Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, the year 41 of Konoha was coming to an end.
In a snow-covered grove, Shūichi let out a long breath, feeling a weight lifted off his shoulders. "Finally, I've unlocked the [Wind Release Expert] tag!"
Tag: [Wind Release Expert]
Effect: Wind Release talent increased by 100%, allows for Wind Release techniques to be used without hand seals.
The effect was similar to that of the [Fire Release Expert] tag.
To obtain this tag, he had mastered five Wind Release jutsus: Gale Palm, Vacuum Sphere, Vacuum Wave, Vacuum Great Sphere, and Vacuum Blade.
Aside from Gale Palm, which was inherited from his mother, the other four jutsus were taught to him by Minato Namikaze.
After unlocking the [Wind Release Expert] tag, Shūichi immediately focused on another grayed-out tag on the tree.
This was just triggered recently.
Tag: [Wind Release Master]
Condition to Obtain: Create five Wind Release jutsus of at least A-rank, or develop one S-rank Wind Release jutsu.
Effect: Wind Release talent increased by 100%, Wind Release chakra nature transformation increased by 100%, Wind Release shape transformation increased by 100%; any Wind Release jutsu or secret technique, except for those involving Kekkei Genkai, will have no learning barriers.
Both the acquisition conditions and the tag effects were as expected.
"Next up is mastering the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken!"
Shūichi aimed to unlock the [Wind Release Expert] tag before the year 41 of Konoha ended to avoid wasting the once-a-year "Flash of Insight" ability.
He already had a general idea for the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken, an S-rank Wind Release jutsu.
If he were to use "Flash of Insight" elsewhere without adequate preparation, it might be wasted.
Even with 10 minutes of maxed-out comprehension and creativity, there's no guarantee of developing an S-rank jutsu from scratch.
"Only three days left until the new year..."
He took out a soldier pill and swallowed it, sitting quietly to restore his energy.
Although he wasn't sure if "Flash of Insight" would consume a lot of stamina, it was better to be fully prepared.
Once his energy was fully restored, Shūichi lowered his eyes and said, "Flash of Insight, Activate!"
In an instant, Shūichi felt like his brain had been replaced with a new one.
All the problems he had encountered during the past year of training now had clear solutions in his mind.
For instance, the sensory ninjutsu he had been struggling to master.
The high-temperature ray Fire Release that was just one step away from completion.
Medical ninjutsu, medical knowledge, and so on.
At that moment, Shūichi felt like he had opened a massive door—the door to infinite knowledge, the door to omniscience.
But he quickly realized something was wrong.
Because there was so much he didn't know before, now that his brain was functioning at this level, countless ideas flooded in.
"Not good!"
Shūichi quickly activated 10x focus, suppressing the overwhelming thoughts and concentrating solely on Wind Release, specifically the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken.
He truly felt the power of maxed-out comprehension and creativity.
How to perform the shape transformation to form a high-speed rotating shuriken?
It turned out you had to first undergo the Wind Release nature transformation.
How to make the formed shuriken stable enough to be thrown?
By constructing a double-loop system, creating an interconnected, three-dimensional cross-loop.
An S-rank Wind Release jutsu?
Simple!
Too simple!
Within 10 minutes, Shūichi didn't even need 2 minutes to fully understand the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken.
Why not add Fire Release?
In addition to the deadly wind needles, let's add some high temperature.
Adding Fire Release wasn't difficult either; after forming the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken, you could inject Fire Release chakra.
Soon, Shūichi had also grasped the principle behind the Wind-Fire Rasenshuriken.
No, it should be called the Wind-Fire Radiant Wheel Rasenshuriken(?).
Over 6 minutes left.
Keep going!
This time, Shūichi's target was the extremely complex formula of the sensory ninjutsu.
Minato's hand signs relied somewhat on luck, but now that his brain was working at full capacity, he would rely on logic.
Time ticked by, and this time it took unexpectedly long.
That formula contained knowledge that Shūichi hadn't mastered before, like Earth Release, Lightning Release, and Water Release.
However, with maxed-out comprehension, there were no real issues.
Finally, 10 minutes passed.
His brain downgraded instantly, and Shūichi felt as if he had fallen from sky, as if he had suddenly become stupid.
But it was only for a moment. Then, his head throbbed, his vision darkened, and he felt something trickling out of his nose.
Gritting his teeth to avoid fainting, Shūichi deactivated tenfold focus, quickly ate another soldier pill, and grabbed a thermos from his bag, drinking the warm water mixed with salt and sugar.
He drained it in one go and, after nearly 5 minutes, his head began to clear, and the dizziness faded.
Only then did he realize that blood had been flowing from his nose.
"'Flash of Insight' combined with 10x focus is truly terrifying..."
Shūichi chuckled bitterly and used snow to cover the bloodstains, but his mind was still sluggish, and his body felt extremely weak. He had no choice but to give up on trying to use the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken for now.
After resting for another half hour, Shūichi packed up and headed home.
To his surprise, it took him a full seven days, well into the year 42 of Konoha, to return to peak condition.
And that was with his previous 100% recovery boost.
Otherwise, it might have taken half a month to recover.
Shūichi decided that the next time he used it, Asuka should be by his side.
