Ever since acquiring Kiba, Uchiha Gen spent every spare moment studying how the Lightning Blade attracted and generated its crackling arcs of chakra.
Through his research, he discovered something strange. The Lightning Blade's material was indeed a top-tier chakra-conducting metal, but on its own it did not generate or attract lightning.
If it wasn't the material, then the secret had to lie in the seal formulas.
After repeated investigations, Gen realized that the formulas were woven directly into the blade itself. Analyzing them completely was impossible unless one had reached the level of the Sage of Six Paths.
But if one could reach that level, there would be no point in analyzing old seals; he could simply create an even stronger Lightning Blade from scratch.
The inability to fully decipher them gave him a constant headache.
Still, Gen wondered; what if he didn't need to analyze them? What if he could extract the seals from the sword and transplant them into another weapon?
Inside his tent, Uchiha Gen sat cross-legged with Kiba and the Shizukamaru blades resting across his lap.
"Shizukamaru, you'll need to bear some pain."
"Master, I will endure."
Gen nodded. He placed his right hand against Shizukamaru, activating the power of the Soul-Soul Fruit to split its soul into parts.
The sword spirit did not resist.
Shizukamaru's blade quivered from the pain of soul splitting. Two glowing white orbs, each the size of a lychee, drifted free. With a flick of Gen's hand, the orbs merged into the Lightning Blades.
"Shizukamaru, try pulling the formulas from the Lightning Blade into your soul."
"Attempting now, Master."
Three identical voices echoed in unison, their overlapping resonance strangely eerie.
This was the method Gen had devised.
If Shizukamaru could control the ability of the kusanagi at will, then perhaps he could also control the Lightning Blade's power.
The real question was; how deep could that control go? If he could manage the seals themselves, then it would be a success.
Unlike the Lightning Blade, the kusanagi contained no seal, it owed its ability purely to unique material.
Minutes trickled by. Gen closed his eyes, waiting with faint anxiety. If the attempt failed, Shizukamaru would eventually fall behind his pace, unable to grow further.
Then...
"Master. Success!"
Shizukamaru's voice rang with joy.
"That's wonderful."
A flash of red light signaled Shuryu's appearance. The little dragon, who had held back until now, swirled excitedly around Gen.
Opening his eyes, Gen smiled, relief evident on his face. He touched the Lightning Blades again.
This time, the orbs that surfaced weren't pure white. They gleamed white streaked with crawling black patterns, seal formulas, densely woven across their surfaces like a maddening script.
He reintegrated part of Shizukamaru's soul and the formulas into the Kusanagi Sword, then used the Soul-Soul Fruit to fuse the split soul back together.
Inside the blade, Shizukamaru carefully etched the formulas into the sword's structure, mirroring the Lightning Blade's arrangement.
Fifteen minutes later, arcs of blue-white lightning danced across the Kusanagi's silver body.
Gen lifted it casually.
Immediately, stray charges in the air were pulled to the blade, flaring into a sizzling aura of light that filled the tent.
Shuryu crept closer, his crimson dragon eyes widening with curiosity.
Gen chuckled to himself.
From now on, Shizukamaru wouldn't need his constant control to project lightning. With the seals enhancing him, his sharpness had risen as well.
And when Gen eventually created a high-grade lightning Homie, their combined power would be devastating.
Perhaps even the legendary ninja tools, the Totsuka Blade and Yata Mirror, were constructed from similar formula-based abilities. If so, they too could be integrated.
But the Kubikiribōchō and Samehada were different, reliant on their unique material and Samehada was alive. They'd be far harder to assimilate. Hiramekarei and the Blast Sword likely mixed formulas with special construction, but even if merged, the boost might be modest.
As for relics like the Sword of the Thunder God? Too crude. He didn't even bother.
"You two stay in the tent and don't wander. I have matters to attend to."
"Yes, Master."
As Gen left, Shuryu and Shizukamaru began sparring in their playful way—dragon lunging at blade, blade striking at dragon. More practice than play, like cubs roughhousing to grow stronger.
A few days later, Hidden Mist's special forces began their infiltration behind Konoha's lines. The village had finally put its plan into motion.
