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Yagura Karatachi received his teammates’ files from his grandfather.
He was interested in Mangetsu Hozuki, the genius who could wield all seven ninja swords — but for now Yagura set the files aside in his room.
He didn’t flip through them right away.
Instead, he headed to the Karatachi estate’s training ground.
His daily training wasn’t done yet.
Tsk.
Men only slow down his hand seals.
As a top-ranked major clan in Kirigakure, the Karatachi estate didn’t just have a massive main residence.
The backyard training ground provided for the younger generation was outrageously huge.
If you built apartments here, you could put up a multi-story complex and live off the rent without lifting a finger.
As the young master of the Karatachi clan, Yagura had enjoyed this vast, empty training ground since childhood.
At three or four years old, Yagura had already extracted chakra.
He’d immediately tested his chakra nature with chakra paper.
Water, Lightning, Wind.
Three chakra natures.
After testing his chakra natures, Yagura locked himself in his room and spent the whole night thinking through ninjutsu development strategies.
He was still a child, sure.
But even if he hadn’t seen pigs run, he’d certainly eaten pork.
In Naruto and a bunch of other anime, the development of elemental techniques was everywhere.
What Yagura needed to do was filter through his memories and pick out what suited him for boosting his strength.
It wasn’t about stacking every ninjutsu onto one ninja to make them the strongest.
Every mature, battle-hardened ninja had their own combat style.
Two examples.
First: Jiraiya.
Jiraiya had a ton of ninjutsu.
Every fight, he could pull out new techniques like he had an endless supply of trump cards.
But if you disregarded summoning techniques, Jiraiya’s specialties were Wild Lion’s Mane and Fire Release with Oil Release.
Clearly a mage artillery-type ninja.
The Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Fifth Kazekage Gaara, and the Fifth Mizukage Mei Terumi could all be classified under this style.
Second: Minato Namikaze.
Using the Flying Thunder God Technique’s speed to evade attacks, then closing in with unpredictable precision to finish the enemy with a kunai or Rasengan.
An assassin-type fighter, the polar opposite of his teacher Jiraiya.
Why use Jiraiya and Minato Namikaze as examples?
Because of the Rasengan, a ninjutsu that required no hand seals and could be activated instantly.
The same technique, but Minato Namikaze applied it as the Flying Thunder God Second Step, combining it with the Flying Thunder God Technique for an instantaneous close-range burst to take down opponents.
Jiraiya applied it as the Great Ball Rasengan, which counted as a mid-to-close-range technique.
That was the difference in combat styles between different ninja.
Of course, the above applied to ordinary ninja.
If you could simultaneously use Tailed Beast Chakra Mode and activate Susanoo, then you were the strongest.
Forget everything he just said.
He’d digressed.
Back to our protagonist, Yagura Karatachi.
Having three chakra natures gave him far more options than most ninja.
He didn’t need to agonize over whether to go the long-range mage route or the close-combat assassin or warrior route in the future.
Full-spectrum development was how you became a squad captain!
(Scratch that.) A good village leader!
For jonin and above, taijutsu was never too shabby.
The Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, besides his five-element ninjutsu, also had the summon beast Enma to assist in close combat.
For Yagura, Lightning Release needed no further explanation.
“Referencing” the Raikage, the Lightning Release Chakra Mode, integrating offense, defense, and speed, was the undisputed choice.
Use Lightning Release to cultivate close-combat ability.
Focus on a single point.
Refine it to perfection.
“Thunderclap Flash!”
BOOM!
A lightning-flash blade slash cut through with blinding speed!
The training wooden post was cleaved diagonally in two.
The upper half slowly slid off, landing on the ground with a heavy THUD.
Straightening up, Yagura relaxed and took a long breath.
He turned back and reached out to touch the almost perfectly smooth cross-section of the post.
He nodded in satisfaction at his recent training results.
Not just Naruto.
Other anime were also within his “reference range.”
Among them, Zenitsu Agatsuma’s Thunderclap Flash from Demon Slayer’s Thunder Breathing fit his vision perfectly.
The reason was simple: it looked cool!
And Thunderclap Flash’s speed aligned well with Yagura’s vision for his Lightning Release development direction.
“It’s just a shame I still haven’t figured out the breathing techniques.”
Yagura had tried many times based on the written descriptions in the manga from his memory.
There was some effect, but not much.
No demon-matching physical prowess to be had.
“Is it because the world’s power systems are different?”
With a regretful sigh, Yagura shook his head.
Although he hadn’t learned the breathing techniques, he’d managed to replicate Zenitsu Agatsuma’s Thunderclap Flash by switching to a chakra-based method.
