Shadow Coffin

Nara Kagetsu's Dog Food:

Quality: Blue

Ingredients: Herbs, Meat.

Effect: Strengthens the Physical Fitness of Ninja Dogs with no side effects! The optimal period is the juvenile stage after a canine has been weaned.

Conclusion: It holds an extremely high allure for canines. You could use it to capture an entire canine pack. Win over its stomach, and you win over everything.

Recognition: 780/1000 (The higher the Recognition, the more inspiration and rewards you will receive in subdivided fields of similar works.)

Rewards: Physical Fitness +1, Chakra +10

Watching Sanmaru hunch over a bowl, stuffing himself with gusto, Nara Kagetsu finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The Recognition had originally been only 10/100. Clearly, one of the adults in the Inuzuka Clan had acknowledged the effects of this Dog Food.

As the foremost authority on raising dogs, their recognition was exceptionally valuable. As for Inuzuka San mentioning that his father would visit Kagetsu's parents in the next few days, that obviously revealed an interest in the Dog Food and a desire to see whether they could cooperate.

Nara Kagetsu was looking forward to it.

It could not be helped. If he had possessed the kind of talent recognized by ninjas as genius-level, he might have been able to lie low and develop. With the Nara Clan's Secret Ninjutsu, he would not need to worry about learning ninjutsu or finding teachers; he would only need time to grow.

But a research-oriented talent like Great Ne's simply could not lie low. It was a talent that demanded immense resources and burned through money, with practically no upper limit on resource consumption.

For the sake of his future safety and growth, Nara Kagetsu had to plan ahead, work hard to display his value, and find ways to make money for himself early on.

After all, although he had the Nara Clan at his back, the extent of the clan's training and resource investment in its members—and the weight of one's voice at critical moments—depended on talent and importance.

If this went smoothly, he should be able to obtain a fairly substantial sum of seed money from the Inuzuka Clan. Then, he could begin some technical research within his capabilities.

Of course, survival came first. The soul of Great Ne meant that you could kill him on your first encounter, but you could never truly kill him. Just like in this world, you could defeat Snake Man, but you could never completely kill him.

In a dangerous world, only by surviving could one have a future.

Whimper, whimper.

He felt something bump against his knee. Kagetsu looked down to see Sanmaru, who had licked the bowl clean, rubbing against his leg in satisfaction before lying on the floor and exposing his round belly with soft whimpers.

"I made this today. You can take it home when you leave." Kagetsu handed the opened bag to Inuzuka San, who accepted it without surprise.

It had been the same last time. He had taken two portions back to the clan for his parents. By lifting this bag, he could tell it was enough for Sanmaru to eat for three or four days. But if his parents' companions were included, it would only be enough for today's food.

That evening.

Nara Shikaji returned home exhausted and saw Nara Kagetsu kneeling neatly on the floor, his eyes sparkling as he looked up at him.

"I succeeded, Father."

Just as Nara Shikaji was struggling with how to dismiss and placate this son who gave him such a headache, Kagetsu's words made his rapidly spinning mind come to an abrupt halt. For a moment, he was even dazed, wondering if he had misheard.

"What did you say?" Nara Shikaji's dull eyes widened. He quickly walked over and sat down beside Nara Kagetsu, asking in astonishment.

Nara Kagetsu said nothing more. Instead, he spread open his palm toward Nara Shikaji. A small peach lay in the center of it. Under his unblinking gaze, a mass of pitch-black shadow rapidly formed in Kagetsu's tiny palm, taking the shape of an upright black rectangular coffin.

Black protrusions like stabbing swords suddenly pierced into the coffin. When the black shadows faded, the small peach trapped inside looked as though it had been ravaged by a barrage of blades, left in complete ruin.

Seeing Kagetsu drenched in sweat and breathing heavily, even someone as clever as Nara Shikaji was momentarily left speechless.

Although the technique Kagetsu had painstakingly demonstrated was far from perfect in his eyes—even the Black Coffin's form was thin and crude to the point of being unsightly—he still could not deny that it was an extremely profound Shadow Secret Technique.

Thinking of Kagetsu's previous questions and discussions, Nara Shikaji could understand even more deeply that the potential of this technique went far beyond this. It might even become a truly profound Yin Release Secret Technique, rather than remaining limited to shadows.

Giving form to the formless, creating form from nothing! That was the nature of Yin Release.

Compared to Genjutsu, which also belonged to Yin Release, the Nara Clan's Shadow Secret Technique came closer to the deeper power of Yin Release.

The Nara Clan did possess techniques that gave shadows offensive power, but that did nothing to diminish the value of the Shadow Black Coffin! And when one considered that its creator was a child not yet six years old, it became all the more shocking!

Nara Shikaji also knew that this technique had been built upon the Nara Clan's secret collections, as well as the wholehearted explanations and instruction of several Nara Clan Elders, including himself.

But even he had not believed, when he first heard of this technique, that it could be created in a short time. And by "short time," he meant years.

The knowledge, experience, understanding, and insight into Yin Release required by this technique were beyond what someone Kagetsu's age could control. Even with the clan Elders filling in his gaps in knowledge and experience, it was still extremely difficult.

"Prepare a copy of your thought process and hand seals." Nara Shikaji took a deep breath and made his request of Nara Kagetsu. There was no doubt that this technique could be listed as a new Secret Ninjutsu within the clan. And the clan would undoubtedly grant him the gifts and rewards he deserved. He knew those were what his son needed.

Almost without hesitation, Nara Kagetsu pushed several notes on the table to his father's side, as though he had long prepared them. At the same time, another interface that had been stagnant in his mind for a long while finally appeared.

Secret Ninjutsu · New

Quality: A+ (+ indicates growth potential)

Basic Training Requirement: Master Yin Release

Advanced Requirement: Shadow Secret Technique

Effect: Uses Yin Release Power to grant shadows tangible offensive power, gathering them into a Black Coffin that seals the target inside. Targets within will simultaneously suffer numerous piercing wounds.

Conclusion: Do not enter it.

Recognition: 10/1000. (The higher the Recognition, the more inspiration and rewards you will receive in subdivided fields of similar works.)

The moment he saw the interface, Nara Kagetsu's mind became clear. Knowledge involving Yin Release Power that had once still felt obscure suddenly became much easier to understand. At the same time, inspiration for the next stage of developing this Secret Ninjutsu began flooding into his mind.

PS: Those who have invested can make their move now!