Naruto: The Scientific Ninja

Chapter 37: Silent Killing

Within a three-kilometer range, he could use the ultrasonic radar to precisely identify an enemy's identity, achieving the same level of insight as the Byakugan. Within two hundred meters, he had an absolute field of vision, 360 degrees with no blind spots, giving him total control over the rhythm of the battlefield.

But this mode of combat was good, but it was too expensive. It wasn't a long-term solution. I must master the Water Style: Hidden Mist Technique as soon as possible, Sasuke thought, shaking his head.

Detecting the enemy in advance and using traps and mechanical tools to fight was a combat style almost equivalent to that of a jōnin who specialized in tools. But this method had a fatal flaw: it burned through an astronomical amount of blade materials. A single battle could cost tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of ryō. He wasn't a rich second-generation heir; how could he afford it? In the past six months, he would have been deeply in debt if not for Tekudō's help. He couldn't keep relying on his subordinate's supplies forever.

The Teku family was growing rapidly. To protect their family business, many of their children had given up their comfortable lives to become ninja on the front lines. They had invested heavily in Tekudō. The two Iron Prison Gates alone had cost several million ryō, equivalent to the reward for several S-rank missions. While the Teku family had generously declared that the defensive ninjutsu he had taught them was payment for a debt of nearly ten million, allowing him to use any of their supplies, he still felt it was improper. Tekudō was his subordinate, half a disciple even. How could he charge for teaching him?

Of course, compared to one's life, reputation was worthless. In a crisis, he would use whatever he needed. The real reason he wanted to move away from this combat style was that he didn't want to be limited to the use of mechanical tools. The upper limit of that path wasn't high, unless one mastered Orochimaru's core technologies or Nagato's Asura Path.

In a crisis, I'll use tools, he decided. But for conventional battles, I have to rely on the Silent Killing technique.

The tactical mode formed by combining the Hidden Mist Technique and his ultrasonic radar was almost identical to Momochi Zabuza's Silent Killing. If he added the Mist Body Flicker, it would be even more powerful. And, most importantly, it was nearly free.

Now that his newly developed infrasonic radar had a detection range of five kilometers, the security of his patrol zone was no longer an issue. He could relax and practice as he pleased. The Hidden Mist and Mist Body Flicker were only D-rank jutsus, and with his experience, he mastered them quickly.

"A radius of thirty meters is too small," he said, shaking his head, dissatisfied. "With a single Body Flicker, an enemy can leap right out of the mist's range."

While thirty meters wasn't small, for real combat, he needed a radius of at least a hundred meters to maximize the advantage of his two-hundred-meter absolute vision field. Expanding the Hidden Mist Technique was just a matter of practice and chakra. The Mist Body Flicker, however, was more difficult. It required an extremely high level of physical skill.

His own taijutsu was decent, stronger than that of a common chūnin, but this body came from a civilian family and had already reached adulthood. Its potential had been practically exhausted by years of consuming military ration pills. Further breakthroughs would be difficult. With his current physical base, the Mist Body Flicker was only about 80% faster than the basic Body Flicker Technique. It was fast enough to deal with a chūnin, but against a true jōnin, it wasn't good enough.