Yagura kicked the half of the wooden post high into the air.
In the next instant, he half-crouched into a backstep.
Lightning Release chakra mobilized, concentrated as much as possible into every blood vessel, every muscle fiber in his legs, stimulating them to store and unleash power beyond the body’s limits!
“Thunderclap Flash!”
A blade flash streaked by, followed by countless dazzling blade flashes.
Right after Yagura’s feet landed on the ground, the post fell as dozens of wooden chunks of varying sizes and shapes.
“Hah…”
He twirled the short blade in his hand with a flourish.
Unlike the katanas used by the Demon Slayer Corps, Yagura had chosen a short blade about the length of an adult’s forearm.
He found it more comfortable to wield.
“That’s enough Thunderclap Flash practice for now.”
Don’t be fooled by how cool it looked.
Thunderclap Flash put an enormous strain on the legs.
Two reps in daily training was enough.
Any more and he’d have to call the medical ninja again, then get his ear pulled and chewed out by his grandfather.
With a thought from Yagura, the short water blade condensed from Water Release chakra in his hand reverted back to water.
Next step: Water Release.
For Water Release ninjutsu, Yagura planned to cultivate his long-range artillery capability.
In the original Naruto series, there were three Water Release users with the most impressive displays: the Second Hokage Tobirama Senju, Kisame Hoshigaki, and the Second Mizukage Gengetsu Hozuki.
Compared to these three, other powerful Water Release ninja, the Fifth Mizukage Mei Terumi, Zabuza, Mangetsu Hozuki, and even Yagura himself as the Fourth Mizukage — all lacked standout performances.
The respective abilities of those three needed no further elaboration.
After some comparison, Yagura ultimately set his reference target on Tobirama Senju.
To be precise, on one of Tobirama Senju’s Water Release techniques: Water Release: Water Severing Wave.
Compress water to the extreme, using immense water pressure to create devastating destructive power and penetrative force.
A Water Release technique capable of severing the Divine Tree.
A Water Release technique with a similar application was also used by Sasori of the Red Sand, able to slice straight through mountains and cloud layers.
However, what Yagura found regrettable was that this wasn’t the common usage of Water Release techniques in this world.
In Naruto, Water Release was more often used for extinguishing fire, defense, and support, like Water Release: Water Encampment Wall.
Offensive Water Release, such as the Great Waterfall Technique and Water Dragon Bullet Technique, all relied on using massive volumes of floodwater.
Using water volume to crash into and bury the opponent.
This kind of Water Release certainly had attack power, but its attack power was expressed in wide-area suppression.
Its single-point, pinpoint penetration was far too weak!
It wasn’t even worthy of scratching Susanoo’s surface!
By the later stages, such Water Release could only put out fires.
“Water Release: Water Severing Wave!”
Compress, compress, compress again!
The amount of chakra used was enough for Yagura to spray out a vast expanse of water, but under his strenuous control, the water jet was compressed to the thickness of an adult’s arm.
The water jet shot straight into the stone at the other end of the training ground, piercing through the one-meter-thick stone in an instant.
You know what it’s like when you accidentally step on a water hose?
A long hose.
If a section in the middle gets forcefully stepped on, or if the outlet gets deliberately pinched tight, then the water spraying out becomes extremely forceful.
But at the same time, the hose becomes uncontrollable.
Yagura only discovered after practicing this technique that it wasn’t that Water Release ninja were stupid or couldn’t use it.
This technique was simply too difficult to control.
Increasing chakra output, Yagura strenuously controlled the water jet as it moved with difficulty.
Just a little more.
If he could smoothly slice that stone flat today, it would count as a success.
But as he increased chakra output, the chakra didn’t all flow into “control” as Yagura intended.
The volume of water sprayed and the water pressure also intensified.
Crap!
Sensing the technique slipping bit by bit out of his control, Yagura hurriedly retracted his chakra to stop it!
But the sprayed water was like a runaway horse.
Unstoppable!
The water jet effortlessly sliced through the stone!
It slanted past the stone and cut into the courtyard wall behind it!
The wall collapsed with a booming CRASH.
The Water Release stopped.
Yagura slowly lowered his hands, looking at his handiwork.
C-crap…
Was it still not too late to run away from home?
It was too late.
“You little brat!”
The Karatachi clan head came charging over at the sound.
Seeing the collapsed wall, he delivered a powerful kick that sent Yagura flying high into the air!
“Are you part husky?! Demolishing the house again!”
“I’m sorry!”
➤ Next: How Many Demons Does the Mist Actually Have?