Chapter 7 - Transformation Jutsu's full potential

"Captain Riku, we must decide our course of action regarding the child. We cannot return to the village empty-handed," one of the Jonins inquired. The air in the room was heavy with the tension and weight of their mission.

"Send our best tracker; the boy couldn't have gone far. Once we have him, the higher-ups will be appeased," Riku commanded as he walked towards Haru's body and ripped out the bloody Kunai that was stuck in his throat, his gaze fixed upon the blood that dripped from it. "Understood, sir!" The ninja acknowledged the order and vanished in a swift, flickering motion.

A solemn silence enveloped the room, the remaining Jonins feeling the gravity of their actions. One of them approached Riku, patting him on the back. "You should be proud, Captain. You've just eliminated a member of the S-ranked duo 'Thousand Swords'. I can only imagine the recognition and rewards awaiting you."

Riku smirked, his eyes reflecting a mix of pride and sorrow. "Ha, don't get your hopes up. You're not getting any of those rewards... Sigh, I can't believe I killed him so easily. I would have loved to witness his legendary craftsmanship once more, but to think he managed to destroy all evidence of it... It's a tremendous loss."

"It is indeed," the other ninja concurred, a hint of regret in his voice. "He could have been a valuable asset to the Mist. Nevertheless, we can still secure his son."

Riku nodded in agreement. "Yes, I have faith that our tracker will locate him swiftly. However, we must ensure that any information regarding the boy remains confidential. If word were to reach another village, it could ignite a conflict we are ill-prepared to face. The stakes are higher than ever, and we cannot afford another war."

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'Shit, shit, shit, shit, SHITTTTT! Who the hell is this?!' Ryu thought as he watched a Shinobi appear in front of the carriage he was riding. The Shinobi in question held his hand forward with his palm open, signaling the driver to stop.

"I'm looking for a kid, black hair and eyes, you have someone like that here?" The Ninja asked roughly. "U-uh, I-I don't think so, s-sir," the frightened driver said. "Tch, useless. Everyone out and in a line, I'll look for myself," The tracker ordered.

Everyone got out and lined up as the Jonin said, and among the travelers, one stood out. How could he not, with him being around a meter and a half tall. He had a hood on his head, covering it from the back, and he was squirming nervously.

Smirking, the Shinobi walked towards the figure before violently tearing the hood of his head, only to reveal a blond-haired and blue-eyed child. "D-do you need anything, Mister?" The kid asked in a shaky voice. "...No," The shinobi grunted after thinking for a bit and continuing to examine the line.

"Ha..." The man behind the child let out a muffled sigh of relief. 'That was close,' Ryu thought to himself. Ryu managed to transform while there was a little chaos when everyone got out to form the line, and while he was scared that the covered Silver Eagle would give him away, it appears that the fact that he transformed into an adult was enough to elude the tracker.

As for the smoke puff, after mastering the Transformation Jutsu to a certain extent it was easy to disregard it. Wasn't the Jutsu's original use meant to be for stealth? Why attract attention with a smoke cloud in the first place?

Suddenly, however, a shiver ran down his spine as he saw the Jonin pull out a Kuni. "Wh-what are you doing?!" A frightened civilian asked.

"Well, here's the thing. I know that the one I'm looking for is here, there's no question about that, but he's transformed himself and I can't tell who he is. My orders were to bring him alive or kill him at all costs, so I'm just going to kill you all," The Jonin had a sickly smile as he vanished before repeating near the man and cutting his head off with a single motion.

Chaos erupted around Ryu as the people around him, overcome with terror, began to scatter in all directions. Ryu's heart raced in his chest, the fear contagious and suffocating. He was only a blacksmith, a craftsman who had dedicated his life to forging weapons, not wielding them in battle. The thought of fighting the attacker didn't even cross his mind for a second.

As Ryu darted through the pandemonium, his pulse pounding in his ears, he couldn't help but be acutely aware of the Jonin's deadly presence. The man was a specter of death, appearing and disappearing like a shadow, leaving a trail of blood and devastation in his wake.

The sheer power and precision with which he slaughtered the people around him was a chilling reminder of what awaited Ryu should he be unable to evade his grasp.

Despite his best efforts, Ryu's luck eventually ran out. After flickering around the area and slaughtering the rest of the people, the tracker finally made his way to Ryu. The Ninja appeared before him, his face containing a maniacal, sadistic, smile.

In his hand, a bloody Kuni glistened menacingly, its sharp edge stained with the lifeblood of his previous victims. Ryu's breath caught in his throat, his eyes widening in horror as the Jonin raised the weapon, preparing to deliver the fatal blow.

