The moment the trait fusion started.
When [Shout and It Comes] was first activated, the sensation of all chakra meridians appearing in his mind resurfaced.
However, this time, it wasn't just the chakra meridians.
Every densely packed cell in his body, every strand of muscle and fascia, every bone, every beat of his organs…
---
[Obtained:
- Zero-Frame Start (Red)]
[Zero-Frame Start (Red):
Innate powerful mental strength, neural reaction speed, and chakra control, granting an unparalleled talent. Significantly boosts chakra control, body control, neural reaction speed, and jutsu casting speed.]
---
"... As expected."
Kei glanced at the trait name, his cheek twitching slightly.
He already knew that anything produced by the system, whether drawn or fused, was rarely serious.
He had just gotten [Shout and It Comes]. And now comes [Zero-Frame Start].
The effects were indeed getting stronger, but the names were getting more and more ridiculous.
---
[Host: Yamanaka Kei]
[Career: Ninja]
[Active Traits: Transmigrator (Red), Zero-Frame Start (Red), Yin Release Mastery (Purple), Spatial Insight (Purple), Water Release Mastery (Purple), Handsome (Blue), Memory Master of the Shinobi World (Blue)]
[Inactive Traits: Stealthy Crawler (White), Fragile Yet Tenacious (White), Why Are You Gae? (White), Always Smiling (White)]
[Trait Extraction: 0]
[Trait Gifting: 4]
[Trait Duplication: 0]
[Trait Removal: 1]
[Trait Upgrade: 0]
[Trait Downgrade: 1]
---
Forget it, forget it...
Kei looked at the system interface filled with bright red traits and chose to ignore the ridiculous name.
After all, names were just empty labels. What mattered was the effect!
The new trait [Zero-Frame Start] had fused [Shout and It Comes] and [Ultra-Fast Reactions], fully linking his bodily talents together.
Kei could clearly feel it.
The surge in body control allowed him to precisely manipulate every ounce of strength in his body. As swift as a tiger, as steady as a boulder. There was no doubt, this transformation would elevate his taijutsu to a whole new level.
As for chakra control, neural reaction speed, and jutsu casting speed...
Kei's arm turned into liquid as chakra rotated in his palm. In less than a second, a Rasengan was fully formed.
About one-third faster than when I first got [Shout and It Comes].
After roughly testing his jutsu casting speed,
Kei attempted to infuse Water Release nature transformation into the Rasengan.
Buzz buzz buzz—
The pale blue chakra sphere in his palm gradually darkened into a deep blue. With his greatly enhanced chakra control and exponentially boosted reaction speed,
Kei continuously fine-tuned the violent energy within the Water Rasengan.
Originally, it would explode in three seconds. But now, its duration kept increasing, and its spinning speed kept accelerating.
Five seconds, ten seconds, fifteen seconds, thirty seconds!
As the Water Rasengan spun at its maximum speed, the razor-sharp water blades emitted a piercing hum.
I've mastered it!
Kei's expression lit up with joy. But in that split second of distraction, the violent energy instantly lost control.
The Water Rasengan in his hand started forming irregular protrusions!
Buzz—Boom!
The out-of-control Water Rasengan exploded, unleashing terrifying power that instantly devoured the rock beneath his feet, pulverizing everything within a ten-meter radius.
"Kei!" Minato let out a startled cry as he saw Kei engulfed by the jutsu's blast. Just as he was about to charge in despite the residual shockwaves, Honoka firmly grabbed his arm.
"He's fine. It looks like he used the same space-time jutsu as you and retreated into the lab."
"Huh? He..."
Minato, overwhelmed by worry, hesitated for a moment.
Then, he quickly recalled the space-time fluctuations he had vaguely sensed when saving Honoka before.
After sensing the spatial fluctuations left at the center of the jutsu explosion and comparing them with the Flying Thunder God marks he had previously left in the research lab, he confirmed the source of the space-time disturbance.
His brain froze for a few seconds before his face was filled with speechlessness and frustration.
The Flying Thunder God Technique, plus a Rasengan infused with nature transformation!
His best friend had been hiding such a trump card all along.
Back during their sparring match on the ship, this guy had definitely been holding back on him!
Hoo—
The violent residual shockwaves of the jutsu gradually faded. The place where the boulder originally stood had now transformed into a deep, sunken crater.
The steel gate hidden behind the boulder was riddled with scars from the impact of the jutsu.
Countless razor-sharp water blades, fine as strands of hair, had completely pierced through the steel gate, leaving behind numerous tiny slits.
Everyone witnessing this scene felt a chill run down their spine.
Even the steel gate, which was merely at the edge of the jutsu's blast zone, had been shredded like this.
If this had hit a person instead… not even a piece of flesh would be left intact!
Creak—Boom!
With a groan, the research lab's steel door finally collapsed, crashing into the massive crater left by the Water Rasengan.
Kei, who had just reached out to push the door open, twitched at the corner of his eye as he looked at the scene before him.
He had only felt that relying on the Hydrification Technique was a bit risky earlier, so he had used the Flying Thunder God to escape just in case.
But he hadn't expected the actual destructive power to be this terrifying!
"So it's just like the Rasenshuriken… a nano-scale water blade that can completely destroy cells?"
Kei crouched down, ran his fingers across the fine cut marks on the steel door, and examined the traces left in the crater.
He let out a silent sigh of relief—thankfully, he didn't get cocky just now.
If he hadn't dodged in time…
Hydrification?
Even his water molecules would have been obliterated!
"I can't believe it actually worked..."
Minato crouched beside Kei, also running his fingers across the mirror-smooth surface of the crater.
Three years ago, he and Kei had spent four whole months developing the Rasengan based on extreme shape transformation. After succeeding in creating it, the two of them had theorized about combining it with nature transformation. But the difficulty was too high, so they had given up on the idea at the time.
Yet now—his best friend had actually done it!
If this worked with Water Release, then… what about Wind Release?
"Minato, am I awesome or what?" Kei grinned smugly and slapped Minato's shoulder without restraint.
Even though his Water Rasengan was still unstable and exploded with the slightest distraction, as long as he successfully pulled it off once, he could do it again—and again! With enough practice, perfecting this move was just a matter of time!
"Yeah, yeah, you're awesome."
Minato sighed helplessly but still played along, offering his praise.
After a brief pause, he suddenly said, "Have you named this technique yet? If not, I came up with a few good ones—Water Release: Rasengan Super-Speed Annihilation Zero Style! Or Water Release: Ultra-Spin Flying Blade Destruction!"
"..."
"STOP! STOP! STOP!"
Kei instantly froze at the ridiculous, over-the-top names.
If his jutsu actually got labeled with something that cringe, he could already imagine the sheer secondhand embarrassment of having to answer when his teammates asked what it was called after a battle.
Still, it needed a name—just not one of Minato's ridiculous suggestions!