Chapter 44: Chapter 44 : Combination Jutsus
One day, when the 10 am session began, Renjiro said, "I have taught you one combination jutsu. And you can see how strong it is. I want you guys to think about more jutsus you can use in combination with each other. It doesn't have to be as strong as Fire-Wind dragon jutsu, but it should increase your capabilities in some way. So think about it, but don't experiment. I'll meet you guys at 11" He then flickered away, without giving anyone a chance to say anything.
Hoka said, "So what do we do?" Fujin, who had already thought a few over the past couple of weeks said, "Well let's just think about it. And then discuss to see if everyone is fine with the idea." Mieko said, "Alright"
After around 15 minutes, Mieko said "Hoka, can your Water element mix with my Fire element?" Hoka asked in a confused manner, "But how, won't my water douse your fire?" Mieko smirked and said, "No it won't. Fish Spit jutsu is the only one you have that can generate a small stream of water, and it is very weak compared to my jutsus. So my Fire jutsu will evaporate all your water and create a lot of steam." Hoka fell into a thought after hearing it. Fujin was quite surprised with this suggestion. He thought, 'I didn't expect this brat to come up with something like this.' He said, "Yeah, it'll generate a lot of steam, but can either of you control it?" Both shook their heads. Fujin replied, "In that case, that can only be used to create a cover and hide ourselves." Mieko sighed dejectedly and began thinking again.
After a couple of minutes, Fujin said "I have one idea. We can create a double layered defense. My Spinning Shield of Wind jutsu can stop and reflect all thrown weapons and some weaker Ninjutsu. However, if the enemy uses strong Ninjutsu, it'll be breached. So my idea is to create a shield of wind, and right after that, Hoka will create a Rock Shield behind the shield to cover us further." Hoka thought and nodded, "Yes, that could work." However Mieko groaned and said, "Hey, don't leave me out!" Fujin chuckled and said, "Actually I have one more idea. Hoka, can you use your Rock Shield jutsu?" Hoka was confused and asked, "But didn't sensei tell us to not test anything?" Fujin replied, "He said that to prevent us from causing an accident. Just using Rock Shield jutsu will be fine. Also, quickly move behind a few metres after using the jutsu." Hoka nodded and got up. He performed the jutsu and quickly jumped back. Fujin thought, 'Not fast enough.' He then said, "Alright, do it again. Only this time, I'll throw a small pebble on you. Dodge that by moving backwards." Hoka made the hand signs and slammed his hands on the ground. Fujin waited for the jutsu to be completed. As soon as it was completed, he threw the pebble on Hoka. Hoka quickly dodged back. Fujin nodded and said, "Alright, that's fast enough."
Mieko asked, "So what's the big idea?" Fujin replied, "I'm thinking that both of us should learn this jutsu too. If we do, then as soon as Hoka uses the jutsu and jumps back, one of us can create another rock shield behind his and repeat the same. This way a multi-tiered defense can be made on the fly. Another idea is, if all 3 of us can channel our chakra in the same rock shield, then will the shield become sturdier or will it become larger? If that works, then it'll be very useful too."
Both Hoka and Mieko nodded and agreed. They began brainstorming once again and came up with a few more ideas. At 11 am, Renjiro reappeared. He asked, "So, what did you guys think of?"
Fujin started, "We came up with an idea of a multi-tiered defense. The basic idea is for me to use Spinning Shield of Wind jutsu and Hoka to use the Rock Shield jutsu to create the rock shield behind my shield of wind. And we can create more tiers by having Hoka move back as soon as he creates the jutsu and then Mieko could create another Rock Shield and repeat the same." Renjiro was actually surprised by this idea and asked, "What exactly are you planning to defend from?" Mieko and Hoka looked at Fujin, who replied, "Umm... A very strong jutsu?" Renjiro rebuked him saying, "If an enemy uses a jutsu so strong that you need to do this, then you are out of your league and need to retreat. Also it's never a good idea to have everyone in the squad defending. Also, Rock Shield jutsu isn't the strongest defensive jutsu. There are many more which can do a much better job. For now, the combination of Spinning Shield of Wind jutsu and 1 Rock Shield jutsu is enough. However, if you and Mieko want to learn Rock Shield jutsu, go for it. It's quite handy in combat."
Fujin nodded and sighed internally, 'I guess too much defense isn't a good thing after all.' He said, "Another idea we came up with is for Hoka to use Stone Shuriken jutsu and for me to control them using Projectile Control jutsu." Renjiro nodded and said, "That should work. Anything else?"
This time Mieko answered, "Sensei, I came up with the idea of Fujin throwing his Wind Explosion jutsus within my Fireball jutsu. So the range of the explosion of my fireball will be extended considerably. The winds caused by Wind Explosion jutsu's explosion will make the flames of fireball go in all the directions randomly." Renjiro nodded again and said, "That's a good idea. However, Fujin, you will have to make your Wind Explosion jutsu much stronger if you want to help Mieko pull this off." Fujin nodded and said, "Yes sensei."
Hoka suddenly said, "Sensei, I too came up with an idea. My idea is to throw stone shurikens within Fujin's Great Breakthrough jutsu and Mieko's Fireball jutsu. That way, more chaos can be created and the enemy will have to be careful of the stone shurikens within those jutsus too." Renjiro replied, "I see. I won't recommend throwing your stone shurikens within the Fireball jutsu. If the enemy dodges the Fireball, then your jutsu will be dodged too. And if the fireball jutsu hits the enemy, then it'll do sufficient damage by itself anyways." Hoka nodded.
