Chapter 178: Chapter 180: Jiraiya: No, I Mind Very Much! (Bonus Chapter for 100 Power Stones)
"Drawing people into a vortex with suction—that’s a very clever idea," Jiraiya summed up. "If you can manage it, I’d suggest reinforcing the binding capacity: keep enemies trapped inside the vortex."
"Mm-hmm, mm-hmm, mm-hmm."
"Beyond that, since the technique depletes the surrounding air—you might consider weaponizing asphyxiation. If an enemy uses Earth Release or tries to hide, let the air itself finish the job."
"As expected of Jiraiya-sama!"
Hanabi’s head stayed oriented toward Jiraiya the entire time.
Jiraiya had a nagging feeling there were eyes inside that fox mask, watching him.
Hanabi’s previous technique had relied purely on atmospheric pressure to suppress targets. Someone with raw physical strength—or who could use Wind Release or certain other secret arts—could have escaped. But if the Chakra could actively latch onto the target, that would significantly boost the technique’s holding power.
"And that wind-pressure shield of yours is also a strong idea—it blocks interruption from outside while you’re on the offensive. By the way, if those Artificial Prosthetics could draw air from another source, they might be able to generate the shield independently—usable as a standalone defensive measure."
Useful for keeping an enemy at a distance, or for situations where defense was the only option.
"Truly remarkable, Jiraiya-sama—you’ve proposed such outstanding improvements all at once."
Jiraiya wasn’t done: "Actually, I have a feeling this isn’t a single technique—it’s more like an entire school?"
"That is the idea. Though the Artificial Prosthetics are only a supplementary component—my primary specialty is dual blades."
Two ice blades in hand, with Starburst Stream deployed without mercy for anyone in range.
"Oh?"
And the supplementary component was already this formidable?
Jiraiya was even more impressed.
In truth, when Hanabi resonated with Jingliu, that was her strongest state—strong enough to trade blows with the Nine-Tails. If she couldn’t beat the Nine-Tails, that wasn’t a Jingliu problem; it was a Hanabi problem.
"Is the dual-blade style also under Curse Bind?" Jiraiya asked.
"It is."
Plus the occasional private lesson from a master instructor.
Jingliu’s curriculum didn’t even need separate training time.
Though their relationship was different from the others. During practice, everyone was a training instructor—but Jingliu was something else. Master.
"Speaking of which—this technique of yours, what specific form does it take within the Mechanical Illusion school?"
Since Hanabi was building a full school, having a proper name for each form made sense.
"Indeed." What to call it?
The original prototype was Mechanical Illusion: Swallowing Bull.
"Swallowing Bull" referenced the illusionist Kato Danzo, who was said to have performed a trick involving a swallowed ox.
But no such legend existed in this world.
In this world, the Fate universe’s Kato Danzo served as the prototype for Dan Kato—and Dan Kato’s specialty was the Spirit Transformation Technique, with no ox-swallowing trick to his name.
So the original name had no footing here. Using it would feel out of place.
For the sake of internal consistency, that name wouldn’t work.
"What does Jiraiya-sama think?" Hanabi asked.
Jiraiya considered. "These winds—they’re less like air currents and more like water currents in their weight... Hmm. In that case... Flowing Mist — how’s that?"
A better naming sense than the Fourth Hokage, without question.
"Mechanical Illusion: Flowing Mist... Yes, that really is a wonderful name. Thank you very much," Hanabi said—and began adjusting her mechanical arms.
Jiraiya, having nothing else to do, leaned over to watch.
"Oh, oh, oh—the internal structure is extraordinary," Jiraiya said. He doubted even the Hidden Sand could produce work like this.
He scratched his head.
He’d started by just having a look, but—was this actually classified?
"I’ve modified the Chakra flow path slightly. I borrowed some ideas from the Rasengan, though the Rasengan’s nature transformation demands are steep—these Artificial Prosthetics aren’t reinforced enough to handle it."
The Wind Release: Rasenshuriken was a kill-a-thousand, wound-yourself-three-hundred kind of technique. Even Naruto couldn’t use it freely—only with Sage Mode fully active did it reach its full potential.
"I still think it’s incredible. The way you operate these Artificial Prosthetics is completely different from manipulating a conventional puppet on Chakra threads, isn’t it?"
After Hanabi’s modifications, the Artificial Prosthetics could now be controlled exactly like natural limbs.
These arms had been rebuilt from the ground up under Touko Aozaki’s conceptual framework—and Touko’s prosthetics were designed to serve as perfect substitutes for the human body. Through rounds of ongoing modification by Hanabi, they’d reached the point of direct, natural control.
That said, controlling extra limbs beyond the natural two was inherently difficult work.
"These Puppet Arms are themselves a class of ninja tools. I’ve named them ’Benzaiten.’"
[What does that mean?]
[Sarasvati Meltout]
[Different faith—Benzaiten’s from the Seven Lucky Gods; the source material is India’s Saraswati]
[Benzaiten also has eight arms—maybe that’s the connection?]
[Does this mean there’ll eventually be a Daikokuten or something?]
[What’s that?]
[Also one of the Seven Lucky Gods]
As it happened—yes, Daikokuten was coming.
The commenters had just made a remarkably accurate prophecy without knowing it.
"I’ve started to get curious about your true capabilities."
Jiraiya’s interest in Hanabi’s real power was fully awakened.
"Then—once I’ve finished with this technique, would Jiraiya-sama be willing to give me some instruction?"
Since Jiraiya wanted to see, let him see.
"Ha! Then I look forward to it. By the way, what else needs to be done now?" Jiraiya asked.
"Since Jiraiya-sensei has helped me improve the Mechanical Illusion, the next step is naturally to run a field test. Jiraiya-sama—you wouldn’t mind being the test subject again, would you?"
Hm?
No, no, no, he minded very much!
But before Jiraiya could get a word out, Hanabi had simply vanished. Her silhouette dissolved like mist.
"Well then, Jiraiya-sama—please experience the technique you just helped improve. Mechanical Illusion: Flowing Mist!"
"Nani?!"
The massive storm swept in again.
This time it hit even harder than the last.
Dense Chakra formed not only a crushing suction force, but also actively latched onto anyone caught within the technique—making escape more difficult than before, and even casting jutsu from inside became a struggle.
"Earth Release!"
This time Jiraiya raised an earth wall to create a small "windbreak" and tried to hold Hanabi off.
But those wind blades were now carving through the stone itself. Jiraiya came extremely close to losing a tuft of hair.
[He helped Hanabi improve her jutsu and then got to enjoy the fruits personally]
[Dying of laughter—Louis XVI improving the guillotine]
[Hahaha, making himself die faster]
The audience was, as ever, perfectly cheerful.
The man serving as entertainment, however, was considerably less comfortable.
"The air is getting thinner—damn..."
The surrounding air grew sparse. Oxygen levels dropped. Asphyxiation began setting in.
And what truly had Jiraiya’s eye twitching: every single one of these improvements had been his own brilliant idea from five minutes prior.
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