"Why do you want a diagram of the body's meridians?" Before leaving the hospital room, Koga hadn't expected Hanyu to suddenly make such a request.
"Nothing in particular. I just want to study them. I don't have anything else to do here, so I might as well use the time. I've only been a ninja for a short while. Since I'm eager to improve, I should take the opportunity to brush up on the basics of being a ninja and related fundamental knowledge." Hanyu said. A casual reminder from Koga had suddenly sparked a rather unusual idea about how to use Lightning Release.
Hanyu's idea was undeniably bold, but whether it would work was another matter. Experimentation was inevitable, and the first thing he needed was a better understanding of the ninja body.
"The medical ninja should have plenty of those, right?"
A meridian chart certainly wasn't some rare item that needed to be kept secret. Still, Koga had never heard of anyone studying one to pass the time. He glanced at Hanyu hesitantly, then said, "I can get you a chart, but... you're not going to cause trouble, are you?"
"Of course not. I just want to understand more about how chakra flows." Hanyu had no choice but to explain himself again.
What he really wanted to say was, I'm a little confident in my ability to combine techniques. But he was afraid Koga would turn around and leave if he said that.
"Then there's no problem. I'll have someone bring it over in a bit." Hearing that, Koga relaxed. Besides, Hanyu's eagerness to learn was admirable.
Hanyu wasn't the sort to make a fuss or cause trouble on a whim. But what Koga didn't know was that when someone who usually didn't cause trouble finally did, things could get ugly.
Koga left, and before long someone brought Hanyu the meridian chart he'd requested, along with a handwritten set of research notes on chakra flow.
A two-for-one deal? Hanyu hadn't expected that. He hung the chart by his bed without rushing to study it, and instead began by leafing through the notes.
The document seemed to be the result of some basic research by a medical ninja, and it was quite possibly Koga's own work. As it turned out, he was right: part of it was indeed Koga's research, though what Hanyu received was only a copy.
What Hanyu hadn't expected was that after only a few glances, he'd become absorbed in the material and started reading it closely.
Nearby, Hatake Sakumo had begun receiving an IV drip of nutrients. Seeing how intently Hanyu was reading, he grew curious and came over to take a look. But less than two minutes later, he'd been driven away.
After all, Hatake Sakumo was still a child of his age. He wasn't like Orochimaru; how could he have the patience to read the dry research material Hanyu was studying?
The notes weren't very long, and Hanyu finished them in under an hour. Despite their limited length, the ideas were remarkably far-reaching, explaining the principles behind chakra formation and its basic circulation with great clarity. Hanyu felt as if a veil had been lifted from his eyes. It was an exceptionally valuable document.
Strictly speaking, only part of it was valuable. The notes were divided into two sections. The first was titled "Chakra Flow Through Meridians and Points," while the second was titled "Chakra Nature Transformation, Mutual Counters, and the Principles of Training and Application." The first section was what truly benefited Hanyu. The second was only so-so; in fact, he thought it was full of useless nonsense.
Hanyu set the second half of the notes aside and reread the first half several times. Once he was sure he'd memorized everything accurately, he raised his head and turned his gaze to the meridian chart he'd requested.
Compared with the unexpected value of the research notes, the chart was little more than a point of reference.
"Did you know? There are over three hundred pressure points on the human body. You can't guard them all..." Looking at the chart and the densely marked points along the meridians, Hanyu murmured to himself. He wasn't talking to anyone; the line had simply come to him in the moment.
But Hatake Sakumo thought Hanyu was speaking to him, so he replied, "That's true. It's why the Hyuga Clan's Gentle Fist is unmatched in the Shinobi World."
"Yeah. Unmatched in the Shinobi World." Hanyu turned to look at Hatake, said nothing more, then faced the chart again and lost himself in its unremarkable lines.
The brightness in his eyes startled Hatake Sakumo. He'd known Hanyu for a while, but had never seen him look so curious. Hanyu was steady, to put it kindly; less kindly, he seemed a little world-weary. But now he was completely different.
Could a meridian chart really be that fascinating?
Unlike blood vessels, which were actual tissues and organs, "meridians" were "energy pathways" that didn't exist on the physical plane. Ever since the Sage of Six Paths founded the Ninja Sect, chakra within every ninja had flowed along these paths.
Ninja used Hand Seals to guide chakra through the meridians, either changing its nature to release a technique, shaping it in special ways to perform a ninjutsu, or simply concentrating it within the body to enhance their Taijutsu.
Pressure points were special nodes along the meridians. Like the meridians themselves, they didn't physically exist, but each person's points had relatively precise locations.
Meridians couldn't be found, but pressure points, despite not "existing," could still be "located." Stimulating certain energy nodes in special ways could even give rise to powerful Taijutsu like the Eight Inner Gates.
Meridians could be drawn on a chart, but they were difficult to sense. Pressure points were different: in terms of chakra, they had a much stronger "presence." It was this special quality that made techniques like the Gentle Fist, which specifically targeted pressure points, possible.
Hanyu slowly closed his eyes and carefully sensed the pressure points within his body—the "points" with a strong chakra presence. Then he let the impressions sink deeper and deeper into his consciousness.
Next, he began forming the "Rooster" Hand Seal used to guide Water Release. But this time, he wasn't trying to release a technique outward. Instead, he tried to create minute Water Release inside his body with material properties. Then he would attempt to use it to connect those "points" at a deeper level.
At that point, Hanyu's idea became clear. Though his ultimate goal was to make full use of Lightning Release, what he was attempting was far more audacious and ambitious than the goal itself.
The Shinobi World had existed for countless years. Ninja had used more techniques than anyone could count, but the way chakra flowed and the fundamentals of using techniques had never changed.
What Hanyu was trying to do would overturn those foundations... No, "overturn" was an exaggeration. Hanyu wasn't going beyond those foundations; "renew" was closer to what he intended. Even so, his idea and approach were unprecedented:
Using his own meridians as a model, the mirrored image of his pressure points as markers, and Water Release as his method, he was trying to create a second set of (pseudo-)meridians beneath his original ones.
The Sharingan was only a false copy, one that replicated techniques. A true copy would replicate the foundation of a ninja.
Suddenly, Hanyu's face contorted as he opened his eyes. His first attempt had failed, just as expected. But he wasn't discouraged; instead, his eyes shone brightly.
Because if his experiment succeeded, he would become the one and only, unmatched in the entire Shinobi World...
A dual-process ninja.
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