Chapter 18: Yamashita So's Battle Armor
The Next Day
Yamamoto Ryusei was practicing taijutsu at the edge of the forest. He had created several shadow clones to practice ninjutsu: one was practicing Wind Release nature transformation, one was practicing Fire Release nature transformation, and another was practicing chakra control.
The five C-rank ninjutsu Madara had given him included Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique, Water Style: Water Whip Technique, Earth Style: Mud Wall, Wind Style: Great Breakthrough, and Lightning Style: Earth Runner.
However, Ryusei couldn't practice these ninjutsu yet. He first had to master the nature transformation of his chakra. Although he was born with three affinities, that only meant these three natures were easier for him to learn. Ryusei could currently only create five shadow clones: one was Liu Maoxing, teaching cooking at the Senju compound; one was attending school; and the other three were all here, training.
His main body continued to focus on practicing taijutsu. This was because yesterday's information about chakra nature transformation had given him an idea: could he use it to replicate Armament Haki?
Chakra itself has no elemental attribute and is inherently offensive, as seen in techniques like the Chakra Scalpel and the Rasengan. But why did ninjas apply nature transformations to it? It was likely due to a lack of attack range and area of effect. Thus, chakra gained nature transformations.
Chakra is a fusion of physical and spiritual energy; it exists somewhere between the tangible and intangible. Theoretically, it can accomplish anything. It's likely that in the beginning, there were many kinds of chakra nature transformations, but in the end, only Wind, Fire, Lightning, Earth, and Water were passed down.
This was because these five natures corresponded to the five great natural disasters: hurricanes, great fires, lightning storms, earthquakes, and floods. Furthermore, these five natures were singular and relatively simple to train. When casting ninjutsu, one could borrow power from nature, making their might greater than other attributes, and so they remained.
But Ryusei's greatest strength lay in taijutsu, and in the future, his fights against major bosses would rely mainly on it. Therefore, creating a chakra nature transformation that complemented taijutsu was absolutely necessary. And after much thought, Ryusei felt that Armament Haki was the most suitable. After all, if the Rokushiki could break through the dimensional wall, then Armament Haki should also be achievable.
Armament Haki is divided into four types: "Hardening," "Imbuement," "Emission," and "Internal Destruction."
Hardening: Armament Haki can make the body harder than steel, increasing one's own defense and attack power.
Imbuement: Involves wrapping Armament Haki around a weapon to increase its defense and attack power.
Emission: Involves gathering Armament Haki in the hands or on a weapon and releasing it, directly converting it into tangible offensive or defensive power. It can be used to strike enemies with a powerful shockwave or form a protective barrier, even defending against intangible attacks.
Internal Destruction: The ability to send Armament Haki through the surface of an object to directly destroy its interior.
Chakra already possessed functions similar to "Imbuement," "Emission," and "Internal Destruction," they just required a very high level of chakra control.
As for hitting Logia-type users, besides the Hozuki clan's Hydrification Technique, there were no other Logia-like secret techniques in the ninja world. So, the ability to hit intangible bodies wasn't a priority. The Hydrification Technique could be dealt with using Lightning Release.
All he needed to do now was add a "Hardening" nature transformation to his chakra and practice diligently to create a ninja-world version of Armament Haki.
Therefore, Ryusei was now focusing on chakra nature transformation to prepare for his Armament Haki.
In the blink of an eye, several months passed.
In these months, Ryusei had developed his taijutsu up to Rankyaku. He had completed his Wind, Fire, and Earth nature transformations and was now focusing on Water, Lightning, and the "Hardening" nature for his Haki.
Under the guidance of Hashirama and Madara, he had also successfully learned Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique, Earth Style: Mud Wall, and Wind Style: Great Breakthrough. They had then given him several more ninjutsu to study. What concerned Ryusei now was the growing rift between Hashirama and Madara; he often saw the two of them arguing.
Perhaps Madara's departure from the village was imminent.
Today, Ryusei didn't use a shadow clone for class because it was the day of the final exams. A shadow clone would be completely outmatched.
After today's exams, summer vacation would begin. Everyone was very happy, chatting excitedly in the schoolyard.
Komiya Yuki came to Ryusei's side and said shyly, "Ryusei-nii, the day after tomorrow is my birthday. Can you come?"
"Really? Then I'll definitely be there. Who else did you invite?" Ryusei thought for a moment. "I'll have Liu Maoxing cook for you."
"Really? Thank you, Ryusei-nii!" Yuki counted on her fingers. "About ten or twenty people, I think. They're all our classmates."
