232 Chapter 232 - Ice Affinity
Training Ground 3
"Well, we got plenty of water here thanks to your jutsu. So how do you want to get started?" Kakashi asked Daichi.
"You remember the Ice sword I got on our last mission?"
"Yeah it rings a bell. But I don't remember seeing you in action with that yet." The Jonin said with a chuckle. Daichi had a smile hearing that and soon he took the sword out of a scroll. The Genin still remembered the details his 'observe' skill showed him.
[Frost Sword] [Special Item: Rank A]
[The Frost Sword is a Special Ranked item created by Katsura Sadoshi. It is his greatest creation till date. This weapon is created by studying the Kekkei Genkai genetics of a member of the Yuki clan and the DNA is extracted and used in creating this sword. This sword can freeze water, create and launch massive waves of ice and more. Only someone with higher than average chakra reserves and one with high affinity to Water can use this sword. This is a melee weapon that can shoot ice projectiles and can be used both defensively and offensively.
Note: This sword was created using the blood of a member of The Yuki clan and thus it can create Ice and mimic the abilities of that clan.
Members not part of the Yuki clan can use this sword but the chakra cost is high.
Members of the Yuki clan can use this sword with minimal chakra cost.]
Daichi looked at the sword with an intense gaze. 'If I can understand the inner workings of this sword, how it uses someone's chakra into creating ice, then I'll be one step closer to achieving my goal.'
"So that's the weapon huh. That man who worked for the Lightning Twins must have been an extraordinary blacksmith to create something like this." Kakashi came close and looked at the magnificent weapon.
Daichi nodded. "Yeah. If I can figure out its secrets or at least understand some parts of its inner mechanics then I'm sure I can create my own ice techniques."
"Well then, let's get started."
Hearing his sensei, Daichi got ready. Both the teacher and student were standing on top of a small lake created as a result of Daichi's latest Rasengan variant. The Genin created a couple of shadow clones so that they could concentrate on observing the chakra flow when the sword is in use.
The real Daichi gripped the Frost sword in his right hand and channeled some of his chakra into it. He placed the tip of the sword atop the surface of the new small lake and quickly the water under Daichi began to freeze. The water underneath Daichi's feet became solid and soon it spread.
Kakashi had his Sharingan out and was keenly observing the sword in Daichi's hand. After a few seconds he came to a conclusion. 'I can't copy it. Not only does the user create Ice with no hand seals, that sword is somehow mimicking the chakra flow of the Yuki clan. It seems that man was able to harness the genetic disposition that gave the Yuki clan members their ability to use Ice jutsu and somehow artificially replicate that ability and transplant it into a sword. The vast knowledge and skills one would need to do something like that…'
Kakashi watched as the ice spread in all directions from underneath Daichi. The Jonin let out a tired sigh as he thought about the situation.
'If any other village had gotten their hands on him then it would have been a disaster. It was best that he died on that ship. This is something that would tip the balance of power between nations. If weapons like this and the armor used by them were mass produced it would have soon caused an all out war.'
Daichi was unaware of his teacher's thoughts and was just focused on the weapon in his hand. The temperature in the area dropped little by little as the ice spread. Soon the ice covered over a hundred meters and in the center was Daichi. He let out a deep breath of air and he could see his breath due to the cold temperature.
The Gamer ninja waited for several seconds but he didn't get any notifications regarding the use of the sword.
'Hmm… I didn't get any Ice creation notification. It seems I'll have to personally create Ice to get that affinity.'
At that moment Daichi's shadow clones came near him and one of them dispelled. Daichi got the memories of his clone and quickly analyzed what it had learned. The clones had been using chakra senses and had all their attention focused on the Frost sword.
'When using the sword they sensed the use of Wind chakra nature and Water chakra nature working in tandem. My chakra changed when it flowed through the weapon. There was something else… Something that changed the properties of my chakra to help in making a new element. Hmm…'
"What do you think sensei?" Daichi looked at his teacher for advice.
"That sword can somehow duplicate the Kekkei Genkai ability of the Yuki clan. It doesn't have hand seals and the way the chakra moves through the sword… I can't copy the creation of Ice but…" The next instant Kakashi went through several different seals.
"Ice style - Barrier Jutsu."
An ice wall suddenly sprung forth in front of Kakashi from the Ice that was created thanks to Daichi's sword.
"This is one of the jutsus I copied during a mission in the Land of Snow some time ago. There were people there not part of the Yuki clan that could use the existing Ice for their techniques." Kakashi said to his student.
