The Secret of the Hand Seals (Part 2)

Therefore, the power of a ninjutsu primarily depends on your chakra. Different ninjutsu are mainly distinguished by the ratio of chakra within the body, as well as the different meridians through which that chakra flows, which is what results in different effects.

Thus, in the Naruto World, one can use different methods to achieve similar effects; it is much like computer programming. Chakra is equivalent to the source code. You decide what effect you want to achieve with that source code, and then you write the program according to the desired outcome.

Learning ninjutsu from other nations is just like learning someone else's software—though this is merely a metaphor. There are two ways to go about it. One is for someone to give you their source code, which is equivalent to them telling you the hand seals for a ninjutsu, the method of chakra extraction, and the sequence of the programming. Once you have that, you can use it immediately.

The other method is cracking. If you are a highly skilled expert, you can fully crack it, and perhaps even add your own source code to it. In this way, you surpass the original version. It is just like how Naruto learned the Rasengan from Jiraiya, but added his own elements to it, turning it into the Wind Style: Rasenshuriken. Hasn't that completely surpassed the original Rasengan?

Then there is the case where you can only crack it but cannot add your own elements, so you can only learn what they have. This is a complete crack, and the power of the ninjutsu will be identical. Take ninjutsu copied by the Sharingan, for example. If you use a ninjutsu copied by Itachi more effectively than the original user, that is not because of the ninjutsu itself; it is because of the person, alright? It is like running the same program on a Pentium CPU versus a national-level Galaxy supercomputer; the results will certainly be different, or at the very least, mine will be much faster than yours.

Finally, there is the situation where you only crack a portion and cannot crack the core source code. Then you have to find a way around it. Can I use my own methods to achieve a similar effect? However, since I lack the core code, I can only achieve something similar; it won't be as powerful as the original, but the effect is roughly the same. For those who don't know any better, or for me, as long as my pirated version achieves the effect, that is enough. It doesn't necessarily have to be the original. Of course, the original is better, but if I can't get it, then this is the only way.

For instance, take the Water Clone Technique. A clone from Kirigakure might reach one-tenth of the original's ability. If I can't reach one-tenth, then one-twentieth or one-hundredth will have to do. In any case, the appearance is indistinguishable.

Just as Kirigakure and Amegakure are both skilled in Water Style, it is like two software companies making the same program. The source code might be the same, but it could also be different. Similarly, the running speed and convenience will inevitably vary to some degree.

Still using the Water Clone Technique as an example, both Amegakure and Kirigakure can reach about one-tenth of the original's ability. However, Kirigakure also possesses a version of the Water Clone Technique that can reach half the original's power, something Amegakure lacks. That is because Kirigakure has the latest version of the Water Clone Technique, and there are always people there who might update it. Amegakure cannot do that; those who could perform the updates have all perished, so the ninjutsu cannot be updated. This is why Amegakure slowly declined, though the actual situation is certainly more complex.

Ninjutsu is distinguished in this way. Hand seals are the steps to release a ninjutsu, much like the usage and encryption methods of software.

Different hand seals are different methods of releasing ninjutsu, which is equivalent to different ways of using software. But because hand seals may also involve encryption methods, if you want to learn someone else's ninjutsu, you must also learn the hand seals.

Having the hand seals makes learning other ninjutsu faster. It is like wanting to use someone else's software that is encrypted; having the hand seals is equivalent to having the password.

For the same ninjutsu, the encryption methods might differ, which causes the hand seals to be different. Like the Water Clone Technique in Kirigakure and Amegakure—the hand seals used are not the same.

For an expert, it is possible to optimize the hand seal method. This is why experts release the same ninjutsu faster than the average person. Just like software code, this code is indispensable to you, but I am a master hacker; I can delete those lines of code. It is like omitting hand seals when releasing ninjutsu—this is the legendary "no-seal ninjutsu."

Then there is the case where I cannot delete them; if I delete them, I can't use the technique. But I can improve it. I can remove the unnecessary code, just like reducing the number of hand seals for a ninjutsu. If my hand seals are fewer than yours for the same technique, my release speed will definitely be faster than yours. From this point, I realize why Itachi releases ninjutsu faster than the average person—it is because he is skilled at improving ninjutsu.