...
Konoha Year 42, January 5th
Just after fully recovering, Shūichi Hoshita couldn't wait any longer and headed to a secluded, open area in the village.
Today, he planned to test the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken, turning theory into reality.
Buzz!
Shūichi raised his right hand, palm facing up, as chakra gathered to form a rapidly spinning Rasengan.
He rarely used the Rasengan in actual combat because it didn't suit his personal style.
Using Rasengan was not as effective for him as using Blue Flame Sky Blade or Blue Flame Waterfall Blade.
Even without a blade, he preferred to enhance a kunai with Wind Release.
...
The second step after forming the Rasengan was to apply the Wind Release nature transformation.
As Shūichi continued to pour chakra into it, the whistling sound grew louder, and a blazing white ring formed around the Rasengan.
This ring was the high-speed rotating Wind Release chakra.
"This consumes so much chakra..."
Shūichi frowned slightly, then proceeded to the third step: shape transformation!
Buzz, buzz, buzz!
With the sharp, ear-piercing sound of friction, four shuriken-like "blades" appeared around the blazing white ring, spinning at high speed.
These spinning "blades" were actually formed by the high-speed flow of Wind Release chakra.
The chakra flowed out from the second layer of the blazing white ring and back in, and with the high-speed rotation of both the inner and outer rings, it formed the shape of a shuriken.
Additionally, the further out from the center, the less chakra was concentrated, but the faster it rotated. Therefore, the core Rasengan was blue, the outer ring was blazing white, and the outermost shuriken shape was almost transparent.
"With my chakra, I can only manage one shot..."
Shūichi was speechless.
But this was without tapping into the chakra stored in the Yin Seal.
"Let's see if it's truly complete..."
Shūichi raised his right hand and then threw the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken like a wind shuriken.
Buzz, buzz, buzz!
The Wind Release: Rasenshuriken spun rapidly, cutting through the air as it flew over a hundred meters away. Then, as it lost stability, the entire jutsu expanded rapidly, emitting a dazzling white light, forming a massive sphere over 25 meters in diameter.
Next came a fierce windstorm, kicking up a wave of earth!
After a while, the storm subsided. Shūichi lowered his arm from in front of his eyes and used the Body Flicker Technique to reach the center of the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken's explosion.
A giant crater had formed here.
"The power is indeed impressive," Shūichi noted to himself. "Not only does it have powerful cutting abilities, but also terrifying high-speed rotating wind needles."
"Especially when the jutsu loses stability and explodes, there's no orderly trajectory. Unless someone has the regenerative abilities of Six Paths Madara or Hashirama Senju, their chakra pathways would be severed, and their cells pierced. Even if they don't die, they'd be crippled."
"If this were the Wind-Fire Radiant Wheel Rasenshuriken, the resulting storm would have been a deadly firestorm, turning it into a mass slaughter technique."
Shūichi refocused his attention on the tag tree.
The [Wind Release Master] tag lit up in blue!
Wind Release talent increased by 100%, Wind Release chakra nature transformation increased by 100%, Wind Release shape transformation increased by 100%; any Wind Release jutsu or secret technique, except for those involving Kekkei Genkai, will have no learning barriers.
With the tag's enhancement, Shūichi raised his right hand and extended one finger, and a mini version of the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken quickly formed at his fingertip.
He then flicked the mini Rasenshuriken, which flew about 20 meters before expanding, covering an area two to three meters wide.
The larger version of the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken consumed too much chakra, but the mini version was much more efficient and sufficient for single-target attacks.
Moreover, he could adjust the size of the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken according to the battle's demands.
Sitting down, Shūichi ate a soldier pill to restore his energy, thinking to himself, "With the Wind Release and Fire Release jutsus I currently possess, the title of Master is well-deserved."
"In terms of killing power, I'm not inferior to an elite Jonin, even if I lack their battle experience."
"But my biggest weakness remains my insufficient chakra."
"One reason is my physical constitution, and the other is my age. That's why I rely on the Yin Seal to compensate, though I've failed twice before."
In fact, Shūichi's chakra reserves were already outstanding among his peers.
In December of last year, he estimated that he had around 3 units of chakra.
Compared to Sarutobi Asuma, his reserves were roughly twice as much.
"I can't control growing up, so I'll have to improve my physical constitution and focus on the Yin Seal."
Shūichi plotted to himself, "I'll bide my time for two years and fully store the Yin Seal."
"Once I unlock the [Swordsmanship Master] and [Space-Time Envoy] tags, I'll get two chances to enhance my physical constitution."
"I'm almost 9 years old now. This year or next year, I should complete my goals by Konoha Year 43 at the latest."
"The Flying Thunder God Technique is difficult to learn, so I'll start with other space-time ninjutsu. Even if I have to use 'Flash of Insight' to create one myself, I'll do it."
With his plan set, Shūichi stood up and headed home.
He wanted to go back and review the complex formula of the sensory ninjutsu, then master the technique, reducing one more shortcoming.
(End of Chapter)
NOTE: Normal/Expters Tags Are Normally Green, Master Tags Are Blue, and Above Blue Tags are Red Tags (i.e., Pioneer tag)
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