Seeing that none of the kids were speaking, Renjiro asked, "Any more ideas?" All the kids shook their heads. Renjiro replied, "Alright, that's sufficient for now. Begin practicing these combination jutsus. Fujin, make a shadow clone and have it practice the combination of Stone Shuriken jutsu and Projectile Control jutsu with Hoka. You and Mieko will practice together." The genins dispersed according to the instructions of their sensei. Renjiro too made a couple of shadow clones to keep a watch on them. Hoka and Fujin's clone weren't going to be an issue, however Fujin and Mieko were sure to start a few fires. He had no doubts regarding that.
Hoka and Fujin's shadow clone moved to a different spot. The clone moved to different trees and marked a large 'X' on them. They looked at each other and nodded. Both made the hand signs. Hoka launched his stone shurikens towards the various Xs Fujin had marked and the clone tried to control those shurikens to hit the marks. However, the first problem, which Fujin knew, occurred. Hoka looked at Fujin and said, "So you really can control only 9 shurikens." Fujin nodded and said, "Yeah, just as I had said. And because these are stone shurikens and not as well made as a normal shuriken, controlling it is slightly more difficult. Anyways, let's try the second approach." Hoka nodded and launched Stone Shuriken jutsu again. This time, Fujin used Projectile Control jutsu to manipulate all the shurikens. He used it to change the direction of the shurikens towards the left. Hoka observed, "This time all the shurikens changed direction. However, only 3 hit the mark, unlike 16 last time." Fujin nodded and replied, "Yeah, if I try to control all the shurikens, I can only move them in one direction. So there's not much control on any one shuriken. In fact, it also messes up the aim you have taken."
Suddenly Renjiro's clone flickered behind Fujin and Hoka. One month of constant exposure to Renjiro suddenly flickering behind them had made them accustomed to it. Renjiro asked, "So, which approach are you going to use and in which scenario? Hoka, you answer first." Hoka began thinking. After a couple of minutes he said, "The first approach will be more useful if the number of enemies is less. The enemy will first have to dodge my initial aim, and then worry about the shurikens Fujin controls. The second method will be more useful when we are facing a lot of enemies. Sudden change in direction of all shurikens can result in a few casualties. Also, even if the enemy avoids it, they'll need to pay more attention to it, giving us more time." Renjiro nodded and looked at Fujin. Fujin replied, "Same answer. Just that, I should try and improve my control even further. In the first scenario, the result will probably be satisfactory. However, the second scenario still has a lot of scope for improvement. For instance, if, after I change direction of the shurikens, if I can then take control of a few shurikens to manipulate them even further, then I am sure I'll get some hits in and it won't be all just luck based." Renjiro said, "Good, so keep practicing."
Over at Mieko and Fujin, they too had begun their practice. Their practice was very straightforward. Mieko launched Fireball jutsu, and Fujin threw 2 wind spheres at them from the rear. The wind sphere distorted the flames a bit, but it wasn't an issue. However, before the Fireball exploded, the wind spheres left the fireball from the front. The Fireball exploded as it normally did. The wind spheres however exploded with a lot more force due to the air being heated up and caused a small heat wave. Mieko spoke in an annoying manner, "Hey, your jutsu speed was too fast!" Fujin countered, "Yours was too slow." This earned him a glare from the little girl. Fujin shrugged and said, "Let's try again."
This time Fujin matched the timing properly, and both the jutsus exploded at the same time when the wind spheres were still in the fireball. The result was a bit surprising. Mieko said, "The power of the explosion decreased!" Fujin nodded and added, "But it's range increased. And the increase is totally random. In some directions, the flames extended twice more than usual, whereas in some directions, the range of flames was seven times as high as usual!" Suddenly, a jet of water was launched to douse the fires caused by the explosion. Renjiro's clone looked at them and said, "We are changing the location. Follow me."
Fujin and Mieko ran behind the clone. On the way, the clone asked, "So, what are your thoughts on this jutsu?" Fujin replied, "Unpredictable. The enemy won't be able to guess the direction of the flames. If he gets careless, he'll end up with a few burns. Even if he is lucky or skilled enough to dodge them all, he'll be put under a lot of pressure." Mieko agreed, "Yes. Once he gets burned, we can dominate him." Renjiro asked, "Any scope for improvement?" Fujin and Mieko began thinking. After a few seconds, Fujin replied, "I am wondering whether the explosion's direction can be controlled. I think that the position of the wind spheres within the fireball is what controls the direction of the explosion. For example, if the wind spheres are to the front of the fireball, then maybe the flames move more in the forward direction. If I know the direction in which the enemy will dodge, I can place the wind spheres in an appropriate position so that the flames move to his new location."
While Fujin was talking, Renjiro stopped moving. They had arrived on a riverbank. Renjiro thought, 'As expected.' He replied, "Good. However, don't forget that even your Wind Explosion jutsu by itself is very random. So you won't be able to control the direction by yourself." He then looked at Mieko and said, "If you two want to improve this combination further, then it'll depend on how well you can analyse the explosion with your sharingans, Mieko." Mieko nodded, "Yes sensei. I'll improve it to its limits!" Renjiro nodded and looked at the river. Fujin and Mieko followed his line of sight. Renjiro said, "All your explosions must happen over that river. No more fires." Both nodded awkwardly, and continued their training.
[A/N : More ideas for combination jutsus are welcomed]
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