Thud! Rumble!
The ground shuddered as Lei Dou casually tossed the Giant Boulder, several times larger than himself, onto the bank.
The Giant Boulder smashed a deep pit into the ground, making the surrounding earth tremble three times.
That stone weighed a solid thousand jin.
Yet Lei Dou had held it while standing on the rushing water for a full half hour without budging.
He had cleared the Water Walking hurdle. To push himself further, he would need a heavier stone.
But three straight hours of intense weight-bearing training had tested more than his chakra. It had pushed his muscular endurance to its absolute limit.
Lei Dou felt as though his arms were about to snap. He really couldn't keep going.
He could only return to shore and catch his breath.
Even during his break, however, Lei Dou had no intention of letting time go to waste.
He spread his hands, blue chakra surging at his fingertips, and controlled it to form all sorts of complex geometric shapes.
This counted as actively triggering his chakra control skill, letting him grind experience even while sitting still.
Watching the chakra in his palms change shape like an obedient fluid, he grew increasingly comfortable with it.
A sudden flash of inspiration struck Lei Dou. He thought of the signature trick of Sunagakure's puppeteers-Chakra Threads.
He didn't know the secret techniques behind it.
But the principle should be similar: condense chakra into threads and project them outward. Could he make his own knockoff?
Lei Dou acted on the thought immediately, raising his hand to try.
Several Chakra Threads as thick as hemp ropes wobbled three or four meters outward before losing momentum and dissipating.
Lei Dou's eyes lit up. While maintaining those threads, he discovered that they trained his chakra control even more effectively than holding a stone while walking on water.
He immediately poured more effort into it, trying to compress the Chakra Threads thinner and extend them farther.
As the seconds and minutes passed, the threads extending from Lei Dou's fingertips grew finer, their length continually pushing past its limits.
Just two hours later.
The energy beams that had originally been as thick as fingers had been compressed by Lei Dou into spider silk, almost invisible to the naked eye. Without their faint blue glow, they would have been impossible to detect.
Their length had also reached an astonishing level.
They extended more than fifty meters, weaving freely through the trees.
But!
"What good is this stuff besides flying kites?"
Apparently, this technique could only show its power when paired with a puppeteer's Mechanized Puppet, couldn't it?
Unfortunately, Lei Dou had neither a puppet nor knowledge of the complicated Puppet Manipulation Secret Technique.
Having Great Sage derive the Puppet Technique from scratch would require far too much computation to be worthwhile.
After all, Lei Dou lacked the relevant ninjutsu foundation. Making Great Sage brute-force the calculations would probably keep its CPU burning for weeks.
Besides, Lei Dou wasn't interested in being a puppeteer who hid in the rear.
Still, he stared at the almost imperceptible thread at his fingertip and sank into thought.
"If I keep compressing the chakra's density like crazy, could this thread become as sharp as steel wire, or even lethal?"
Even if it couldn't cut people, being able to pull distant objects toward him would make it a practical, god-tier Flying Dragon Cloud-Seizing Hand!
But that was another technical challenge: keeping the thread fine while increasing its density without limit.
It was no easier than carving a miniature sculpture on a grain of rice.
Yet it was undoubtedly a whole new path to getting stronger!
Lei Dou took a deep breath and began trying to compress the chakra's density.
The Chakra Threads shooting from his hand grew darker, and their texture underwent a strange transformation.
From their original wispy, gaseous state, they gradually became viscous, as though condensing into a tangible liquid.
When Lei Dou compressed the chakra to his current limit with all his strength, he tried projecting it again.
On his first attempt, the thread instantly sprang back to the thickness of a finger.
But once that thick strand shot outward, the effect was immediate.
It easily wrapped around a distant stone. With a backward tug, the stone obediently flew toward him.
It was only a small stone weighing a few jin.
But it proved that making chakra tangible was a viable approach.
The only problem was its pitiful three-meter range, a far cry from the "taking someone's head from a thousand miles away" that Lei Dou had imagined.
