Naruto: Marrying Tsunade

Chapter 3 - Future Development of Ice Release

The moment Aokiji awakened his Ice Release, he felt as though he had stumbled upon a hidden treasure trove.

This was more than just a rare ability—it was a game changer.

Not many could claim to possess even a single Kekkei Genkai, let alone two. With both Ice Release and the Sharingan at his disposal, his potential wasn't just bright—it was blinding.

Excitement buzzed through him, but he quickly tempered it with reason. While Ice Release had never seemed particularly overwhelming in the original series, Aokiji understood a simple truth: the strength of any technique depended entirely on its wielder.

A mere pebble, when thrown by a master, could prove deadlier than an ordinary man's best-forged shuriken.

Take Hashirama Senju's Wood Release compared to Yamato's—could they even be considered the same ability?

The First Hokage had been a walking natural disaster, capable of summoning entire forests from barren lands, reshaping battlefields with a mere flick of his hand. Yamato, on the other hand... well, at best, he could build a few houses and suppress some rogue jinchūriki. A useful skill, no doubt, but nowhere near the legendary might of his predecessor.

Of course, using a monster like Hashirama as a reference might not have been entirely fair.

Instead, consider Kisame Hoshigaki's Water Release.

An average shinobi could summon a small wave. Kisame? That man could summon a whole ocean.

The sheer difference in power came down to chakra reserves. The more chakra one had, the more devastating their techniques became. And in Aokiji's case, he had two Kekkei Genkai fueling his growth, which meant his reserves already surpassed those of most ordinary shinobi. If he trained his Ice Release properly, he was confident that its performance in his hands would be anything but weak.

Still, he had to be realistic.

Reaching the level of Aokiji from One Piece—freezing entire oceans with a single touch, effortlessly altering the climate—was nothing more than a pipe dream. Without chakra reserves on par with a Tailed Beast, such feats were impossible.

And while Aokiji believed in his own talent, he wasn't delusional. He knew that no matter how much natural potential he had, there were limits to how far he could go on his own. If he wanted to truly stand at the pinnacle, he had two choices.

One: the hard way.

Two: technology.

The first path was straightforward. He could take a shortcut—awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan.

After all, ocular power was just another form of chakra, and chakra was composed of both Yin and Yang energy. The Sharingan leaned heavily toward Yin, meaning its evolution would directly enhance his spiritual energy and, in turn, increase his overall reserves.

If he awakened the Mangekyō, there was even a chance that his chakra levels could surge to something rivaling a Tailed Beast.

But at what cost?

Aokiji let out a slow breath, his fingers unconsciously tightening.

The Mangekyō didn't come without sacrifice.

To unlock its power, he would have to kill someone close to him.

What kind of lunatic would willingly go that far?

He scoffed, shaking his head.

If anyone had to die for power, wouldn't it make more sense to take out a sibling instead?

"If you're my brother, then come and cut me down…" he muttered under his breath before smirking. "Just kidding."

Either way, that path was out of the question. That left him with only one real option.

Technology.

In the grand scheme of things, technology was the driving force behind progress.

By the time the late-game powerhouses emerged in the Naruto world, sheer talent and hard work alone wouldn't be enough to compete. With Kage-level threats running rampant, only advancements in technology and external enhancements could allow someone to bridge the gap.

But that was a concern for the future.

For now, he needed to focus on the fundamentals.

His Sharingan training could wait. What he needed right now was to push his Ice Release to its absolute limit.

And so, he began experimenting.

The strange thing was, despite having no teacher to guide him, there were certain aspects of Ice Release that felt almost... instinctual.

It was hard to describe. The knowledge wasn't something he consciously knew, yet when he concentrated, his body seemed to understand what needed to be done.

It was a bit like how growing boys naturally figured things out about certain things without being taught.

Still, instincts alone wouldn't be enough to master this power.

He needed to train.

Without wasting any time, Aokiji headed to the kitchen. He turned on the faucet, letting the cool water pool in his cupped hands.

Closing his eyes, he focused.

Chakra surged through his palms, spreading into the liquid. He concentrated on lowering its temperature, trying to solidify it.

At first, nothing happened.

But then—

The water's temperature began to drop.

Aokiji opened his eyes and watched as the once-still liquid started to shift, lifting slightly from his palms. The surface tension wavered, the edges of the water trembling unnaturally.

And then, slowly, it rose into the air.

A tiny floating sphere of water hovered above his hands.

His breath hitched.

He could feel it—the delicate balance between maintaining the chakra flow and keeping the water stable.

Carefully, he exerted a bit more control. The sphere elongated, shifting into an oval. Then a cone.

So far, so good.

But as he attempted to form something more intricate, the difficulty increased drastically.