Finally, there is the case where I cannot improve it either. Those lines of code are all essential; if one is missing, the software won't work. It is just like ninjutsu; if one hand seal is missing, it cannot be performed. Since I cannot delete or improve it, I still have other ways to optimize it. I can rearrange the order of the code to make it more suitable for me. It is like hand seals; since the seals cannot be reduced, I won't reduce them, but I will change the order of the seals. However, if I rearrange them, it must be to my benefit; if everything remained the same, rearranging would be meaningless. For example, if the previous code was arranged in two parallel rows, I change it to one single row. Releasing ninjutsu like this is what we call one-handed seals.

After hearing these words, Ye Wuji thought to himself that perhaps this was the normal state of things. Comparing this to what he saw of the Naruto World in his past life, he realized it was indeed so.

These things were taught by Fuma Yahiko to Konan, Nagato, and Ye Wuji. Of course, some parts were supplemented by Ye Wuji's own understanding; for instance, the later parts about hand seals and programming were Ye Wuji's own interpretation, even though he didn't actually know how to write programs. Likewise, it was precisely this conversation that led to Ye Wuji's later achievements. It is safe to say that without Yahiko's guidance, Ye Wuji would have certainly taken many, many detours and might not have even known these things.

For a long time, because Ye Wuji was a transmigrator, he felt a sense of pride. Although it wasn't immediately apparent, because he knew how certain events would unfold and also understood some methods of creating ninjutsu—like the Rasengan and the Wind Style: Rasenshuriken—Ye Wuji believed he would certainly be able to learn these things.

But after hearing Yahiko's words, Ye Wuji truly understood ninjutsu. Although it didn't have much practical use for him right now, it would have a huge impact on his future. All this time, Ye Wuji's understanding of ninjutsu was limited to hand seals and chakra; everything else was only half-understood. After all, he was not born in this world, so it was normal not to know certain things.

Ye Wuji's gaze toward Yahiko changed; he felt a bit of admiration. During this time, although Ye Wuji was with the three of them, he usually only talked to Konan or learned origami, or went to chat with Nagato. As for Yahiko, he rarely sought him out.

After all, Ye Wuji had watched Naruto, and the introduction to Yahiko in the show was only in a few flashback episodes. His appearance rate was not high, and he died very early. So, although Yahiko was the leader of the Akatsuki in the show, even after Yahiko died and Nagato fought Hanzo, Hanzo said, "So you were the true leader of the Akatsuki all along."

Looking at it this way, Yahiko seemed like a mere side character at the time. His only role was to be used by Madara to provoke Nagato; otherwise, he would have been killed long ago. If it weren't for Madara needing to use him to stimulate Nagato so that Nagato would willingly use the Rinnegan to summon the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, Madara probably wouldn't have let him live that long.

Why did Madara give Nagato the Rinnegan? Besides wanting Nagato to revive him, it was to summon the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. At first, Ye Wuji also thought that Madara's main goal was to use Nagato to revive himself, until he later realized that this was only one of Madara's objectives. Perhaps many would say, "Isn't summoning the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path simple? Obito and Madara could do it later, so can't you summon it just by having the Rinnegan?"

Actually, that is not the case. From the Naruto plot, one can see that Konan once stopped Nagato from summoning the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. If it were easy to summon, Konan would not have stopped him at that time. It was just after Yahiko had died, and Nagato was about to avenge him. The fact that Konan stopped Nagato from summoning the statue was because Nagato would have had to sacrifice his life to do so. It was precisely because he summoned the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path that Nagato became crippled.

This is exactly why Madara gave the Rinnegan to Nagato. Neither Obito nor Madara would have sacrificed their lives to summon the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. Without this statue, the so-called Eye of the Moon Plan could not be implemented at all.

Look at the masked Obito later summoning the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path at will, and Madara controlling it easily—that was only possible because Nagato had summoned it first, allowing them to do so with such ease.

One must know that the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path is actually the husk of the Ten-Tails. At that time, this husk was sealed by the Sage of Six Paths on the moon. To summon the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path from the moon to the planet of the Naruto World—where would such immense power come from? It could only be supplemented by life force. Although Nagato didn't die afterward, that was just luck. In fact, at the time, the masked Obito and Zetsu were prepared for Nagato to die after the summoning, which is why they had searched for many children with all-nature affinities, preparing to find a new vessel for the Rinnegan.