"Again! I refuse to believe I can't do this!"
He glanced up at the night sky. A bright moon already hung high overhead.
Without realizing it, he had kept grinding until late at night.
Yet Lei Dou wasn't remotely sleepy. The thrill of getting stronger simply by working hard was more addictive than any entertainment.
Nothing was more exciting than watching a progress bar gradually fill.
At this rate, Lei Dou felt that even going to sleep would be a crime.
As he immersed himself in the microscopic world of chakra once again.
The Chakra Threads began growing slowly but steadily.
Seven meters!
Eight meters!
Nine meters!
Ten meters!
Their length wasn't the only thing increasing. The threads' density was rising exponentially too.
As his control leaped forward, Lei Dou even experienced a strange sense of clarity.
He could clearly sense the path of every wisp of chakra flowing through his body and the opening and closing of every chakra point.
A god's-eye perspective, one that gave him complete control over his own body, arose naturally.
When Lei Dou successfully extended the high-density thread to twenty meters, he stopped.
His gaze locked onto a large stone twenty meters away.
It weighed at least two hundred jin. Lei Dou flicked his wrist, and the Chakra Threads instantly wrapped around it before he yanked backward.
Whoosh!
The Giant Boulder was pulled into the air and flew effortlessly to his feet.
Looking at the blue thread dancing at his fingertip, Lei Dou's lips curled upward.
"I guess I've finally got something to show for all that practice?"
Just as he was about to finish, he looked at the chakra compressed to its utmost limit, flowing over his arm like blue mercury.
Tiny points of white light even flickered within it.
The dazzling sight sent a sudden bolt of inspiration through Lei Dou's mind.
The smile on his face widened instantly, and he followed it with a bold move.
He began furiously drawing chakra from his body, compressing it to the limit, then spreading it over his entire body like putting on clothes.
The chakra inside him poured out like water through a breached dam. Lei Dou could distinctly feel his reserves rapidly bottoming out.
By the time that layer of compressed Chakra covered his whole body, less than one percent of Lei Dou's vast Chakra reserves remained.
Lei Dou currently had eight hundred times as much chakra as an ordinary ninja.
After that terrifying quantity was compressed into this thin "cloak."
It had consumed ninety-nine percent of his reserves.
That showed just how outrageously dense this cloak was.
The instant the final wisp of chakra sealed the layer.
[Congratulations! You have comprehended a new skill: Chakra Cloak.] [Chakra Cloak: The ultimate form combining offense and defense. Depending on chakra nature and degree of compression, its upper limit of power is immeasurable.]
Chakra Cloak? Did I actually develop this move by sheer accident?
Everyone who has watched Hokage knows how powerful this thing is.
Naruto's Tailed Beast Cloak, Sasuke's Susanoo, and the Raikage's Lightning Release Armor all followed essentially the same principle.
It was a symbol of absolute power, massively boosting offense, defense, and speed across the board.
Lei Dou lowered his head to look at the brilliant blue light flowing over him and the starlight twinkling within that liquid chakra.
In the darkness, he looked as though he wore a battle robe woven from the entire Milky Way.
Lei Dou looked at the Giant Boulder he had just pulled over, slowly raised his right index finger, and gently touched its surface.
The next second!
Crack!
Boom!
The hard rock instantly filled with spiderweb cracks, then exploded, sending fragments flying.
"All I did was touch it lightly..."
Isn't this power a little too unfair?
Even Lei Dou himself stared in disbelief.
The feel of this Chakra Cloak was simply unbeatable.
But the thing was a resource-devouring monster. It consumed chakra at a frightening rate, and Lei Dou didn't have the Nine-Tails inside him as a portable charger.
But this thing was a chakra guzzler; it consumed Chakra at a frightening rate, and Lei Dou didn't have the Nine-Tails as a portable charger inside him.
If Lei Dou hadn't trained his control to an absurd level tonight.
