Elementalization

After practicing the Flame-Flame Fruit's abilities, Ruri suddenly thought of something. He took out the Ruowu he carried with him and swiftly slashed at his wrist.

He was not trying to hurt himself. He had just thought of the ability unique to Logia Devil Fruits-Elementalization-and wanted to try it out.

As Ruri swung the blade at his wrist, he instantly summoned the devil fruit's power within him, turning his wrist into a mass of flames. The blade cut through, and his flaming hand fell to the ground.

But a fiery arm soon grew from the stump, then immediately turned back into a normal hand.

"Wow! So this is Elementalization, the unique ability of Logia Devil Fruits? It's incredible! Looks like I'll be immune to most ordinary attacks from now on!"

Ruri squeezed his newly regrown hand, then looked at the severed one on the ground. It slowly dissipated.

His body had now been transformed by the devil fruit and was completely different from an ordinary person's.

But there was a very serious problem: the Flame-Flame Fruit still had certain weaknesses. For example, this world had plenty of Water Release ninjutsu.

Ruri could use Elementalization to withstand ordinary ninjutsu, but whether any Water Release techniques could hurt him was something he did not yet know.

Having weaknesses was nothing to fear. Ruri would naturally make himself stronger, and it was not as though he would stand still and let others use him as a target.

Regardless, Elementalization gave Ruri a powerful trump card that was perfect for keeping himself alive. It was far stronger than all those substitution techniques he had before.

For a while after that, Ruri practiced the Flame-Flame Fruit's abilities beside the stream. There was no limit to developing a devil fruit's power, just as the Brat System could endlessly help him break through his bottlenecks.

Ruri did not intend to train his devil fruit abilities merely to the level of the Pirate King in the Pirate King world.

What he was doing now was continually surpassing himself and training his taijutsu until he became stronger, so strong that no one could overtake him. Only then could he reach the top.

Ruri pressed the Ring against his forehead, then entered it in rest mode.

"Let me ask you something. Can I train in the Rasengan?" Ruri asked the space before him.

A moment later, virtual text appeared in front of Ruri.

"You can, but you haven't reached the necessary level yet, so you can't train in it right now. Your chakra affinities are wind and fire. Of course you can learn the Rasengan-you can even learn every wind-affinity ninjutsu!"

"Really? Looks like I underestimated things a little. Then when can I start learning the Rasengan?" Ruri asked, looking at the sky.

Ruri currently knew very few ninjutsu. If he wanted to reach the summit, he needed more techniques to improve his strength, so he had to learn ninjutsu that matched his affinities.

"You can start learning the Rasengan once you become a Genin!"

"Really? Then I'd better get serious about training!" With that, Ruri returned to the real world and began practicing his ninjutsu.

Time passed little by little, and evening arrived. Ruri had trained for an entire day and was utterly exhausted.

Lying on the grass, Ruri gazed at the stars and said, "Ah, I've never worked this hard at anything before. Thinking about those anime protagonists training day after day, they really had incredible determination!"

"Naruto Uzumaki said he'd follow his own ninja way. So what's my ninja way now? I should be going to the Ninja Academy next year. I wonder if I'll make a few friends there like Naruto did!"

From time to time, shooting stars streaked across the sky. Konoha's night sky was beautiful, filled with stars, while the scattered lights of the village below gave it an especially cozy air.

Ruri stood up, brushed the dirt off his clothes, and walked to the top of Hokage Rock.

"Looking at Hokage Rock makes me think of Naruto, the protagonist. When he was little, he was always causing trouble and scrawling graffiti all over it."

"After Naruto became Hokage, his son, Boruto Uzumaki, caused trouble in the village every day to get his father's attention. Just like his father, he scribbled graffiti on Hokage Rock too. Thinking about it now, it really does seem a little ridiculous!" Ruri said as he looked at Hokage Rock.

Naruto Uzumaki would be born the following year, and Madara Uchiha would bring the Nine-Tailed Fox to Konoha. Minato Namikaze would sacrifice his life then, too.

"The moon's so big. Does the Otsutsuki Clan really live up there? Did those astronauts who landed on the moon ever see them? Ha! I must really be bored. What am I even thinking about?" Ruri looked at the moon and laughed.

"It's getting late. I should head back, have something to eat, and get some sleep. I'm going to Uncle Hizashi's house tomorrow. I'm really looking forward to seeing what Neji looks like as a little kid! Ah, Aunt Meiling's going to pinch my cheeks again tomorrow!"

With that, Ruri followed the path beside Hokage Rock down. After returning home, he ate a simple meal, then lay down in bed to rest.

The day's training had left Ruri utterly exhausted. He fell asleep shortly after lying down. It was another peaceful night.