Kekkei Genkai

Nara Shikaku is now starting to take Shuichi seriously, and the Ino-Shika-Cho Clans has been discussing the next Hokage for a long time.

Originally, it would have been a choice between Jiraiya and Orochimaru, but Namikaze Minato's performance in the past two years has been outstanding. His image and character are almost perfect, and his strength has now fully met the requirements. Therefore, they have begun to subtly grow closer to this successor of the Will of Fire.

Although many years have passed since the founding of Konoha, the influence of the Warring States Period has not faded so easily.

The continuation and survival of a clan is a challenge for every clan head. To do well in Konoha, one must maintain good relations with the Hokage.

Shuichi, this new generation genius, is still young. According to the norm in the Shinobi World, even if he were to inherit the Hokage, it would take at least 20 years. Who knows what might happen in the meantime?

However, his performance during this period caught the attention of the Ino-Shika-Cho. Such rapid growth meant he might already have the strength to become a Kage before he even reached adulthood, and in a few years he would become one of the leaders among the Jonin. This was an impact that could not be ignored.

These thoughts flashed through his mind, and Nara Shikaku steered the conversation back to the war. "Since the enemy's endurance has been severely compromised, we don't need to rush. We can adopt a strategy of slow and steady advance..."

After the discussion, Nara Shikaku and Minato left one after another, leaving Orochimaru alone in the tent.

At this moment, the curtain was lifted again, and the person who came in was none other than Shuichi, who had successfully escaped. After completing the mission, he had returned to his true self, and he still carried a faint smell of earth and blood.

"Phew... I'm really exhausted this time. I don't want to take on this kind of mission again next time," Shuichi said wearily.

"Hmph, that's hard to say, because you're the only one I have who can perfectly execute all missions." Orochimaru was quite satisfied with the result.

Being a commander is incredibly stressful, but thankfully this disciple has never let him down. The course of the war is now much clearer. "Since no one knows you're back, take this opportunity to rest. I'll let you know if there are any important missions."

"All right."

At his age, he wouldn't normally have gone to the battlefield; instead, he would have stayed in the rear like other "young seedlings."

Shuichi's achievements are now fully worthy of a Jonin, Third Hokage's decision has made the village a huge profit.

"Oh, right, teacher, I brought back something important this time. Could you tell me how I should use it?"

Shuichi took out Scroll from his person, and upon opening it, he saw that the corpse of the former Iwagakure Jonin Iwagakure, Hoga, was still very well preserved. He decided to try the Explosion Release Bloodline Limit if it was feasible.

"This is..." Orochimaru walked over. This precious device for preserving ninja corpses was given to Shuichi by him. He didn't expect it to be used so soon.

"The Explosion Release ninja from the Iwagakure Explosion Corps was someone I encountered shortly after the mission began..."

"I see." Orochimaru pondered for a moment. "Are you interested in Explosion Release? If you want to research Kekkei Genkai, I can tell you some precautions beforehand."

"Oh? Okay!" Shuichi perked up.

Konoha certainly has its Kekkei Genkai. The First Hokage's Wood Release is renowned throughout the world, and the Sharingan and Byakugan are also top-tier Dōjutsu bloodlines that other villages covet.

However, the village's current situation is somewhat awkward. The Sharingan and Byakugan are Organ-type Bloodline Limit, which are entirely obtained through heredity. To use them, one can only transplant someone else's.

Even the inheritance of secret techniques is a minefield. The Konoha Village and the Ninja Clan have an agreement not to spy on it, let alone these two top-level Kekkei Genkai. Daring to make a move would be a serious taboo.

The Attribute-type Bloodline Limit for fusing two Chakra Nature Transformation has also hit a bottleneck, as only Wood Release is available for research, but it has failed to succeed despite numerous attempts.

Therefore, the village is in a blank period in this regard. The other four villages, which are also among the five major villages, all have more than two Attribute-type Bloodline Limit, while the strongest Konoha, has none. It's really embarrassing to say that.

"So, no ninjas have tried to research this all these years?" Shuichi asked. "Gathering the strength of an entire village should have made it easy, right?"

"If we really did that, we would definitely succeed, but it's actually not worth it at all..." Orochimaru explained the Composite Bloodline Limit to him.

First, there's the requirement of being able to independently attempt synthesis; this ninja needs to be proficient in the Nature Transformation of two attributes simultaneously.

While the specific skill level wasn't explicitly stated, a general standard can be referenced based on the situation in other villages: both individuals with a single attribute should be proficient in using Ninjutsu of A-rank or higher.

Once this capability is met, researchers can begin to try to integrate the two attributes. Researchers need to consider the time, risks and their own capacity to bear them, as well as practicality issues.

After using chakra to train Kekkei Genkai, the training speed of other skills will naturally decrease significantly. If you can't succeed even after many years of research, it's like wasting a lot of time that could have increased your strength.

There are also risks involved in this process. For example, when two types of chakra are mixed in the body, they may conflict. Even minor damage to the meridians and organs is much more difficult to recover from than skin and flesh injuries.

At the same time, one must also consider one's own capacity to withstand it. The first successful ninja is naturally stronger than the descendants who enjoy the blessings of bloodline, but being too strong is not a good thing either, as Bloodline Disease may result from it.

For example, if a Jonin with average physical abilities accidentally fuses with Kekkei Genkai due to his own recklessness, the excessive power will continuously damage his body. Kimimaro exhibited a reversion to his ancestral form in the original work, is the best example.

"Was the village's research on Wood Release also because of this?" Shuichi continued to ask, wanting to know how much Orochimaru knew about it.

"Yes, several volunteers failed after trying, and some even lost their lives on the spot," Orochimaru replied in a deep voice. "After discovering Jugo, and after this period of research, I realized that the village's previous attempts were too reckless. Wood Release is too powerful, making it almost impossible to master directly."