If Lei Dou hadn't trained his control to an almost inhuman level tonight...
Lei Dou raised his hand and shot out a Chakra Thread, drawing over the Famous Blade, Zangetsu, lodged in a distant rock crevice.
The long blade left its sheath, gleaming coldly.
Lei Dou took a deep breath and swung the blade straight at his own arm.
This treasured blade, sharp enough to slice through iron like mud, struck the Chakra Cloak.
Sizzle...
It merely scattered a dazzling shower of sparks and produced a teeth-grating scraping sound.
This defense...
With this protective shell, ordinary ninjutsu and blades would barely tickle.
Strong! Far too strong!
This was an absolute windfall.
He had only intended to practice fine control, yet he had ended up developing an ultimate move.
"Since I've even mastered the Chakra Cloak, my ability to control chakra should be enough to support fusing two kekkei genkai now, right?"
[Great Sage: Calculations indicate that once you can extend these high-density Chakra Threads to thirty-five meters, your control will fully meet the requirements.]
Another fifteen meters?
Lei Dou looked up at the sky. It was probably almost the early hours of the morning.
Grinding out another fifteen meters would likely keep him up until dawn.
Forget it. Going too far is as bad as not going far enough. I'll call it a day.
Lei Dou was still flesh and blood, after all. His mind was already exhausted to its limit.
Not only did he need some catch-up sleep to recharge his brain, but tomorrow would also bring the first mission of his Genin career.
Granted, it would probably be a D-rank mission like finding the Daimyo's Wife's cat or collecting rubbish from a river.
Though most likely it would be a D-rank mission, like helping the Daimyo's Wife find her cat or picking up trash along the river.
With a casual flick of his Chakra Threads, he swept the sheath off the ground and into his hand.
With a click, Zangetsu returned to its sheath.
Lei Dou nodded in satisfaction. Though the Chakra Threads had limited killing power for now, their convenience for retrieving objects from a distance deserved full marks.
Most importantly, they were first-rate for showing off!
As Lei Dou finished his frenzied special training and headed home to catch up on sleep.
The Hokage Building remained brightly lit.
Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Kakashi as he pushed the door open and entered, then set down his pipe.
"Sorry, Kakashi. I've called you over so late. I only just finished dealing with this pile of paperwork."
Kakashi shook his head, his eyes as lifeless as a dead fish's. "There's no need to apologize, Lord Third. You've been neglecting food and sleep for the village, but you still need to look after your health."
"I'm getting old. There's no denying it anymore."
The Third stood and pounded his lower back. A sharp glint flashed through his cloudy eyes as he looked at Kakashi. "Tell me, how are those three children doing?"
Kakashi had known before coming that he couldn't escape this question, so he had already prepared his answer.
"Sasuke Uchiha is certainly a genius, but his heart is filled with hatred. He's like a powder keg, and it will be difficult for him to break free."
"If he doesn't let go of that hatred, his path will only grow narrower."
"Hmm..." The Third sighed. Sasuke's situation was a knot that couldn't be untied. As for the arrangements involving Itachi, he could only take things one step at a time.
"And Naruto?"
Kakashi considered for a moment. "Naruto has indeed inherited the Will of Fire perfectly. Aside from not being particularly bright, he's fine in every other respect. If the Nine-Tails weren't constantly interfering with his chakra, his achievements would surpass Sasuke's."
"Then... what about Lei Dou?"
At the mention of Lei Dou, Kakashi's normally languid expression instantly turned serious.
At the mention of Lei Dou, Kakashi's normally languid expression instantly turned serious.
"Shimozuki Raito. I truly never expected that kid to be hiding so much!"
"You mentioned his Self-Created Swordsmanship before, Lord Third. I didn't take it seriously at the time, thinking it was just a child's game. But facing him this time showed me what a truly monstrous prodigy looks like."
Recalling their fight that day, Kakashi still felt a chill down his back.