It was this introduction to ninjutsu, chakra, and hand seals that gave Ye Wuji a new perspective on Yahiko. He thought to himself, no wonder Yahiko was the leader of the Akatsuki; just based on this insight, Nagato couldn't compare. Nagato was qualified to be a henchman, but as a leader, he seemed to be lacking. However, this was just Ye Wuji's current opinion.

Ye Wuji stared straight at Yahiko. Yahiko was in the middle of speaking, and seeing Ye Wuji staring at him without blinking, he thought there was something wrong with himself. But when he looked himself over and found nothing amiss, he turned his gaze to Ye Wuji and asked, "Ye, why are you looking at me like that?"

Hearing Yahiko's words, Ye Wuji snapped out of it, realizing he had been dazed. He hurriedly said, "I didn't expect Brother Yahiko to be so amazing. You really are incredible!" As he said this, Ye Wuji nodded his head vigorously. Since Ye Wuji was a child, this nodding looked very cute to others, causing Nagato and Konan to burst into laughter.

Ye Wuji didn't care about their laughter now. He tilted his head and said to Yahiko, "Brother Yahiko, since you're so amazing, you'll definitely be a very, very great ninja when you grow up." Ye Wuji tried his best to speak in a child's tone, but these words truly came from his heart. He really hadn't expected Yahiko to be this brilliant.

Just a moment ago, Ye Wuji hadn't fully grasped how impressive Yahiko's words were. But after recalling the plot of Naruto, he truly realized how remarkable Yahiko was. In Ye Wuji's memory, it seemed that no one in the entire Naruto series had such profound insights. Ordinary ninjas only focused on practicing the speed of their hand seals, and the show only ever talked about whose hand seals were faster. As for one-handed seals, it seemed only Haku could do it. As for Itachi, one really didn't know if it was because his hand seals were fast or if they were just subtle. As for no-seal ninjutsu, it seemed no one had ever done that—of course, excluding Kekkei Genkai ninjutsu; those special techniques couldn't be counted that way, like Gaara's sand or Naruto's Rasengan.

Although Yahiko was speaking purely from a theoretical standpoint, with such a theory, why hadn't anyone realized that this Yahiko was a treasure? Not to mention others, were Madara and Yahiko both idiots? Ye Wuji cursed these two "fools" inwardly.

Hearing Ye Wuji's praise for Yahiko, Konan was the first to laugh. "That goes without saying. Ye, do you know what Yahiko's surname is?"

Ye Wuji was stunned, thinking he really didn't know Yahiko's surname. Nagato seemed to be a Uzumaki, and as for Konan, he had no idea. Although he thought this, he still had to speak in a child's tone, saying things a child should say. If this continued, he would almost become Conan.

Ye Wuji said, "Brother Yahiko is just Brother Yahiko, what else could he be?"

Konan smiled and walked to Ye Wuji's side, patted his head, and said, "Your Brother Yahiko is named Fuma Yahiko, you know. You must remember this. When you grow up, you must help your Brother Yahiko."

Why does everyone like to pat my head? Minato does it, Konan does it, and now Yahiko and Nagato too. Do you want me to live? Ye Wuji thought to himself, just about to push Konan's hand away.

However, at that moment, Ye Wuji heard Konan's words and was momentarily stunned. Fuma Yahiko? So that meant Yahiko was a member of the Fuma Clan. That could be considered a descendant of a prestigious family. Fuma, Hanzo, Sarutobi—these seemed to be the three clans mentioned in Naruto. However, it seemed that apart from the Sarutobi, the others had declined. It seemed some of Orochimaru's subordinates were from the Fuma Clan; this clan's ninjutsu seemed very special.

"Oh," Ye Wuji feigned a confused look. Seeing his reaction, Konan continued, "You must remember, the Fuma Clan is a great ninja clan, and your Brother Fuma Yahiko is an even greater ninja. Do you understand?"

"I understand." Seeing the current situation, Ye Wuji could only nod.

As they were talking, Ye Wuji quietly observed Yahiko's reaction. He noticed that when Yahiko heard "Fuma Clan," he seemed very dejected. Is it because of the decline of the clan? Ye Wuji wondered.