"However, I've recently made some discoveries," he said confidently. "It should be related to Natural Energy. Since the existing Wood Release is too powerful, we can weaken its power, making it easier to control. It's just that the Third Hokage doesn't seem to have any intention of continuing this research."

"Awesome!" Shuichi knew that Orochimaru had succeeded in just a few years, and even went on to create all sorts of amazing things.

He knew exactly what was going on. The First Hokage possessed Asura Chakra and Sage Body. Even a small amount would be fatal for an ordinary ninja, essentially meaning he was directly subjected to Jugo's Cursed Seal 3.0.

Add to that the ordinary Wood Release Kekkei Genkai, and even with incredible luck, it's impossible to succeed in receiving it all at once—it's equivalent to instantly leaping three levels in one's life.

"The research value of ordinary Kekkei Genkai is limited, so if you want to conduct research on your own, there isn't much for you to refer to."

From Orochimaru, Shuichi learned some information about Konoha's Kekkei Genkai.

In the years of fighting against various villages, I have encountered many "common" Kekkei Genkai such as Lava Release, Ice Release, and Boil Release.

After a detailed assessment, the Konoha High Command concluded that it was not worthwhile to expend a large amount of resources to break a Kekkei Genkai.

A ninja's combat prowess lies primarily in the proper use of their skills rather than the level of their Ninjutsu. Even if a ninja can only use one attribute, mastering it to its fullest extent can still make them a top-tier fighter.

The Second Mizukage's Water Release were evenly matched with the Second Tsuchikage's Kekkei Tōta, while some people who were born with Lava Release or Ice Release never reached Jonin level in their entire lives. This shows that Kekkei Genkai are not the main factor affecting combat power, and Konoha has indeed killed quite a few such ninjas over the years.

Therefore, Konoha's top fighters realized that they hadn't even reached the limit of their ability to utilize a single attribute, so why bother researching Kekkei Genkai when it would be a thankless task?

The Flight ability and Gravity using Earth Release, the Black Lightning of Lightning Release, and the Water-Oil Separation of Water Release all demonstrate that there is still much room for improvement. The development of these single attributes, which are even stronger than Kekkei Genkai, can benefit the village's heritage. However, no one in Konoha has succeeded in doing so yet.

Nevertheless, Composite Bloodline Limit still have many advantages. For example, they can diversify a ninja's techniques, and if the body can withstand them, they can even continuously change Genes over time, making the user's chakra stronger and stronger.

"That's exactly the advantage I wanted!" Shuichi thought to himself.

Kekkei Genkai and single-attribute mastery are two paths, each with its own advantages and disadvantages, neither of which is good or bad. However, since his built-in Cheat/System can double the effect, synthesizing Kekkei Genkai is the most suitable training path for him.

"Teacher, I want to research Explosion Release on my own," Shuichi said. "Not only because I'm young and have plenty of time to experiment, but mainly because I have a new idea."

"Um?"

"That would be to directly sense the chakra of the Kekkei Genkai, absorb it into the body like blood, and simultaneously deepen one's understanding of both attributes. This would greatly accelerate the research process..."

This was something he had wanted to try since his transmigration, and it was inspired by the Gold and Silver Brothers from the original story.

Gold and Silver Brothers ate part of the Nine-Tails' flesh and stayed inside it for only two weeks, and were able to successfully activate Partial Tailed Beast Transformation. Their chakra reserves were even enough to serve as a backup for the Ten-Tails' resurrection.

The Kumogakure's attempt failed because the experimental ninjas lacked the necessary physical constitution, yet they wanted to achieve success overnight, making the task extremely difficult.

But this Explosion Release Jonin was different; Shuichi could easily absorb his chakra and sense its properties.

This provides a clear reference point when researching Explosion Release. In the event of a conflict, one can use their high-intensity chakra to push it away, ensuring absolute safety.

This will greatly increase the speed of researching Kekkei Genkai. Simply put, what Shuichi needs is this breakthrough from 0 to 1, because his own conditions have already met the requirements.

"... Your idea is excellent!" Orochimaru was slightly excited as well. "This method wouldn't have worked before, but now I can help you..."

This method is good, but the biggest difficulty is how to continuously obtain the ninja's chakra after his death.

In the past, Konoha had obtained too many corpses of ninjas with Kekkei Genkai. The chakra of ordinary ninjas dissipates not long after they die, so even repeated research on blood, flesh, and bone marrow did not provide much help.

Orochimaru now tells him that, due to some progress in Jugo's Cursed Seal, it is now feasible to activate human life force using Natural Energy in the initial stages, and even corpses can transfer some chakra through this method.

"My luck is just too good!" Shuichi exclaimed to himself.

Hearing Orochimaru say that reminded me that utilizing a ninja's chakra from their previous life is not a simple matter.

The timing is perfect. The rapid advancement of technology in the Shinobi World has led to the rise of "native scientists," and geniuses like Sasori and Orochimaru finally have the opportunity to slowly glimpse the abilities of the Six Paths family.

Before this, only the Impure World Reincarnation or the Rinnegan could continuously utilize a ninja's chakra from their lifetime. Even after a Kage dies, their chakra cannot remain in the mortal world for very long.

"This Iwagakure's strength is quite good even among Jonin." Orochimaru examined the details of Hoga's body. "Although the amount of chakra produced each time isn't much, it's enough for you to sense and train. Give me some time."

"No problem, teacher!" Shuichi was Ichiraku.

Currently, only Orochimaru, Sasori, and Madara are capable of doing something like this in the Shinobi World. The only opportunity in Konoha just happened to fall into my lap. This is just too awesome.