Shikkotsu Forest was as quiet as ever.
Fujimoto Tōma returned to the familiar clearing and glanced toward the massive slug resting nearby. The Slug Sage was still asleep, unbothered by his arrival.
They were well past formalities at this point. In the past, even if the Slug Sage didn't wake fully, fragments would emerge to greet him. Now, Tōma's presence barely registered. Sleep meant sleep.
That was fine with him.
He didn't disturb it. Instead, he moved to his usual training spot, sat down cross-legged, and closed his eyes.
Training posture didn't really matter, but lying flat felt disrespectful to the process. Sitting like this felt… right. Familiar. Something borrowed from countless shows and novels, even if reality didn't demand it.
Soon, senjutsu chakra flowed naturally, and Shikkotsu Forest Sage Mode settled over him.
His thoughts turned inward.
Swift Release.
A kekkei genkai formed from lightning and wind.
Tōma carefully gathered lightning chakra and wind chakra inside his body, following the sensation he remembered from Hiruko's Swift Release. Slowly, he guided them toward each other.
The moment they touched, pain exploded.
Repulsion. Tearing. Internal backlash.
If this were normal conditions, it would have been reckless. Dangerous.
But in Shikkotsu Forest Sage Mode, Tōma's recovery speed easily outpaced the damage. Flesh repaired itself faster than it could be shredded.
Feeling that, he relaxed slightly.
Then, he pushed harder.
What had started as a small test ballooned into a full experiment. Most of his chakra was converted into wind and lightning at once, forced into collision and fusion.
His body could handle it.
The pain, however, was very real.
Tōma grimaced.
Good thing I didn't try this when I was younger.
Back then, his mind might have endured it, but his body would have folded instantly. And he would never have dared to use this much chakra for experimentation. He would have played it safe, drip-feeding tiny amounts.
That approach worked, but it was slow. Painfully slow.
Researching a single kekkei genkai that way could take decades.
That was why, despite knowing that most elemental combinations could theoretically produce bloodlines, he had never rushed into it.
Not because he didn't want them.
Because it wasn't worth the time.
A single element, pushed to its limit, could rival most unfinished bloodlines anyway. Kekkei genkai weren't automatically stronger. They were just… stranger.
Even now, with firsthand experience and brute-force chakra investment, Swift Release refused to come easily.
Which was exactly how it should be.
If bloodlines were easy to recreate, they wouldn't be rare.
Danger and difficulty were part of the package. You survived the risks first, then experimented. Not the other way around.
Of course, some people were reckless. And some were lucky.
As he continued, another realization surfaced.
Maybe bloodlines weren't as simple as "two elements equal one result."
Ratios mattered. Dominance mattered. Which element led, which followed. Different balances might produce entirely different effects.
That also meant he didn't need to chase every possibility.
Ice Release, for example, held no appeal to him. Wind and water weren't his focus.
He only needed what suited him.
Swift Release was one.
And then there was another idea.
Magnet Release.
If he could wield Magnet Release directly, then his Railgun technique could be pushed even further. Magnetic control paired with electric acceleration… the thought alone was dangerous.
But that raised an important question.
What elements actually make Magnet Release?
Back in the Hokage's office, Tōma sat at his desk, reviewing paperwork.
The door opened, and Nara Shikaku walked in, holding a scroll.
"Hokage-sama. The information you requested."
"Thanks," Tōma said, taking it.
The scroll contained detailed records on the Fourth Kazekage.
Tōma opened it, scanned the page… and went silent.
Shikaku noticed immediately. "Something wrong?"
"Can we confirm the Fourth Kazekage didn't have Lightning Release?" Tōma asked.
That made Shikaku pause. "We can't say with absolute certainty, but our records never show him using lightning-based jutsu."
Tōma rubbed his temples.
According to the file, the Fourth Kazekage's chakra natures were Earth, Wind, and Water.
No lightning.
But he was a confirmed Magnet Release user.
That didn't line up with Tōma's assumption.
He had always thought Magnet Release came from Earth and Lightning.
Magnetism without lightning?
For a moment, it felt like a joke.
He thought it through again.
Earth plus water was out. That combination led elsewhere.
Wind plus water was Ice Release.
That left one possibility.
Earth and wind…?
Tōma frowned. It felt wrong on instinct. Magnetism and lightning felt inseparable in his mind.
Still… if Magnet Release truly didn't rely on lightning, that wasn't entirely bad. It meant magnetic force could stack on top of lightning instead of competing with it.
Which meant the Railgun could become even more terrifying.
Magnet Release for control.
Lightning for acceleration.
Add Shadow Clone Shuriken techniques on top of that…
Tōma sighed softly. "This is getting abstract."
In the end, he trusted the intelligence reports over his intuition.
If Earth and Wind didn't work, he could still test Earth and Lightning later.
He set the scroll aside.
The decision was made.
Experimentation would wait for the real body. A soul-projection clone had no flesh to damage. Trying to fuse bloodlines like this would just get it dispelled instantly.
And that would be a waste of effort.
...
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