Chapter 19: Energy Crucible and Chakra Armament

After Sarutobi Hiruzen departed, the kids resumed practicing the Three Basic Jutsu.

Watching them struggle through clumsy attempts, Might Duy wanted to pitch in and help.

Yet while he wasn't completely incapable of using ninjutsu the way Rock Lee would be years later, he could hardly be considered proficient either.

Asking him to deliver a detailed, articulate lecture on ninjutsu mechanics was pushing him a bit too far.

Shingo opted out of joining them.

Though he hadn't yet tried his hand at the Transformation Technique or the Substitution Technique, he was far more curious about his newly unlocked transcendent class.

He walked over to the edge of the training ground, sat down next to a boulder, and pulled up his system interface.

[Transcendent Class: Sorcerer Lv.1 (0/100): Circulate energy, manipulate elemental changes, and wield myriad arts.]

[Innate Skills: Energy Crucible Lv.1: Use the body as a crucible to govern and direct the flow of energy.]

Sorcerer...

This was the second transcendent class he had unlocked, following the Warrior class.

Judging by its description, the Sorcerer class placed its primary emphasis on energy manipulation.

The innate skill granted by the Sorcerer class was Energy Crucible.

Based on how Warrior's Physique worked, innate skills directly altered the user's physical constitution, and Energy Crucible should function similarly.

Yet unlike Warrior's Physique, which had immediately granted him a surge of heightened vitality accompanied by simultaneous leaps in strength and speed, the changes brought by Energy Crucible weren't nearly as visceral at a glance.

He couldn't feel a crude physical transformation, but his perception of "governing and directing the flow of energy," in other words, his control over the fluidity and changes of chakra, was sharper and more undeniable than ever.

The enhancement granted by Energy Crucible differed distinctly from Level 6 Chakra Control.

Chakra Control functioned more like an acquired technical skill, determining the sheer precision and efficiency with which he manipulated chakra.

Energy Crucible, on the other hand, wrought changes by fundamentally altering his physiological baseline from within.

It was much like driving a car: Chakra Control was akin to driving skill, whereas the enhancement from Energy Crucible was akin to both smoothing out the road surface and upgrading the vehicle's underlying engine performance.

More than that, Shingo harbored a faint, lingering intuition.

His chakra felt significantly more obedient now, exhibiting a much stronger sense of allegiance to his will.

Shingo raised his right hand and summoned a Chakra Spike once more.

Blue-white chakra poured out from his palm, condensing tightly along the edge of his fist.

The moment it formed, Shingo noticed the difference instantly.

First, the formation speed was more than twice as fast as before.

Second, the process was infinitely smoother.

Gone was the need to expend immense mental energy forcibly reining in and compressing the chakra, fighting to shape it while constantly outputting more just to keep the unstable jutsu from collapsing.

Before unlocking the Sorcerer class, the slightest lapse in focus would cause the edges of the spike to vibrate or fracture.

Now, however, it moved like an extension of his own limb.

Even when projected outside his physical body, the chakra remained entirely responsive to his thoughts, acting much like an extra pair of limbs he could direct at will.

Shingo punched upward, a single thought prompting the spike on his knuckles to lengthen far beyond its previous half-foot limit.

Another thought made the spike vanish, instantly reshaping the chakra into a heavy, reinforced gauntlet wrapped around his forearm, while the fist covering grew broad and dense.

Responsive to will, shifting with thought.

And this was merely Energy Crucible at Level 1, yet it already yielded such terrifying improvements!

Shingo dismissed the Chakra Spike, marveling at the sweeping transformation the Sorcerer class had granted him.

It wasn't just the spike; the foundational logic underlying his entire approach to chakra manipulation had shifted.

It was no longer a rigid, mechanical enforcement of control, but something infinitely more natural, harmonious, and close to instinct.

Whenever he desired it, his chakra became familiar, docile, and utterly submissive, acting precisely like a disciplined army executing commands without hesitation.

Next, Shingo tested the Three Basic Jutsu.

Starting with the Clone Technique, which he had already mastered earlier.

Just like the Chakra Spike, the jutsu formed at a vastly accelerated pace, completely bypassing the need to consciously suppress and channel the chakra internally.

Next came the Transformation Technique, succeeded on the first try.

He cast the Clone Technique again, studying the duplicate standing before him, which successfully mirrored the active Transformation effect.

He commanded the clone, currently transformed into Nawaki, to grin broadly. The details were flawless, perfectly replicating even the underlying goofiness of Nawaki's expressions.

Finally, he tested the Substitution Technique.

Like the Transformation Technique, this was his first time ever casting it.

And it too succeeded on the first attempt.

From that day onward, Shingo adjusted his daily schedule.

