she had accidentally awakened this strange system on the day she entered the sect, it had been giving her bizarre tasks, but today's change was the most tangible.

She casually picked up the iron sword resting against the tree trunk.

Standing amidst the mountain breeze, she closed her eyes. In her mind, the rigid movements of the past merged into one smooth, natural arc. Without any conscious channeling of spiritual qi, she casually waved the sword forward.

Swoosh!

A crescent-shaped sword light silently swept out, crossing a distance of three hundred paces before gently brushing past a distant waterfall.

Boom!

The waterfall paused for a split second, then the entire cascading current was cleanly sliced in half, the water above failing to drop for a full three seconds before tumbling down anew.

Zhou Qing opened her eyes, looking at her own masterpiece in disbelief.

"Not bad."

A calm voice sounded from behind. Bai Qiuran walked out from the shade of the trees, holding a bamboo flute in his hand, looking at her with a rare trace of approval in his eyes.

"You've finally managed to shed the clumsiness. From today onward, you are no longer a mere mortal swinging a blade."

Zhou Qing turned around, her heart filled with joy and excitement. She bowed deeply to Bai Qiuran.

"Thank you for your guidance, Master!"

"Don't celebrate too early."

Bai Qiuran turned around, walking slowly toward the edge of the cliff.

"The real trial starts now. The other sects' grand tournament is coming up next month, and as my disciple, you will be representing Qingming Peak. If you lose too miserably, don't bother coming back to see me."

Zhou Qing clenched the hilt of her sword, a fierce fighting spirit igniting in her chest.

"Yes, Master! I will definitely not shame Qingming Peak!"