Jutsu Combination?

Standing in a secluded training ground, Yami formed a series of hand seals and took a deep breath. With a sharp exhale, he unleashed Wind Style: Great Breakthrough.

A powerful gust of wind surged forward, slicing through the trees ahead. Thin slashes appeared on the bark as if cut by invisible blades, and leaves were torn from their branches, fluttering to the ground like falling rain.

"Not bad," he nodded in satisfaction. After reaching 100% in wind nature transformation, learning the jutsu of that element became easier. It still took effort, but not as much as before.

"Then let's see if this works," Yami muttered.

With a puff of smoke, a shadow clone appeared beside him. Both of them started forming different hand seals.

The clone finished first, slapping its hands on the ground. Thin, sharp earth spears shot up from the earth, aiming toward the sky.

Meanwhile, Yami took another deep breath and released another Great Breakthrough. The wind caught the earth's spears, propelling them forward with even greater speed. The spears sliced through the air like arrows, embedding themselves deep into the trunks of the surrounding trees. The impact caused the bark to splinter and crack, and the trees shuddered from the force, leaves cascading down as the spears stuck firmly in place, their sharp tips buried within the wood.

Yami smirked and thought, 'Absorbing the memories of those chunin was really a good idea. Not only did they give me many jutsu, but also how to combine them with different techniques so that…'

With that thought, the clone disappeared, and Yami felt a portion of his chakra return.

'But this method is quite chakra-taxing, and I would need the enemy to be distracted to perform this combination,' he reflected. 'Should I start working on trying to perform two different jutsu at the same time without a shadow clone's assistance?'

After pondering it for a moment, Yami dismissed the idea. Performing many jutsu in battle wasn't a fighting style he was comfortable with, largely because of his limited chakra reserves. Besides, most elemental ninjutsu had their own counters, and many ninja fights were decided in close combat rather than with ninjutsu—unless, of course, it was a powerful jutsu.

"My fighting style is either stealth killing the enemy or..."

Yami walked forward, touching the scattered rocks on the ground and pouring spiritual energy into them, animating them.

"Gather!" he commanded.

Slowly, the rocks began to stir. They rolled toward him, and as they did, they sprouted odd, tiny eyes and mouths, giving them an eerie, almost grotesque appearance as they clustered together at his feet.

Yami watched as the animated rocks rolled toward him, their tiny eyes and mouths giving them a bizarre, unsettling appearance. With a thought, he attempted to make them form a shape, picturing a tower rising from the ground.

"Build a tower,"

The rocks responded immediately, but instead of coordinating, they simply clashed against each other. They rolled and bumped into one another, some trying to stack while others collided and tumbled back down. There was no sense of order or structure, just chaotic movement as they repeatedly crashed together, failing to create anything resembling a tower.

Yami frowned as he watched the scene unfold. 'They don't have any intelligence,' he realized. 'They're just animated by my spiritual energy, but without direction or thought of their own, they can't accomplish complex tasks.'

He let out a sigh, the frustration clear on his face. "Useless," he muttered, dismissing the animation and allowing the rocks to return to their lifeless state, scattered once more across the ground.

Looking up at the sky, he saw a few clouds drifting by, partially hiding the sun.

"It should be about time," he said quietly.

Today was Memorial Day.

Yami brushed the dust off his clothes and began walking toward the village. The streets were quieter than usual, with only a few people moving around, most of them heading in the same direction he was. As he walked, he passed by vendors closing their stalls early and families dressed in somber clothes.

Eventually, he reached the village's memorial site. A small crowd had already gathered, standing silently before the stone monument. Flowers were laid at its base. Yami stood at the edge of the group, his eyes focused on a few familiar figures.

Uchiha Fugaku and his men were whispering among themselves, and some of them were glaring at the grieving Kakashi. Their dissatisfaction was clear—someone outside their clan had taken the Sharingan, and they weren't pleased. The only thing stopping them from acting was likely the presence of Hiruzen, who was delivering a speech about sacrifice and heroes.

Minato's presence might have also played a role, making the usually arrogant Uchiha more cautious in planning their next move.

After the Hokage's speech was over, the crowd began to disperse. Yami looked at Minato's team, who were still standing in their place, but he didn't approach them. Instead, he made his way toward the Hokage, intent on collecting his reward.

Catching up with Hiruzen, Yami had a brief conversation with the tired Hokage. They discussed Yami's continued work at the hospital, which Hiruzen agreed to, but he also mentioned that Yami should always be prepared for a mission, which might come soon. Yami nodded in acknowledgment, took the scroll from Hiruzen, and made his way to a different training ground.

Once there, Yami used his soul vision to ensure no one was following him. Satisfied that he was alone, he didn't open the scroll immediately. Instead, he decided to try an idea sparked when he saw Kakashi today.

Forming hand seals, Yami slapped the ground. An earth wall erupted from the soil, but this was no ordinary wall—in the middle, it had taken the shape of a rhino's head, with detailed and lifelike features. The rhino's eyes were fierce, and its snout was raised as if ready to charge.

Yami examined the jutsu he'd learned from the Chunin soul and wondered, What's the point of carving a head into a jutsu? It's not like it makes it any stronger.

He recalled that Kakashi also used a similar jutsu with dog heads carved into it. And what about the appearance of the Rashomon gates? Some ninjutsu seemed unnecessarily flashy.

"Anyway, these flashy jutsu might prove useful for me," Yami thought.

He placed a hand on the rhino's head and poured spiritual energy into it.

"This is taking more energy than I thought."

Slowly, the rhino's eyes glowed faintly as the energy coursed through the structure. The wall began to tremble as the rhino's features animated. The eyes moved, scanning the area, and the snout flared as if sniffing the air. The rhino's head turned as though it was alive.

Yami smiled in satisfaction and almost burst out laughing when he suddenly cut off his connection to the rhino, turning it back into a lifeless head.

"Dammit, the energy consumption is insane."

Animating just the head consumed five times the amount of energy needed for turning a branch or rocks. And since this was just an immovable object, using a moving object would be even more draining. He wondered if it was worth it to animate jutsus.

After thinking it over, he decided to wait until he was in an actual situation where he needed to use this method. At least until he figured out how to infuse souls into objects or jutsus.

With that resolved, Yami unrolled the scroll and began reading the chakra-sealing technique it contained.

****

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