In one swift motion, the Jonin thrust the Kuni toward Ryu's heart, the blade slicing through the air with deadly intent. As the weapon closed in, time seemed to slow to a crawl.

Ryu could feel the icy tendrils of fear wrapping around his heart, threatening to consume him completely. But just when it seemed as if all hope was lost, something extraordinary occurred.

The moment the Kuni was about to pierce Ryu's flesh, the torso area around his heart suddenly transformed into water. The blade passed through the liquid harmlessly, leaving Ryu unharmed.

The Jonin, caught off-guard by Ryu's miraculous escape, hesitated for a moment, his eyes narrowing with curiosity and frustration.

'Yes, it worked!' Ryu thought happily as his plan succeeded. By using the Transformation Jutsu, Ryu managed to transform a select part of his body into water the same way Haru did when he grew more arms. Taking advantage of the Jonin's confusion, Ryu unwrapped Silver Eagle and slashed the Shinobi across the chest, leaving a nasty mark. "Ah!" The surprised Ninja exclaimed in pain. "Ha! Eat shit, Asshole!" Ryu yelled as he continued to run away.

"That's an interesting technique you got there... Let's see how long you can pull it off!" The Shinobi said as he started performing hand seals, ignoring Ryu's provocation, before shooting a large water ball toward Ryu.

Once again, Ryu transformed himself just before the Jutsu hit him. It looked as if he vanished into thin air as he transformed himself into, well, air, only to reappear after the water ball crashed against the ground behind him. But when he reappeared, the Shinobi was already waiting near him with his Kuni only a couple of centimeters from Ryu's throat. Using the water ball as a cover, he silently flickered to where Ryu was.

However, once again, the Kuni passed right through Ryu as his neck turned into fire, burning the Shinobi's hand. But just as the Kuni passed through him, Ryu felt a strong pain in his stomach before flying back and crashing against a tree. Looking at the Ninja, his vision still blurred from the force of the hit, Ryu saw his knee was raised upwards at a diagonal angle.

"So it isn't Automatic, you need to activate it manually, that's good to know." The Shinobi said as he landed on the ground, his hand a little red from burns, but he didn't seem to care. "Still, it's very impressive you can react to my attacks. Even if I am playing with you, to think I'd need to create a blind spot before landing an attack. Though I guess a blacksmith is supposed to be good at analyzing things," the Shinobi said.

*Cough*, Ryu coughed up blood as he slowly got up. Luckily for him, an extremely sturdy body was an inevitable result of practicing blacksmithing. If Ryu's body was any weaker, he wouldn't have been able to endure the Jonin's hit. However, that wasn't to say he wasn't in poor condition, he felt the air violently escaping his lungs, leaving him gasping in an attempt to recover.

Ryu didn't want to use Silver Eagle, he didn't want it snatched from him by accident, but he didn't have an option.

Ryu threw Silver Eagle into the air after infusing some Chakra into it, and the sword shot into action.

The Shinobi's eyes widened in surprise as the sword bore down on him, its silvery blade glinting menacingly. In a heartbeat, it was already mere inches from his face, threatening to gouge out his eyes. Relying on his sharp instincts, the Ninja dodged to the side at the last possible moment, his movements swift and precise. The blade whistled past his ear, narrowly missing its mark.

But Silver Eagle was relentless. Under Ryu's guidance, the sword pursued the Shinobi with unyielding determination, leaving him no choice but to move from tree to tree, desperately trying to shake the weapon.

As the chase continued, Ryu's brow furrowed in concern. The Jonin's movements were gradually becoming more fluid and controlled, the initial shock of the flying sword wearing off. He was adapting, learning to anticipate Silver Eagle's movements and countering them with increasing ease.

Determined not to let his opponent gain the upper hand, Ryu attempted to alter the sword's trajectory and speed. Yet, his inexperience with Silver Eagle proved to be his downfall, as the Jonin found it even easier to dodge the now erratic blade.

The Jonin began to incorporate intricate acrobatic maneuvers into his evasive tactics. He swung from low-hanging branches, using the momentum to propel himself into corkscrews and flips. He leaped from tree to tree, his body twisting and contorting in mid-air, each movement deliberately designed to confuse the flying sword and throw it off course, and mock Ryu's abilities.

As the Jonin grew more confident, he seamlessly integrated offense into his movements. With each dodge, he hurled a flurry of kunai at Ryu, forcing him to transform his body, and allowing the deadly blades to pass harmlessly through him. His focus now split between constantly transforming and guiding Silver Eagle, Ryu struggled to keep his eyes on the Jonin as he danced through the forest.

