Despite being underground in the Kazekage Building, this secret room appeared clean and tidy under the white lights.
All four walls were covered by bookshelves filled with Ninjutsu scrolls, and in the center stood a scroll taller than a person, which served as a catalog plus corresponding descriptions.
After receiving approval from the Anbu watch ninja, Qingshui got up and went to peruse them.
All the contents within were categorized by Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, Taijutsu, and Sealing Jutsu. Ninjutsu was further subdivided into Five-Element Ninjutsu, Combination Ninjutsu, Puppetry, Magnet Release Kekkei Genkai, and Perception Ninjutsu.
Qingshui merely glanced at Puppetry and didn't bother reading further.
That's because all the information there was also available within the Puppet Force, and even things not found there were available from Chiyo and Ebizo.
Time wasn't particularly abundant, so Qingshui skipped directly to Perception Ninjutsu and Taijutsu.
The Sand Village, as one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, might not have the profound foundations of the strongest Konoha, but it was not to be underestimated. Within the Scrolls of Sand, there were no fewer than ten high-level Perception Ninjutsu alone, each a masterpiece.
Among them, the one Qingshui valued most was a Perception Ninjutsu personally developed and written by the Third Kazekage.
"Mind Illumination Technique... a Ninjutsu developed to learn Sage Art from Ryūchi Cave?"
Ryūchi Cave?
So, besides Orochimaru, the Third Kazekage of the Sand Village was also connected to Ryūchi Cave?
However, Qingshui had never heard any information about the Third Kazekage's Summoning Beast.
Reading further, one could find the introduction and related information about the Mind Illumination Technique.
The development of the Mind Illumination Technique dated back over thirty years. At that time, the Sand Village was still under the rule of the First Kazekage Retsu. The Second Kazekage Shamon had not yet taken office, and the Third Kazekage was just a young Jonin under twenty years old.
At that time, he hadn't yet developed Magnet Release, instead primarily using Wind, Lightning, and Earth Release as his main combat methods. Due to an accident, he formed a contract with the Great Snake Shinga in Ryūchi Cave.
Why he later fell out with this powerful great snake was not recorded here. Qingshui speculated that the Third Kazekage might have played a less-than-honorable role in that incident, but out of respect for the elder, the Sand Village would not record it.
According to the information provided, when the Third Kazekage learned that Ryūchi Cave contained a Sage Mode that could significantly enhance a ninja's combat power, similar to the one wielded by the First Hokage, who once dominated the Ninja World, the Third Kazekage naturally wanted to learn it.
However, the path to learning Sage Mode in Ryūchi Cave was the most brutal: the White Snake Sage would inject poison containing natural energy into your body with its fangs. If you could endure it, you would naturally learn Sage Mode. If not, you would be eaten by a snake before turning to stone.
The Third Kazekage naturally wasn't willing to take that risk. So, after learning about Sage Mode and natural energy from Shinga, he decided to develop a Ninjutsu that could sense and absorb natural energy on his own.
This Ninjutsu was the Mind Illumination Technique. While it didn't meet the Third Kazekage's expectations, it did possess some other effects.
For example, it allowed one to meticulously sense every inch of their muscles and every flow of Chakra using spiritual energy, enabling better Taijutsu learning and the temporary extraction of more Chakra during combat.
It seemed good, but it was actually quite useless, as its practical applications were rare. The strong didn't need it, and the weak couldn't learn it—this jutsu had quite high mental power requirements for the learner.
But for Qingshui, it was perfect.
If the Scrolls of Sand offered Qingshui a pleasant surprise in terms of Perception Ninjutsu, then in terms of Taijutsu, it seemed rather unremarkable.
It mostly consisted of conventional Taijutsu techniques and training methods, with nothing as groundbreaking as the Eight Gates Formation or the Seven Days Breathing Style.
After several rounds of selection, Qingshui finally chose a Taijutsu training method originating from the First Kazekage.
It was called Fierce Sand Body. Its principles were somewhat similar to Iron Sand Palm, but with many differences. First, suitable hard sand and soil were selected, then cleaned and sterilized, and soaked in a liquid made from specific medicinal herbs. Finally, this sand and soil was picked out, filtered, put into water, more medicinal herbs were added, and a medicinal bath was performed, using the medicated sand to rub and temper the body.
At the same time, the Chakra inside the body needed to circulate through specific meridian points to strengthen the physique, preventing injury during training.
Once mastered, the body's defense, strength, and other attributes would see a significant leap.
While its upper limit was certainly not as high as the Eight Gates Formation or the Seven Days Breathing Style, nor Lightning Release Chakra Mode, it still offered a chance to become a Taijutsu-specialized Jonin.
"I'll take these two."
Qingshui patiently finished reading the remaining Taijutsu techniques, found that the others were mostly similar to Fierce Sand Body, and then closed the scroll, stating his needs to the Anbu watch ninja.
The latter immediately retrieved the corresponding Ninjutsu scrolls from two nearby shelves, unsealed them, and allowed Qingshui to read them slowly there.
...
...
DC Universe.
A month had passed since the last time he went to Central City to treat Nora.
Hogg's Auto Shop's headquarters had relocated again, moving into a large building.
Since taking over the League of Assassins' operations in Gotham, Qingshui's overt legitimate assets now exceeded one billion dollars.
While he couldn't be counted among Gotham's top billionaires, he was considered a mid-tier wealthy individual, and Qingshui's hidden assets were more than three times his overt ones.
This building was acquired at a low price from a wealthy individual on the verge of bankruptcy, facilitated by Chameleon, an official the League of Assassins had placed within Gotham City Hall.
Even so, it still cost Qingshui nearly 300 million dollars.
But the benefit was that the building was large enough, and a portion of its underground floors had been converted into laboratories by Qingshui and Victor Fries.
Qingshui needed a laboratory, and Victor also needed one. Nearly 100 million dollars were spent on purchasing experimental equipment.
However, Qingshui believed the money was well spent. Compared to the former laboratory in Hogg's Auto Shop, which was just a converted garage, the current one finally had the feel of a high-tech laboratory.
"Next is separation. The mixture created is poured into a high-pressure ultracentrifuge for separation... Finally, in a high-pressure, low-temperature environment, it reacts with the previously prepared solution at a ratio of 1:1.53, with the aid of a catalyst."
Mr. Freeze stood before a set of connected machines, explaining to Qingshui the preparation method for a certain ultra-low temperature coolant.
This ultra-low temperature condensed liquid was the core material for manufacturing the Freeze Gun.
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