Konoha's lexicon of ninjas

Chapter 56 Fire Release Sword Technique! (Happy Year of the Dragon!)

Because of Minato Namikaze's serious injury, his vacation time had to be extended.

Hoshino Shizuka was quite happy about this, since besides Uchiha Shisui, Kakashi, and Guy, he also had Tsunade, a Jonin, as a sparring partner.

Time flew by and it was August 20th when Minato Namikaze was discharged from the hospital after recovering.

However, Hoshino and his two companions were soon informed that Minato Namikaze had another important mission, so the three of them temporarily formed a small team to operate independently, taking on some D-rank and C-rank missions, and rarely leaving the Land of Fire.

Autumn arrived quietly.

September 12, next to Konoha Hospital.

Having just finished sparring with Tsunade, Hoshino Shuichi sat on the ground, his mind completely focused on the abbreviation tree.

He finally mastered the secret technique of the Crescent Moon Dance.

Thus, he finally met all the requirements for the "Swordsmanship Expert" statistic.

Light up!

As the leaf of the "Swordsmanship Expert" entry turned green, Hoshino Shuichi immediately felt a surge of power within his body, seemingly similar to chakra, but even more astonishing.

The [Swordsmanship Expert] effect has two parts: increases swordsmanship talent by 100% and increases the quality of designated ninja tools by 100%.

The talent enhancement remains to be verified, but the energy appearing within the body is clearly intended to improve the quality of designated ninja tools by 100%.

Hoshino Hideichi immediately drew his Ame-no-Kami.

This chakra dagger, given to me by Tianyun, is quite ordinary among the many chakra swords, but it is still very precious.

In the ninja world, even Jonin are not all able to use such ninja tools with high chakra flow.

High chakra flow means low chakra loss.

With a thought, Hoshinoichi controlled the energy within his body to flow towards the Heavenly Sword.

It's incredibly silky smooth.

That energy immediately moved at will and surged into the Heavenly Blade.

Hoshino Shuichi immediately felt the Ame-no-Mao sword in his right hand tremble slightly, and heard an extremely faint clanging sound from the sword.

Soon, all that energy surged into the Heavenly Blade and vanished without a trace.

Hoshino Shuichi re-injected chakra, and his face immediately lit up with joy.

He could hardly feel the depletion of his chakra.

He then took out a kunai, and with a single swing of his sword, the kunai split in two without any sound of impact.

Looking at the cut again, it is perfectly smooth.

Truly - cuts iron like mud!

Although his kunai was just an ordinary item, most of the ninja tools used on the battlefield were also ordinary items.

"Shouldn't my Kusanagi be considered a legendary weapon?"

Hoshino Shuichi smiled to himself, then put away the kunai that had been split in two and got up to leave.

"I've almost mastered the Yin Healing and Destruction Technique. Next, I'll master the Chakra Scalpel Medical Ninjutsu, and then I can get the 'Medical Expert' title."

"It's September now. I'm aiming to get it done by this time next year. With the help of this entry, I'll soon be able to become a real medical expert."

Hoshita Shuichi pondered his plan: "However, medical ninjutsu, like basic physical training, is a long-term practice. Right now, my focus should be on swordsmanship and knife skills!"

If his initial talent in swordsmanship was 1, then the boost from [Ninja Tool Expert] would make it 2.

Next is a 50% increase in the [Konoha Genius] stat, which brings it to 3.

Finally, the [Swordsmanship Expert] stat has been upgraded by 100%, which makes it level 6!

"Such talent should already surpass that of Shisui and Kakashi, right?"

Although hesitant, Hoshino Shuichi was very confident.

Before long, he arrived at the grove.

This is where he first trained with Kai, and now it can serve as his place for solo training.

Because he is about to forge his own path in swordsmanship, a path leading to becoming a Jonin!

He first created a shadow clone to grind the leaves and practice Wind Release Chakra Nature Transformation, while Hoshino Shizuka's main body sat cross-legged under a tree, holding the Ame-no-Massō Blade across his knees.