Mornings remained dedicated to rigorous physical training, while afternoons were carved out for researching chakra emission and shape transformation.

When training wrapped up for the day, Shingo regularly headed to the Konoha Library to comb through texts covering chakra theory, human anatomy, and medical ninjutsu.

He had consumed a fair number of books during this period.

«Chakra Refinement and Basic Control»

«Human Anatomy and Fundamentals of the Chakra Pathway System»

«The Mechanics of Chakra Circulation Pathways»

«Chakra Physiological Response Theory»

«Chakra Output Efficiency and Dissipation Analysis»

Shingo hadn't rushed straight into books covering nature or shape transformations.

Instead, he preferred building a solid base, learning from the ground up.

Yet the more he read, the more he felt the crude, unrefined nature of the village's current knowledge system.

The texts, especially those concerning chakra, often felt disproportionately shallow compared to their grand titles.

Ever since the Sage of Six Paths established ninshū a millennium ago, the shinobi world's transmission of knowledge had relied primarily on clan lineages and master-disciple inheritance.

It wasn't until Konohagakure was founded and the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, formally established the Konoha Library, building centralized systems for chakra, ninjutsu, and medical science, that the village pooled its resources to compile a coherent body of literature.

Because the systemic framework was still young, contributors were few, institutional insularity ran high, and scientific literacy remained limited...

These various bottlenecks meant that most books in the library were little more than basic introductory manuals, lacking deep, rigorous academic investigation.

Relatively speaking, the medical texts were far more complete.

Human anatomy, network distributions of pathways, the systemic impact of chakra on biological tissue...

Reading through them, one could clearly trace the embryonic framework of modern medical science.

Once those volumes were digested, Shingo transitioned to books addressing nature and shape transformations.

True to form, they followed the same pattern as the rest of the library's holdings, offering little more than broad conceptual overviews that provided minimal practical assistance.

What Shingo actually sought were entry pathways, training methods, points of caution during practice, and practical execution shortcuts.

Yet those genuinely useful knowledges were conspicuously absent from the pages.

Shingo quickly pivoted his approach, setting his sights instead on the personal training notes left behind by veteran shinobi.

His goal wasn't to study the execution of a specific jutsu, but rather to extract the various hurdles those shinobi had encountered during training and the problem-solving techniques they had discovered along the way.

He cross-referenced those notes with the development of his own Chakra Spike, looking for concepts he could integrate into its evolution.

Following this period of intense study and training, Shingo made massive strides.

The Chakra Spike, or rather, what should now be properly referred to as the Chakra Armament, had completed its foundational phase of development.

Currently, the Chakra Armament possessed four distinct forms:

First Form: Spike. Functionally identical to the original Chakra Spike, but with optimized exterior shaping, enhanced stability, and reduced chakra consumption. In combat, the sudden extension or retraction of the spikes could catch opponents off guard. This form synergized best with Strong Fist techniques and remained Shingo's go-to option.

Second Form: Blade. Chakra extended along the outer edge of the forearms, condensing into razor-sharp long blades. Reminiscent of a mantis blade setup, it prioritized slashing and cutting maneuvers as its primary offensive vectors.

Third Form: Plating. Chakra spread across the surface of the body, condensing into a protective shell of armor. The user could selectively cover specific regions, such as forming an isolated gauntlet or chest plate, or envelop the entire body for all-around protection. The trade-off was significantly heavier chakra consumption and slightly reduced localized defensive density compared to focused plating.

Fourth Form: Shield Expansion. Built on the foundation of the other three forms, this technique projected the chakra coating outward from the body to form a transparent, broad-area chakra shield designed to block wide-range attacks like fire release jutsus or explosive blasts. With his current level of chakra control, Shingo could expand the shield up to six square meters without sacrificing structural stability. Much like the Plating form, the broader the surface area, the lower the defensive density per unit and the higher the chakra drain.

Blocking high-intensity attacks reliably would require further refinement of his chakra condensation rate and shape stability.

These four forms constituted his baseline framework.

Moving forward, Shingo intended to optimize the Chakra Armament along two main vectors:

First, continuing to push shape transformation so the armament could achieve dynamic movement, rotational velocity, and high-frequency oscillation, thereby maximizing destructive and defensive capability.

Second, incorporating nature transformation to infuse the Chakra Armament with properties like the cutting edge of Wind Release or the scorching heat of Fire Release.

After training concluded that day, the rest of the squad remained behind to keep drilling the Three Basic Jutsu.

Shingo said his goodbyes, headed home to wash up and change into clean clothes, and then made his way to the Konoha Library.

Visiting almost daily of late, the library receptionist had grown well accustomed to him, simply waving him through without checking his pass anymore.

