Naruto: Snow Cold

[Amai's POV]

Fuhuhuhuhu...

This young master's progress in refining my control over ice has been remarkable, but... I think it's about time we take this up a notch. I can't afford to let these prodigies and geniuses be stronger than me. I have a Kekkei Genkai, for crying out loud!

"Are you absolutely sure about this, dear? What you're trying to do is risky, and dangerous. It could overload and shut off any of your senses—permanently, at the worst. There's a reason people don't try this until they're older and have far more experience." my mother says, her voice low and grave, laced with more concern than usual.

"It's gonna be fine, mom. I know the risks," I responded, flashing a reassuring smile at her. "And besides, I've been doing my reading. I'll be careful."

"...Just know that if you somehow hurt yourself, I'm not letting you do anything like this ever again. Do you understand me, Amai?" She said, her tone firm and unyielding. Her eyes locked onto mine, searching for any sign of hesitation or recklessness.

"I promise, Mom," I said, keeping my voice steady and as sincere as I could manage. "I'll use as little chakra as possible, and stop the moment I feel somethings slightly off."

She studied me for a moment longer, her lips pressed into a thin line. The tension in her posture didn't ease, but she gave a small nod. "Alright. But, remember that even the slightest mistake will screw up your system. You can't mess this up."

What I was going to try and do, was to put it simply, boost my senses. Magnify at least one of all senses. Smell, view, taste, hearing, touch. Chakra might be the 6th sense. If I succeed, I could probably even try to amplify the power of my vocal chords.

Foolish, you may think. But, my chakra control is something else right now. I can walk on trees, water, empower specific muscles, or even every single muscle in my body at once. Theoretically, it should be possible for me to heighten my senses, considering the level I am at.

This will be something that shall give me an edge, even if temporary. I'm sure medical ninjas can do this at a way higher degree, but only when they're performing extremely intricate tasks such as surgery. They can focus chakra into very specific areas of the body, enhancing the precision of their movements and even amplifying sensory perception to detect the smallest changes in a patient's condition.

Although they're medical ninjas for a reason. They're not meant for combat, which means they generally have very limited chakra and low combat capabilities, with only one exception.

Medic-nin combat specialists. People like Senju Tsunade and Yakushi Kabuto.

Those who apply the exact same delicate and precise techniques and merge them with combat. Immense chakra reserves and a balance of skills that allow them to both heal and fight on the front lines, with devastating effectiveness.

Despite her reserves, Tsunade's control is nearly flawless. She uses this to her advantage by precisely gathering chakra into any specific part of her body, allowing her to use any technique to its maximum potential with almost no chakra wastage or delay, resulting in her inhuman strength. Her senses must be top-notch as well, considering that she can analyze a person's condition from a distance and maintain acute awareness of her patient's internal workings.

Kabuto, on the other hand, while lacking Tsunade's immense strength, possesses a similar level of refined chakra control. He uses his Chakra Scalpel for hand-to-hand combat instead of its designed purpose. With it, he can sever muscles, tendons, and even disrupt internal organs with terrifying accuracy.

My point is, the key to their strength lies in the mastery of chakra control and precision. Exactly the reason why I'm doing this, despite the risks.

Enough rambling—my imaginary audience might be bored by now. It's time to get to work.

I felt my mother's hands on my shoulders, steady and reassuring, a silent promise that she wouldn't let me face this alone. Her chakra hovered just beneath the surface of her touch, ready to intervene at the slightest hint of something going wrong.

"Don't rush it," she said, her tone laced with worry.

I simply nodded and closed my eyes. Blocking out my surroundings has gotten easier with daily meditation.

Yeah, I meditate at least one hour daily to improve my spiritual energy, even if just a little. It's not much, but even small improvements add up over time.

The first sense I'm going to tamper with, the least delicate organ of all the sensory organs... Touch. My skin.

