Reverse Force

"The first step was severing my own chakra pathways. That alone was something no ordinary person could get through..." Feeling the agonizing pain coursing through every part of his body, even Moriyue trembled uncontrollably. He had not failed; the first step was meant to be like this—destroying one's own chakra pathways. What kind of madman could have come up with such a thing?

However, Moriyue's chakra pathways had long been riddled with damage from forcibly circulating Chakra that made no distinction between friend and foe. They shattered quite cleanly now. When it came to cultivating forbidden techniques, he was actually exceptionally gifted.

But it was not over yet. As his chakra pathways broke apart and Chakra scattered outward like flowing water, Moriyue followed the method on the scroll and forcibly made his body absorb that escaping Chakra.

Strange runes identical to those on the scroll appeared all over Moriyue's body. Those black-and-white pictographic symbols glowed white, assisting him in absorbing the Chakra.

The pain of Chakra energy fusing with his flesh far exceeded Moriyue's expectations. It felt as if his soul had been shredded and placed beneath a hydraulic press, or as if he were being forced through an opening dozens of times smaller than his body. The suffocating pressure made it hard for Moriyue to breathe. His body still could not withstand such a powerful impact.

His breathing was about to stop. The intense suffocation seemed to drag Moriyue down beneath ten thousand meters of seawater. The crushing pressure and suffocation throughout his body constantly ravaged his nerves, yet the Dog Talisman kept him barely alive. He repeatedly teetered on the edge between life and death.

His heartbeat grew faint, but fortunately, Moriyue had completed the second stage of fusion.

"Huff, huff, huff, huff!" Moriyue's entire body shook as he struggled to turn over. Temporarily ignoring the lingering pain, he braced himself against the ground with both hands and greedily gulped down the not-so-sweet air.

Blood seeped from the surface of his body, mixing with sweat as it dripped down. Moriyue closed his eyes. The violent Chakra vanished without a trace, and even the channels through which Chakra had once flowed had completely disappeared, leaving behind what seemed to be an empty body.

Yet Moriyue could feel that Chakra had not disappeared from his body. It merely existed within him in another form, one he was still unable to use.

"The next step is the most crucial one. Did the person who created this technique actually survive long enough to complete the second step...?"

Moriyue rested for a long time before acting again, only after his body had fully adapted to this state.

"The final step is to try mobilizing the Chakra within my body and use my dantian as the center to form new pathways. These pathways must completely merge with every inch of my body."

"But that method was proven ineffective. So if I reverse it... I use the Chakra fused with my body to pierce into my dantian from the opposite direction, thereby completing the Chakra supply?" Moriyue rubbed his chin, feeling that this should be the answer.

Unlike the former Chakra pathways, which had been like broad roads, countless tiny Chakra threads fused with flesh and blood emerged from Moriyue's body. Without the slightest pause, those threads linked directly to his dantian. The Chakra threads felt incredibly familiar to him; after all, they had fused from his own flesh, so his control over them was naturally stronger than ever before.

Still, he did not know whether this fused energy of his could still be considered Chakra. According to the creator of the forbidden technique, this energy was no longer pure Chakra. It was energy marked by distinct personal traits.

There were no issues with the final step. Or rather, it went unexpectedly smoothly. But Moriyue knew this was all a treasure left behind by his predecessor. That predecessor had explored the path ahead for him; all he needed to do was place the final piece of the puzzle.

"It worked!" Moriyue stood up. The black-and-white patterns on his body completely faded away, while the words atop the scroll gradually dimmed. Like a candle whose flame had burned out, the writing became transparent. Even the scroll itself continued to decay, and before long, it was utterly ruined beyond recognition.

"Did it run out of energy...?" Moriyue did not rush to inspect the new power he had gained. He carefully put away the badly damaged scroll, placing it in a specially made case before letting out a soft breath.

"I should keep it. Now then, this new power..." Moriyue adjusted his breathing where he stood, doing his best to calm his wildly excited heart.

An unprecedented lightness spread through his body, like a roaming dragon freed from its restraints. Moriyue's mood brightened along with it.

Unlike that rebellious Chakra from before, which constantly wanted to kill him, this Chakra struck wherever he directed it and obeyed his commands completely. His control over Chakra had reached an unprecedented level, as though he were simply using his own body—utterly flexible and natural.

Lightning shot forth. Grayish currents surged over Moriyue's body, and the heat of the lightning scorched the undried blood on him into brittle crusts. He shook his body, sending layers of blackened blood scabs falling away. That saved him the trouble of taking a bath.

With a sweep of his hand, lightning gathered at Moriyue's fingertips. He tried increasing his Chakra output, and in the next instant, a current as thick as a wrist shot from his fingers. Explosions rang out from both his fingertips and the wall opposite him.

Dust filled the air. Moriyue coughed a few times. The effect was good—he could still use techniques with this kind of power.

"But what makes this different from ordinary ninjutsu? Can I cultivate ninjutsu normally now?" There were still things Moriyue had not figured out. For now, he only knew that he could freely control the Chakra within his body. He did not even need hand seals to use techniques; it felt like he could unleash them with a mere lift of his hand.

"Wait, I can freely adjust the power of the techniques I use?" Moriyue belatedly realized something. This was far from as simple as it sounded.

Chakra pathways did not merely transport Chakra; they also protected the ninja's body. To prevent bodily harm, the various acupoints in the chakra pathways regulated the flow of Chakra so it would not injure its user.

Simply put, the Eight Inner Gates gradually removed the restrictions that the pathway acupoints placed on Chakra, allowing the user to unleash power beyond their own limits all at once—like a human removing their limiter.

But Moriyue could now completely control the flow of Chakra in his body, without any restrictions. In theory, he could turn any ordinary ninjutsu into a forbidden technique.

The Shadow Clone Jutsu could become the Sea of People Jutsu, the Water Dragon Bullet Jutsu could become the Tsunami Jutsu, and Tengai Shinsei could become a falling meteorite. All of it was possible.

Provided he had enough Chakra.

"This power... is incredible..." Moriyue felt from the bottom of his heart that learning this forbidden technique had been the right choice. Though the process had hurt so badly that he had nearly died, the gains were unprecedented.

There was not only no casting delay, but even the strength of his techniques was entirely up to him. Could any other ninja do that?