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**Chapter 3**
Adam woke to the soothing sound of the waterfall, his body instinctively alert—a habit honed from years of grueling training. After a moment, he relaxed, letting the tension seep out of his muscles, and stretched, feeling the stiffness melt away. As he began to clean up his campsite, his movements were precise, leaving no trace behind. Once finished, he stepped out of the cave, inhaling the crisp morning air, and glanced up at the clear, blue sky. For the first time in what felt like forever, Adam allowed himself a small, contented smile. He was no longer controlled or caged. He was finally free.
But his thoughts quickly shifted to the strange energy he had felt within himself. Activating his Rikugan, Adam focused inward, examining the flow of his chakra. "Found it," he thought, as his eyes traced the intricate paths of his energy network. The chakra flowed smoothly, but he noticed something peculiar—an extra nerve system designed specifically for this energy. The potential it held intrigued him, so he decided to explore it further.
Recalling the water bullet technique he had seen earlier, Adam focused on replicating it—but without using hand signs. He carefully molded his chakra, feeling its flow through the newly discovered channels. With precision born from years of training, Adam guided the chakra into his mouth. In a mere two seconds, his eyes snapped open, and he spat out a spinning water ball that shot towards the forest. It smashed into the trees, toppling several before dispersing.
"Holy damn, that's some amazing power," Adam muttered, a grin tugging at his lips. "I wonder what else this energy can do." His Rikugan revealed the extra nerve system specifically designed for this strange energy, which he decided to call 'ki' for now. But something else caught his attention—two other energies, one golden and one white, intertwined deep within the core of his chakra.
Intrigued, Adam carefully reached out with his chakra, pulling the white and gold energies from the core. The moment he succeeded, they erupted outwards, causing a shockwave that cracked the ground beneath his feet and blew away nearby trees. Adam looked around, awe and confusion etched on his face as he noticed two chains of golden energy protruding from his back. A strange sensation enveloped his body, as though he could weaponize himself.
"What the hell is going on?" Adam murmured, bewildered. Focusing on his palms, he willed the strange sensation to manifest, and to his shock, a bone jutted out of his hand—his bone. "What the fuck?!"
His mind raced as he tried to make sense of everything. "First, this weird energy—let's call it 'ki' for now—lets me fire water bullets. It enhances my Rikugan and bullet-time abilities, and now I can shoot out golden chains and use my bones as weapons. I feel like I could do even more, but something's holding me back. It's like there's a limit on my powers—especially my bullet time. It feels like there's more to it than just slowing down tim—DODGE!"
Adam's instincts screamed at him, and he dodged to the side just as three kunai embedded themselves into the ground where he had stood. Scanning the area, Adam spotted three figures—two hiding in the trees directly across from him, and one near the waterfall, close to the river.
"They must be the backup," Adam thought, playing dumb as he prepared to counterattack. Not giving them a chance to strike again, he spat out two water bullets, guiding each towards an assailant.
"Tsk, he found us. Plan B," one of the figures muttered as they both jumped from their cover and began weaving hand signs at a rapid pace.
"Bullet time," Adam thought, activating his enhanced perception. He carefully observed their techniques, quickly memorizing the sequences. One of them launched a stream of fire, while the other sent a gust of wind towards him. Adam molded his chakra into a water bullet but held it back as he dodged.
As the fire approached, Adam overloaded his water bullet with chakra, causing it to spin violently. The spinning water vortex clashed with the fire, the collision canceling out both techniques and enveloping the area in a thick mist.
"Damn, this guy is strong. Be careful—anyone who can fire B-rank jutsu without hand signs is dangerous—BLEGHH!" The warning was cut short as a golden chain impaled the speaker through the stomach, his dying breath a gurgle of blood.
"NO!! TATSU! SHIT, WHERE IS THIS BASTARD?!" the last remaining enemy shouted, his voice laced with panic.
Anticipating the failure of his previous attack, Adam had already repositioned himself. As he fell from the sky, aiming to impale the final enemy from above with his bone weapon, his instincts flared once more. Without warning, he pivoted mid-air and sent his chain shooting through the mist.
"AGHH! H-how!?" came the dying cry of the third enemy as Adam's chain found its mark.
Turning his attention back to the last one standing, Adam saw the man's face twisted in fear. "D-damn you! The Fujiwara clan won't let you go for this!" the man blustered, his voice trembling.
Ignoring the threat, Adam discreetly sent a chain through the ground, wrapping it around the man from behind before he could react. The man struggled futilely, his eyes wide with terror. "L-let me go, damn it! My father is a high-ranking elder in the clan! He won't let you get away with this!"
Walking closer, Adam considered whether to kill him outright. Deciding against it, he formed bones in each hand and pierced the man's knees, eliciting a howl of pain. "YOU BASTARD! JUST WAIT UNTIL M—AHHHHH!" The man's threat was cut short as Adam began to experiment, forming thin, needle-like bones and coating them with water chakra.
He heated the water with fire chakra until it boiled, then rapidly cooled it with wind chakra. The fire grew hotter, vaporizing the water, while the wind chilled it to the point of almost freezing. The combination created a painful cycle of heat and cold, leaving the man's nerves in a state of constant agony. But Adam wasn't finished. By adjusting the ratio of wind and fire chakra, he discovered something new. The vaporized water could be manipulated to burn hotter, creating a scorched sensation on the man's skin. Conversely, the freezing wind created a biting chill, and when he combined the two in just the right way, the wind and ice fused back into water, creating a searing, almost acidic burn.
The man's screams filled the forest as Adam continued his experiment, pushing the limits of what he could do with this newfound technique. "AHHHHHH!!! STOP, PLEASE! I'LL TELL YOU WHAT YOU WANT! PLEASE, JUST STOP IT!" the man sobbed, his resolve shattered.
Satisfied with his results, Adam stopped, allowing the man to catch his breath. "Start talking if you don't want to experience that again," he ordered coldly.
The man, now a quivering mess, quickly complied. "Y-yes! I-I'll answer to the best of my abilities. Please, just let me go!"
Adam began questioning him, focusing on the most obvious concerns. "Why did you try to kill me? I don't know you, and you don't know me."
The man's eyes widened in realization and fear. "W-we… sir, you were seen killing one of our clan members in battle earlier, then running off. The leader sent us to chase you down and… eliminate you…"
Adam listened impassively as the man answered his questions. The answers were simple, giving him a basic understanding of the world he found himself in. "So this land is called the Elemental Nations, and ninjas and daimyos are in control," Adam mused, his mind working to piece together the information.
When the man nodded, Adam's expression hardened. With a swift, practiced motion, he slit the man's throat, tossing the body onto the other corpses. Spitting out a fireball, he burned the bodies, then walked over to the waterfall. Standing on a rock ledge, he activated his Rikugan, coating his internal chakra channels with water chakra to protect his body from the intense heat of his next jutsu.
Approaching the waterfall, Adam stands at an elevated position and He molds wind chakra and adds a small amount of fire, blowing a stream of scarlet fire towards the forest. The water chakra shields him from the intense heat, while the fire scorches the forest, turning trees to ash and melting rocks into glowing orange blobs.
As the fire consumes the area, Adam spits out a large vortex of water, using it to replenish the waterfall and flood the ravaged land. The water cascades down, rapidly extinguishing the residual flames and turning the remaining embers to steam. The once lush forest is now a charred wasteland, with steam rising from the scorched earth and trees reduced to smoldering stumps.
Satisfied with the destruction, Adam surveys the area with his Rikugan, ensuring no trace of his presence remains before he turns to the forest and departs.
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Thanks for reading~