Hidden Mist Jutsu

Hidden Mist Jutsu

Aokiji was slightly startled. "You're going to teach me?"

"Is there a problem?"

"No." Aokiji crossed his hands behind his head and said casually, "Since Elder Itachi is teaching me personally, it must be some incredibly powerful Ninjutsu."

Elder Itachi said flatly, "I'll only demonstrate it once. Watch carefully."

Aokiji put away his playful attitude and focused with all his might.

Uchiha Aka looked at Elder Itachi with interest, curious about what kind of Ninjutsu he intended to teach Aokiji.

Fugaku stared without blinking, thinking that he had to memorize Elder Itachi's hand seals when he performed them. That way, he could use this opportunity to learn another Ninjutsu.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, Elder Itachi began forming hand seals. To make the steps clear, he did not form them quickly. Besides, it was not an overly complicated Ninjutsu.

Aokiji memorized it after just one glance.

His thumbs were extended upward and overlapped, with the left thumb on top. This was Elder Itachi's final hand seal.

A ninja's hand seals could roughly be divided into twelve forms. This one was the "Ram" seal.

Depending on the type of Ninjutsu, the final seal was often different. Taking Fire Release as an example, it generally ended with the Tiger seal.

An outstanding ninja usually had highly developed visual nerves. Before an opponent used a Ninjutsu, they could roughly identify its type from the final hand seal and respond appropriately.

Before Elder Itachi even used the technique, Aokiji had already determined from the final seal that Elder Itachi's next Ninjutsu would most likely not be Fire Release.

What was going on? It wasn't Fire Release?

Just as Aokiji was astonished by this, thick fog engulfed the surroundings. It was as though even the light had been swallowed, leaving nothing visible. Anyone would have thought they had encountered an enemy attack.

Young Fugaku had never seen anything like this before and immediately panicked. "What's going on?"

"Don't panic. This is Water Release: Hidden Mist Jutsu."

Uchiha Aka gave him a reminder, then closed his eyes as his thoughts raced.

The Uchiha Clan's Sharingan possessed the ability to copy. It was not surprising for someone as old as Elder Itachi to know Kirigakure's signature Ninjutsu.

What he did not understand was why Elder Itachi had specifically chosen this Ninjutsu to teach Aokiji.

When he opened his eyes again, the mist around them had gradually dispersed, and his vision had cleared. It seemed the Hidden Mist Jutsu had been released.

Elder Itachi said calmly, "This is Water Release: Hidden Mist Jutsu. Once used, it creates a large amount of dense mist around the area, obscuring the enemy's vision. The density of the mist is determined by Chakra.

"Furthermore, the caster can hide within the mist and attack their opponent. It is not difficult to learn, yet it is an extremely practical Ninjutsu."

Aokiji nodded slightly. He understood the technique itself, but he still did not understand why Elder Itachi was teaching it to him.

The Uchiha Clan was a Ninja Clan skilled in Fire Release. Shouldn't he be teaching Fire Release? Elder Itachi had anticipated Aokiji's puzzled expression and explained unhurriedly, "The Uchiha Clan is born with powerful Dojutsu Power. It could be said that most of our strength depends on our eyes.

"Our eyes have naturally become the main target of our opponents. Techniques that disrupt vision, such as the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique, or more direct techniques like the Darkness Technique, which makes the eyes unable to see anything at all, are all effective ways to counter the Sharingan."

By this point, Aokiji had roughly guessed Elder Itachi's intentions.

As expected of an old immortal—even his farts were extraordinary.

He did not interrupt and simply continued listening. Interrupting someone just to show off what he knew was rude.

"To deal with such unexpected situations, you need to understand this type of Ninjutsu in advance. Otherwise, when the time comes, you'll be left scrambling and won't even know how you died.

"You possess Water Nature Chakra, so learning Hidden Mist Jutsu at this stage is undoubtedly a very good choice. True, you do not have the Sharingan, but this line of thinking applies to any ninja."

Aokiji agreed wholeheartedly with Elder Itachi's view.

Rather than blindly pursuing offensive Ninjutsu, functional techniques like this were more practical.

Especially in the later stages—if it wasn't S-rank Ninjutsu, it would barely even scratch the enemy.

Elder Itachi glanced at Aokiji without saying anything further. His meaning was obvious: it was time to inspect the results.

Aokiji understood. Following the hand seal sequence he had just been taught, he performed Hidden Mist Jutsu. He felt somewhat nervous, unsure how effective his first attempt would be.

