Chapter 188: I Want to Use Ice Release to Build a Gundam

Unfortunately, progress had been a bit slow, so now that he had the chance, Tōshirō intended to seize it.

"Developing offensive jutsu is always a priority for ninjas. That makes sense," Penguin Mani nodded in understanding. "What about the second jutsu?"

"Since the first one is a powerful offensive jutsu, the second one... I want to develop an Ice Release jutsu with extreme defensive capabilities."

Ice Release: Ice Rock Dome of Nothingness was Tōshirō's go-to defensive Ice Release technique.

However, he had always felt that its durability was lacking, so he wanted to create a much stronger defensive technique.

"You have both an offensive and a defensive Ice Release jutsu. What type of jutsu do you want for the third one? A barrier technique?"

Penguin Mani speculated that it might be a barrier-type Ice Release jutsu. Given the nature of Ice Release, it could theoretically produce an excellent barrier-style technique.

Tōshirō shook his head. "I have no interest in barrier-type jutsu. What I want to develop is an Ice Release jutsu that allows me to control a construct in battle."

Barrier techniques weren't what he was after. As far as he remembered, the Uchiha Clan had a barrier jutsu called Uchiha Flame Formation, which was strong enough that even the Eight-Tails couldn't break through it immediately.

If given the chance, he'd ask Elder Itachi if he would be willing to teach him that technique.

"A jutsu that lets you control a construct?"

Seeing Tōshirō's barely concealed excitement, Penguin Mani chuckled. "Judging by your expression, you must already have an idea in mind. Tell me, what kind of jutsu do you want to create?"

At that, Tōshirō immediately perked up, excitedly gesturing as he explained. In short, he wanted to develop a technique similar to Susanoo.

After listening to his grand vision, Penguin Mani ruthlessly shot it down.

"Sounds great, but in reality, it's nearly impossible. Forget about how much chakra it would take to create such a massive ice giant—even if you somehow managed to make one, just moving it a couple of times would drain you dry. Not to mention, you'd also have to consider speed."

Tōshirō let out a silent sigh, disappointment written all over his face.

If even this annoying penguin said it was impossible, then it looked like his dream of creating a Susanoo made of ice had officially collapsed.

But he refused to give up on his Gundam dream, so he changed his approach. "What if I reduce the size of the ice giant?"

"Oh, well, that's much more reasonable."

Hearing that, Tōshirō barely had time to feel happy before Penguin Mani immediately poured cold water on his enthusiasm.

"If that's the case, why don't you just use clones in battle instead? You'd just be making things unnecessarily complicated."

Tōshirō froze.

...Damn, that was awkward.

Yeah, if the "Gundam" was smaller, it wouldn't have the advantage of sheer size anymore. So why would he even bother creating it? Just for show?

And even if he did manage to make a Susanoo-like ice construct, it might not even be as effective as simply using a large summoning beast in battle.

After all, Ice Release was no Wood Release.

Tōshirō clutched his head. Thinking about it too much made his brain hurt.

Penguin Mani smirked. "Although your idea for this jutsu is flawed, that doesn't mean there's nothing useful in it."

"Huh?"

"You could train to control ice-constructed creatures, which would help you improve your chakra control. It's difficult, but if you persist, you should see a noticeable improvement in your chakra mastery. What do you think? Want to give it a try?"

Tōshirō thought about it and found the logic sound. He nodded in agreement. "No problem."

Since Penguin Mani had already been paid, he wasted no time getting to work. "Alright, let's start now. The first step—create a creature out of ice."

Tōshirō understood. Forming a hand seal, he closed his eyes to better focus and gather his chakra.

Penguin Mani glanced over, curious about what kind of creature Tōshirō would create for his first attempt.

Tōshirō carefully visualized his design, then used his Ice Release chakra to bring it to life.

Even this initial step took him a long time. After much struggle, he finally managed to create the creature he had envisioned.

To speed up this step in the future, Tōshirō would need to experiment with different hand seals, find the most suitable combination, and then arrange them systematically.

This was the general surface-level process of developing a jutsu, from conception to hand seals.

After completing the above steps, continuous training would allow him to eventually use the jutsu as smoothly as any standard technique.

When Penguin Mani saw the creature Tōshirō had created—a limbless being—he nodded in approval. "Using a simple creature like a snake as a training target isn't a bad idea."

Tōshirō felt awkward. "Actually, I was trying to make a dragon."

Penguin Mani: …

"Hold on, let me try again."

After several attempts, Tōshirō finally created a design he was satisfied with—a dragon over ten meters long, large enough for him to stand on its head with his arms crossed, looking down at the ground.

There was a Bloodline Limit called Crystal Release, which was quite similar to Ice Release. One of its techniques, Crystal Release: Crystal Dragon, could create and control a red crystal dragon in battle.

Tōshirō was trying to replicate that concept, creating an Ice Dragon that he could control in combat.

The first step was more or less complete—now it was time to focus on control.

Tōshirō had experience with manipulation-based jutsu, such as Ice Chains, but those techniques were directly linked to his body. This was his first time attempting remote control, so he had no experience in this area.

Penguin Mani pulled out a banknote and handed it to Tōshirō.

Tōshirō took the bill and looked at him, puzzled.

Penguin Mani asked, "Since you have the Ice Release Bloodline Limit, you should also have Wind-natured chakra, right?"

Tōshirō nodded. "Yeah, why? Do I need Wind chakra for this?"

Penguin Mani shook his head. "Not exactly, but since you have Wind chakra, I can tailor the training to you. This exercise will help you control your Ice Dragon better."

Hearing this, Tōshirō had no more doubts. Holding the bill, he asked, "What do you want me to do next?"

"Let go of the bill, then use your Wind chakra to generate wind and keep it from falling to the ground."

"How long do I have to keep it up?"

Penguin Mani smirked. "Until I'm satisfied. It could be a few minutes, a few hours… or even a few days."

Tōshirō broke into a cold sweat but obediently followed instructions. He let go of the banknote and focused on creating wind to keep it in the air.

At first, things didn't go well. Tōshirō wasn't skilled in Wind Release, so before he could even generate wind, the bill would fall straight to the ground. Frustrated, he had to keep picking it up and trying again. This repeated over and over for quite some time before he finally started to grasp the technique. Eventually, he began improving.

Seeing that it was enough, Penguin Mani called out, "Alright, that's good. Let's move on to the next round."

"Huh? That's it?"

Tōshirō was surprised—he had braced himself to do this for an entire day.

"You just needed to get a feel for it. Now, let's move on to controlling something else."

Penguin Mani's gaze landed on the Kusanagi Sword standing behind Tōshirō.

"What are we switching to?"

"Your weapon."

"This isn't something I can manipulate using Wind chakra to create wind, right?"

"Of course not. I'll teach you some techniques to use your chakra to control the sword. Once you've mastered this technique, we'll move on to the next step."

Kusanagi Sword: Blade of the Sky?

Tōshirō's eyes lit up. "Coach, I want to learn this…"

(End of Chapter)

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