"Teacher, is this a scientific ninja tool?"
Asuma held a strange short sword in his hand, looking surprised on the training field.
As an internal tester for the Technology Development Department, his eyes moved back and forth in shock between the sword he held and the target in front of him.
Did he really release that attack himself?
No hand signs, no training—just remember the process, pour his chakra into the sword, and it could release an attack with the destructive power of a C-rank jutsu? The rightful source is NoveI★Fire.net
And that was just a casual strike. If he poured in more chakra, could the sword's power even rival a B-rank jutsu?
Was ninjutsu going to become obsolete?
But soon, Asuma's surprise turned into admiration. For a ninja, very few could resist a tool with such special abilities.
In that brief moment, Asuma even forgot about his treasured Chakra Blade –- Kazeha.
"You could say that," one of the researchers under Kagetsu replied. They quickly stepped in to replace the target and began calculating various data about the chakra weapon.
"Don't overvalue it. Although its forging technique and materials aren't worse than your Kazeha, its potential has a limit."
Noticing the affection in Asuma's eyes, Kagetsu rubbed his head and gave him a gentle reminder.
"I understand," Asuma nodded, though a little reluctant. As the rebellious generation of the Sarutobi clan, he had no complaints about Kagetsu or Orochimaru.
He knew that his teacher had a unique weapon-forging skill.
Kagetsu had once demonstrated it to them and promised that if they reached a certain level of growth in the future, they would each receive a personal weapon crafted using that technique.
Whether it was Asuma, Itachi, or Kabuto, all of them pinned their hopes for future weapons on this project.
Even the chakra blade in his hand might eventually be melted down and turned into forging material.
The short sword in his hand was indeed powerful, but it still couldn't compare to the spiritual weapon their teacher had promised.
"But… does the village have enough chakra metal to produce this in large quantities?" Asuma asked with some doubt.
"This is a special version, meant for early testing," Kagetsu explained.
If they forged all these ninja tools with chakra metal and tried to mass-produce and equip them, the war might not even need to start—Konoha's finances could collapse just from the cost alone.
That's why the finalized production model would mainly use metal used for forging kunai and shuriken.
"Kagetsu, I love this!"
A lively, energetic female voice suddenly rang out, barging right into their ears. The moment he heard it, Asuma instantly moved behind Kagetsu at near-instantaneous speed.
Though his current size and height made it difficult for Kagetsu to hide him completely, that woman...
"Are you hiding from me, little Asuma?" The voice that made Asuma's skin crawl whispered right in his ear.
Asuma stiffly turned his head and saw Anko's mischievous grin full of mischief.
"I'm not! And we're the same age, stop calling me 'little Asuma!'" Asuma backed away from Anko, face flushed red, shouting in protest.
"But I'm Kagetsu's teammate, so I outrank you in seniority," Anko said, poking him on the forehead with one finger.
As she watched him clutch his forehead and glare angrily at her, she burst out laughing.
"Stop teasing Asuma," Kagetsu said, a bit overwhelmed by the rowdy Anko.
Lately, Anko had been showing signs of becoming a bit of a delinquent, especially enjoying messing with Asuma and the other two whenever Kagetsu was too busy and left their training in her hands.
"Well, I guess he's not that cute anymore," Anko said with some regret as she patted Asuma on the head. Just before he could explode in anger, she raised the black glove in her hand.
"Are you sure about this?" Kagetsu asked, scratching his head as he looked at Anko's serious and determined expression.
The black glove had a Gelel Stone embedded in it, capable of releasing Wind Style chakra in a shockwave-like burst.
It could block long-range jutsu and crush enemies. When paired with Anko's Fire Style techniques, it could deal even greater damage over a wider area.
With that glove, it was like Anko had a personal Wind Style support ninja assisting her, boosting the power and range of her fire-based attacks to a whole new level.
"I'm sure!" Anko nodded fiercely. "I can't get my hands on a spirit weapon just yet, so using this for now is good enough."
"Do what you want. Once you've tested the glove thoroughly, if it's still intact afterward, you can keep it," Kagetsu said helplessly.
"I've only been out on two missions, and the Technology Development Division has already created so much new gear?"
Anko said in awe as she looked at the variety of ninja tools being tested at the experimental grounds.
She even spotted a ninja fully encased in armor, unleashing destructive Wind Style attacks at a distant target under the researchers' guidance, almost being squeezed dry.
The bulky armor should've made hand seals and quick movements difficult, but under Anko's sharp observation, she noticed the ninja wasn't even forming seals.
And when they dashed forward, it looked more like Body Flicker than any ordinary movement.
"These are all experimental pieces, mostly used for verification," Kagetsu replied, clearly unconcerned. "It's just using the power of the Gelel Stone."
He brought back energy crystals from the Gelel mineral vein. Most of them were used in these ninja tools, and the rest were used for deeper research.
With the approval of Orochimaru, the Hokage, prisoners inside the Konoha prison—those with serious crimes and spies from other villages—were handed over to the research department of the technology development division for human experiments, trying the Gelel stone body transplant.
According to current experimental data, when the Gelel stone is transplanted into the body through specific technology and becomes part of an organ, its power causes strange mutations in the body.
Those with strong will and who can properly control the Gelel stone's power inside can switch back and forth between their normal form and mutated form while keeping their consciousness.
So far, only three precious test subjects have survived and can do this.
One is mutated to look like a spider, a man with eight arms and two pairs of eyes. He can spin webs and move quickly like a spider.
Another looks like a lion. His mutated head and throat structure allow him to release powerful sonic attacks.
The last one is a boar. Its mutated body is greatly enhanced, with enormous strength and immunity to some C-rank ninja techniques.
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