Whose Cheat Had This Many Restrictions?

"Yo, you're back."

"Did you two never leave, or did you come back again?"

"We never left. Time here and time in our worlds only sync up when we come over."

"The rules behind it are complicated. Take the Navy guy and me: when I'm the only one here, time follows mine. Time here flows at the same rate as in my world, but since the Navy guy isn't here, time flows differently in the pirate world and the Soul Reaper world. Once the Navy guy comes over, time in our two worlds starts flowing at the same rate. If I leave first, then time follows his."

Here, since they were all Wang Chuan, they referred to each other by their worlds or professions.

"The Soul Reaper and I tested it. We originally planned to take turns keeping watch so we wouldn't miss a new version of ourselves coming here, but we kept showing up at the same time. That's how we discovered the time discrepancy."

"So time is distorted here."

"More than that. Space is distorted too. This place looks wide open, but we can't actually walk very far. Or rather, we can't get very far from this enormous screen of light."

"Have you tried seeing how far you can walk now?"

"No, we haven't tried."

"Could our range of movement increase as our numbers grow?"

"If that's really the case, doesn't that mean our cheat isn't in its complete form yet?"

"Or it might be restoring the cheat to its original state."

"That's very possible. Teacher Du transmigrated because of a bolt of Chaos Thunder, and that's how he got his cheat. We only took a tumble. Surely some flop of an author couldn't think of a way to give us a cheat and just made something up?"

"It's also possible we're test subjects for something some big shot made on a whim."

"We can't rule that out."

"Speaking of which, since we're all here, could Teacher Du's world be real too? Could other fanfiction worlds and the original story worlds also be real?"

"That's very possible."

"Then how does it work? Surely those authors didn't create these worlds, did they? Or are fictional worlds on a lower plane, and we got reduced to a lower dimension, so we got a cheat?"

"Not necessarily. The worlds in those works might have manifested in our world through the authors' hands."

"Let's skip this topic. We're too weak right now to figure anything out. We might as well talk about the issues in the Naruto world."

"There's nothing wrong on my end, is there?"

"There is, and a lot of it."

With that, the Soul Reaper and the Navy guy began playing off each other.

"The Navy guy and I discussed it just now. First, there's the question of your identity. A surname made up of one hand, two hands, and three hands, and a naming convention like wood, woods, and forest—it's hard not to think of Hashirama Senju."

"Besides that, there's the question of your family's medical skills."

"I understand why the name makes you think of Hashirama Senju, and I understand why you'd think I'm a member of the Senju Clan. After all, Tobirama Senju had the Senju Clan drop their surname and disperse throughout Konoha. But you can't conclude that I have Senju Clan blood from that alone, can you? And what's wrong with the medical skills?"

"Tsunade is one of the best medical practitioners in the Naruto world. Remember how she learned her medical skills?"

"If I remember correctly, Hashirama Senju taught her."

"That's the problem. Where did Hashirama Senju learn his medical skills? Surely he didn't learn them from Katsuyu."

"Never mind whether Katsuyu knows medicine. I'd believe she knows Medical Ninjutsu, but with the First's hot-blooded idiot brain, even if Katsuyu knew human medicine, I'd have a hard time believing he'd take the initiative to learn it from her."

"So you're saying the First was forced to learn medical skills passed down through the Senju Clan for generations?"

"Yes. The Soul Reaper and I concluded that Hashirama Senju created the Senju Clan's Kekkei Genkai, Wood Release. Before that, did the Senju Clan fight the Uchiha Clan with nothing but a Chakra bloodline inferior to the Uzumaki Clan's?"

The Navy guy paused, then continued, "The Senju Clan's inherited bloodline trait is Chakra, but their Ninjutsu specialties are never mentioned, nor is it said whether they have any unique Ninjutsu, like the Uzumaki Clan's Sealing Jutsu. I even suspect that the Senju Clan's greater Chakra reserves compared to most ninja came from diluted Uzumaki blood, since the two clans were always on good terms and intermarried from time to time."

"So you think the Senju Clan's specialties are human medicine and Medical Ninjutsu."

"Another reason is Katsuyu. She's a very unusual summoning creature. She seems to acknowledge only ninja with exceptional Medical Ninjutsu, and she's very likely a summoning creature passed down through the Senju Clan for generations."

"Besides, there's something else the original story never mentioned: where did Hashirama Senju learn Sage Mode? Even if he was Asura's reincarnation, he shouldn't have known Sage Mode. By rights, he should have learned his Pops' Six Paths Mode."

"Now that you put it that way, it does seem more and more suspicious."

"Actually, the Senju Clan is no big deal, and you most likely—or rather, there's no chance at all you have Wood Release. Hashirama Senju's only descendants are Nawaki and Tsunade, so you most likely don't have Hashirama's direct bloodline. If you want Wood Release, you'll have to rely on yourself."

"And Wood Release isn't what's important. Looking at the Naruto world as a whole, Wood Release can only be considered top-tier, and even then, only in Hashirama Senju's hands. What's truly important is the Ōtsutsuki Clan."

Tamaki frowned. "Because of Kāma, right?"

"Not just Kāma. There's also Shibai Ōtsutsuki. He's rumored to have very possibly transcended the material plane of the entire Naruto world. That level of power is much higher than in either my world or the Soul Reaper's."

"The pirate world hasn't ended yet either. It's hard to say exactly how things stand there, isn't it?"

"That's all unknown. On the Naruto world's side, it's known, and its power level is high enough."

