CHAPTER 39
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The air around Hiruzen crackled with energy as he stood alone on a secluded training ground, surrounded by dense trees and rolling hills that stretched far into the horizon.
The early morning mist clung to the leaves, and a soft breeze carried the scent of damp earth. A perfect setting for his next great breakthrough.
After years of relentless training and experimentation, Hiruzen felt the accumulation of his efforts come to a climax. His eyes narrowed in concentration as a familiar notification appeared before him.
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**Wind Nature Transformation: 90% (Extreme Mastery, Slightly Touching The Rule Domain)**
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A wide grin spread across his face. "Finally," he whispered to himself, "after three years of pushing my limits and refining new techniques, I've truly mastered the wind nature change."
He took a deep breath, feeling the cool air fill his lungs, invigorating him. "But this is just the beginning," Hiruzen thought, his mind already racing with the possibilities.
Without wasting any more time, he pulled a kunai from his pouch, holding it firmly in his hand as wind chakra began to swirl around it.
The kunai hummed with energy as the wind nature wrapped itself around the blade, making it sharper, faster, deadlier.
He admired the way the chakra gleamed, its usual greenish hue gradually changing. Hiruzen narrowed his eyes and applied the heating pressure change he had been working on for so long.
The wind chakra shifted, taking on a new form. A faint red and white hue began to mix into the swirling energy, reminiscent of Scorch Release.
His breath caught in his throat for a moment as he observed the transformation. "This... could be the foundation of Scorch Release," he murmured, fascinated by the phenomenon.
"If I pursue this path, I could recreate that power. But there's more to explore."
With a swift motion, he dissipated the chakra from the kunai and straightened his posture, his eyes now filled with determination. He was far from finished. "Let's move on. I'll complete the nature change for the other elements as well."
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The sky had brightened slightly as Hiruzen moved to the next phase of his experimentation. Standing still for a moment, he focused on channeling earth chakra into his hand.
The familiar weight and steadiness of the earth element settled over him like a comforting blanket. The sensation was entirely different from the slicing sharpness of wind.
He bent down and touched the ground, his hand coated in earth chakra. Slowly, he started to manipulate the earth around him, watching as it responded to his will.
Small pebbles and patches of dirt crumbled into dust as the chakra infused them. Hiruzen smiled as he saw the results of his earth nature change in action, but there was still something missing.
He could sense that there was more to this nature change—something just beyond his current reach.
His brow furrowed as he concentrated harder. He knew he was close to another breakthrough, but the barrier felt insurmountable.
Without hesitation, he activated his comprehension skill, allowing his mind to analyze every aspect of the earth element.
Minutes passed. His breathing slowed as his consciousness expanded, delving deeper into the essence of earth nature. It was solid, unmoving, yet malleable under the right conditions.
The weight, the pressure, the density—it was all interconnected. As he lost himself in thought, time slipped away.
An hour later, Hiruzen snapped out of his meditation, a new understanding dawning in his mind. He stood up, his hand still covered in chakra, and with renewed confidence, he took out another kunai.
This time, he coated the blade with earth chakra and applied the transformation technique again. He watched with satisfaction as the kunai's metal began to crumble under the force of his nature change, disintegrating into dust.
He chuckled softly, his fingers brushing the ground. "I'm turning the earth itself to dust... almost like I'm increasing the gravitational force on it, making it heavier, more susceptible to breaking apart."
Hiruzen moved from one experiment to the next, never stopping, never hesitating.
He reached down to touch the ground again, but this time he injected more chakra into the earth.
Slowly, the ground began to dissolve into dirt, crumbling into nothingness beneath his touch.
Anything he focused on disintegrated as he increased the heaviness of the objects. "It's almost like controlling gravity itself…" Hiruzen thought with awe.
His experiments soon bore even more fruit, and another notification blinked into his vision.
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**Earth Nature Transformation: 90% (Extreme Mastery, Slightly Touching The Rule Domain)**
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His mastery over the earth element had reached a point where he could manipulate the very ground beneath his feet with minimal chakra.
Hiruzen clenched his fist and grinned. "If anyone tries to use an earth-style jutsu against me, I'll counter it easily. I'll seize control of their technique before they can even complete it."
Hiruzen's thoughts turned to the legendary techniques of the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju.
"With this level of mastery over earth release, I could even replicate some of Hashirama's techniques. The wooden dragon, the golem, the nativity of a world tree… all of those could be adapted into my earth style. Perhaps even the True Several Thousand Hands… only, I'll create them from earth."
A sense of satisfaction bloomed in Hiruzen's chest. The possibilities were endless.
He could manipulate the earth in ways no one had ever seen before, turning soil into stone, stone into gems, and even creating glass and metals with precise chakra control.
But his work wasn't finished. With a steady breath, he refocused his thoughts. "Wind and earth are done… now, it's time to master the lightning and water elements."
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Hiruzen turned his attention to lightning release, his mind wandering to the Third Raikage.
"The Third Raikage achieved Black Lightning without Six Paths chakra. How did he do it? I've seen Kakashi use black lightning, but that was due to the Six Paths power he received from Obito."
Hiruzen frowned, trying to piece together the mystery. He realized that he didn't yet have the full answer, but he couldn't afford to waste time pondering it further.
He activated his comprehension skill and delved into the nature change of lightning chakra.
Electricity crackled around him as his chakra surged, causing the ground beneath his feet to wrinkle and spark.
The blue lightning that danced across his body intensified, and as his understanding grew, the color began to shift. First, it turned a vibrant purple, humming with energy.
Hiruzen's eyes widened in recognition. "Purple lightning," he muttered. "This occurs when lightning strikes in highly humid conditions, mixing with water molecules in the air. When the air is dry, it turns white. When dust particles are present, it turns yellow. And in heavy rain clouds, lightning takes on a red hue…"
He continued experimenting, mixing different elemental properties into his lightning chakra. One by one, the colors shifted as he refined his control. Eventually, he achieved what he sought.
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**Lightning Nature Transformation: 90% (Extreme Mastery, Slightly Touching The Rule Domain)**
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He stood silently for a moment, feeling the electricity course through him. "But there's still the matter of black lightning," he muttered to himself.
Activating his comprehension skill once more, he dove deep into his understanding of lightning, searching for the key to the elusive black variant.
After hours of intense focus, the realization struck him like a bolt of inspiration. "Gamma rays," he whispered.
"That's the key. Black lightning is a result of gamma rays—a form of radiation that produces the most powerful burst of energy."
With renewed vigor, Hiruzen began experimenting, channeling different types and combination of chakra to act as gamma rays into his lightning chakra.
Soon, he saw the familiar black hue flickering at the edges of his lightning strikes. "I've done it," he said with a grin. "The black lightning… it's mine now."
Satisfied with his progress, Hiruzen moved on to the final element: water.
He raised his hands, summoning water chakra from deep within, and activated his comprehension skill once more. In just under an hour, the familiar notification appeared.
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**Water Nature Transformation: 90% (Extreme Mastery, Slightly Touching The Rule Domain)**
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Hiruzen smiled as he felt the water chakra surge through his body. "I can now create vast amounts of water from nothing… and it's pure. It insulates against electricity rather than conducting it."
His mastery over the elements was now complete, and with a deep breath, he muttered to himself, "Now, it's time to integrate these nature changes into the Sarutobi clan's bloodline."
A grin spread across his face as he considered the legacy he was about to create.
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