Chapter 25: Ice Style

Chapter 25: Ice Style

When you have a disciple of exceptional talent, you always want to come up with a difficult problem to stump her. Kakashi found that this saying was quite true. Kakashi had originally thought he could stump Sakura, that he would get to see her looking troubled, frowning at the sky with a pouty lip and a dazed look in her eyes. The result, however, was a great surprise, and a pleasant one at that.

"Not bad, not bad," Kakashi nodded with a smile. "So, have you ever tried using it to solve the problems you've encountered?"

"...I've actually thought about it, but I couldn't come up with any good methods. There have been some unexpected joys, though. For example, this—"

Sakura extended her small palm, her fingers slightly bent. A huge burst of pale blue chakra erupted from her palm, then quickly intertwined and rotated. Before Kakashi's stunned eyes, it formed a chakra sphere that was calm on the surface but spinning wildly inside!

"Water Style: Spiraling Vortex!" The corners of Sakura's mouth curled up slightly, her eyes filled with a proud smile.

"Wait, this, isn't this—and you've even added a nature transformation—!" Unconsciously, Kakashi had already pulled up his forehead protector. The crimson three-tomoe in his right eye spun wildly, recording this chakra sphere that had set off a stormy sea in Kakashi's heart!

As the disciple of the Fourth Hokage, how could Kakashi possibly not recognize this ninjutsu, the original creation of the Fourth Hokage!

The pinnacle of shape transformation, the innate seal-less ninjutsu, the Rasengan!

Kakashi stared at this scene in shock. In the special vision of his Sharingan, Kakashi could clearly see the chakra that had undergone water nature transformation flowing wildly within the beautiful little sphere, yet its surface was incredibly calm! The Rasengan, containing infinite power, was suspended on Sakura's small palm as obediently and quietly as a well-behaved child. Her hands were delicate and fair, not like the blood-stained hands of a ninja gripping a weapon, yet they held a ninjutsu more dangerous than any weapon!

That's right, this was an S-rank ninjutsu that had incorporated water nature transformation, possessing an ultra-high rotation speed—the Water Style Rasengan!

The Rasengan, with both shape and nature transformation added simultaneously... something even sensei couldn't complete... If I were hit by this jutsu, I would have died ten times over, wouldn't I? Kakashi thought wearily.

"Hmm, at the beginning, I wanted to make a centrifuge to purify water, so I made this kind of rotating sphere. Later, I felt the rotation speed wasn't fast enough, so I added the water nature transformation to enhance the flow. But even after accelerating it to this extent, I still didn't get the result I wanted, so I gave up on this idea."

"I did accidentally discover that this ninjutsu is quite powerful in battle, but its consumption is a bit too high to be practical. Even using it at its minimum power would knock me out... so I've never used it. Speaking of which, this move seems a bit like Lord Fourth Hokage's Rasengan, doesn't it? Hey, Kakashi-sensei? Kakashi-sensei?!"

Although it had been emphasized time and again that the young girl before him was a genius, at this moment, Kakashi deeply understood just how weak the power of words was. Haruno Sakura, this budding young girl, had already developed a series of S-rank Water Cutter jutsu at the mere age of 12, as well as a complete version of the S-rank Rasengan that the brilliant Golden Flash of his time couldn't fully develop before his death. At the same time, she was developing a new Water Style that was beyond S-rank and beyond the ninja world's understanding of Suiton!

The new generation surpasses the old. Kakashi had always thought he was part of the wave that did the pushing. At this moment, Kakashi suddenly felt that he had already been left for dead on the beach.

In another three or four years, with her Water Style, she'll probably be able to dominate me with ease, right...? Kakashi felt both fortunate and sad at the same time.

Sighing inwardly, Kakashi came back to his senses and continued.

"So, if Water Style doesn't work, what about other affinities? Or even a Kekkei Genkai that mixes different affinities at the same time?" Kakashi thought of the Ice Style that had been used to save Zabuza.

"This... apart from Wind Style, I haven't practiced any other affinities, and I don't really understand Kekkei Genkai. I heard that it's enough for a Jonin to just develop two affinities!" Sakura could perform the wind nature transformation, of course, because fanfictions of that time were particularly fond of using the shadow clone cheat method as a power-up, so much so that even Sakura, who hadn't read much of the manga, knew about the plotline of training wind nature transformation.

"No, no, no, two nature transformations is just the passing line. Jonin generally have two or more nature transformations, especially a ninjutsu-type ninja like you," Kakashi said, rare-ly feeling like a teacher. "For example, I specialize in Lightning and Earth, but I know all seven affinities: Fire, Wind, Lightning, Earth, Water, Yin, and Yang."