"That child's combat instincts are terrifying. He actually managed to fuse nature transformation techniques and swordsmanship perfectly, developing an entirely new system. That's no longer swordsmanship. It's the beginnings of the pinnacle of Nintaijutsu!"
"That swordsmanship alone already qualified him to take on a Jonin. That kind of speed and power had no business belonging to someone his age."
The more Kakashi spoke, the more absurd it seemed.
The Shimozuki were only a second-rate clan in Konoha. How had they suddenly produced a freak like this?
“The Shimozuki clan is only a second-rate family in Konoha. How did a freak like him suddenly appear?”
Kakashi gave a wry chuckle. "His talent isn't just terrifying. He's emotionally intelligent, too, and knows how to look after his teammates. He has none of that insufferable arrogance geniuses tend to have. That's the rarest part."
No arrogance?
Hiruzen blew out a smoke ring without committing himself either way. Still, the boy really did care deeply about his bonds with others.
"Do you think that boy could beat you if you fought for real?"
Kakashi shook his head without hesitation. "Lord Third, I am Konoha's Copy Ninja, after all. If I couldn't even beat a kid fresh out of the Academy, I might as well take off my Jonin vest."
Kakashi shook his head without hesitation. “Lord Third, I'm at least Konoha's Copy Ninja. If I can't even beat a kid who's just graduated, I might as well give up my Jonin vest.”
Kakashi froze at that. "How old is he? Even if he knows a few C-rank ninjutsu, they wouldn't make much difference, would they? In a fight at that level, ordinary ninjutsu simply..."
"Not necessarily. According to reports from the ANBU, the boy apparently used the legendary Ninjutsu Body Flicker before."
Ninjutsu Body Flicker?
Kakashi's one visible eye instantly went wide, his face practically screaming, You're kidding me.
A Body Flicker Technique was one thing, but one incorporating elemental nature transformation?
Did that even make sense?
To master Ninjutsu Body Flicker, one first had to bring nature transformation for the corresponding element to master level.
Seeing the look in Kakashi's eye, as though everything he knew had been thrown into question, Hiruzen pressed the point.
"Don't forget," Lord Third added casually, "that boy can channel elemental ninjutsu into his sword. Do you really think his mastery of nature transformation could be poor?"
Gasp!
With Lord Third spelling it out, Kakashi sucked in a sharp breath.
That meant Lei Dou definitely had some devastating high-level ninjutsu up his sleeve, yet he hadn't even bothered using them during their fight that day.
That little brat!
So he forced me to use Lightning Blade while he was still just warming up?
Lei Dou had forced him to play every trump card without even getting serious. If the boy went all out, just how far would his combat strength soar?
At that thought, Kakashi's breathing quickened.
The more he thought about it, the more terrifying it became.
Watching Kakashi's expression shift, Lord Third tapped the desk. "It's a blessing for the village that Konoha has produced such a promising member of the next generation."
"But however talented they are, they're still flowers raised in a greenhouse. They've never seen blood."
"We'll have to take them out and let them see something of the world."
As he spoke, Lord Third pulled a top-secret document from his drawer.
"Tomorrow is your team's first mission, isn't it? Those jobs chasing cats and catching dogs would be a complete waste of time for these three little monsters."
"Take a look at this."
Puzzled, Kakashi took the document and skimmed its contents...
His pupils abruptly contracted. "Lord Third, are you serious?"
"Of course."
"Unpolished jade cannot become a gem. How can a tree grow tall enough to reach the sky without weathering a few storms?"
Since Lord Hokage had made the decision, Kakashi had no room to argue.
"Yes, sir! I'll see the mission through!"
Kakashi left with the Body Flicker Technique, his mind weighed down with worries.
Once the office fell quiet again, Lord Third looked at Lei Dou in the Crystal Ball, sprawled out and sleeping soundly.
The exhaustion written all over his face made it obvious he had just been through Hell Training.
The exhaustion on his face made it obvious he'd just been through Hell Training.