Then he pondered a question: What kind of profound swordsmanship technique should be developed, and at least at the A-level?

His initial idea was to use Wind Release, utilizing the cutting power of the wind, which, combined with the Kusanagi Blade, would be the most suitable and would definitely not be inferior to Killer Bee's Lightning Blade.

However, his training in Wind Release chakra nature transformation is not yet complete.

Although more than two months have passed, he did not put in too much effort before, but only slowly accumulated experience using a shadow clone.

"Now I have two choices: first, I can obtain the [Wind Release Expert] attribute to enhance my talent in Wind Release; then, I can quickly complete the training of Wind Release Chakra Nature Transformation, master it to its limit, and then apply it to my swordsmanship."

"Or, first complete the training in Wind Release: Nature Transformation, then quickly master five Wind Release ninjutsu, obtain the [Wind Release Expert] title, and then apply it to swordsmanship."

"Furthermore, while I continue to hone my Wind Release nature transformation with Shadow Clones, now I should utilize what I've already mastered to develop a sword technique that suits me!"

After much deliberation, Hoshino Shizuka made a decision.

As things stand, his talent in Fire Release is undoubtedly superior to that in Wind Release, so there's no need to go to the far end for something more accessible.

"Then let's start with Fire Release!"

"Does the ninja world have a combination of Fire Release and swordsmanship?"

How can we combine them to create a result where 1+1 is greater than 2?

After determining the direction, Hoshino Shuichi started brainstorming, doubling his focus.

"The nature of Fire Release: high temperature, explosion..."

"We can put the explosion aside for now."

Hoshita Shuichi pondered, "High temperature... In fact, when Lightning Release is applied to a sword, besides the paralyzing effect of the lightning itself, it still uses high temperature for cutting."

He recalled the battle between Killer Bee (the Eight-Tails) and Team Taka.

Killer Bee's Lightning Release was imbued into the sword, allowing it to slice through the Executioner's Blade.

But it is still a high temperature.

Similar to plasma arc cutting, high-current plasma arc cutting.

In addition, Killer Bee can also imbue his pen with Lightning Release, enhancing its penetrating ability through high-frequency vibrations.

Hoshino Hideaki stood up, drew his sword, and channeled his Fire Release chakra into the Ame-no-Mao sword.

The blade of the Ame-no-Kami began to turn red little by little, and the surrounding air gradually distorted.

Suddenly, Hoshino stopped, looking down at the gradually fading red blade and frowning slightly: "No... I shouldn't be heating the blade."

"The Kusanagi is fine, as it is of good quality and has been enhanced by its attributes, making it resistant to high temperatures, but other weapons may not be so."

"Moreover, heating the blade actually causes a huge amount of wear and tear, and it also takes a lot of time."

"I should construct a high-temperature layer directly on the blade surface, or the entire blade surface."

Hoshino Shuichi thought of the Rasengan technique.

This is chakra without attributes or chakra nature changes. It first operates in an orderly manner, layering and stacking to form a chakra sphere that rotates in a disordered manner.

Therefore, an orderly trajectory for the circulation of Fire Release chakra can also be constructed on the blade.

"Hmm, let's try covering the entire blade first, and then make improvements systematically."

Hoshino Shuichi continued to try.

A layer of flame covered the blade, but soon, under Hoshino Shuichi's control, the flames dancing on the blade disappeared, leaving only a layer of red light enveloping the blade.

Hoshinoichi gradually changed, making the fire chakra wrap around the blade like wire, constantly circling.

As a result, the originally red light immediately deepened.

After the first circle, the second circle continues, compressing the Fire Release chakra from the first circle, and so on, repeating the cycle and continuously increasing the compression.

For a moment, the color of the firelight covering the blade kept changing.

Red, dark red, cherry red...

By the time they reached the tenth floor, the light covering the blade had turned orange-red.

At this moment, Hoshino Shuichi was already covered in sweat and had reached his limit.

He immediately strode forward, the blade slicing through the thick tree trunk.

(End of this chapter)