Eroking
patreon
Chapter 231: The Brand Spankin' New Version of Acid Mist [Boil Release]!
🕑 Added 2025-10-04 12:18:25 +0000 UTCChapter 231: The Brand Spankin' New Version of Acid Mist [Boil Release]!
"A beheading operation?"
Back in the Konoha camp, Keisuke received the intelligence from his clone. The battle plan orchestrated by the masked Uchiha—from the time, to the place, to the personnel involved—all of it had been relayed by "Nara-Raikage" without a single detail missing.
"Looks like there's an imposter among us," Keisuke said, shaking his head as he delved into the memories. On the battlefield, he would look down on his enemies, but in terms of tactics, he would always take them seriously. He would never be careless in a fight.
"Tsk, tsk. This plan..."
After reviewing the strategy, he had to admit, it had a decent chance of succeeding. The intel the masked man had on him was frighteningly thorough. This was certainly the work of Tobi, but there was also definitely the hand of an "insider" involved.
The weakness of his shadow arts, his relationship with Tsunade... if all that could be "credited" to Tobi's spying, then the matter of his summoning contract with Kokuō was another story entirely. That was top-secret information known to only a handful of people even within Konoha. A ninja signing a contract with a Tailed Beast had only happened once before in the history of the world. Unless someone deliberately leaked it, no ninja, no matter how smart, would ever connect those dots.
To outsiders, it would look like he had simply "tamed" the beast. But the masked man had specifically mentioned needing a sealing barrier to "sever the connection of the summoning contract."
"There really is a traitor," Keisuke sneered. "So you're after my Kokuō? Let's see if you have the life to take it."
The operation was set for three days from now. Since the enemy was taking this so seriously, it would be a shame not to use this opportunity to maximize his own profits. With his high-level spy embedded deep within the enemy's command, creating a "counter-beheading" plan would be effortless. He created a Shadow Clone and sent it to the Kumo camp to relay his instructions to "Nara-Raikage."
Then, he turned his attention to the two A-rank scrolls his clone had just extorted.
[Corrosion Release Chakra Creation Method]: a fusion of Water and Fire to create highly corrosive acid.
[Ice Release Chakra Creation Method]: a fusion of Water and Wind to manipulate ice.
The combination of Water and Wind was new to him, and he knew Ice Release could be terrifyingly powerful. But his focus for now was on Corrosion Release. The moment he saw it was from Kirigakure, he thought of the future Fifth Mizukage, Terumī Mei. Both of her Kekkei Genkai, Corrosion Release and Boil Release, manifested as "strong acid"—one as a liquid, one as a mist. He had always assumed both were Water + Fire fusions.
This scroll confirmed that Kiri's "Corrosion Release" was indeed Water + Fire. His own Boil Release, from Kokuō, was steam-based. But just like with Lava Release (magma, rubber, lime), it was possible for the same base elements to produce different effects.
Then, comparing the chakra creation method for his steam-based Boil Release with this new acid-based Corrosion Release, he came to an incredibly enlightening conclusion.
"The Water and Fire chakra ratios for these two techniques... they're perfect inverses of each other!"
If, for example, his Boil Release was 49% Water and 51% Fire, then this Corrosion Release was 51% Water and 49% Fire.
"I have two Kekkei Genkai that come from the same fusion—Explosion and Lava, both from Fire and Earth," he mused, a look of unconcealed anticipation in his eyes. "But their chakra ratios have no relation to each other. This is different. Is this a unique property of Boil and Corrosion Release... or does every elemental Kekkei Genkai have an 'opposite' version, created by simply inverting the ratio?!"
"If it's the latter... that means the number of Kekkei Genkai I can create... could instantly double!"
The thought lit a fire in his mind. He immediately teleported to his secret lab. He would test his theory.
He created two Shadow Clones and summoned the necessary masks.
"You," he instructed the first, "follow the method you know and create a standard, steam-based Boil Release mask." To the second, he said, "And you, follow the Corrosion Release method, but invert the Water and Fire chakra ratios!"
The two clones got to work. A moment later, the first had successfully created a standard [Nature Mask: Boil]. The second followed close behind, carefully channeling the inverted chakra ratio into a blank mask.
The instant it was finished, Keisuke grabbed the new mask. His panel flashed.
[B-Rank Ninja Tool Detected: [Nature Mask: Boil]!]
[[Boil Release Mask: Acid Mist Version]]
"The experiment was a success! This is the Fifth Mizukage's Boil Release!" A smile of pure satisfaction spread across his face. He had now mastered both versions: steam and acid mist.
With his theory confirmed, he immediately moved on to his first-ever Kekkei Genkai: Scorch Release. This time, he did the experiment himself, taking a Wind Mask, a Fire Mask, and a blank one, and carefully inverting the fusion ratio he had used to create Scorch Release.
A moment later, a brand new mask lay before him.
[B-Rank Ninja Tool Detected: [Nature Mask: Swift]!]