"But lands with snow and ice are not that common. And I might not always get to use this sword. So what happens in situations like that?" Daichi didn't say everything that was on his mind. 'This is also a test run. I need to see if I can create other complicated elements. The knowledge I would gain from this is invaluable.'
"Well Daichi, I think the solution is simple." The silver haired Jonin said with a knowing grin.
The Genin already knew what the man was going to say. "Let me guess. I need to learn how to create Ice first."
"Yup. I have an idea on how to do that. I got it from observing that sword." The Jonin gave Daichi his thoughts and the Genin was silent.
"I need to think this through." With that Daichi put the Frost sword back into his scroll and walked to a nearby tree. He sat down and soon began meditating.
—-
Kakashi was lying on the ground reading his favorite book but occasionally his eyes would drift to his student. Daichi had been meditating under a tree for several hours and was preparing himself to create a mixed Nature jutsu.
The man sighed and went back to reading but his mind was on what his student said earlier and the advice he gave Daichi. 'Creating Ice jutsu is no easy task. Can it even be done? To copy a Kekkei Genkai ability… That's a tall order. I could only do it because of my Sharingan.' The Jonin sighed and went back to reading. He would patiently wait till his student was ready.
With deep meditation Daichi was restoring his health, stamina and chakra and was also mentally preparing himself. A few hours went by and he was back to his peak.
'Its time.'
Moments later he opened his eyes and let out a deep breath of air. He got up and stretched himself and felt completely refreshed. Kakashi, who saw his student up and about, put his reading material back into his pouch and stood.
"So any thoughts?" The Jonin asked.
Daichi nodded. "I've been going over what you said. And you're partially right."
"Partially?" The silver haired Jonin slightly tilted his head.
"I've been thinking it over and your method is one of the two best ways to create Ice." Daichi spoke.
Seeing Kakashi's silence, Daichi elaborated on his theory. "I don't have the Yuki clan's Kekkei Genkai, so I can't create Ice out of nothing. But I'm sure I can use existing Ice and use Ice jutsu and mimic their clan's abilities. But for that I need to learn to turn water into ice. Because the Ice I need to use must have at least a tiny portion of my chakra. At least right now when I'm learning anyway. Without that it's no use. You showed me the signs for some Ice jutsu you got from the Land of Snow and told me about the method to use Wind Chakra nature to cool down water and turn it to ice."
The Jonin nodded his head. "Yes. Based on what I know the Yuki clan members combine Wind chakra nature and Water chakra nature to create and use Ice Style. My Sharingan also saw something similar happening within that sword when it was used earlier. That's why I suggested using Wind Nature."
Daichi agreed with that statement. "Right. But there is one more way. Using Fire Chakra Nature."
Kakashi slightly narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean? Isn't Fire Nature used for creating steam techniques?"
"Yes. But there is much more. Ice, water and steam. They are all related. Ice exists when atoms of water are bound together and they have no movement or the least amount of motion. But when heat or energy is applied the atoms get energized and they become mobile and so ice melts and becomes water. And to that water if we apply even more heat and energy the movements of the atoms become even faster. Thus water boils and becomes steam. It's basic chemistry. But this is what will help me."
Kakashi was beginning to have an idea of what his student was attempting to do and he was impressed. 'To manipulate elements on an atomic level like that with his chakra. Especially when he has no special clan genetic advantages… He's just 12 years old and he's already come so far. This kid truly is a genius in Ninjutsu.'
"When we apply heat to ice it becomes water. You're implying that we do the reverse and remove heat from water and turn it back into ice." Kakashi figured out Daichi's idea and was pondering on the possibilities of such a method. 'That could also theoretically work.'
"Precisely. Mastering the second step of the Fire Nature allowed me to learn to control the temperature and make variations to the heat emitted from my jutsu. I want to apply that concept. But all of this is a theory. And I'm not sure where I should start." Daichi looked at his sensei for guidance and Kakashi was silent for a few moments before giving his two cents.
"So we have two possible methods to create Ice. One, using wind chakra nature to cool the water down to its solid form. Two, use fire nature to remove heat and turn water to ice. Hmm… Why don't we try both? But not at once."
Daichi was silent as he nodded his head to that suggestion.
Kakashi continued. "We'll try to create Ice using both methods and see which one's the best. Let's start with Fire Nature. And if the results aren't what you want we move on to Wind Nature. That way you'll be able to see the difference and you can use the best option for your techniques."
Daichi nodded and looked around and saw some small water puddles. "I'll start small then work my way up."
The Jonin agreed and both of them went to a nearby small puddle. Daichi sat down on the muddy ground, placed both his hands on the surface of the small puddle and concentrated.
