Since what happened to him was yet another case of "uniqueness" with no precedent to refer to, Haseo could only guess the cause lay somewhere in the realm of "mysticism."
Arranging different hand seals in sequence and reusing common ones—no ninja had ever tried this before, and none were likely to try it in the future either. The fact that Haseo discovered he could do this at all was purely by chance.
After obsessively practicing all night, Haseo finally succeeded in using [Fire Dragon Flame Bullet] just before dawn. Excitedly, he remembered that THE THIRD once used a combined jutsu called [Earth-Fire Dragon Flame Bullet]. From memory, this combination consisted of [Earth Dragon Bullet] plus [Fire Dragon Flame Bullet]. Taking this as reference, Haseo wondered what would happen if he combined [Water Dragon Bullet] with [Fire Dragon Bullet]. However, by this point he was already exhausted. As his mind fogged over while forming seals, his hands fumbled—so in the end, rather than merging the two jutsu, he accidentally activated them simultaneously.
This was far more than just a case of "darkness giving way to light."
Although Haseo hadn't been a ninja for very long, thanks to his teacher's instruction, he had a solid foundation of basic knowledge. After some time passed, he figured out exactly what he had done.
Later, he began experimenting with performing various Water Release jutsu through this new method of forming seals—and succeeded again.
Hand seals served as bridges connecting "results," such as jutsu, with energies like chakra. In a sense, they represented physical manifestations of mental control—signals. The fact that Haseo could process these signals on a deeper level could mean only one thing: powerful spiritual strength.
In the Ninjutsu World's worldview, science called it "strong spiritual power," while mysticism referred to it as "powerful soul strength."
After all, Haseo's arrival into this world had occurred in an inexplicable way. After seizing another person's body like a cuckoo laying eggs in a sparrow's nest, he didn't experience anything like the mental weakening typically associated with "Living Corpse Reincarnation." Rather, the opposite happened. If a normal person's mental capacity at birth measured 1, then Haseo likely entered this life measuring 2.
Therefore, his base mental energy equated to twice that of ordinary people. And when multiplied by continuous training, this base value created a gap that was not only significant but practically immeasurable compared to typical ninja.
So after much thought, Haseo could only reach this conclusion:
"Now *that* was a true marvel..."
As for how he managed to produce and use multiple natures of chakra simultaneously without possessing Kekkei Genkai—this issue itself was really hard to explain.
Haseo silently placed his hand over one of his shoulders. Perhaps that single unexpected incident he had experienced was the very trigger for this issue… At the very least, he could now confirm that the cause of his Chakra Corrosion Phenomenon was definitely not as simple as just the Second Hokage's ninjutsu.
Whether what had happened to him would pose any harm remained uncertain, but there were undeniably visible benefits… His combat abilities had skyrocketed thanks to an unimaginably unconventional fighting style.
However, because of this fast and efficient technique release, the amount of chakra became the main limiting factor for Haseo's combat power.
That was only natural—it made sense, just like how spellcasters always have to manage their energy limits.
The effects of this new fighting style were predictable, but whether or not he could truly achieve the desired outcome still required actual testing before a conclusion could be drawn.
Therefore, Sansho-sensei, having noticed Haseo's transformation and knowing its underlying cause couldn't be figured out immediately, quickly shifted her focus toward practical matters… To test Haseo's combat effectiveness, she quickly arranged a group of sparring partners for him.
At this moment, the sparring team was on their way…
"Hey, do you know what kind of mission this is supposed to be?"
"Didn't you hear? What we're heading to isn't a mission at all—it's live combat training."
"Live combat training? Why specifically choose us? Besides, we've already done plenty of live exercises, whether with the teacher or among ourselves. Still… live training isn't bad. It's way better than doing village patrols or helping Sansho-sensei inspect important locations in Konoha. Those things are practically child's play. It's probably those arrogant higher-ups looking down on us kids! One day, I'll make them respect me," said the first speaker again.
Dull as they were, boring missions still had to be carried out by every ninja. Yet anyone who saw them as mere child's play clearly had a flawed mindset.
"If Sansho-sensei catches you whining like that, she'll definitely get mad. When you get punished, don't drag us into it. As for me, I'm actually looking forward to this training session… I heard he played a major role in Konoha's recent diplomatic mission to Kumo. He must be no ordinary person." Another one spoke up, though what he mentioned shouldn't have been known by someone his age… Information regarding Konoha's visit to Kumo—including participants, objectives, and final outcomes—should've been top secret intelligence, yet he casually let it slip.
"Just one opponent? Three against one? They're clearly underestimating us."
"One keeps a cool head while the other never stops grumbling. Finally, their constant back-and-forth stirred the normally silent third member into speaking up: 'Jiraiya, you talk way too much. Let me make this clear—we have to go all out this time. If you pull any stupid stunts... Well, winning is absolutely mandatory. And if you behave yourself, I'll even give back all those books I took from you.'"
"Seriously? You're not pulling my leg, right?" Those words instantly lit a fire under Jiraiya for this training session... Classic Jiraiya behavior, through and through.
This was the trio of Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru.
"Of course it's serious. Would I ever lie to you about something like this?"
And the answer was definitely "yes"—she totally would... Like his books ever survived in one piece? As if she'd just file them away safely?
"In that case, it's settled."
"Orochimaru, you're on the hook too," Tsunade added, turning her attention to Orochimaru with a pointed reminder.
Honestly, if Jiraiya didn't mess things up, they'd consider themselves lucky as hell. Orochimaru was different—he actually had "combat power."
Orochimaru gave a thoughtful nod—he completely understood what had sparked Tsunade's fighting spirit right then... It wasn't about their opponent at all. It was directly tied to the one who issued the training mission.
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