Stepping inside, the library was enveloped in a pin-drop quiet.

Very few visitors frequented the stacks. Most shinobi operated under the philosophy that if a jutsu worked, that was enough; few cared to dig into the underlying principles or puzzle out why it worked.

Shingo walked over to bookshelf 78-3, pulling out the training journal he hadn't finished the day before.

«Kōsaka Toshio's Miscellaneous Notes: Earth-Style Wall Volume»

Kōsaka Toshio was a Warring States-period shinobi proficient in Earth and Lightning Release who kept meticulous training journals.

Later, Konoha's compilation teams sorted and categorized his surviving notes, splitting them into combat logs, daily journals, and technical training records.

The volume in Shingo's hands focused entirely on Kōsaka Toshio's personal study, insights, and breakthroughs regarding the Earth-Style Wall technique.

While the book omitted the specific hand seals and complete chakra circulation routes for the jutsu, its deep dive into the logic of chakra shape transformation offered Shingo a wealth of inspiration.

Retrieving the volume, he grabbed two additional books on medical ninjutsu and one on human kinesiology.

Clutching the stack to his chest, he stepped out from between the shelves, scanning the room for an empty seat when a hesitant voice called out from nearby.

"Shingo?"

Shingo paused his stride and looked back.

It was the long-unseen medical ninja, Mitarashi Sōsuke.

"Dr. Sōsuke."

Shingo offered a polite, mild nod of greeting.

"It really is you. I thought I recognized that back. It's been quite a while."

Sōsuke's gaze was warm as he looked down at Shingo, asking gently:

"How have you been lately? Any discomfort with your eyes?"

"Not a single issue. You can rest easy, Dr. Sōsuke."

"That's good, that's good. I haven't seen you around in ages, and since you never dropped by Konoha Hospital to check in, I had no way of knowing how your recovery was holding up. I'm glad to hear everything is running smoothly. Still, if you ever notice anything unusual, make sure you come straight to the hospital."

"Understood, I will. Thank you, Dr. Sōsuke."

Having expressed his gratitude, Shingo's attention drifted to the person standing beside the doctor.

It was a lean, silver-haired youth.

He had stood quietly off to the side the entire time without interrupting.

Yet Shingo could sense that the young man had been observing him intently.

Shingo's instincts were spot on.

Hiruko was indeed observing Shingo.

Around eight or nine years old, delicately featured, solidly built, and wearing plain clothes.

The stack of books clutched in his arms seemed entirely mismatched for a child of his apparent years.

After issuing a few more brief reminders, Sōsuke didn't bother making formal introductions between Hiruko and Shingo.

He had merely dropped by to check some reference materials on his way through and had urgent matters waiting for him back at the hospital, so he bade Shingo farewell and departed with Hiruko in tow.

Before leaving, Hiruko exchanged a brief, lingering glance with Shingo.

Both remained silent, yet each recognized a shared thread of quiet curiosity in the other's eyes.

Once Sōsuke and Hiruko vanished from sight, Shingo settled into an empty desk and opened his books.

Meanwhile, walking out of the library, Hiruko asked with casual, smooth curiosity:

"Who was that kid just now? Never heard you mention him before."

"Shingo. A boy I met through medical treatment."

Hiruko didn't press immediately.

Sōsuke's answer was deliberately vague, as if guarding a secret.

Shingo, huh...

"That kid's quite something. Reading those kinds of books at his age. He's what, eight or nine?"

"Books?"

Sōsuke hadn't actually paid attention to the titles of the books Shingo was carrying, too focused on checking his eyes.

"Yeah. Ninjutsu training insights, medical ninjutsu fundamentals, battlefield trauma care, musculoskeletal kinesiology."

"...."

Hearing the list, Sōsuke fell silent for a beat.

Then he offered a dry, unconvincing chuckle:

"Ah, well... he's a bright kid."

He added offhandedly:

"Though he's only six, not eight or nine. He's grown up quite a bit lately, though, when I first saw him, he wasn't nearly this tall, nor was he this sturdy."

Six?

Six years old, and already diving into medical ninjutsu study...

Hiruko's heart gave a slight jolt, though his expression remained tightly controlled.

Suppressing his initial surprise, he probed further:

"Right, you asked about his eyes earlier. He looked fine to me. Did he suffer from some kind of condition?"

Sōsuke fell silent once more, seemingly weighing his words before shaking his head:

"Sorry, Hiruko, that's not something I'm at liberty to discuss."

"Ah, my mistake for prying."

Hiruko dropped the subject smoothly, letting the conversation drift elsewhere.

Yet deep within his mind, he made a permanent note of the mysterious young boy named Shingo.