A cloud of dust rose from the battle arena.
Asuma and Kabuto stood, panting, on one side, while Itachi stood calmly on the other. In the middle, lying unconscious in a sunken part of the ground, was the lion-like humanoid.
Under their watchful eyes, the opponent's large and mutated body rapidly began to revert.
His mane faded from his face, his sharp claws shrank back, and in moments, what appeared before them was an ordinary-looking man, dressed in torn remnants of a prison uniform.
Soon after, the sealing squad and the security team rushed in. They placed seals and shackles on the unconscious test subject and quickly transferred him to the research lab inside the Technology Development Department, where the investigation of the Stone of Grell was being carried out. Specialized equipment was immediately activated to begin the analysis.
"Sensei! We defeated that test subject!"
Asuma excitedly dragged Kabuto and Itachi over to stand before Kagetsu and Tsunade, shouting with joy.
He firmly believed that his contribution to the battle had been decisive—especially since he was the one who charged in first and withstood the test subject's most ferocious attacks, giving Itachi and Kabuto the perfect chance to strike.
"I saw that. As I promised earlier, go ahead—what reward do you want?" Kagetsu looked at the sweat-covered Asuma with a soft smile, encouraging him.
"What reward do I want?" Asuma was momentarily stunned. Kagetsu's sudden question seemed to short-circuit his brain, especially now that he had to think seriously about what he wanted.
He had been looking forward to the promised reward, no doubt. But now that Kagetsu had asked him to name it himself, his mind went blank.
Did he really... need anything?
The usual things a shinobi might ask for—jutsu, tools, secret information from the ninja world—he could probably access those elsewhere.
After all, his father was the retired Third Hokage, nicknamed the "Professor of Ninjutsu," Asuma possessed knowledge and mastery of ninjutsu, especially in all five elemental releases, that even surpassed the current Orochimaru.
The Sarutobi clan never lacked the resources needed by the ninja world.
At the very least, there were only a handful of people in the village at his age who could own a customized ninja tool made with chakra metal.
But still, he really wanted to learn the jutsu his teacher had created. Asuma had been eyeing the Crimson Fire Cannon that Itachi had mastered for a long time. After all, he also had fire-nature chakra.
"I want to learn the Crimson Fire Cannon!" Asuma looked up at Kagetsu.
"What about you two?" Kagetsu turned to the other two.
Itachi shook his head slightly, looking a little uncertain.
As the eldest son of the Uchiha clan leader—especially one the clan had high hopes for, possibly even as a future Hokage candidate—he also had no shortage of jutsu or forbidden techniques.
It's just that, at his current age, he wasn't allowed to touch the more dangerous forbidden jutsu yet.
He knew his teacher possessed many powerful techniques, but he couldn't quite decide which ones would actually be useful to him right now.
Logically, he should be seeking something like ointment or medicine that could further enhance his Sharingan's visual power.
But, as Kagetsu had once reminded him, at his current age, with his body still growing, too much ocular power could actually become a heavy burden.
There were ways to ease that burden, of course—but there was no need to take unnecessary risks and walk a dangerous path.
"I don't know," Itachi replied. If anything, he would've asked for an advanced version of the Crimson Fire Cannon—but as long as he mastered the basic version well enough, Kagetsu would give it to him anyway, so there was no need to bring it up now.
"I don't know either."
When Kagetsu's eyes landed on him, Kabuto swallowed nervously and quickly shook his head.
He was the team's medical ninja, and under Kagetsu's guidance, he had also started helping out with research projects from the Technology Development Department, assisting Kagetsu and other researchers while building a solid foundation.
He saw himself as the team's medical ninja and his teacher's research assistant.
In the village, medical ninjutsu was different from combat ninjutsu.
As long as you could learn it, any medical ninja at the hospital could teach you.
Even before becoming Kagetsu's disciple, he had already been practicing on injured patients at the hospital under Nono's guidance.
"Well then, each of you will learn one jutsu," Kagetsu clapped his hands and said to the three of them.
Seeing them all nod in agreement, he raised a finger toward Asuma, who looked the most eager, and asked, "Crimson Fire Cannon, or a Wind Release technique with a similar power profile—you choose, Asuma."
Asuma's eyes lit up instantly. He replied without hesitation, "Wind Release!"
Even though he had fire-nature chakra, what he liked and excelled at the most was Wind Release—especially ones that could be used with his Kazeha blade.
"Hand me your weapon," Kagetsu said.
Under Asuma's expectant gaze, he took the Kazeha from him and demonstrated the Wind Release jutsu.
With the blade spinning like a vortex, the sword edge acted as the eye of the storm.
A massive whirlwind surged forward, sweeping and slicing everything in its path. The test field was left in complete disarray.
After sending the remaining wind force spiraling into the sky, Kagetsu tossed the Kazeha back into the hands of a now disheveled Asuma and began explaining the technique.
"This is Tempest Fang. You can control the output—either blow your enemy away or slice them up. You've already developed a compatible sword style under the Third Hokage's guidance. This technique will complement that. It can be used on its own or combined with your Fire Release. You can also change its direction dynamically.
Additionally, it can draw in some of the surrounding natural energy and amplify the jutsu based on your will. But be cautious—it can backfire.
In terms of difficulty, this jutsu is classified as A-rank. But once you factor in the use of natural energy, it's harder to master than most A-rank techniques."
"This one, for sure!" Asuma nodded without hesitation as he looked at the wrecked test field left in the wake of Tempest Fang's power.
If their shadows hadn't been linked to Kagetsu's through his Shadow Jutsu just now, he might have been swept up in it and experienced the jutsu's force firsthand.
"And you, Kabuto—do you want a combat-style jutsu, a medical forbidden technique, or something supportive?" Kagetsu turned toward Kabuto and asked. Latest content published on novel·fire·net
If he chose medical forbidden techniques, he had planned to hand that over to Tsunade.
This question was also meant to help determine which path Kabuto wanted to take in the future.
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