As far as I know and have studied, our skin detects pressure, temperature, pain, and texture through various receptors: Mechanoreceptors, Thermoreceptors, Nociceptors, and Proprioceptors.

I'm not going into detail for each one of those because it'd take far too long to explain, but the gist of it is that mechanoreceptors, as the name suggests, respond to mechanical pressure or distortions and are primarily found in the skin. Thermoreceptors detect changes in temperature. Nociceptors are pain receptors that respond to potentially damaging stimuli, and finally, proprioceptors are specialized receptors that sense the position and movement of the body.

The first three—mechanoreceptors, thermoreceptors, and nociceptors—can be found in the epidermis, dermis, and hypodermis. In simpler terms, they are distributed across the outer, middle, and deeper layers of the skin.

Meanwhile, it's different for proprioceptors. These receptors are not located in the skin itself, but are found in muscles, tendons, and joints.

What I'm going to do is go specifically for the mechanoreceptors and increase the chakra input for them so that their activity is boosted. Therefore, I'll sense pressure, texture, and vibrations on a higher level.

As for applications… I don't know. Maybe it will let me sense an opponent's movements more effectively in combat or notice traps before they're triggered. It could also improve my precision when it comes to finding weak points by sensing the resistance and texture of surfaces. That, in turn, could allow me to adjust the force and angle of my strikes for maximum impact, like targeting nerve points.

Then again… This is risky. If I'm not careful, it could overload me with information. Rushing this could flood my brain with sensory input, making it impossible to focus, let alone fight.

I took a deep breath, steadying my nerves. No room for hesitation now. Control, precision, and balance. Small amounts at a time.

"Okay..." I muttered under my breath, feeling the grip of my mother's hands tighten slightly on my shoulders. It was a silent reminder of her presence—a mixture of support and concern. I won't let you down.

Focusing inward, I began to channel my chakra, guiding it with deliberate intent. Mechanoreceptors, mechanoreceptors... Merkel cells, Meissner's and Pacinian corpuscles, Ruffini endings—all scattered throughout the layers of the skin: the epidermis, dermis, and hypodermis. A lot of them were concentrated in the hands, making them ideal for fine-tuned sensitivity.

I imagined the energy threading into my hands like very tiny streams, flowing into each receptor type. The change was negligible at first, but the more I increased it, the more I felt with my hands. It was as though tiny sparks of electricity danced across my palms, a tingling awareness that grew sharper with every controlled pulse of chakra.

I stretched my fingers experimentally, and—oh my lord—I could feel it so much more. The air wasn't just empty space anymore; it felt like something tangible, slightly heavy. Speaking of heavy, stretching them made me feel the pull a lot more than usual. The vibrations... God, the moment I let them brush with my pants, the sensation was so vivid it was almost overwhelming. It was like I could feel every fiber, every texture, every little ripple of movement.

Too much. This wouldn't help me in combat if I couldn't manage it. It was as if every tiny detail of the world was being sent through my hands at once, and I had no way to filter out what was important.

I squinted my eyes, concentrating hard as I carefully and gradually reduced the chakra flow. I cut it back by about... forty percent? Fifty percent? It was hard to say exactly, but I didn't need to be precise, just careful. Little by little, the overwhelming flood of sensations began to calm down.

I sighed in relief. Everything wasn't as heavy anymore and wasn't so overbearing, but the change in the information input was still noticeable, compared to just touching anything normally.

"So... How does it feel?" my mother asked, her voice gentle but filled with an underlying concern.

I flexed my fingers once more, testing the sensation, in order to get a better "feel" for what was happening. No pun intended, "It... certainly feels different. Everything feels so much more... vivid. And complex."

"It's like I can feel every single detail. The shifts in pressure, texture... It's overwhelming. But it doesn't feel wrong."

"It's working, then? You actually managed to do it?" she said, her tone laced with faint shock.

I turned my gaze to her, and smiled.

"...Yeah. It's working."