"Jiraiya-sensei… you don't understand." Yuki Seisui shook his head.
This was something only he could comprehend.
"You mean….just now?" Jiraiya looked at him sharply.
"No way!" Yuki Seisui replied confidently. "You are my beloved friend, my comrade, my teacher!"
"My respect for you flows like water in the heavens, rushing endlessly to the sea!"
"Only when mountains crumble and the earth unites with the sky would I sever ties with my master!"
"You better mean it," Jiraiya said, disbelief in every word.
If Yuki Seisui truly respected him that much, he wouldn't have undermined him.
A teacher knows the nature of their student.
Jiraiya himself had been someone's student before.
He knew perfectly well which students harbored rebellious streaks.
Haru remained silent nearby, watching Yuki Seisui and Jiraiya.
Compared to Minato, Jiraiya posed no real threat.
Haru's Amatsukami space had originally resembled the real world, only with floating chunks of earth.
But after Yuki Seisui mentioned something last time, she transformed the world into a square.
Jiraiya looked up at the squared sun, quietly observing.
A square sun—he had never seen one before.
Using this ocular technique was slightly draining for Haru, but altering the environment and appearance consumed little energy.
This was why she had shaped the space this way.
Otherwise, even with her Sharingan, she couldn't have changed the world so drastically without damaging her vision.
Yuki Seisui observed the Amatsukami space, sighing after a long pause.
"I'm going to use Susanoo: Susanowo now. Try controlling it."
"Alright." Haru nodded, secretly eager.
If she could manipulate it within her space, she might attempt to control gravity and repulsion outside.
If possible…
"Susanoo: Susanowo!" Yuki Seisui's left Mangekyo Sharingan flared, forming a spring on a floating square not far ahead.
The spring erupted like a volcano, spewing countless streams of corrosive water.
Moments later, the water formed a river dozens of meters long inside Amatsukami.
Crimson tears streamed from Yuki Seisui's left eye.
Using this ocular jutsu twice in quick succession placed tremendous strain on his eye.
He could feel his vision deteriorating—but thankfully, it was only one eye this time.
"You alright?" Jiraiya frowned as he saw the bleeding eye. "This technique is extremely taxing. Don't overuse it."
Though unfamiliar with the Mangekyo Sharingan, Jiraiya's ninja intuition told him the strain was immense.
Yuki Seisui felt a warmth at the concern, shaking his head. "The strain is high, but recovery is fast. Don't worry."
While Yuki Seisui and Jiraiya spoke, Haru's Kunitsu Kami continued its work over the corrosive water, never stopping.
Within Amatsukami, her powers were significantly amplified.
The spring still flowed, though more slowly now, likely to stop soon.
Here, Kunitsu Kami made her godlike.
The river of corrosive water, originally dozens of meters long, now formed a cubic block.
The spring below had also stopped.
"It's controllable." Haru lifted her hand, drawing a small stream from the cube, shaping it into a sharp arrow of corrosive water.
"Go!"
She flicked her hand, and the arrow shot toward a block of rock.
Upon contact, a massive hole appeared, the corrosive arrow clinging to the rock like worms devouring it.
Moments later, the rock was gone, leaving not even a trace.
"This is terrifying," Jiraiya muttered. He had seen ninjutsu shatter rocks and mountains, but a quiet, natural-looking corrosion like this… he had never witnessed.
"This is corrosive water from the Corrosive Sea. Anything touched is dissolved."
"I'll try it!" Jiraiya couldn't resist.
Under Yuki Seisui and Haru's watchful eyes, he quickly formed hand seals and spat out a fire-style jutsu.
"Fire Release: Dragon Fire Song!"
Four bizarre fire dragons shot in four directions toward the cube of corrosive water.
Yuki Seisui and Haru observed carefully.
He had used this on Chiyo and Pakura before, but they hadn't used elemental jutsu.
He didn't know if fire, lightning, or wind jutsu could be corroded by this water.
The four dragons hit the cube, sizzle, and part of the water instantly evaporated into white smoke.
"Fire release can't be stopped," Jiraiya said, crossing his arms. "Then again… if fire jutsu, which has no physical form, could corrode, that would be absurd."
"Absurd?" Yuki Seisui's eyes followed the rising smoke.
"Maybe fire jutsu has a unique effect?" he said, pointing.
Haru had already noticed, unsurprised.
Jiraiya followed his gesture, watching the smoke touch floating earth blocks—and they too began to corrode, though more slowly than the liquid form.
Even so, it was terrifying.
Yuki Seisui narrowed his eyes.
Matter has three states: solid, liquid, gas.
Corrosive water seems effective in liquid and gas states.
But what about solid?
He floated a fist-sized chunk of corrosive water before him. With a flick, ice-style chakra condensed it into a solid ice ball.
Though solid, he maintained full control but dared not touch it with his hands. He let it fall, stepping back a few paces.
Even if he could control the water, it didn't discriminate—touch it, and it would dissolve anything.
Haru and Jiraiya understood immediately, retreating a few steps as the ice ball descended.
The moment it hit the ground, the frozen water reacted violently, reverting to its liquid corrosive form and instantly devouring the earth beneath.
Yuki Seisui's eyes gleamed.
With ice-style control, I can make deceptive traps.
Perfect!
"This is dangerous," Jiraiya muttered. Seeing the ice ball earlier, he had almost touched it—now he understood how deadly it truly was.
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Completed version available on Patreon P@treon(.)com/Veltoria
