Naruto: From Shikotsumyaku to Otsutsuki

"Oh, who started this waterspout?"

The waterfall was covered in traces of ninjutsu damage.

Kisame Hoshigaki appeared instantly, covered in mud and water.

He used Wind Release ninjutsu to blow away the thick fog, his expression grave, and looked at Kaguya Kazama, saying, "After you set up the Mist Concealment Technique, you used a B-rank Water Release: Water Tornado Technique?"

"No, I used a D-rank Water Release: Water Shock Wave, but the chakra surged too fast, and I couldn't stop it in time," Kaguya Kazama said somewhat embarrassedly.

"Rushed too fast? Couldn't be stopped?" Kisame Hoshigaki didn't understand the implication and looked at him with disbelief: "Even with excessive chakra output, a D-rank? Could it produce this effect?"

He looked at the large, circular pit in front of him, which was more than two meters deep and thirty meters wide, and frowned.

"The D-rank Water Release: Water Shock Wave can only form a ring of water within three meters around the body. Its power is limited. It is a basic ninjutsu of the Shock Wave style. Even if you increase your chakra output, you cannot achieve this effect."

"Your vision was obscured by the Mist Concealment Technique just now. Try fighting it again so I can see."

Kaguya Kazama naturally had no objections.

He immediately put his hands together in prayer.

Then, to Kisame Hoshigaki's puzzled gaze, a high-intensity water flow, fifty or sixty meters high, appeared out of thin air. The rotating, ring-shaped, multi-segment shockwaves swept through the crater once again, like a waterspout.

"???"

Kisame Hoshigaki was dumbfounded.

He didn't look at how much damage the ninjutsu had caused; he just stared intently at Kaguya Kazama's hands.

"Hands clasped together? No, what kind of mudra is that?"

He studied ninjutsu his whole life, but he never knew that there was a hand seal that involved putting both hands together.

Clearly, this does not conform to the common sense of ninja hand seals.

Kaguya Kazama naturally knew that such a mark did not exist.

However, seeing Kisame looking completely bewildered was quite satisfying.

He once again made the clasped hands mudra, explaining with a smile, "Well, Kisame-sensei, don't mind it. It's just because I was influenced by a certain senior. After all, performing ninjutsu requires a sense of ritual. If you don't even form the hand seals, wouldn't that be disrespectful to ninjutsu?"

"????"

This time, Kisame Hoshigaki looked even more puzzled.

He listened to Kaguya Kazama's words, and although he could understand each word individually, he just couldn't comprehend them when put together.

"So, this clasped-hands mudra is a sign of respect for ninjutsu? In other words, you could completely omit this and just unleash the ninjutsu directly?"

His words were full of questions, and the question marks on his forehead almost became tangible.

Kaguya Kazama nodded, confirming Kisame Hoshigaki's question: "Yes, I just discovered that I can cast spells without hand seals."

"Spellcasting without hand seals???"

Kisame Hoshigaki said that he had learned something new.

The hand seals are the means of manipulating chakra, invented by Indra, the progenitor of ninjutsu.

Hand seals have always been a necessary condition for releasing regular ninjutsu.

The most common method is to form hand seals.

In addition, some geniuses, through hard practice, can use their feet to form mudras, blinking mudras, and so on.

Those who possess bloodline limits can be largely exempt from hand seals, such as the use of Sharingan, Shikotsumyaku, and Byakugan, but this is a bloodline ability, not a regular ninjutsu.

Simplifying hand seals is something Kisame Hoshigaki can understand; he himself can release D-rank and C-rank ninjutsu with just one hand seal.

However simplified, it still needs to be concluded, unless it is a ninjutsu without hand seals.

If hand seals are not formed, chakra becomes extremely difficult to control, which not only affects the power of ninjutsu but may even lead to failure.

However, casting spells without a seal is, to be honest, a bit too advanced. He had never heard of it before and could not understand it.

After all, the ninja god Hashirama Senju, who could grant any wish with his hands clasped together, is a thing of the past.

Kisame Hoshigaki was deep in thought, trying to come up with an explanation.

He racked his brains, recalling all the knowledge he had, and muttered to himself:

"The essence of ninjutsu is the conversion of energy and matter."

"The seal is not only a bridge for communication between the inside and outside, but also a means of manipulating both."

"You can cast spells without hand seals, ruling out all possibilities. The only explanation is that your compatibility with chakra is far beyond my imagination."

"Using chakra is probably more like an instinct for you, without the need for hand seals at all."

He stared at Kaguya Kazama, recounting his guesses.

That sentence almost exposed Kaguya Kazama's true colors.

As is widely known, the Otsutsuki clan is the source of chakra.

Pure-blooded Otsutsuki have at least one shared ability.

That is perfect control over chakra.

Ninjas? They're just a class that developed from the ninjutsu created by Indra after the Sage of Six Paths shared his chakra seeds. They have high attack power but low defense.

It's just that Kisame Hoshigaki didn't know about the existence of the Otsutsuki clan, otherwise Kaguya and Kazama would have been killed long ago.

His gaze lingered between the boy's white eyes and pale, bony horns, as he recalled the boy's abilities, such as flight and the ability to kill ashes together.

I felt that more and more mysteries were surrounding the boy.

Suddenly, a thought popped into my head: This child is not human.

Kaguya Kazama felt a little uncomfortable under Kisame Hoshigaki's strange gaze and quickly changed the subject:

"Kisame-sensei, look at my Water Release technique, how should I train from here on out?"

"Training? What kind of training?"

Kisame withdrew his scrutinizing gaze and said speechlessly, "You can already cast spells without hand seals, what do you need me to teach you? How do you form hand seals?"

He was a little confused.

He originally intended to properly train the brat in front of him in his professional field.

However, it is clear that Kaguya Kazama's approach disrupted his plans.

Even now, the image of him clapping his hands together is still vivid in his mind—it's both bizarre and powerful.

For a moment, he fell silent, which was uncharacteristic of him.

However, Kaguya Kazama couldn't let such a good deal slip by.

He jogged forward and said, "Kisame-sensei, I only have these two Water Release ninjutsu techniques right now. You can teach me so much more. I'm willing to learn any Water Release ninjutsu you know. Also, I lack battlefield experience in taijutsu, so I'll need your guidance."

"You are an elite who developed the Shark Style. If it weren't for the fact that the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi, was the perfect Jinchuriki of the Three-Tails, with your abilities and loyalty to the village, you would have been perfectly capable of becoming the Mizukage."

Kaguya Kazama adopted a humble and eager-to-learn attitude, showering Kisame Hoshigaki with compliments and giving him plenty of face.

Kisame Hoshigaki was momentarily stunned, stammering, "Huh? Mizukage? Me?"

"Of course it's you, Kisame-sensei! You're a titled ninja, the 'Tailless Tailed Beast,' everyone in the ninja world knows that. You're the only one of your kind in the entire Hidden Mist Village."

"..." Kisame Hoshigaki blushed after being showered with compliments.

An unnatural blush appeared on the grayish-blue shark's face.

He has always maintained a cool and tough-guy image, and his unusual appearance has been the subject of much gossip behind his back. But this is the first time he has been praised so openly to someone's face.

Looking at Kaguya Kazama, he couldn't help but feel a sense of goodwill towards her.

But the next moment, he thought of his own frustrating experience of being tricked, and his previous idea of ​​"doing his best" to train him.

The blush on his shark-like face quickly faded, replaced by annoyance, and he thought to himself:

"Damn it, I almost fell for this guy's trick again."

"Are you trying to flatter me now so I'll go easy on you when you give me guidance later? Hmph, no way!"