Fortunately, he barely managed to use it. Thin layers of mist enveloped the surroundings. Although it was far inferior to the Hidden Mist Jutsu from earlier, it had taken shape. With more practice, it would soon be ready for actual combat.

Of course, that did not mean Aokiji's Hidden Mist Jutsu in battle could reach Elder Itachi's level.

A master's Hidden Mist Jutsu was difficult to disperse even with Wind Release, while the Hidden Mist Jutsu used by amateurs could easily be blown away.

Take Kakashi's Hidden Mist Jutsu, for example. He had copied Zabuza's Hidden Mist Jutsu, but clearly had not mastered it completely.

When fighting Uchiha Itachi, the blast wave from a single Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu easily scattered it.

Later, when he fought the reanimated Zabuza, Kakashi had brought a whole group of ninjas, and the method they used against his Hidden Mist Jutsu was quite complicated.

Elder Itachi nodded in satisfaction.

Fugaku watched from the side, unwilling to be outdone. He imitated the movements and attempted Hidden Mist Jutsu, but then... nothing happened.

"Why? Why can't I use Hidden Mist Jutsu right away like Aokiji? Forget mist—I can't even see a trace of it."

Uchiha Aka explained, "Of course you can't. Learning Ninjutsu isn't as simple as you imagine. You don't think you can perform a Ninjutsu just by learning the hand seals, do you?"

Fugaku recalled the previous time. "But when I learned Fire Release, I breathed out flames on my first try."

Uchiha Aka shook his head. "That's different. You picked up Fire Release so quickly because you were born with Fire Nature Chakra and have talent in that area. But you don't have that talent for Water Release, so you'll need twice the effort for half the result. Conversely, Aokiji, who was born with Water Nature Chakra, will get twice the result with half the effort in this regard. That is why most people only learn the Release techniques corresponding to the Chakra Nature they were born with."

Fugaku was a little dejected. "Then doesn't that mean I'll never be Aokiji's match?"

Water Release countered fire.

And the dense mist created by Water Release: Hidden Mist Jutsu could counter the Sharingan as well.

Aokiji had him completely pinned down.

Seeing Fugaku's dejected profile, Uchiha Aka guessed what he was thinking. "You don't need to belittle yourself too much. Aokiji may have talent for Water Release, but don't you have talent for Lightning Release? Aside from its astonishing power, Lightning Release can activate the body and strengthen taijutsu. Aokiji definitely won't learn Lightning Release as easily as you do."

After hearing that, Fugaku felt much more balanced and pulled himself together again.

Uchiha Aka glanced at Aokiji.

There were a few things he had not said aloud. Fugaku had learned Fire Release so quickly not only because he was born with Fire Nature Chakra, but also because he was a member of the Uchiha Clan.

Even among those born with Fire Nature Chakra, the Uchiha Clan possessed greater Fire Affinity than ordinary people. That was why he could learn Fire Release so quickly.

Likewise, Aokiji's talent in Water Release could not be compared to Fugaku's talent in Lightning Release.

Aokiji was a Kekkei Genkai ninja with Ice Release. Even if his Water Nature Chakra came as part of the package, his talent for Water Release still far surpassed that of ordinary Water Release ninja.

Under normal circumstances, even someone born with Water Nature Chakra would not learn Hidden Mist Jutsu as quickly as Aokiji. The fact that Aokiji could pick it up after seeing it once showed that his talent for Water Release exceeded that of ordinary people.

Aokiji heard their conversation. He was rather envious that Fugaku had been born with Lightning Nature Chakra.

Each of the Five Basic Natures had its own advantages. In terms of overall versatility, none surpassed Lightning Release. Not only was it immensely powerful, but it could also enhance the sharpness of weapons and strengthen the body's functions. Even in the later stages, when facing aliens like the Otsutsuki, it still had some use.

After obtaining Hidden Mist Jutsu, Aokiji subconsciously asked, "So my next training direction will be special training focused on fighting enemies I can't see?"

Elder Itachi said flatly, "That is merely one secondary reason."

Aokiji looked confused and said with a laugh, "Don't tell me I'm going to specialize in Water Release next?"

Elder Itachi nodded.

Uh... Aokiji was stunned for a moment. Seeing the other man's solemn expression, it did not seem like he was joking.

At that moment, it was not just Aokiji who could not understand Elder Itachi's actions. Even Uchiha Aka beside them could not figure out what he was thinking.