Chapter 15: Graduation! Team Assignments!
The sense of control brought by his newly reached Expert-level chakra control made Izumo eager to test his two elemental Ninjutsu.
He said to Kurenai Yūhi, "Kurenai, I want to try a few new things. Don't worry about me—just keep training on your side."
He recalled the hand seal diagram from the scroll: Ram—Tiger.
The chakra inside his body flowed like a tamed river, calm and steady as it traveled through his meridian pathways.
Izumo took a deep breath, his eyes slowly closing halfway.
His spiritual energy sank inward. He raised his hands, his right index finger and thumb interlocking to form the first seal—"Ram." Chakra surged immediately through the pathways in his legs.
"His chakra is incredibly stable…" Kurenai Yūhi stood three meters away. She had already stopped her own practice, watching every one of Izumo's hand seals closely.
Izumo Kamizuki didn't pause. His fingers moved swiftly, the "Tiger" seal following without hesitation.
That was the key seal for converting chakra into Water Release.
A faint, damp scent began to fill the air around them.
"Ram—Tiger!" The two seals connected as smoothly as flowing water.
The moment the "Tiger" seal formed, Izumo called out in a low voice, "Water Release: Starch Syrup Capturing Field!"
As he spoke, both of his feet stomped lightly against the ground.
Chakra flowed from the soles of his feet into the earth. Centered on him, pale blue ripples of energy spread rapidly across the ground, like waves on a lake after a stone is thrown.
In the next instant, extremely sticky, transparent water burst up from the earth, following the ripple pattern and expanding in all directions, forming a circular layer of water six meters in diameter that covered the entire center of the open field.
Even Kurenai Yūhi, standing three meters away, was caught within the boundary of that watery layer.
She barely had time to marvel at the power of the Ninjutsu when suddenly, both of her feet felt tightly locked in place.
The layer of water had already crawled up to her ankles, gluing her shoes and the ground together, making it difficult for her to even lift her feet.
"Eh? My legs…"
Kurenai reflexively tried to move, but all she felt was a strong pulling force around her ankles. The soles of her shoes seemed nailed to the ground, not budging in the slightest.
She looked down at her feet. The transparent, sticky layer of water clung tightly to her shoes. Even the patterns along the edges of her soles were clearly imprinted on its surface, without the slightest sign of loosening.
Izumo realized what had happened and immediately canceled the Ninjutsu.
"Sorry, I didn't control the range very well. I accidentally pulled you into it too."
"It's okay, Kamizuki-kun. Is this a new Ninjutsu you just learned? Its control is really strong. For a moment there, I honestly couldn't move at all," Kurenai said, her voice full of excitement.
"Yes, Kurenai. Please help me keep it a secret. Ninja information is very important," Izumo replied.
Kurenai nodded repeatedly.
Izumo recalled the sensation of successfully activating the technique, then began forming seals again.
"Tiger—Hare—Boar—Dog!"
The speed of the hand seals for Earth Release was even faster than for Water Release. His fingers moved so quickly they nearly left afterimages.
In his previous attempts, the chakra he sent into the ground had always spread unevenly, causing the Earth Style Wall to sometimes rise too high, sometimes too low.
But this time, his chakra was like countless fine roots, densely and evenly spreading three inches beneath the ground, instantly resonating with the earth-nature energy within the soil.
The ground trembled softly.
A wall of earth, half a meter thick and two meters tall, rose up from the ground in front of Izumo.
Its surface was smooth and even, without a single crack. Even the grains of soil were packed together in perfect uniformity.
The light of dusk shone across the wall, reflecting a gentle yellow-brown glow, like a natural stone shield.
Kurenai stepped closer and extended her palm, tapping the wall lightly.
The wall responded with a deep, solid thud, without the slightest sign of wavering.
She remembered the last time she had seen this Ninjutsu—it was when Hatake Kakashi used it during a sparring match against Uchiha Obito at the Ninja Academy.
Kurenai turned to look at Izumo, her eyes filled with admiration and respect.
"Two different elemental Ninjutsu at the same time… Kamizuki-kun, are you really a genius with dual chakra natures?"
Izumo glanced at his panel, which now displayed two new Ninjutsu, and smiled.
"If I'm a genius, then I'm a genius forged by hard work!"
...
This year's graduation exam felt strange because it was far too simple.
Three tests of Basic Ninjutsu, one round of Taijutsu evaluation, and even the usually strict ninja tool throwing test had been reduced in difficulty.
Students who were right on the edge of passing cheered with joy, while Izumo calmly lowered his hands from the final hand seal. At his fingertips, there was still a lingering cool, damp sensation from the chakra he had just released.
He looked toward the old oak tree at the corner of the training field, clearly realizing that behind this "easiness" was the pressure of rising war tensions along Konoha's borders, demanding the birth of new strength.
"Izumo Kamizuki, Kotetsu Hagane, Kurenai Yūhi—Team Eight!" The academy staff's voice cut through the noise.
Kotetsu Hagane shot forward like a bullet, his rough palm slapping Izumo's shoulder with excitement, his face glowing with undisguised joy.
"Izumo! We're really on the same team!"
From the corner of his eye, Izumo saw Kurenai standing two steps away. Her phoenix-like eyes were lowered, but she couldn't stop herself from sneaking a glance at him. Hope and shyness intertwined in her pupils, shimmering like tiny points of light.
When a middle-aged man in a Jōnin uniform stepped into the classroom, Izumo's breath caught for a moment.
"...Him?"
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