Fujimoto Tōma's expression was… complicated.
After successfully stabilizing Swift Release, he immediately began experimenting with Magnet Release. With experience already gained from one kekkei genkai fusion, things progressed far more smoothly this time, even without someone like Hiruko serving as a "hands-on example."
In the end, Magnet Release emerged from the fusion of Earth and Wind.
That alone made Tōma click his tongue.
So this world's Magnet Release really didn't need Lightning.
As testing continued, his confusion only deepened. This Magnet Release didn't just influence iron, cobalt, or nickel. It could manipulate gold too. Metals that, by his previous understanding, shouldn't respond to magnetism at all.
For a moment, Tōma seriously questioned whether the rules of this world differed from his former one.
Electric currents still generated magnetic fields, so the fundamentals weren't entirely wrong. But clearly, some rules had… drifted.
He tried using lightning-generated magnetic fields alone to influence pure gold.
It failed.
That was when it clicked.
This world's Magnet Release wasn't "magnetism" in the strict sense. It was closer to metal control. If it was metal, it could be manipulated. Simple as that.
It overturned his expectations, but overall, it was good news. The applications were far broader.
Rubbing his temples, Tōma set aside the philosophical questions.
It was time for the real goal.
The Railgun.
He hadn't spent all this time on Magnet Release for theory's sake. If it didn't improve the Railgun, he would've been genuinely annoyed.
Previously, using a Railgun had been awkward. Traditional designs relied on twin charged rails generating a magnetic field. Carrying something like that into battle was ridiculous. Even if the power increased, the setup screamed incoming attack.
In his old world, nobody could react fast enough anyway.
Here, that assumption would get you killed.
Now, though, there was no reason to abandon lightning-generated magnetic fields. The Railgun's power scaled directly with magnetic strength. His Magnet Release, rooted in Earth, wasn't as refined as his Wind or Lightning, so relying on it alone would cap performance.
So why not stack them?
Magnet Release plus lightning-generated fields.
Yes, it burned chakra faster. But chakra stopped being a limiting factor for Tōma a long time ago. His reserves were already brushing against tailed-beast territory.
Before long, the upgraded Railgun was complete. Since the technique had always been refined step by step, integrating Magnet Release didn't change the core principles.
Tōma pulled a metal slug from his pouch and glanced at the sky.
Lightning crackled across his body, concentrating around his right arm until it was swallowed by radiant arcs of light. Thunder echoed through the air. The space around him trembled.
Even the metal slug seemed restless, vibrating with stored energy.
Tōma flicked his finger.
A beam of light tore through the sky.
It didn't slow. It didn't curve. It punched forward, streaking into the distance like a sustained cannon blast. Lightning danced intermittently along its path.
Tōma smiled.
This was the power he wanted.
The output was now on par with the legendary Railgun he remembered. Possibly higher. Achieving that level outside its original world was no small feat. After all, "three times the speed of sound" never matched what animation implied.
Stretching, Tōma felt the fatigue finally ease. Worth it.
Since the Railgun's lethality came almost entirely from velocity, it still paired perfectly with Shadow Clone Shuriken Technique. As long as he duplicated the projectile at peak speed, the result held.
It cost more chakra than normal.
For him, that wasn't a problem.
Then a strange thought hit him.
He paused.
…Was his compatibility with "Railgun" a little too good?
He'd mastered the technique. He could summon lightning from the sky with Kirin. Iron sand constructs, metal manipulation, electromagnetic acceleration… he was missing hacking, and that was about it.
If that world existed, visiting it might actually be fun.
He shook his head and discarded the thought.
Now wasn't the time.
Tōma turned inward, evaluating his current strength.
All three great sage modes had been refined to their peak. He usually maintained Shikkotsu Forest Sage Mode by default. Its vitality and stamina were absurd, even by his standards.
More importantly, prolonged use permanently strengthened his body. Even outside Sage Mode, those gains remained.
That alone set him apart from everyone else.
His base physical condition now surpassed Might Guy's Sixth Gate.
That was why his Sage Mode amplification was so terrifying. Naruto's Sage Mode never reached this level simply because the foundation wasn't the same.
