Chapter 131: Destruction! Combination Ninjutsu Lesson

The Third Hokage exerted his full power, controlling and guiding the lightning he had unleashed. Then— Crack! A roar echoed from the heavens, a cry like that of a mythical qilin shaking the earth. Boom! A silver-white bolt of lightning tore through the sky. Guided by the lightning produced by Lightning Fang Blades and the mist conjured by Kyoichi, streaks of lightning crashed down like descending qilins, striking directly above the Iwagakure fortifications. Thunder cascaded through the mist, spreading its destructive force across the entire defensive line. Silver light flickered within the dense fog. The moment the lightning struck, the very ground trembled! Onoki and his forces, having just retreated to the rear, stood frozen in shock, cold sweat running down their backs. If they hadn't fallen back just in time… “This… This technique…?” “How does Konoha possess such terrifying Lightning Release?!” “Damn it!” Onoki was the first to snap out of it. This wasn’t the time for shock or awe—the Iwa-nin at the first defensive line were in danger! The lightning had struck there. Silver serpents of electricity slithered wildly. They could see the flickering arcs of lightning raging within the mist. This power was beyond human capability—Konoha had merely played a small role in triggering it. The true force at play was the power of nature itself. And Iwa-nin’s greatest weakness… was Lightning Release. Against it, they had no effective defense. But the most terrifying part? Sёarᴄh the novёlF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Konoha was still summoning more lightning. Boom! Another bolt struck—this time slightly off target—hitting the area between the first and second defensive lines, still wreaking havoc on their formations. Some Iwa-nin were injured in the blast. “Retreat!” Onoki roared. This was unsustainable! They had no idea how many more times Konoha could redirect the lightning. Staying put would mean waiting to be struck again, suffering pointless casualties. Retreating was the only viable option. But… He didn’t know that Konoha had already reached their limit. “Hokage-sama, the storm clouds above are starting to dissipate. If we keep guiding the lightning, it might strike us instead.” Kyoichi cautioned. Precision control was crucial for this technique. He could tell that the Third Hokage had intended for the second bolt to hit Iwa’s second defensive line, but it had veered off course, only managing to strike between the two frontlines. It had still caused damage—but only marginally. And with the updrafts stirring above them, lightning was beginning to form naturally within their own storm clouds. Any further attempts to direct it… could result in friendly fire. “…That’s enough.” The Third Hokage nodded, signaling for everyone to dispel their techniques and spread out. The mist cleared. At the site of Iwagakure’s fortifications, what had once been towering earthen walls had been reduced to rubble under the force of the lightning strikes. Some walls still stood, but they were cracked and brittle—one kick would send them crumbling. And scattered along the ramparts… Charred corpses. A decisive victory. “Using Lightning Release like this… Kyoichi, you really are a genius.” The Third Hokage sighed in admiration. Never had he imagined that Lightning Release could be combined with coordinated ninja efforts and natural forces to create such a devastating technique. A combined super jutsu, a weapon of war. Unfortunately… Executing it perfectly required extreme perception and dynamic vision. The Uchiha might be ideal for this. Even though Kyoichi had deliberately avoided mentioning it, the Third Hokage, having performed the technique firsthand, immediately recognized how perfectly suited it was for the Uchiha. But after a moment’s thought, he dismissed the concern. This jutsu had far too many limitations. Its reliance on weather conditions was excessively strict—if the enemy anticipated it, they could counter it using various methods to redirect the lightning. For Iwagakure, though… that would be tricky. Most Iwa-nin specialized in Earth Release. They had a decent number of Fire and Water Release users, but Lightning Release was scarce among them. “Sensei, if we encounter similar weather conditions in the future, can we use this technique against Iwagakure again?” Asuma asked. As a Wind Release user, he had also played a role in setting up the technique. “That depends on whether Onoki can figure out a countermeasure.” Kyoichi replied. The best counter Iwagakure could deploy would be using conductive structures—like lightning rods—to direct the strikes away. It all depended on whether Onoki could realize that in time. If he did, pulling off this technique again would be far more difficult. “For now, this victory should buy us some time—Onoki won’t dare advance again until he finds a solution. Let’s go. We’re heading back.” “Yes!” With a collective flicker, the group vanished, retreating toward the main encampment. On the way back— Kyoichi glanced at his system interface. Just moments ago, he had received a notification. Checking it… As expected… Reward! But... This reward is a bit... Chidori... Kakashi’s signature jutsu. The problem is—I don’t even know Lightning Release. So... On the way back, Kyoichi figured it was time to prioritize his experiments on storing Lightning Release chakra with the Yin Seal. If he could refine the absorption and sealing of elemental chakra, then his inability to use Lightning and Fire Release might not be such a disadvantage anymore. But there was one issue. If he used the Yin Seal to absorb Lightning Release chakra, what about Tailed Beast chakra? The chakra of the Four-Tails was a valuable resource. He wasn’t about to waste it. "Sigh... why can’t I have two Yin Seals? Or... if I can get familiar enough with Lightning Release chakra, I might be able to use Samehada to absorb it and immediately redirect it for an attack." But wielding Samehada with one hand meant he’d have to cast jutsu with just the