Kamiya Keiyun called the Transformation Technique and Substitution Technique divine arts because he thought both techniques were absurd.
But after studying them carefully, he discovered they were not quite that absurd.
First of all, the Transformation Technique could only change oneself; it could not transform other objects.
Second, after using the Transformation Technique, one could no longer use Chakra, or it would interfere with the technique's operation.
Even so, the Transformation Technique was still absurd, because Kamiya Keiyun discovered that what he transformed into was not an illusion, but something truly tangible and substantial!
If he transformed into a rock, he truly became a rock. If he transformed into a sword, he truly became a sword!
When he transformed into a girl, he could even feel the softness of his chest!
Perhaps because he had never touched a woman, that soft feeling seemed a little fake. But at least outwardly, there was no flaw at all.
Kamiya Keiyun guessed that if his understanding of matter became deeper—if he understood the molecular structure of stone, for example—he might even be able to transform into a completely flawless rock!
But what was the principle behind it?
Why could a person turn into Wooden Stakes? Did every cell in his body turn into plant cells?
But if all his cells changed, why did he not die?
The realm of endless transformations was an extremely high-level realm even in many body-refinement novels from his previous life. Even under a scientific framework, one would need perfect mental control over every cell to transform!
And even then, one could only transform into organic matter, not inorganic matter.
Lucy had only started transforming into stone at the very end of the story!
Kamiya Keiyun desperately scratched his head, feeling as though he was about to go bald.
The feeling was strangely familiar. Once, a Fields Medal winner had come to give a lecture at his school. He knew a botany student like him had no business joining the excitement, but curiosity had driven him to listen anyway.
Then, faced with a blackboard full of symbols, he could not understand this or that, utterly bewildered.
"All right, at least I understand the Transformation Technique more deeply now!" Kamiya Keiyun consoled himself as he began studying the Substitution Technique.
The Substitution Technique could not possibly leave him completely clueless too, right?
He discovered that as long as he infused Chakra into Wooden Stakes, he could switch positions with them.
But the Chakra in the Wooden Stakes constantly dissipated. Once it dispersed to a certain extent, the Substitution Technique could no longer take effect.
The duration varied depending on how much Chakra was infused into the Wooden Stakes. The more Chakra he injected, the longer it could be retained.
But no matter how long it lasted, it never exceeded three hours.
The amount of Chakra that could be infused was also related to the size of the Wooden Stakes and the type of tree.
The larger the Wooden Stakes, the more Chakra they could hold. The denser the wood, the more Chakra they could hold.
He also tried other materials, including stone, metal, glass, and plastic, but none of them could contain Chakra.
Kamiya Keiyun then guessed that perhaps some substance was responsible for retaining Chakra. Wood was composed of nothing more than cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin, and water.
He did not know how to separate the individual substances, so he could only try burning it all away first, leaving behind carbon.
Then he brought Chakra into contact with the carbon, only to find that carbon could not contain Chakra.
He tried water next, infusing Chakra into it. The result was that Chakra seemed soluble in water; if he did not actively control it, it dispersed immediately.
"So, is it because of the water?" Kamiya Keiyun thought about it. This was easier to compare.
He cut down a tree as thick as a bowl in the backyard and divided a one-meter-long log into three equal parts.
He left one untouched. Of the other two pieces, he roasted one over fire for half an hour and the other for an hour.
In the end, he obtained three pieces of wood with different levels of dryness, meaning different water content.
When he infused Chakra into them again, sure enough, the wood with the highest water content could contain more Chakra!
"So the best wood for the Substitution Technique should be dense wood that is also rich in water." Kamiya Keiyun analyzed. Unfortunately, this research was useless for humans, since human density and water content were more or less the same.
Still, if Water Release ninja existed in this world, perhaps such ninja possessed especially large amounts of Chakra?
During his research, Kamiya Keiyun also stumbled upon an unexpected bonus. After wrapping his feet in Chakra, he could actually walk on water!
