Chapter Nineteen: Cultivating Forbidden Jutsu

"A chance to become a Chunin?" Moriyue was confused. He only knew that one could become a Chunin by passing the Chunin Exams, or by directly demonstrating immense strength. He didn't believe the Raikage would pass up readily available combat power.

The only reason he didn't have the title of Chunin yet was that the village's higher-ups deemed him unworthy.

What difference would it make if you showed Chunin-level strength when you only had a few days left to live? Unless you were as powerful as a Jinchuriki, they really had no reason to let a talentless guy like Moriyue join the Chunin ranks.

But Darui said there was a turn of events, and Moriyue guessed it had something to do with the document in his hand. As expected, Darui pulled Moriyue into a room and placed the document in front of him.

"Yes, there's a mission before you now. To be upfront, this mission is quite difficult, so make your decision after careful consideration."

Darui had a bit of a headache. This was purely the Raikage finding work for him.

"Konoha and the Sand Shinobi are jointly holding the Chunin Exams. They sent invitations to all the major villages. Lord Raikage thought Konoha was trying to take the lead, so he refused..."

"But this could also be an opportunity to test the strength of other villages. Therefore, Lord Raikage still intends to send a small team to participate in the Chunin Exams. You understand, right?"

Moriyue mulled over Darui's words. The second Chunin Exams? If he remembered correctly, only people from Konoha and the Sand Village participated. No, the Hidden Rain Village also participated.

"Selecting ninjas who won't expose the village's strength? Then I am indeed very suitable..." Moriyue chuckled self-deprecatingly. This mission was good, he accepted it.

"So you've made up your mind? This will be your first mission. If it's successful, I'll help you secure some resources afterwards. When you're ready, go to the hospital for treatment. It would be great if you could become a Chunin during the exams."

Seeing that Moriyue agreed, Darui didn't try to persuade him further. He needed to consider the other two ninjas who would accompany Moriyue to the competition.

Leaving Darui's office, Moriyue went to the hospital as if he owned the place. The nurses were used to him. In fact, they would find it strange if they didn't see Moriyue at the hospital these days.

He took a bath and received treatment in one go, finally getting rid of his afro. Moriyue felt that he was mostly fine and left the hospital to go home.

"The second Chunin Exams, huh? I remember quite a few familiar faces. Are we really going to meet them so soon?" Moriyue had thought it would be a while before he encountered those people, but he didn't expect to have the chance so quickly.

"Not to mention the Konoha rookies. There's Shira, who created the Seven Heavens Breathing Method; Ajisai, the future 'Loli Dao' of the Hidden Rain Village; and the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki. There's also that Biwa Monk who can extract Tailed Beasts?"

Come to think of it, there were quite a few participants in this Chunin Exam. However, Naruto wasn't here; he was still learning Ninjutsu from Jiraiya. Thinking about this, Moriyue had a better understanding of the current time period. It should be shortly after the beginning of Shippuden.

"It's a shame that after this Chunin Exam, many people disappear from the picture. The Seven-Tails is extracted by the Immortal Duo, Ajisai is killed on the spot during an S-rank mission arranged by Konan, Shira's whereabouts are unknown, and that Forbidden Jutsu Master is backfired by his own Forbidden Jutsu..."

Moriyue sighed and adjusted his mindset. This battle was truly a gathering of talents; if he didn't prepare himself properly, it would be difficult to win.

"Come on, let me personally test the power of Forbidden Jutsu: Reverse."

Moriyue knew his limits. He specifically cleared out a room and sat in the center. Since the surroundings were all stone walls, he was confident that this time there wouldn't be any situations where practicing Forbidden Jutsu would blow up surrounding objects.

Taking a deep breath, Moriyue nervously took out the scroll containing Reverse. Strange patterns appeared on the scroll's exterior, and lines of text unfolded before his eyes as Moriyue's hands moved.

"The ability to actively utilize Chakra is the difference between a ninja and a civilian. This is also what people call 'talent'."

"But talent is never very reliable. If one could create a technique that allows civilians to use Ninjutsu, then such a technique would be worthy of being called the greatest technique."

"I analyze the flow of Chakra by reverse parsing. Since people without talent cannot make Chakra flow forward, why not try from the opposite direction? Instead of purifying Chakra, why not integrate oneself into Chakra and transform into an energy that only oneself can use?"

"This is the idea behind Forbidden Jutsu: Reverse. Instead of purifying Chakra, it completely fuses Chakra with one's own flesh and blood."

"With this method, even those with chaotic Chakra within their bodies who cannot cultivate have a chance to use Ninjutsu, although there have been no successful cases so far."

"Next are the specific cultivation methods for Reverse. I've written all my data here."

"And here is my experimental data for this time. If I die in this experiment, it means the final running circuit is incorrect, and it should be reversed."

"Good luck..."

What appeared before Moriyue's eyes was not some profound Forbidden Jutsu knowledge. Instead, it was a lengthy passage, seemingly recorded by the developer of this Forbidden Jutsu. It also contained a lot of experimental data, most of which had been perfected by the developer, with only a large question mark on the final pathway.

Moriyue couldn't help but feel a sense of melancholy. He had used his own life to verify a theory, but no one dared to verify if his final idea was correct anymore. The developer had died from his own Forbidden Jutsu, so how could anyone else dare to risk their life to cultivate his technique?

His gaze swept directly over the cultivation method, and Moriyue didn't hesitate. He released all his Chakra without holding back.

Like a awakened beast, blood-red Chakra opened its monstrous jaws and gnawed at Moriyue's body. He was accustomed to this level of pain, and without changing his expression, he continued to operate according to the method on the scroll.

Although Moriyue couldn't fully control the violent Chakra, no matter what, that Chakra originated from Moriyue himself. He controlled the lifeblood of the Chakra.

Faintly, Moriyue could actually sense the location where his own Chakra was produced. However, most of that pale blue Chakra had already been dyed blood-red, continuously supplying uncontrollable crimson Chakra.

Without panic, Moriyue started cultivating bit by bit, using the source of the Chakra as the starting point.

The Chakra pathways, which originally resembled tree roots, began to collapse bit by bit. The pathways, already in a mess from being ravaged by the violent Chakra, could no longer withstand such pressure. In an instant, they shattered like glass into dust.

The Chakra meridians that supplied life force were broken. Moriyue seemed... to have failed?