After a night of rest, Taiichi arrived at his riverside training ground early the next morning.
The winter night was long. It was still dark when he arrived, the waning moon reflecting on the shimmering water.
After his routine Taijutsu and Kenjutsu practice, Taiichi sat on the large rock and reviewed his gains.
Name: Taiichi Matsushita
Class: Genin Lv9 (584/1600)
Talents: Hard Worker, Academic Genius, Potent
Age: 8
Constitution: 22 (1/3)
Strength: 22
Agility: 21
Spirit: 25
Chakra: 19,500 (19,500)
Attribute Points: 18
Skill Points: 19
Nature Transformations:
Fire Lv9 (662/1600)
Wind Lv8 (524/1400)
Water Lv8 (286/1400)
Earth Lv4 (103/600)
Lightning Lv3 (308/400)
Yang Lv7 (654/1200)
Yin Lv5 (104/800)
Chakra Shape Transformation: Lv8 (629/1400)
Chakra Control: Lv9 (316/1600)
Skills:
Advanced Taijutsu Lv3 (1031/4000)
Advanced Meditation Lv2 (1554/3000)
Advanced Kenjutsu Lv3 (1225/4000)
Derived Skill: Blade Intent (Protection) - Power +5%. Strikes made to protect are stronger and feel unbreakable to the enemy.
Monstrous Strength Lv6 (420/1000)
Evaluation: Only a Konoha Genin can create miracles. Maybe you shouldn't become a Chunin!
The Panel is mocking me again, Taiichi thought. But promotion required exams, and there hadn't been any recently.
The main gains were the level up (Attribute/Skill points +1) and a massive breakthrough during the mission.
When creating the fire path, Taiichi had impulsively coated his feet in fire to avoid burns. It worked instantly.
> [Inspiration Burst. Chakra Control +200]
> [Inspiration Burst. Fire Nature Transformation +200]
> [Inspiration Burst. Pyrofication Technique Lv0 (1/100)]
His desired technique, Pyrofication, finally formed as a skill.
Previously, he used control to prevent burns. Now, due to a flash of insight, he achieved the initial stage of transforming into fire—immunity to high heat.
However, after days of trying to progress, he realized completing it would take over a decade, even with his talents. The difficulty was immense.
Under the pressure of the looming war, Taiichi resorted to his ultimate weapon: Adding Points!
> [Consumed 1 Skill Point. Pyrofication Technique upgraded to Lv1 (1/100). Related insights improved.]
> [Fire Nature Transformation +1000]
> [Fire Nature Transformation upgraded to Lv10 (62/2000)]
A flood of memories exploded in his mind. He spent decades in a world of fire, starting as a tiny spark and evolving into a blue-white flame giant, experiencing every nuance of fire.
When he opened his eyes, they held a momentary ancient wisdom.
He realized the terrifying difficulty and potential of this jutsu.
Prerequisites: Fire Nature Transformation Lv10 (Jonin max) and Chakra Control Lv10. He was still short on control (Lv9).
But the true difficulty lay in understanding the essence of fire to sublimate Fire Release into an advanced form—Blaze Release (Enton). Not Sasuke's Amaterasu control, but a higher state of fire.
Blaze Release flames were hotter and could convert matter into a chakra form synonymous with fire through combustion.
Then, using supreme chakra control, one could switch freely between matter and energy using this medium.
The Skill Point bypassed years of comprehension, granting him the basics instantly.
Following the memories, Taiichi molded chakra. Normal -> Fire -> Blaze Release.
He guided it to his index finger. A golden flame appeared.
Small but terrifyingly hot. He flicked it onto the ground. The soil melted instantly.
The flame was stable, shrinking only as it consumed the fuel it touched directly, unaffected by surrounding flames. Interesting.
Taiichi condensed a Blaze Release flame on his finger again. He let it envelope his fingertip. No pain.
He carefully controlled the conversion. It was smoother than expected, almost instinctive.
Fingertip, palm, forearm... his entire arm turned into flame.
But that was the limit. He couldn't expand it further, feeling a loss of control—his Chakra Control Lv9 was the bottleneck.
He tried other limbs and his torso successfully. But when he tried his head, a fear of death gripped him.
The brain. The conversion required a sliver of spirituality in the flame to house his consciousness during the transition. His control wasn't high enough to maintain that. Without it, his consciousness would dissipate, leaving him vegetative.
Still, he was satisfied. He could improve control later.
He tested his theory. He cut his arm with a kunai. Blood flowed.
He willed the transformation. The wound turned into golden fire, then back to flesh—healed.
Success.
He stabbed his hand through. Transformed into fire, the kunai fell through (half-melted), and his hand reformed whole.
Immunity to physical attacks, as long as it wasn't the head or a one-hit kill.
The downside: massive chakra consumption. Transforming his body drained him exponentially. His 20,000 chakra was nearly empty after just these tests.
It was a trump card for now.
He extinguished the remaining spark on the ground and went home.
Without chakra, he couldn't go out. He cleaned up, ate, and studied Sealing Jutsu.
When his chakra recovered, he experimented with Blaze Release.
He tried lowering the temperature indoors. But below 2000°C, the golden flame turned yellow and lost its special connection to him. It devolved into normal fire.
So, Blaze Release had a minimum temperature of 2000°C.
To practice indoors, he reduced the size to a tiny flame.
I need a new house with a proper training ground, he mused. His apartment was too small and not private enough for secret training, especially with the Hokage's crystal ball and Danzo's spies.
Through testing, he found four characteristics of Blaze Release:
1. Temperature: Initial 3000°C, min 2000°C, max currently 4000°C.
2. Connection: A spiritual link exists but needs strengthening via skill level and control.
3. Stability: With fuel, it maintains its form indefinitely without devolving.
4. Activity: Without fuel, it can absorb ambient energy to burn, but currently too weakly to sustain itself forever.
Each trait had infinite potential, limited only by his current base stats.
I'm still too weak, Taiichi sighed.
If Minato or Hizashi heard him, they would definitely roll their eyes.