The moment he lost focus, the sphere collapsed. Water splashed onto the floor, droplets scattering across the tiles.

Aokiji sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

This felt simple, but in reality, it was incredibly taxing. His chakra had been drained far more than he expected from just a few minutes of effort.

Still, it was progress.

In the original series, Haku had only managed something similar after awakening Ice Release. The fact that Aokiji could already manipulate the shape and temperature meant he was on the right track.

Wiping the sweat from his forehead, he straightened up.

Breakfast first. Then another attempt.

After eating and taking a short break, he returned to his training. This time, he focused more on increasing the duration.

Instead of rushing to change the water's shape, he worked on maintaining the floating sphere for as long as possible.

Five minutes.

Ten minutes.

Fifteen.

Not only did he improve his control, but he also managed to lower the temperature further, causing tiny ice crystals to form inside the water.

A grin tugged at his lips.

Now this was progress.

Time slipped away as he trained, completely immersed in his work.

It wasn't until he finally checked the clock that he realized—

"...Shit, it's already 10 AM?"

He was definitely late.

But that was fine. Aokiji had already decided to establish a slacker persona at school. Being late was the least of his concerns.

Even so, he still chose to go. Not for class—he was just exhausted and needed somewhere to nap.

He washed his face and was about to leave when his eyes landed on his pillow. After a moment of hesitation, he stuffed it into his bag, then headed for the academy.

Sure enough, as soon as he entered the classroom, all eyes turned to him.

Aokiji scratched his head awkwardly. "Uh… Am I late?"

The teacher's face darkened. "Aokiji, do you even know what time it is?"

Aokiji responded with a straight face, "Excuses are just cover-ups. Cover-ups mean guilt. I'll go stand outside."

"…Uh."

The teacher was momentarily caught off guard. He had expected Aokiji to argue, not accept punishment so readily. After coughing twice, he said, "Forget it. Since this is your first offense, take your seat."

"No need, Sensei." Aokiji's tone was solemn. "One must not commit small evils, nor ignore small virtues. By showing me kindness and forgiveness, you are enabling my misdeeds."

He spoke passionately, even adding a dramatic hand gesture. His righteousness stunned the teacher.

So if I forgive him, I'm the one in the wrong?

"…Fine, go stand outside."

"Understood! Thank you, Sensei."

Aokiji bowed deeply before stepping out and thoughtfully closing the door behind him.

Everyone in the classroom was utterly baffled.

"Alright, let's continue."

The teacher clapped his hands to refocus the class, making sure Aokiji's nonsense didn't distract them.

Meanwhile, outside in the hallway, Aokiji sighed, resting his elbow on the ground and using his fist to prop up his head.

Sleeping while sitting was uncomfortable—lying down was much better.

Just as he was about to doze off, an annoying thought popped into his head.

Awakening Ice Release was great and all.

Kekkei Genkai were rare in this world.

But precisely because they were rare, there weren't many references for learning Ice Release.

The only real source of information was the Yuki Clan in the Land of Water.

Going there was out of the question. A Uchiha from Konoha heading to the Land of Water? That was just asking to die. He needed another plan.

His mother had died early and left behind no legacy for him to follow. Aokiji had no choice but to figure things out himself—trial and error. This meant progress would be painfully slow.

He needed a way to develop Ice Release efficiently.

One option was using the Sharingan to copy other Ice Release users' techniques. Developing new jutsu was time-consuming—copying was much faster.

Like Kakashi, the Copy Ninja.

But revealing his Sharingan would be troublesome.

He had to think outside the box.

Then, another idea struck him.

The Land of Snow had technology that could manipulate ice using the natural environment. While it wasn't true Ice Release, it was still worth studying.

Although he lacked Kotoamatsukami, Aokiji believed he could convince their shinobi to share their knowledge—through sheer charisma, of course.

His thoughts continued to flow.

Could Gaara's sand manipulation be adapted for Ice Release?

Ice wasn't as flexible as sand—it couldn't be freely reshaped. But what if he used snow instead?

Gaara controlled his sand by infusing it with chakra. If Aokiji applied the same principle to snow, it could work similarly.

He could even store pre-prepared snow in a gourd, just like Gaara, and use it in battle for instant defense.

Of course, in practice, it wouldn't be that simple. But this was a starting point—something to explore.

Thinking about all these possibilities, Aokiji felt a surge of excitement.

He didn't even feel like sleeping anymore.

"Slide—"

The sound of a sliding door opening snapped him back to reality.

Slowly, with the stiffness of a rusted gear, Aokiji turned his head—only to meet the furious gaze of his teacher.

"…Uh. Good morning, Sensei."

"AOKIJI—!"