Just like when he had climbed trees before, as long as he controlled the amount of Chakra beneath his feet, he could walk on the water's surface—or even run across it.
"This probably isn't a skill unique to me. Ninja must occasionally fall into water, and as long as they try it, they could easily discover it!" Kamiya Keiyun did not consider it some remarkable skill, because he had not found it difficult to learn.
The moment he stepped onto the water, he stood there steadily. So this was probably some common skill everyone knew.
After testing how different kinds of wood affected the Substitution Technique, Kamiya Keiyun began studying its range.
If he could use the Substitution Technique from a hundred meters, or even a thousand meters away from Wooden Stakes, then how was it a Substitution Technique? It would be spatial transfer!
But unfortunately, he could only switch with Wooden Stakes within three meters. Once the distance increased, the Chakra consumption inside his body rose sharply. Carrying Wooden Stakes three meters away was effortless, but at 3.1 meters, he immediately could not handle it.
When the distance stretched to 3.2 meters, the Substitution Technique simply failed entirely.
"This is... a little frustrating." Kamiya Keiyun shook his head. He was researching the principles of the Three Body Technique, but he had not forgotten why he was researching it in the first place.
He wanted to use this technique to leave Konoha!
But the result was that this technique could not help him leave Konoha. Konoha's walls alone were six meters thick, and with ninja patrolling both inside and outside the village, the range of his Substitution Technique needed to exceed at least twenty meters for him to move from inside the village to outside without being discovered.
Kamiya Keiyun squatted in the courtyard, stirring a pool of water. The result of an entire afternoon's research was that while he had made great progress in applying the techniques, he had gained nothing at all regarding their principles.
He knew it was because his foundation was too poor. It was like a student wanting to solve math problems—at the very least, they needed to know addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. They could not create something from nothing.
Without understanding even the most basic principles, progress would still be extremely slow even with Heaven Rewards Diligence.
What frustrated him most was that the Three Body Technique did not help at all with the practical problems he faced.
Kamiya Keiyun suddenly turned around and saw that Sanyō had somehow appeared in the corridor, holding an innocent-looking Ruri in her arms.
"Are you done training?" Sanyō asked.
"Mm, I suppose I'm done." Kamiya Keiyun looked up at the sky. It was already nearly dark.
"This is dinner. We saw that you seemed to be training, so we didn't dare disturb you." As Sanyō spoke, she brought out three plates and a bowl of rice.
Kamiya Keiyun touched his stomach. He was indeed feeling a little hungry.
He picked up his bowl, but just as he was about to eat, he noticed that Sanyō's expression seemed somewhat conflicted.
"What's wrong?" Kamiya Keiyun asked.
"Th-this..." Sanyō shook her head. "Nothing."
"If there's something, just say it. Don't talk in riddles—I hate that the most!" Kamiya Keiyun said helplessly. "How about I put down the bowl and listen properly?"
"You should eat first!" Sanyō did not dare delay Keiyun's meal. But disturbing Keiyun over this matter made her feel useless, like she could not help with anything.
Yet if she did not say it, she was afraid she might delay Keiyun's affairs.
After hesitating for a long time, she finally spoke. "I've realized that I really can't teach Ruri. I've already been very patient."
"Meow?" Ruri stretched lazily and said, "We analyzed it together. I don't think it's Sister Sanyō's problem. When you teach me, I feel like my whole cat self is completely alert, and I can easily remember what I learn. But when Sister Sanyō teaches me, I just can't remember it."
"Something like that happens?" Kamiya Keiyun froze.
"It's not just Ruri. I have the same problem!" Sanyō said. "When I train alone during the day, I hardly make any progress. But the two hours I train with you every day are worth an entire day of effort!"
"Hm?" Kamiya Keiyun was even more speechless. "How is that possible? I don't have some system for imparting knowledge, and I'm not carrying some Divine Artifact like a Bodhi seed. How could I affect your learning progress? Wait..."
Kamiya Keiyun remembered that perhaps he really could!
[Heaven Rewards Diligence: Heaven will grant corresponding rewards based on your efforts!]
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