Ryu could bearly keep it together, the amount of concentration needed for continuous and precise transformations non-stop and to control Silver Eagle at the same time was enormous. And let's not even mention the Chakra consumption rate of using Jutsus without hand signs.

Time was running out; he needed a way to escape, and he needed it now. Dodging the Jonin's relentless attacks could only carry him so far. He needed another way to attack, another Silver Eagle. The thought of using his own body was tempting but far too risky. Desperate, Ryu's eyes darted about, searching for anything that could serve as a viable alternative.

A tiny glint caught his attention. A small, seemingly insignificant pebble lying close to his leg. But the Transformation Jutsu was designed to work only on one's own body, not on external objects. Ryu's situation, however, left him no room for doubt or hesitation.

If he was to survive this ordeal, he needed to break free from the limits imposed by the Jutsu's traditional use. It was time to take the Jutsu to the next level.

Gritting his teeth, Ryu picked up the pebble, feeling its weight in his hand. With his other hand, he formed a one-handed seal. Chakra surged through his body like a raging river, pooling at his fingertips as he prepared to activate the Jutsu. Memories of his father crafting the Silver Eagle flooded his mind, and the Sharingan enabled him to recall even the most minute details with astonishing clarity.

With his heart racing, Ryu channeled his desperate resolve into the Transformation Jutsu. He envisioned the pebble as a conduit, merging his profound knowledge of the Silver Eagle with the Jutsu's intricate workings. And as Ryu activated the Jutsu, the transformation occurred.

Ryu's eyes widened with amazement as he marveled at the success of his improvised technique. Without wasting a moment, he infused the newly-formed sword with Chakra and sent it hurtling toward the Jonin. Now faced with two formidable blades, the Jonin struggled to keep up, and the barrage of Kuni previously aimed at Ryu ceased.

A sudden wave of drowsiness washed over Ryu, momentarily breaking his concentration. The swords wavered in their assault, giving the Jonin a sense of hope before Ryu regained his cool.

He shook off the weariness and continued his relentless attack on the Jonin, all the while making a mental note of the heightened level of concentration required for his new technique. It was new and unrefined, and Ryu knew it had its limitations. overusing the Jutsu in the heat of battle would be unwise for the time being.

However, Ryu couldn't contain his curiosity and determination to explore the extent of his newfound power. This battle provided the perfect opportunity to test his limits. He steeled himself and created another copy of Silver Eagle, followed by another, and then another.

With the minimal Chakra consumption of the Transformation Jutsu, Ryu continued to generate the swords at a staggering pace. He only stopped when it became clear that he could no longer control them simultaneously, yet he had produced over 20 functional copies.

The Shinobi, now facing the overwhelming swarm of flying swords, fought to maintain his composure as fear began to creep into his heart. His sadistic smile was wiped off long ago.

Each blade glinted menacingly in the dim light, a lethal dance orchestrated by Ryu's newfound power. The Shinobi knew he had to act fast, relying on every trick and maneuver he had ever learned to evade the relentless onslaught. With agility born of desperation, the Shinobi leaped into the air, flipping and twisting as he narrowly avoided the first wave of swords.

He swung himself through the densely packed trees, using his exceptional maneuverability to temporarily outpace the pursuing blades. His eyes darted from side to side, searching for an opening or a path that might offer an escape from the relentless pursuit.

As the Shinobi leaped from branch to branch, he could feel the cold steel of the swords slicing through the air, mere inches from his skin. The once confident Jonin was now consumed by an overwhelming sense of helplessness, realizing that he was fighting a losing battle.

His once graceful movements grew sluggish with fatigue, and his breathing became labored, his body screaming in protest from the exertion. Despite his tenacity, it was clear that the Jonin's efforts were ultimately futile. The inexorable storm of swords closed in around him, cutting off all avenues of escape. With a final, desperate lunge, he attempted to clear a gap in the deadly whirlwind, but his luck had finally run out.

The swarm of blades converged on him, cutting through the air with a chilling sound, like the whispering of death itself. The Shinobi's body convulsed as the swords found their mark, puncturing his flesh and impaling him from all angles. He didn't even have time to realize where he was struck from as his soul left his body.

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So, yeah, the Transformation Jutsu is highly underused in my opinion... I hope you liked the chapter, if you have any feedback please don't be afraid to leave it in the comments since I always do my best to reply and it's a lot of fun. The next chapters won't be so long though...