Chapter 377: Exploring the Lightning Release

Time passed day by day. Orochimaru's research on Jūgo progressed steadily, with daily updates. To accelerate the process, he enlisted Nanako's help.

With her assistance, Orochimaru found the work much easier.

The secrets of Jūgo's body were gradually uncovered, including the reason for his berserk transformations, there was a special enzyme in Jūgo's body.

This enzyme was what attracted the mysterious energy.

Orochimaru extracted the enzyme and conducted live experiments using clones, all of which resulted in their deaths. At the moment of their deaths, Orochimaru sensed the energy.

Since implanting the enzyme posed risks, Orochimaru couldn't test it on himself and thus couldn't directly experience the effects of the enzyme.

Following this discovery, the research delved deeper. The peculiarities of Jūgo's body and the mysterious energy were like layers of an onion being peeled away, gradually revealing the truth.

This unknown energy was confirmed to be different from chakra extracted from the body. It was an external energy, free-floating in the world.

Under normal circumstances, this energy couldn't be felt. However, injecting Jūgo's enzyme not only enabled one to sense it but also caused the body to actively absorb it.

The clones couldn't withstand this energy and died, which indicated the energy carried inherent risks. Yet, in Jūgo's case, the energy only led to emotional instability and noticeable physical enhancement and transformation.

This could be attributed to the unique nature of Jūgo's body. The next step would be determining how to mitigate these risks for others.

By observing Jūgo's transformations, Orochimaru gathered valuable data.

Strength, speed, and ninjutsu capabilities all showed clear signs of exponential enhancement. This suggested that absorbing the mysterious energy could multiply one's abilities, similar to the effects of Hashirama cells in terms of ninjutsu.

After reaching this conclusion, Orochimaru was exhilarated.

If he could master control over this mysterious energy, he could greatly enhance his own power.

When Orochimaru shared this information with Ye Zi, he too became excited.

Multiplication of power… this was no small feat.

Figuring out how to absorb and control the mysterious energy without incurring risks might be a long process, but Ye Zi was willing to wait.

This could be a transformative way for him to grow stronger. Currently, the only way to improve his strength was through ninjutsu, but this approach had its limits. The effects of the mysterious energy, however, offered exponential growth across all abilities.

This was the most direct path to greater power.

Orochimaru entered a state of relentless focus, dragging Nanako along with him.

While waiting for results, Ye Zi began contemplating how to enhance the effectiveness of the ninjutsu he had already mastered.

Currently, his expertise lay in Lightning Release and Wood Release. His taijutsu and kenjutsu complemented each other well, making him highly lethal against opponents below Kage level. However, if he considered someone like Nagato as the template for his enemies, taijutsu and kenjutsu would lose much of their effectiveness, even when paired with Lightning Release.

Thinking about taijutsu, Ye Zi recalled Might Guy's Eight Gates technique. Unfortunately, he had missed the opportunity to learn it in the past and couldn't learn it now.

In terms of kenjutsu, when paired with Lightning Release, it could cut through most defensive techniques, but not all.

Although he hadn't tested it yet, Ye Zi suspected that his current Lightning-infused sword couldn't pierce the defenses of the Third Raikage of the Hidden Cloud Village.

As for Wood Release, he had already mastered all it had to offer. His Spirit Transformation Technique, once his go-to forbidden jutsu, had been largely abandoned after seeing Nagato's ability to absorb and seal souls. He realized the risks of using a spiritual body against such opponents, rendering the technique useless in specific scenarios.

In ninjutsu, taijutsu, and kenjutsu, Ye Zi had reached near perfection, with the exception of genjutsu, which he had rarely studied.

Due to his naturally high resistance to genjutsu, Ye Zi had never been affected by genjutsu specialists in battle, which led him to neglect it. Even after recognizing its potential, he hadn't devoted time to mastering it.

His mastery of Lightning Release's shape transformation and nature transformation had already reached their limits. Even with the enhancement provided by Hashirama cells, the maximum power of his techniques remained fixed.

So, how could he enhance the power of his Lightning Release?

Among the elements he excelled in, Lightning Release and Wood Release lacked compatibility and couldn't complement each other.

Ye Zi fell into deep thought, considering starting with Lightning Release.

Lightning Release was the first nature he had mastered, accompanying him throughout his journey and proving to be the most versatile.

Now, feeling that its power was insufficient, he needed to think of ways to enhance it.

The first idea was combination jutsu, such as the fusion of Water and Lightning Release. Combining the nature transformations of two elements might create more powerful techniques.

The problem was, Ye Zi didn't have an affinity for Water Release, so it wasn't an ideal option for him.

What other ways could he enhance his Lightning Release?

Once the idea took root, Ye Zi devoted all his time to pondering how to increase the power of Lightning Release.

He often spent hours in his private training room, playing with the nature transformation of lightning until his chakra was completely drained. Only then, exhausted, would he return to his room to rest.

Time passed, yet no breakthroughs came.

While waiting for Orochimaru's research results, Ye Zi continued to wrestle with the question of how to enhance Lightning Release.

"How can I increase the power of lightning?" he muttered to himself as he stepped into his training room as usual. Gazing at the wooden floor and walls, he rubbed his chin, his eyes half-closed in deep thought.

With a soft sigh, he extended his hand. Threads of electricity danced and flickered in his palm, shifting into vague and irregular shapes at his mental command.

Among all elemental affinities, lightning was the most difficult to control. Even with Ye Zi's exceptional control, he couldn't perfectly shape the lightning according to his will.

The limit of his ability was evident in the scales formed on the dragon in his Lightning Dragon Armor technique. While the scales had clear features, they weren't uniformly arranged or densely packed. Their sizes varied, and the dragon's head remained a somewhat blurry shape, this was due to the inherently unstable nature of lightning.

Casually swiping his hand through the air, the lightning threads shot forward, striking the wooden wall with a sharp crack, leaving behind a faint trail of smoke and scorch marks.

Frowning, Ye Zi felt as though his efforts to enhance his lightning had been an endless waste of time.

Lightning Release was currently his most reliable element. If he could find a way to enhance its power, it would be ideal. Once the idea had formed in his mind, he couldn't simply abandon it.

He stared silently at the charred marks on the wall and the faint smoke dissipating into the air, his mind drifting back to the journey that had brought him here.

Standing there in silence for a long time, Ye Zi recalled the pivotal moments in his path to power. The most crucial turning point had been his encounter with Madara Uchiha.

From Madara, he had transplanted Hashirama's cells, repairing his body's deficiencies. This allowed him to master the First Hokage's Wood Release and learn about certain Six Paths techniques, as well as the existence of Yin and Yang Release.

Yang Release embodied physical energy, while Yin Release embodied mental energy.

Yang gave life; Yin gave form.

What would happen if Lightning Release were combined with Yin Release?

Ye Zi's gaze sharpened. Perhaps it was worth a try.

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