Naruto: Unlocking Kaido Template

"Shape Transformation (Keitai Henka) is another method of refining Ninjutsu alongside Nature Transformation (Seishitsu Henka). It allows chakra to be molded into specific forms, altering the power and range of a technique. Compared to Nature Transformation, this makes a jutsu more unique and versatile."

"When combined with Nature Transformation, it strengthens the technique even further."

"However, the methods of mastering these techniques mostly rely on individual research and insight. Many jutsu today exist thanks to the relentless efforts of past shinobi."

After putting in significant effort, Tenzō finally finished explaining chakra nature to the group. By then, Haku and the others had already moved far ahead.

After clearing the remains of their campfire and gathering their supplies, the group followed suit. As for the ronin locked in the wooden cage, they were left behind to fend for themselves.

"Don't waste time along the way—start the first stage of training now. Inject chakra into the leaves," Tenzō ordered.

For someone like Uzumaki Zixu, who possessed vast chakra reserves, this type of training was perfect. He could afford to advance steadily through sheer endurance.

The group practiced their chakra control while running, their pace quickening as they neared their final destination. The trees lining the path gradually thinned, and twilight settled in. A light mist began to rise, signaling their approach to the Land of Water and the Hidden Mist Village (Kirigakure).

As they moved, Zixu reflected on the strange results of his chakra nature test. He recalled Kaidō's ability to manipulate multiple elements—Lightning, Fire, and Wind. If his current abilities were based on Kaidō's template, then logically, he should also possess the potential to harness those energies.

Though his Devil Fruit's full power had yet to be unlocked, the potential had always been within him.

"If that's the case, then I should be able to use Thunder Bagua (Raimei Hakke) and Roaring Bagua (Hakuko no Bagua) in the future," he mused.

Just as this thought settled in, his expression darkened. His senses sharpened, locking onto a chaotic surge of energy up ahead.

Tenzō and the black-clad warrior also noticed the disturbance, halting as they prepared their weapons.

"According to our agreement, our mission ends here. We've arrived at the designated location," Tenzō stated, though he couldn't shake the unease creeping in.

"That's fine, but you might want to reconsider leaving just yet," the black-clad warrior warned, tossing the remaining reward to Tenzō. "Those guys don't care where you're from..."

At that moment, Hyuga Chinano fully activated her Byakugan. The mist that obscured normal vision was nothing to her, and she clearly saw the figures waiting in the distance.

"Ronin... and Hidden Mist shinobi?" Chinano murmured, frowning.

While samurai often held animosity toward shinobi, ronin generally had no strong ties to either side. Even so, it was rare to see them working together like this.

"Hidden Mist shinobi, we mean no harm—"

Before Tenzō could finish, several shuriken cut through the air toward them. The negotiations ended before they even began.

"No choice. Get ready for battle," Tenzō ordered, drawing his own shuriken.

Their retreat was blocked—ronin on one side, Hidden Mist and Hidden Rain (Amegakure) ninjas on the other. If they wanted to escape, they had to fight their way through.

"We'll handle the shinobi. You three focus on the ronin. If you find a chance to run, take it. Don't worry about us," Tenzō instructed, weaving hand seals.

Thick wooden barriers erupted around them, deflecting the incoming projectiles. With no choice left, he and the black-clad warrior braced themselves for combat.

"Zabuza, you dare to return?"

"The bodies are yours, we just want the blades."

"Kill them all! Don't let those kids escape either!"

Amid the chaotic shouts of ronin and shinobi, one particular phrase stood out—someone had mentioned taking Chinano's eyes.

Before the threats could continue, a chilling voice rang through the mist.

"Ice Release: Freezing Slash (Hyōton: Kōri Satsu)."

Seven or eight streaks of razor-sharp light cut through the battlefield. Haku sheathed his blade in one swift motion, and an eerie silence followed. A fine mist of shattered ice glistened in the air—his attack had already landed.

Meanwhile, the black-clad warrior, Zabuza Momochi, slowly unfastened the bindings around his sword. There was no point in hiding his identity now.

The moment he released his killing intent, a suffocating bloodlust filled the air. The weaker shinobi instinctively stepped back, their bodies trembling from the sheer pressure.

The blade on Zabuza's back was massive, with a half-moon cutout near the hilt. Each time he swung it, at least one enemy fell, and the strange weapon seemed to draw blood toward it like a living entity.

"Wood Style: Violent Spear Technique (Mokuton: Retsu So)."

