I'm in Konoha, and I have ten skill slots.

Chapter 142 Secret Techniques Grant Enhancement of the Ice and Snow World

"why?"

Why did you save him?

Just as Gaara seemed about to get angry, he suddenly asked this question.

Everyone present was stunned for a moment.

Shigure saved Choji; what reason do we need for that?

As ninjas from the same village, shouldn't they lend a helping hand?

But Shigure understood Gaara's thoughts. Even though Choji was so weak and had no value in saving him, Shigure still went out of his way to save him.

This puzzled Gaara greatly; why would anyone be willing to save something that was utterly worthless?

Sasuke and Naruto also felt that something was off about Gaara's situation!

"answer me!"

boom! !

The sand behind him surged even more violently, and sand even flew out from the cracks in the floor and gathered behind Gaara.

Everyone frowned upon seeing this.

Hayate: "This is the Chunin Exams, Sand Village ninja. Please calm down, or you will lose your qualification for the Chunin Exams."

However, Gaara completely ignored Hayate's warning.

Instead, he continued to stare intently at Shigure.

Naruto: "Hey, what are you being so arrogant about? Choji is our comrade. What's wrong with Shigure saving him?"

companion?

Gaara paused for a moment.

Seeing this, Shigure slowly stood up and looked up at Gaara in the sky.

"That's right, because he's a comrade, I have to save him!"

Choji, who still retained some consciousness, smiled upon hearing Shigure's words.

"Companions!"

Gaara's sand gradually subsided, some of it returned to the gourd, while the rest fell out completely.

This sudden revelation followed by a sudden calm—the speed of this change left the Konoha Jonin somewhat bewildered.

Is this kid from Sunagakure out of his mind?

Shigure looked at Gaara, who seemed lost in thought, and shook his head helplessly. "The problem child of Sunagakure!"

In fact, Gaara's childhood was much more tragic than Naruto's.

Despite being the son of the Kazekage, Mingming not only failed to receive the fatherly love he deserved, but was also subjected to his father's insane torment.

Although it was to make Gaara stronger, Shigure felt that the Kazekage was not a good father.

[Great Sage: Congratulations, host, you have acquired the new skill Sand Technique]

[Sand Technique: A ninjutsu that uses chakra to control sand. It can enhance the strength of the sand with chakra and manipulate it into various shapes for attack or defense. It can be performed without hand seals.]

First release resource: 763480157

Sand Technique!

As expected, Gaara's technique was not a bloodline limit but a secret technique.

This secret technique was probably learned from Shukaku, the One-Tailed Beast.

'How does the Great Sage's Sand Technique compare to my Ice Release: Ice and Snow World?'

[The Great Sage: The two are fundamentally different. Sand Technique uses chakra to control sand and can enhance the power of sand with the power of chakra, making the sand have defensive capabilities comparable to steel.]

[The Great Sage: The host's icy world is created using Ice Release chakra nature transformation. The ice and snow are controlled by chakra, but this cannot increase the hardness of the ice and snow themselves. Although the power of the ice and snow can be enhanced by using Ice Release nature transformation, the principles of the two techniques are completely different.]

Completely different?

Shigure's icy world was developed based on Gaara's abilities.

How could they be completely different?

[Great Sage: Due to a lack of data, the development of skills was based solely on the host's memory, resulting in similar effects but different underlying principles.]

'So, which is better, my technique or Gaara's Sand Technique?'

[The Great Sage: Sand Technique is Superior]

[Cause]

[1: Achieving stronger attack or defense with less chakra consumption]

[2: The sand can be controlled much faster]

【3: Wider scope】

How could it be so much better than my skills?

'Can the Great Sage integrate Sand Technique into my Ice Release: Ice and Snow World?'

[The Great Sage: Of course]

[Analyzing and calculating]

Estimated completion time: 1 hour

Can it be completed in an hour?

That's great, the qualifiers here will probably continue for several more hours!

An hour is still manageable.

As for the upcoming preliminary rounds, due to the large number of genin who passed this time, Shigure didn't pay much attention to the battles between some unknown ninjas.

The reason I stayed here was simply to allow the Great Sage to analyze more ninjutsu.

However, the Great Sage did not have the extra time to analyze these ninjutsu during the subsequent calculations.

Shigure didn't even care about the ninjutsu of ordinary ninjas.

During this time, Naruto and Sasuke had another match, and both of them successfully advanced to the finals, just like rain at the same time.

Gaara and Temari have also advanced.

Just like in the original story, Sakura and Ino's battle has begun, but this time the two are not as fiercely competitive.

Perhaps it's because Ino and Sakura are no longer rivals.

However, the match ended in a draw, and both players failed to qualify.

Shikamaru used his intelligence to successfully complete two battles.

Interestingly, Gaara's second opponent was Neji. Although Neji was powerful, he was completely helpless against Gaara.

Gentle Fist is indeed very strong, but Gaara's Sand Technique is stronger and more difficult to deal with.

At this moment, Shigure was no longer paying attention to the match, but instead closed his eyes and carefully sensed the Ice Release technique that the Great Sage had optimized for him.

New technique 603!

[Great Sage: Congratulations, host, on acquiring a new skill: Ice Release - Mastery of Ice and Snow]

Ice Release: Mastery of Ice and Snow!

It combines the advantages of Gaara's Sand Technique with Shigure's ice and snow manipulation, allowing direct control over ice and snow, and strengthening the ice and snow with chakra.

To make even a tiny snowflake as hard as steel, of course, requires an enormous consumption of chakra.

Gaara's Sand Technique can only alter his appearance through chakra.

However, Shigure's manipulation of ice and snow can even alter her inner nature through Ice Release nature transformation.

That is, the inherent power of ice and snow.

If the change in properties is strong enough, even a snowflake can easily freeze an enemy.

Sand Technique is merely about control and enhancement! After all, Gaara doesn't directly create sand.

However, Shigure is now not only controlling and strengthening, but also using Ice Release: Freeze Time to directly create ice and snow.

The two are not the same.

While Shigure was carefully experiencing the power of the upgraded Ice Release ninjutsu.

The finalists for the Chunin Exams have also been announced.

Team 7, with Shigure, Naruto, and Sasuke all advancing to the finals.

Meanwhile, the other three ninjas from Konoha are Shikamaru, Shino, and Hinata.

Even with Gaara and Temari included, the final selection still only includes eight players!

Chapter 143 Final List: New Monsters