Shinichi continues while making a throwing motion. "I no longer need to expend a huge amount of spiritual energy to maintain that dangerous balance. I can simply launch it like a kunai. During its flight away from my hand, it maintains its shape due to its stable structure. Only when it hits the target, or I trigger it remotely, will the highly condensed fire nature chakra inside be released instantly, forming an explosion or a continuous fire impact."
He concluded, "The essence of Dark Sweep is the first and most necessary safe cornerstone I've built for constructing a Fire Style Nintaijutsu. It first solves the fundamental issue of how to let high-power Fire Style accompany Taijutsu safely, quickly, and stably."
"Now, it is a flame shuriken that can be safely thrown. The next step is for me to try to wrap this stable form of flame around my fists and feet to form Flame Fists and Flame Kicks, to achieve true close-range Fire Ninjutsu attacks, and even lay the foundation for more distant Fire Style Chakra Mode."
"As for extreme compression and rotational tearing, they are only temporarily set aside…"
Shinichi's gaze turned to the distance: "That will be a future topic. When my chakra control, physical strength, and mastery of basic forms like Dark Sweep state reach a higher level, I will try to reintegrate them step by step."
"By then, Dark Sweep might evolve into a more powerful and advanced variant, and even contribute to the improvement of the Great Flame Rasengan."
The third Hokage listened quietly, as smoke slowly swirled around him.
Shinichi's explanation is clear and organized, based entirely on practical combat and system building, without any mystification.
He not only explained the principles behind the new technique but also clearly outlined a research and development path that involves learning from failures, adjusting direction, and making gradual progress.
This clear understanding, solid steps, and clear planning for long-term goals were more shocking and gratifying to the third Hokage than the sheer power of the techniques themselves.
"Using a stable intermediate state as a foundation and transition, avoiding backlash, and gradually moving towards Ninjutsu and Taijutsu integration…"
The third Hokage slowly repeated the key points, his eyes filled with increasing admiration: "Excellent idea, Shinichi! You have not only found a way to solve the backlash problem, but also a practical path to Fire Style Nintaijutsu."
He paused, his tone becoming more serious: "Then what you must do next is to follow this line of thought and continuously refine the stability of this flame carrier, the precision of your control, adaptability to various parts of the body, and application in different combat scenarios. This will require extensive practice, testing, and refinement. I have faith in this path of yours. Do your best, child."
"Thank you, third Hokage-sama!"
…
In the Land of Hot Water, on the outskirts of a certain town, in a cheap and dilapidated rented room.
Light streamed in through the dusty window, dimly illuminating the small space.
A boy stood in the middle of the room, looking at the woman before him, his mother, Yoko.
Her eyes were vacant, fixed on some unknown point, her lips continuously murmuring indistinct words in a low voice.
The boy felt a heavy weight in his chest, the exhaustion from the long journey, and the numbness after countless dashed hopes. But at this moment, there was more of an almost desperate anxiety. He took half a step forward, his voice dry, as if forcing it out from his throat: "Mother! Where is my younger sister?"
His gaze was fixed on Yoko's face.
That face, its brows and eyes so familiar, had once cooked for him, had once shown anxious concern when he fell ill as a child... But at this moment, the expression on that face was so unfamiliar, shrouded in a hazy, isolating cloud, as if the person sitting in front of him was just a strange soul wearing the shell of his mother.
Yoko seemed not to hear him at all; she didn't even lift her eyelids. She simply mumbled a little louder, breaking her words into fragmented syllables: "... Holy god's protection... grace... light... end times... purification..."
The boy clenched his fists, which hung at his sides, his knuckles turning slightly white from the force. Only his mother's hollow murmurs and his own increasingly heavy breathing filled the room.
The boy's name is Genya Yamagami. He was born in the Land of Hot Water to a wealthy family that once ran a hot spring inn.
He was the second son, with an older brother and a younger sister.
If the world had continued on its original trajectory, he might have inherited the family business, tended the ancestral bathhouse, and spent a peaceful life amidst the steaming mist and casual conversations with guests.
However, the flames of the Second Shinobi World War spread throughout the Shinobi World, and even the Land of Hot Water, known for its hot springs and tourism and hailed as a land of health and wellness, was not spared.
With the sharp decline in tourists, the family's income was suddenly halved. His mother, Yoko, a woman with an extremely strong desire for control, began to channel all the pressure and disappointment of life into sharp words, which she poured out on her silent husband day after day.
Ultimately, her husband, overwhelmed by the burden, chose the same fate as many others who had nowhere else to turn.
The war finally ended, but the wounds have not healed.
In some parts of the Land of Hot Water, an organization called the Holy Church has quietly emerged, preaching the salvation of the last days and the grace of the holy son.
Yoko, whose mind was already unstable, quickly became addicted to it. She sold off the family property, her ancestral land, the bathhouse she relied on for survival, and donated large sums of money to the church in exchange for those illusory protections and blessings.
In the end, even the house that sheltered the family of four from the wind and rain was sold, and the family was completely bankrupt.
To support himself and his family, the young Genya Yamagami joined the local police force early on, where he was responsible for maintaining and managing weapons and equipment, living a meager life on his salary.
He originally thought that no matter how bad things got, his family was still there, at least his older brother and younger sister were still there.
Until that day, a piece of news came like a bolt from the blue, his elder brother, who always silently endured everything, had also followed in his father's footsteps.
He rushed back home, only to be confronted not only with his elder brother's cold body, but also with a fact that shattered his heart.
His young sister has disappeared.
Looking at the completely insane woman in front of him, Genya Yamagami turned around, preparing to leave this suffocating place.
At that moment, a hoarse, intermittent voice came from behind him.
"Genya… where are you going?"
Genya Yamagami paused, but didn't turn around. His voice was as hard as stone: "Since you won't tell me where my younger sister is, then I'll go find her myself!"
After a brief silence, Yoko's ethereal voice rang out again: "Your sister... has already received divine grace and ascended to the afterlife... to enjoy the blessings of the holy son's immortality in a paradise without pain... this is her blessing..."