Tenzō extended his arms, and thick wooden spikes shot forward, rapidly growing into towering trees that swallowed several enemies whole. At the same time, he used Earth Release (Doton) to reshape the terrain, attempting to push Zixu and the others away from the battlefield.

But these shinobi weren't amateurs. They countered immediately, launching various jutsu to tear through Tenzō's barriers.

In the chaos, Zixu and his companions were scattered, each forced into their own fight.

Hyuga Chinano stood firm, her feet planted wide in the stance of the Gentle Fist (Jūken). She struggled to integrate her Water-natured chakra into her Eight Trigrams Palm (Hakke Kūshō), but when she struck, a powerful blast sent several enemies flying.

Unfortunately, they only suffered minor injuries and quickly regained their footing. Their chests heaved as they inhaled deeply, gathering chakra.

"Water Style: Water Storm (Suiton: Suiryūdan)."

A massive surge of water erupted from the enemy's mouths, forming multiple sharp torrents that shot toward Chinano like spears.

She had already seen the attack with her Byakugan and sidestepped the brunt of it, but one of the larger torrents clipped her shoulder.

Despite being composed of water, the attack hit like a hammer. Blood immediately flowed from the wound, staining her arm crimson.

"Kan·Kawaryu (Flowing River Substitution)."

Chinano wasn't the type to take a hit without retaliation. The Eight Trigrams symbol beneath her feet shifted, and she activated a technique to warp the enemy's positions within her attack range.

Several water needles materialized around the enemy ninjas, catching them off guard. Due to the dense fog, they only managed to block a portion of the attack—the remaining needles pierced into their bodies.

"Tch—damn Hyuga brat!"

The Hidden Mist shinobi snarled, their faces twisted in pain. Their muscles tensed and twitched, rage distorting their expressions as they glared at her with murderous intent.

The Water Needles (Suiton: Mizu Hari) were far from ordinary. While they weren't immediately fatal, their lethality came from prolonged damage. Once inside the opponent's body, they traveled through the bloodstream like stray needles lodged within muscle and veins, continuously inflicting pain and internal damage.

Unfortunately, Hyuga Chinano couldn't fully control the Water Needles after they entered the body. If she had complete mastery, this technique would be far deadlier.

The Mist shinobi were enraged but experienced enough to react accordingly. As shinobi of Kirigakure, they had long studied Water Release (Suiton). After a brief moment of panic, they quickly channeled their chakra, forcefully expelling the Water Needles from their bodies. Blood sprayed from their wounds, but they had successfully purged the foreign chakra.

This was reality—no fool could survive as a shinobi. Everyone had their own survival techniques, and no one would sit idly by waiting for death.

Chinano's Byakugan immediately detected the build-up of chakra in their bodies. There was no way she could allow them to accumulate power unchecked. Letting an opponent freely prepare an attack was nothing short of stupidity.

"Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm (Hakke Kūshō)!"

Chinano quickly gathered chakra in her palms, unleashing one of her few long-range techniques. However, her injured left shoulder—wounded from the previous Water Release attack—made her movements sluggish, affecting her accuracy.

Three compressed air blasts, glowing with a sharp blue-green hue, tore through the battlefield like meteorites. Unfortunately, only one hit its target, while the other two missed due to her weakened state.

Despite the attack, the Mist shinobi gritted their teeth and withstood the blow. Their leader wiped the blood from his mouth and let out a dark chuckle.

"Are you done?" he sneered. "Because now...it's our turn."

The moment he finished speaking, a Water Dragon (Suiton: Suiryūdan) materialized from the mist. The massive dragon, formed entirely of swirling water, surged forward with overwhelming momentum. Its eyes glowed an eerie, blood-red hue, locking onto Chinano like a predator hunting its prey.

Chinano's hands trembled. She felt powerless before the overwhelming force of the water dragon.

Even so, surrendering had never been in her nature.

Recalling the red panda she had summoned earlier, she unsummoned it with a small, regretful smile. Then, despite her pain, she slowly raised her hands.

"...Eight Trigrams... Vacuum Palm (Hakke Kūshō)..."

A Few Minutes Earlier – Aburame Hatsuizumi's Struggle

The battlefield was chaotic. Aburame Hatsuizumi found herself surrounded by both ronin and shinobi.

The ronin hesitated for only a moment before drawing their swords and lunging at her. They had no qualms about killing a child—it was just another body to them.

"Tch. Stupid ronin—so inefficient."