"Besides," the Soul Reaper Wang Chuan interjected, "I don't think we should pass up Natural Energy either. That's another reason we brought up the Senju Clan. With your current identity, Katsuyu is your easiest route to Sage Mode."

"We'd have to find Tsunade for that, wouldn't we? Right now, the whole of Konoha probably means less to her than a foxtail weed by the roadside."

"At least your current goal—becoming a medical-nin—would put you in the best position to approach Tsunade without her rejecting you outright. If your Senju identity really is confirmed, that would be even better."

"Actually, Jiraiya might work too, but there's no way to find where he is. Also, don't be fooled by his lecherous exterior. He's one of the Sannin, a genuine Kage Level powerhouse. With your current identity, you shouldn't have any contact with something like Sage Mode. Even Teacher Du knew to hide the fact that he knew about Tailed Beast Bombs."

"But there aren't so many complications with approaching Tsunade. Besides, I don't believe the entire Senju Clan really lost all contact after dispersing. More likely, in the original story, the Senju Clan simply didn't have anyone else left who could hold up their end."

"If you grow stronger and develop respectable Medical Ninjutsu, and you want to make a contract with Katsuyu, I think that with your uncle's rank as a Special Jōnin, even if he doesn't know how to contact Tsunade, he can at least find someone who does. At the very least, a Special Jōnin is still a Jonin and is qualified to see the Hokage. Hiruzen Sarutobi, Jiraiya, Orochimaru—at least one of them can contact her."

"Of course, it would be best if you could develop Wood Release. Then you'd be guaranteed to see Tsunade, and Konoha would treasure you."

"Wood Release can be a goal, but I don't have Hashirama's physique. I doubt I could use Wood Release on his scale."

"What you lack in physique, you can make up for with Chakra. There are only three of us now, but there will be more later. Even if they transmigrate into soap operas or slice-of-life anime, they'll at least have soul power. A powerful soul can improve your physique and Chakra. If it keeps increasing, that'll be enough for you to keep growing."

"Another reason to get access to Natural Energy is that it extends your lifespan. Right now, we don't know whether lifespans are shared, but as long as you truly obtain Natural Energy, your lifespan will have a certain measure of protection. Besides that, there's the Ōtsutsuki Clan's Kāma."

"Though Kāma probably can't be used directly across worlds. Unlike many cheats shared by people who transmigrated together, ours makes it very difficult to directly use powers unique to each other's worlds, especially when they involve rules-based abilities or systems unique to a world. Skill-based things like Taijutsu and swordsmanship can be used directly across worlds."

"One reason I've set my sights on Kāma is that it's a means of converting oneself into information. And information, from the perspective of physics and world construction, is absolutely universal. The only difference is that the way Kāma is constructed will vary between worlds, since the fundamental constants of different worlds may have subtle differences."

Tamaki rubbed his chin. "The idea is sound, but there are only twenty or thirty years until the original story's ending, and the Ōtsutsuki Clan's arrival isn't far off either. It's not very realistic to raise our strength enough."

"Now that you mention it, that's true. It's been almost twenty years since the Navy guy and I met, and you're the first one to show up."

"I don't think we need to worry too much. Time flows at different rates for us. Maybe the Soul Reaper or I will reach the original story's ending first and make a huge leap in strength. Besides, the power level in the Soul Reaper world isn't low either. Yhwach's level of strength isn't low, and he can see the future. By comparison, the upper limit of power in my world is much lower. Although there are many rules-based abilities, they aren't by-products of strong people improving their strength; they come from Devil Fruits. Truly strong fighters are only at the level of Admirals and the Four Emperors. If they can't escape, it's possible for lesser fighters to overwhelm and kill them through sheer numbers. After all, Conqueror's Haki has its limits too, and it can even be counteracted. So improvements in your strength will benefit me the most."

Tamaki and the Soul Reaper both rubbed their chins.

"Overall, I've settled on my goals too: improve my Medical Ninjutsu as much as possible, and study as much Earth Release and Water Release nature transformation and shape transformation as I can."

"Leave the basic medical knowledge to me. I'm almost at the end of what I can learn in Kidō, and it'll be hard to make any major improvements in the short term. But you'll still need to compare things yourself. There should be some subtle differences between the two worlds."

"That's even better. But you're graduating soon too, aren't you? The Navy guy is already a major and has more or less settled in. Are you planning to go straight to the Fourth Division?"

"Yeah. I'll follow Teacher Du's example. With that to learn from, why wouldn't I go? And there's Big Sis Unohana too. That way I can help you and live a peaceful, stable life under Big Sis Unohana's protection. The Fourth Division's status isn't low either, and I've done pretty well studying healing Kidō. It's a good arrangement."

"The idea is sound, but aren't you afraid Big Sis Unohana will ask you to spar with swords?"

"I haven't practiced swordsmanship in a long time. If a Zanpakuto weren't mandatory, I wouldn't even want an Asauchi. Wouldn't it be great to just study healing Kidō diligently and wait for the protagonist to come?"

"That's me for you. We even think alike."

"I have a reason I have to kill Kaido. I have to keep climbing."

Hearing that, Tamaki and the Soul Reaper Wang Chuan both fell silent. The two had seen the Navy Wang Chuan's memories and understood that reason deeply. Although time had caused differences in their personalities, at heart they were still that same Wang Chuan.

Afterward, they continued exchanging some thoughts about the plot, then each returned to his own world.

They also agreed to come back once every three days. Although time flowed at different rates, they were bound to run into one another eventually.

They would also think about whether there were other ways to solve the problem of time flowing at different rates, such as adding a synchronization relay station inside this space.