As for chakra natures, Lightning and Wind were his core. Earth, Water, and Fire had all reached functional maturity. He no longer needed excessive chakra just to achieve baseline effectiveness.
He didn't plan to push those further. Learning techniques was fine, but perfecting hand seals for every one of them was pointless. They were coverage options, not signature moves.
Still, with Swift Release compressing hand-seal time and chakra flow to extremes, even these "secondary" techniques became far more practical.
If you cast fast enough, everything becomes close to instant.
As for offensive options…
The strongest was still the Explosive Truth-Seeking Orb.
But that was situational. Not something you used near civilians or buildings. One use could erase a battlefield.
Kirin covered large-scale destruction without that level of collateral, especially since Tōma could supplement the weather with natural energy.
Single-target firepower was now dominated by the Railgun. And with Shadow Clone Shuriken layered on top, it wasn't limited to one target.
Wind Release Rasenshuriken remained lethal.
Unconsciously, Lightning had overtaken Wind as his most developed combat path.
Wind's ceiling was simply lower.
He had tried pushing cutting techniques further. The results weren't satisfying.
Tōma sighed. Everyone had at least one blind spot.
Looking at the sky, he felt it.
The timing was closing in.
What remained was the final step.
Fusion of the three sage modes.
Everything else was in place. If he broke through, good. If not, there was still a fallback.
He already met the conditions for Truth-Seeking techniques.
But if two-element fusion was this hard, that path would be brutal.
He hoped it wouldn't come to that.
Konoha. Hokage's Office.
Nara Shikaku delivered the latest report. Akatsuki activity had been detected in the Land of Lightning.
Based on the timeline, Shikaku suspected the One-Tail through Seven-Tails were already captured. Once the Eight-Tails fell, Konoha would be next.
Tōma nodded, unsurprised.
The sealing order made it obvious.
Shikaku, however, looked troubled. Every time Akatsuki captured a tailed beast, intelligence arrived. Every time, Tōma reacted with near indifference.
But how could it not concern Konoha? The Nine-Tails resided here. Akatsuki's goal clearly wasn't limited to a few beasts.
One tailed beast already distorted the balance of power. Nine could only mean domination of the entire shinobi world.
Tōma clearly understood this.
Which meant he had something in hand.
Shikaku just didn't know what.
In truth, Tōma wasn't worried. If he didn't interfere, Akatsuki taking the Eight-Tails was inevitable.
As for the Nine-Tails?
Even if Nagato came personally, Naruto could handle it.
If things went south, the Nine-Tails would come to terms on its own. The fox was already itching for that outcome.
Sage-enhanced Naruto plus Kurama was more than enough to deal with Nagato.
Naruto, in fact, was already preparing for that final confrontation.
Tōma smiled faintly.
If Naruto could handle Akatsuki alone, what was there to worry about?
As for Akatsuki's endgame, the Six Paths-level threat that followed…
Tōma wasn't confident.
Yet.
But time remained.
And he had a plan. One he hadn't committed to yet.
Because if it worked, it would reshape the entire shinobi world.
For now, he chose patience.
That was why he hadn't stopped Akatsuki. Their plan and his own weren't entirely opposed. In some ways, they even aligned.
Not interfering was already generosity.
Stopping them outright wasn't necessary.
After Shikaku finished reporting, Tōma stood by the window, watching the sunset.
Once the Eight-Tails fell, Nagato would come.
But this time, there would be no Shinra Tensei leveling Konoha.
Would it just be Nagato and Konan again?
Probably.
Nagato believed himself divine. That kind of conviction didn't waver easily.
But would Obito allow them to act alone?
Unlikely.
There were still Akatsuki members left. Hidan, at the very least.
Speaking of Hidan…
Tōma had once considered using the Soul Transformation Technique to hijack Hidan's body and cast Reaper Death Seal.
Immortality didn't protect the soul.
It would work.
But the risk of getting dragged into the seal himself made it impractical.
Besides, cutting Hidan into pieces and burying him alive worked just fine.
Still…
Watching a so-called god's servant have his soul dragged away by the Death God would've been amusing.
A shame it would remain a thought experiment.