Kakashi looked at his student and at that moment another idea struck him. 'Hmm… Yes. If this experiment is successful then could that also be a possibility? But it would be more difficult since he has to maintain focus on two natures at once…'
The Jonin didn't say anything since he didn't want to disturb his student from his current task. He looked on after a short while the water stilled. Kakashi's eyes slightly widened as he saw a small layer of ice form atop the water. His Sharingan was focused on Daichi's chakra flow. 'He's using fire nature in such a refined manner. With his chakra he's extracting the heat from the water and it's slowly cooling down.'
Daichi sat there with his eyes closed and just focused on his task. Thanks to all the chakra control training and nature training he had done so far the task Daichi was attempting was yielding results much faster than he anticipated.
In just a few minutes a thin layer of ice covered the small puddle of water. Daichi kept focusing on his work but the sounds of several notifications popping up made him stop.
He looked at the partially frozen water in front of him and had a big grin on his face.
"It seems your theory is correct Daichi. You can create Ice by using Fire Nature. That's impressive."
"Thanks sensei. Now that I've got the hang of it, I need to train it to acceptable levels. After that I'll start to work on ice jutsu." Daichi spoke and the silver haired Jonin agreed.
"Well, I'm glad I could help Daichi. Now this is something you can only do on your own. Good luck." With that Kakashi pulled the headband over his Sharingan and walked to a dry spot to continue his reading.
Daichi looked at the notifications that appeared and a smile was on his face.
[A new skill is created with a specific action.]
[By continuously focusing your chakra to manipulate the heat of a substance, the skill Fire: Heat Manipulation has been created.]
[Fire: Heat Manipulation - (Active/Passive) (LV. 01): This is a skill created through the meticulous use of Fire chakra nature and is a subdivision of Fire Affinity. This technique will help the user increase their strength, control and speed over the heat manipulation of a substance. This skill allows the user to create, shape and manipulate heat by increasing the Kinetic energy of atoms and thus make things hotter. This process can also be used in reverse to remove heat from certain objects and cool them down.]
[Effects:]
[2% Increase in Heat manipulation and control.]
[0.5% Increase in power of Fire chakra Nature.]
[Note: The chakra used for this technique depends on the items this skill is used on.]
The grin on Daichi's face got wider as he looked at the new skill. 'With this I'll be able to increase the firepower of my Fire jutsus and even use it in a more versatile way. I have so many ideas I can't wait. But for now, I need to stay concentrated on the task at hand.'
The Genin calmed himself and got back to work. He created multiple clones and they all picked a spot and started working.
—-
Days passed by with Daichi making steady progress. Almost 10 days passed with non-stop day and night training and finally his efforts paid off. Daichi increased the heat manipulation skill to max level and was able to freeze a large portion of water in seconds. But it wasn't all he did.
The gamer ninja used the Frost sword dozens of times to study the chakra flow and how it uses his energy to create a new element. After a while he grasped the secrets and it was finally time to put his training and theories to the test.
"You ready Daichi?" Kakashi asked as he stood atop the river flowing through the middle of their training ground.
"Yup. Bring it."
The Jonin nodded and quickly made several seals. 'Water style - Water torrent jutsu.'
The second Kakashi made the final seal for the technique, a large spiraling torrent of water blasted out of the river and headed straight for Daichi. The Genin slightly jumped to the side and narrowly avoided the jutsu. He looked at the spiraling water jutsu that was still active and quickly brought his hands upon it.
'I need to make sure the water doesn't shred my palms. Create minimum contact and use the opportunity to maximum efficiency.'
Daichi brought his palms near the surface of the water jutsu and before Kakashi's jutsu could do any damage, Daichi used his heat manipulation ability.
The water around Daichi's palm was quickly frozen and it swiftly spread throughout the technique till it reached its origin point in the river.
Kakashi watched as Daichi's chakra overtook his water jutsu and turned it into a long spiraling ice structure. He let go of the technique and jumped to the ground.
"Ready for the next part?"
Daichi nodded to the Jonin's question and quickly made several hand signs that ended with a dog seal. "Ice style - Needle barrage."
On the surface of the newly created ice structure several ice needles formed and then launched forward with speed and lethality.
"Haha! Yes! Hell yeah!" Daichi was excited that he was finally able to successfully create Ice and copy a Kekkei Genkai ability.
"Well what do you know? It works. Well done Daichi." Kakashi was impressed with the results of their one month training. 'Not only did he create a Water version of the Rasengan, he was able to create hidden jutsus specific to the Yuki clan.'
For Daichi, at that moment two new notifications arrived.
[You have used your first Ice nature jutsu.]
[You have acquired the skill Ice Affinity.]
