'High attack, low defense.'
This phrase perfectly describes Sasuke's current situation.
And it's not just Sasuke; most ninjas in the shinobi world face this vulnerability.
Even an ordinary ninja can shatter stone and shatter gold, while the strongest can split mountains and pierce clouds.
Yet, apart from clans with exceptional vitality like the Senju and Uzumaki, or those with exceptionally durable bodies like the Yotsuki Clan, a mere child with a small knife could easily end a ninja's life with a light slash across the neck or a gentle stab to the heart.
Of course, given a child's slow reflexes, such an event would only occur if the targeted ninja were unconscious.
Sasuke's battle against Kakuzu was a literal tightrope walk from start to finish.
Despite his formidable power, he remained a "glass cannon" ninja. Even a glancing blow from any of Kakuzu's attacks would have resulted in severe injury.
Under Kakuzu's relentless, all-directional assault, Sasuke was forced to repeatedly use the Body Flicker Technique to evade.
When evasion proved impossible, he countered with Ninjutsu, clashing head-on to prevent further damage.
Had he possessed a highly defensive Ninjutsu at the time, the battle would have been far less perilous, and his margin for error would have been significantly greater.
Although Sasuke now possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan and was soon to evolve it into the Eternal Mangekyō, allowing him to use the Susanoo without fear of blindness, the Susanoo remained his ultimate technique—a trump card meant for defending against devastating enemy attacks, not for countering ordinary ninjutsu.
The chakra consumption between the two was worlds apart.
Using a hundred units of ninjutsu to defend against a technique that only cost ten units of chakra? Only players from Hoyoverse and Tencent would consider that a profitable exchange.
Moreover, Sasuke had long desired to develop a Lightning Release Armor similar to that of the Yotsuki Clan. His battle with Kakuzu had merely accelerated his research in this area.
Success would not only enhance his base-level strength but also significantly amplify the Susanoo's power.
The Thunder God Susanoo from the final battle at the Valley of the End had left an indelible impression on him.
"With the Chakra Armor's amplification, the Lightning Armor's defensive power now rivals that of the Chakra Armor itself," Sasuke murmured, meticulously sensing the crackling lightning armor enveloping his body.
Despite its name, the Lightning Armor was not the Lightning Release Chakra Mode, nor did it actively enhance his physical body.
Instead, it merely layered lightning over his body to deflect attacks, transforming defense into offense.
Its defensive capabilities were mediocre, only capable of blocking low-level ninjutsu. Channeling more Chakra into it yielded minimal improvement, highlighting the technique's inherent limitations.
This ninjutsu was originally designed to protect high-speed Thunder Blade users from stray projectiles on the battlefield.
In terms of numerical rankings, the Lightning Armor's defense would be classified as B-rank, while the solid Chakra Armor would be A-rank.
This Chakra Armor, custom-made by Kazahana Dotō, not only offered superior defense but also amplified the wearer's ninjutsu effectiveness.
The Lightning Armor's rank was thus elevated from B to A. This meant that any enemy attempting to strike Sasuke's chest would first have to penetrate the outer layer of Lightning Armor before breaking through the inner layer of Chakra Armor.
'The operational principles of this Chakra Armor aren't difficult to understand—it merely mimics the human body's meridian system for refining Chakra,' Sasuke mused inwardly, glancing at the glowing blue patterns on the armor.
The true key lay in the armor's core!
With that thought, Sasuke retracted the Lightning Armor and removed the Chakra Armor.
Though the Chakra Armor enhanced ninjutsu effectiveness, Sasuke had no intention of wearing it permanently. Understanding its underlying principles and characteristics was sufficient.
Not to mention, it was undeniably ugly.
Although this armor was lighter than typical iron plate armor, it still posed a burden, especially restricting upper body joint movement.
In combat, such a minor detail could mean the difference between life and death.
Sasuke's fighting style revolved entirely around speed, and he refused to sacrifice agility for mere defense.
After removing the armor, Sasuke pressed his hand against the yin-yang taijitu symbol on the chest plate.
With a series of clicks and whirs, the yin-yang fish split apart, revealing a clear blue, mottled stone crisscrossed with white lines.
"What is this stone? How can it contain such immense chakra energy?"
Sasuke immediately recognized that both the Chakra Armor and the white lines were made of Chakra Metal. But this stone?
Studying the peculiar stone, Sasuke fell into deep thought.
He could sense that this fist-sized blue stone contained a Chakra reserve comparable to that of a Jonin—roughly equivalent to one "Kilo-Chakra" unit.
A mere stone containing such immense Chakra? This was truly eye-opening.
Even Chakra Crystals didn't possess such sheer quantity, only exceptionally high quality.
Where could this thing have come from?
Sasuke meticulously reviewed his memories of the original series, but nothing matched this stone.
'Another artifact from chapters I haven't read!'
'Or, more likely, Masashi has buried another mess of cryptic plot points later on!'
'If only I'd known, I would have forced myself to read every chapter of Boruto in my previous life. Even if it had dropped to a 2/10, I would have gritted my teeth and finished it.'
Having found no clues, Sasuke mentally cursed.
"The blue patterns on this armor mimic the chakra path system, and this stone sits where the body's Chakra source would be."
"It's the combination of these two that amplifies the wearer's Ninjutsu effectiveness."
Though he hadn't figured out the stone's origin, Sasuke quickly grasped the principle behind the Chakra Armor's Ninjutsu amplification.
"So, how do I use it? Swallow it? Place it near my navel?"
Muttering to himself, Sasuke removed the stone and stored it in a storage scroll.
'How could I possibly use something of unknown origin so rashly? Let alone swallow it?'
Having understood the Chakra Armor's Ninjutsu amplification mechanism, Sasuke could now experiment with applying the same principles to his Lightning Release Armor.
As for the stone serving as a Chakra source, he already had a far superior alternative.
That was the Futsu-no-Mitama Sword!
As Sasuke pondered silently, a dazzling Lightning Armor materialized around him once more.
"Next is to integrate it into the chakra path and chakra pool, mimicking the human body's Chakra circulation."
The Futsu-no-Mitama Sword in his hand transformed into a bolt of lightning and merged into the armor.
The electric arcs crackling across the armor intensified, and the chaotic lightning began to coalesce into thick, writhing electric serpents.
"This might be a bit tricky," Sasuke muttered, narrowing his eyes slightly. The human body's structure was exquisitely intricate, and Lightning Release Chakra was inherently the most difficult to control.
Mimicking the human body with lightning was no easy feat.
His black pupils gradually turned crimson, morphing into an eerie six-pointed star pattern. As if encountering their sovereign, the untamed lightning seemed to submit to his command.
Under his command, the electric filaments hovering in mid-air rapidly intertwined and converged like vines.
Within moments, they organized themselves into the body's nerves, meridians, blood vessels, and even muscles and textures, abruptly coalescing into a humanoid armor form.
___
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