Yuki was much more popular than Ryusei; she was on good terms with most of the class. Ryusei's arrogant declaration, combined with his tutelage under Hashirama and Madara, had made him a thorn in the side of his classmates, who believed he had stolen their spots as potential disciples of the Hokage. Only two people didn't care and befriended him anyway: Uchiha Kagami and Sarutobi Hiruzen.
"Ryusei," Hiruzen said, looking him up and down. "You seem different today."
Of course I do. The one who came before was a shadow clone. It didn't dare make any unnecessary movements to avoid wasting chakra, so it always looked lazy. How could it compare to how energetic I am today?
Ryusei bluffed, "That's because vacation starts tomorrow, so I'm happy."
"It's because the one who came before was always a shadow clone," Uchiha Kagami exposed him without hesitation. "One time, when I was going home, I saw him practicing ninjutsu at my family's compound."
Ryusei laughed sheepishly. "Kagami, some things are better left unsaid."
"Aha!" Hiruzen wrapped his arm around Ryusei's neck from behind. "So you were tricking us! Tell me, how are you going to compensate me?"
Ryusei pretended to be out of breath. "I'll treat you to a meal, alright? The kind Liu Maoxing makes."
Since the wedding banquet, Liu Maoxing's reputation had reached the point where everyone in Konoha knew his name. But because the Senju family, So, and Yuki had all kept quiet, none of the other students knew that Liu Maoxing was actually Ryusei.
Hiruzen immediately let go of Ryusei. "You can invite Master Liu Maoxing? You're not bluffing, are you?"
Kagami was also skeptical. "Ryusei, I heard Master Liu Maoxing is very mysterious. Some clans have invited him several times and failed. They're pinning all their hopes on the Konoha Hotel that's about to open."
Ryusei said confidently, "Don't worry, Liu Maoxing and I are very close. The day after tomorrow, I'm having him cook for Yuki's birthday. You'll be able to eat his food then."
Hiruzen teased, "So it's all for Yuki. We're just an afterthought. So how far have you two gone?"
Ryusei rolled his eyes at him. "What do you mean, an afterthought? Are you not going to Yuki's birthday party? Besides, Yuki and I just have a brother-sister relationship. Don't spread rumors and ruin her reputation."
Brother and sister? But Yuki doesn't think so. Anyone who isn't blind can see that Yuki likes Ryusei. Hiruzen and Kagami exchanged knowing glances, clearly not taking his words to heart.
"Whoa, what is that? It's so cool!" A crowd of students had gathered at the school gate, looking at something.
Ryusei saw two long feathers sticking up high from the middle of the crowd.
Those two feathers look a bit familiar, he thought. Could it be...?
His expression changed, and he decided to go and see what was happening. Hiruzen and Kagami followed him.
Before they even got there, they heard Yamashita So's extremely proud voice. "That's right! This is the Phoenix-wing Purple-gold Crown, the Golden Chain Mail, and the Lotus-root Cloud-walking Boots worn by Sun Wukong! Cool, right?"
It's just as I thought. So had actually made the designs Ryusei gave him.
Akimichi Torifu was practically drooling. "So cool! Can I touch it?" he asked.
So immediately refused. "No! What if you break it?"
"That's not Sun Wukong's real armor at all!" Hiruzen jumped out excitedly. "You just made that yourself!"
So immediately retorted, "My Big Bro..."
He swallowed the rest of his words when he saw Ryusei's sharp glare. He remembered that Ryusei had told him not to reveal that he was the author of Journey to the West.
So's eyes darted around. "Teacher Miyamoto drew the designs for me!"
Hiruzen said, "Then tell me, what does Teacher Miyamoto look like?"
"He looks..." So had never seen Ryusei's "Miyamoto Musashi" transformation and naturally couldn't describe it.
Hiruzen said triumphantly, "See? I knew it was fake."
So was both anxious and angry but couldn't find the words to argue back.
Uchiha Kagami played the peacemaker. "Even if So made it himself, he did it with a lot of care. Look how faithful it is to the original work. It's so cool."
"Yeah! So is so talented! I want one too!"
"So, is your armor for sale? How much?"
The students once again crowded around So, chattering noisily.
Kagami asked Hiruzen, "Hiruzen, you seem to really like Sun Wukong?"
Hiruzen said in a low, slightly embarrassed voice, "I've always felt that Sun Wukong was from my family, because our clan's summoning animal can transform into the Golden-Hooped Rod. It's just that it can only change its length and size, not its weight."
Kagami was convinced. "Really? You have to show me sometime!"
"Sure! I'll definitely show you once I successfully summon it," Hiruzen readily agreed.