"Seven, that many...!" Misled by the early parts of the Naruto manga, Sakura had thought that a normal person could only master a small number, like two or three. "So, which nature transformation should I develop?"

"The five basic nature transformations plus the Yin and Yang transformations make a total of seven. As a secondary affinity, you can generally choose one that you have a good compatibility with and that can complement your ninjutsu. The one you have the best compatibility with is obviously Yin Release. You have naturally strong spiritual energy, so using Yin Release would naturally be twice the result with half the effort, but..." Kakashi deliberately paused.

"But what?" Sakura asked, tilting her head.

"Teacher here doesn't know Yin transformation either! My genjutsu skills are actually pretty average!" Kakashi scratched his hair in embarrassment.

"What?!"

"In short, I'm quite proficient in the nature transformations of Lightning and Earth. As for Fire, although I haven't studied it in depth, I know quite a lot, more than enough to teach you. So, which one do you want to choose?"

Sakura furrowed her delicate brow.

Using Water Style as the core and supplementing it with other secondary affinities to make up for shortcomings was certainly possible. But right now, her core water jutsu was still stuck in development, and her wind nature transformation was only at a basic level. At this juncture, Sakura was in no mood to learn a new nature transformation. But on the other hand, what Kakashi said was also right. When encountering a bottleneck, actively expanding one's thinking might lead to inspiration. Sakura also understood the principle of serendipity.

So, a choice of one out of three. Which one to choose? This decision might affect her for a long time.

Sakura pondered for a long time, then her eyes suddenly lit up!

"Kakashi-sensei, how about you teach me Ice Style?"

"Sakura, you should stop aiming so high for now!" Kakashi was stunned for a moment, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. Combining two chakra nature transformations at the same time was already a Kekkei Genkai. Those who could do it in the ninja world were few and far between, yet in Sakura's mouth, it sounded like something easily attainable.

"Ice Style is a combination of wind and water nature transformations used simultaneously. It's simple to say, but very difficult to do. The nature transformation of chakra is determined by the spirit. Performing two nature transformations at the same time means splitting one's mind in two. To put it simply, it's like drawing a circle with one hand and a square with the other. You have to be able to draw both well at the same time! Not to mention, the nature transformation of chakra is far more difficult than drawing circles and squares," Kakashi continued to explain.

"The more realistic problem is that although I've already recorded that Ice Style with my Sharingan (Sakura's note: this refers to the Thousand Flying Water Needles, which Kakashi thinks is Ice Style, not Water Style), I myself can't use Ice Style, so the guidance I can give you is very limited!"

"Isn't that perfect!" Hearing Kakashi's explanation, Sakura laughed instead. "I'm most interested in this kind of difficult and challenging thing!"

Just because others can't do it, does that mean she can't? From the combination nin-taijutsu to ultrapure water, which of these were things others could do? From the very beginning, she had been walking a path others had never even thought of. Why did her success need to be referenced against others?

At this moment, Sakura was smiling with extreme confidence.

"Alright, alright! Then let's give it a try!" Kakashi said, spreading his hands helplessly. Looking at the calmly smiling Sakura, perhaps seeing a reflection of his own confident younger self, a bit of anticipation suddenly grew in Kakashi's heart.

Perhaps, something that is impossible for people like us can be achieved in her hands? After all, the young girl before me has already created several miracles...

"Alright then, let's start with the most basic practice!" Kakashi picked up a few leaves and handed them to Sakura. "First, let's review the wind nature transformation. Let me see what level your understanding of Wind Style has reached!"

Sakura took the leaves lightly. She held a leaf between her index and middle fingers, and with a flash of blue light, the leaf was cut in half.

Kakashi nodded slightly. Having practiced to this extent, ordinary Wind Style ninjutsu were already no problem for her. But she was still far from the level needed to learn Ice Style.

"It's not enough. To learn Ice Style, your mastery of wind nature transformation must be even more profound!"

"That cheat method you mentioned before, the one that uses the Shadow Clone Jutsu to assist in training, now is the perfect time to use it! Based on your current chakra amount, creating one shadow clone is the most efficient method! With your spiritual strength, this level of fatigue should be nothing."

"For the next few days, I'll be protecting Tazuna. You help me keep an eye on things at his home and on Naruto and Sasuke. Understood?"

"Yes! Kakashi-sensei!"

"Well then, do your best!"