At the same time, Mist's main camp stirred, feinting as though they intended to break the stalemate and force a decisive battle head-on.
Intelligence reports piled on Uchiha Gen's desk. After reviewing them, he summoned Konoha's jōnin commanders and personally went to notify Orochimaru.
Soon, the high-ranking officers gathered in the command tent. Gen outlined the situation briefly, then handed the floor to his teacher.
"The pattern is clear," Orochimaru said in his calm, rasping voice. "Mist intends to strike simultaneously at our front and rear."
"No matter their true goal, our task is the same: crush both forces."
"I will handle the front. Gen, you'll handle the rear."
"How many men do you need?"
Gen's lips curled faintly. "They've sent a squad? Then I'll take a squad. Four jōnin, twelve special jōnin and chūnin. I'll eliminate them quickly and return to reinforce the front."
"Decided." Orochimaru didn't hesitate. "Choose your people."
The decision of master and disciple was absolute. The rest had no room to object, even if they wished.
Gen immediately selected four jōnin specialists, then filled the rest from the roster. Within minutes, the squad was assembled. He wasted no time.
Spring had come and the snow melted, shoots of green broke through the soil. But the cold lingered, the promise of warmth still fragile.
Instead of pursuing Mist's infiltrators directly, Gen led his squad toward Konoha's supply transfer station. In these mountains, Mist's trackers would surely cover their trail, and counter-tracking would be unreliable.
Mist's goal was obvious. To cripple Konoha's logistics, the fastest method was to strike the supply transfer station.
If it fell, the front lines would quickly feel the strain. If it held, time remained to hunt down infiltrators.
The only danger was an ambush en route.
When Gen called for a rest, he slipped away under pretense, using the Spirit Transformation Technique to scout ahead in soul form.
Sure enough, Mist shinobi waited in ambush.
To most, soul signatures were indistinguishable but Gen, whose mastery over souls far exceeded even Kato Dan, could easily gauge strength. To him, the gulf between a genin and a jōnin's soul was as clear as night and day.
The ambush force matched intelligence; five jōnin, twelve specialists, and chūnin.
Half his soul soared further, reaching the skies above the supply station. He counted the defenders, verified their strength, and...
"Hm?"
From behind the station, unfamiliar souls approached.
"Not Konoha… their strength, special jōnin at least. Mist again?"
Expanding his perception, Gen counted them, thirteen shinobi, five of them jōnin.
"They actually slipped this deep without notice. They must have used Tea Country or the Land of Waves to bypass defenses. Meticulous…"
Fortunately, they were still short of the station, and its defenses were not easily breached. Time remained.
Unaware that he himself was their true target, Gen returned like a meteor, diving back into his body.
"Depart immediately," he ordered.
"Yes, Lord Gen!"
Seventeen Konoha elites leapt through the forest, covering distance with blinding speed.
Gen led them in a sweeping arc, bypassing the ambush entirely and racing for the supply station.
"Lord Gen, why not the direct route?" Inuzuka Gaku finally asked, unable to hold his tongue.
"Because the direct route is death," Gen said flatly. "Mist's force is larger than reported, thirty shinobi, ten jōnin. One squad waits in ambush at Lion Head Mountain. The other is converging on the station."
Gasps rippled through the squad.
"How do you know?" Gaku asked, though his tone stayed respectful.
"That's my secret. Just follow orders. Everyone shares the credit. If it goes wrong, I bear the blame."
"Yes!"
They pushed harder, arriving at the station in record time.
Except for the five jōnin, most collapsed to catch their breath. Relief spread as they saw the fort intact.
But Gen frowned.
By his calculations, Mist should already be pressing the assault. Instead… silence.
He exchanged code words, then led his team inside. After a quick resupply, he used the Spirit Transformation Technique again.
This time, all the enemy souls had gathered at Lion Head Mountain.
Even with years of battlefield experience, Gen couldn't understand.
With five jōnin and eight specialists, Mist had at least a fifty percent chance of taking the station. Even if costly, it should have been possible.
So why hadn't they moved?
What were they playing at?
For once, Uchiha Gen found himself at a loss.