other. That would make things difficult. Still... The advantage of Chidori lay in its many variations. Chidori Stream, Chidori Sharp Spear, Chidori Blade... all of them were viable in close combat. This could work! Kyoichi’s heart stirred with excitement. He’d test it out with Shisui as soon as he got back! --- Border of the Land of Grass Upon learning of Konoha’s retreat, Ōnoki led his Iwa-nin back, only to find their fortifications in ruins and scorched corpses scattered everywhere. The sight tore at his heart. "Tsuchikage-sama, most of the earth walls are unusable." "I see..." Ōnoki’s mood was grim. He didn’t fear losses. But... This kind of loss—one with no way to counter—was a first. Even so... The others still greatly respected him. If not for his keen perception, they wouldn’t have lost just a few squads—there could have been far more casualties. "Father, I never expected Konoha to have such a terrifying Lightning Release jutsu. If not for your quick thinking, we would have suffered even worse..." "Kitsuchi, you don’t need to comfort me. I’m not just mourning our fallen comrades—I blame myself. Even now, I have no idea how to counter Konoha’s technique... sigh, they’ve produced another genius!" Ōnoki sighed. There were countermeasures, of course, but Iwagakure simply wasn’t equipped for them. Using Wind Release to disperse the electrical currents would be effective... However... Iwa-nin specializing in Wind Release were far fewer than Konoha’s. They couldn’t count on that approach. Blocking the water? That was an even bigger joke—water was just a medium; it didn’t matter where it was. There was no doubt about it. This had to be Kanda Kyoichi’s handiwork. "Perhaps we should launch a direct assault, prevent Konoha from setting up their lightning conductors?" Kitsuchi suggested. Ōnoki shook his head. He had considered it... But Iwa-nin thrived in defensive warfare, utilizing fortifications for a war of attrition. If they abandoned their defensive strongholds, they’d be fighting Konoha head-on in open battle. That would make all their earthworks meaningless. "For now, we’ll withdraw. Konoha is likely waiting to see how Kirigakure will respond in the east. We still have time—if necessary, we’ll pull back completely." Ōnoki sighed again. This campaign against Konoha had felt off from the very beginning. From start to finish, Konoha had controlled the pace of the war. At least this lightning strike hadn’t inflicted their heaviest losses—it was the Kusa-nin who had been standing by, watching from the sidelines. Most of the Iwa-nin had managed to retreat in time. But the Kusa-nin? No one had warned them. Thinking they were safe at the outskirts, they were caught completely off guard when the combination of lightning and mist electrocuted them en masse. Especially the second lightning strike—it had landed right where the Kusa-nin-nin had set up their defenses. Just two strikes had wiped out over twenty squads. For Iwagakure, twenty teams were a drop in the bucket. For a small village like Kusagakure, however, it was a national tragedy. In fact... The Kusagakure leader was now facing a full-blown rebellion. "Why didn’t we ally with Konoha in the first place?! If we had, none of this would have happened!" "Uh..." Why are you all looking at me now?! The Kusagakure leader was utterly speechless. --- Konoha’s Main Camp Upon returning, the Third Hokage immediately called for a debriefing. Kyoichi had no choice but to stay behind. "Kyoichi, you’ve taught us all a valuable lesson!" The Third Hokage was the first to speak, sighing in admiration. "On the battlefield, jutsu should be utilized in coordinated formations like this. I believe we should explore other possible combination techniques as well." "I agree!" Yamanaka Inoichi raised his hand in support. The Ino-Shika-Chō clan was famous for their coordinated techniques—they knew better than anyone the power of teamwork. The others nodded in agreement. "The usual combinations are Lightning-Water and Wind-Fire, but Wind-Water also has potential," Sarutobi Shinnosuke added. Though still an ANBU, he had been speaking up more often in meetings lately. "Kyoichi, any thoughts?" The Third Hokage turned to him. "There’s a technique from Amegakure called Black Rain—it’s a Water Release variant that can be combined with Fire Release to threaten Iwa’s fortifications. Alternatively, if we don’t mind wasting supplies, we could use flour with Wind and Fire Release..." Kyoichi proposed two options. These were fairly conventional strategies. Then, he turned to the Nara clan representatives. "Your clan doesn’t always have to coordinate with the Akimichi. Working with the Inuzuka or other speed-based shinobi could yield similar results." "That makes sense..." The others nodded thoughtfully. However... Some were clearly confused. Flour? Combined with Wind and Fire? The Third Hokage tilted his head slightly, then asked, "How does that work?" "It doesn’t have to be flour—any combustible dust will do, even sugar. If dispersed in the air at a high enough concentration, it can cause an explosion." Dust explosions. A simple principle. However... The shinobi world had yet to apply scientific research in this direction. Even Orochimaru and the Third Hokage himself hadn’t studied this concept, so many were skeptical. "It’s worth testing. But food is valuable—we can’t afford to waste too much." The Third Hokage thought it over, then decided the other techniques seemed more practical. "Amegakure’s Black Rain is just a Water Release derivative. That shouldn’t be hard to replicate—I’ll work on refining it and distributing it to our forces." "No need, Lord Hokage. That jutsu... I’ve already studied it." Kyoichi coughed lightly. No way was he going to let the Hokage take all the credit for this discovery. The Third Hokage blinked in surprise, then quickly realized— "You used this technique when capturing Hozuki Chikage, didn’t you? Very well, write it down as a jutsu scroll. We’ll disseminate it across the camp. Consider it an A-rank mission—you’ll be well rewarded." "Understood!"