The Mist shinobi sneered at their allies' crude methods but said nothing. Their cooperation had clear rules—once the Konoha shinobi were dead, the Mist shinobi would take the bodies, and the ronin would keep the weapons. However, if Konoha's forces put up too much resistance, forcing Kirigakure to "reluctantly" take both bodies and weapons, well... there was nothing to be done about that, was there?

"Earth Style: Rising Earth Pillars (Doton: Doryūhashira)!"

Several Mist shinobi slammed their palms onto the ground, forming seals. The earth beneath Hatsuizumi softened before violently erupting upward like jagged bamboo shoots. The sudden explosion of rock also caught several unsuspecting ronin in its radius.

"Damn ninja! You trying to kill us too?!" one of them cursed.

"Whoops. Thought you could dodge," a shinobi replied mockingly.

Despite her initial shock, Hatsuizumi quickly adapted.

"Green Silk Worms... Moonlight Worms... The Green Moon's Disorderly Shot (Aokitsu)!"

This was a combination technique Zixu had suggested before. Though she hadn't perfected it yet, now was not the time to hesitate.

Her dark hair suddenly grew at an unnatural speed, expanding from short strands into an all-encompassing cocoon. The three thousand strands of black hair wrapped around her body like an exoskeleton, shielding her from the incoming attacks.

The sharp stalagmites and blades clashed against the cocoon, shattering layer by layer. But by the time they reached her, their power had already been neutralized.

Then, under the moonlight, her cocoon began to glow faintly, reflecting light through the surrounding mist. The silver-white radiance stunned the enemies around her.

Suddenly, her hair unraveled like exploding chestnuts, whipping outward like razor-sharp whips. Moonlit strands cut through the air, striking both ronin and shinobi alike.

After the devastating counterattack, Hatsuizumi's hair slowly retracted to her waist. The once-black strands were now stained a deep crimson.

She hesitantly touched the warmth on her face.

Blood.

Her hands trembled slightly, but despite herself, a small, unconscious smirk formed on her lips.

"Is this... killing...?"

Like a kitten that had just stolen its first fish, she couldn't ignore the thrill running through her veins. A part of her rejected it—but another part of her... accepted it.

Her enemies, however, weren't as stunned as she was. After a brief pause, they quickly formed new hand seals.

"Earth Style: Rock Pillar Prison (Doton: Iwajōheki)!"

The ground beneath Hatsuizumi trembled. The moment she sensed the shift, she commanded her insects to respond.

"Blue Wind Bug (Aokaze Mushi)!"

A green whirlwind formed beneath her feet. Her body shot upwards, launching her over ten meters into the misty air.

Just as she escaped, dozens of stone pillars erupted beneath her, forming an enormous stone cage designed to trap her.

At that moment, a desperate shout echoed:

"Ronin—now!"

"Shut up. We know!"

The remaining ronin, battered but alive, struggled to their feet and hurled their chakra-infused blades toward Hatsuizumi mid-air.

In the air, she had no foothold to dodge properly. She twisted her body desperately, barely avoiding a fatal strike.

But she failed to notice something.

Among the thrown blades, dozens of explosive tags—enhanced with Earth-natured chakra—were mixed in.

Her heart pounded.

"Is this it? Seriously... I just..."

The smile never left her lips, even as the flames surged toward her.

Her Moonlight Hair Jutsu (Getsumei no Kami) was restrained by the fire. She had no way to counter this.

Tenzō, witnessing the danger, desperately attempted to assist. But Kirigakure had deployed two high-ranking jōnin to restrain him.

He was trapped, forced on the defensive.

Just as Hyuga Chinano was about to be swallowed by the Water Dragon, and just as Aburame Hatsuizumi was about to be consumed by flames—

A streak of lightning tore through the battlefield.

The deafening thunder roared like a monstrous beast, rattling the very air itself. The sudden surge of power silenced everything.

Electricity crackled wildly, cutting across the battlefield at terrifying speed.

Coincidentally—or perhaps not—it passed directly through Hatsuizumi and Chinano's battlefields.

They would never forget that moment.

In an instant, the Water Dragon exploded into scattered droplets.

The detonating tags, along with the rising stone pillars, were annihilated in a flash of blue lightning.

A shadow stood amidst the crackling current, partially obscured by its brilliance.

The light was blinding—so much so that even Chinano's Byakugan struggled to make out the figure's appearance.

But even so... she couldn't shake the feeling of familiarity.

Thunder crackled. The battlefield fell silent.

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