Katō Dan's soul returned to his body, but he still looked shocked. Though his family didn't belong to a hidden village, they had been a shinobi clan since the Warring States period. After Hashirama Senju and Uchiha Madara founded Konoha together, the clan had followed suit and attached itself to the Land of Fire, becoming nobles there.
Although they hadn't focused on developing their shinobi skills over the past few decades, they had still passed down their clan's secret technique: the Spirit Transformation Technique. Unless someone was born with an unusually powerful soul or an enormous amount of chakra, they generally had no way to defend against the clan's secret technique.
Even those born with powerful souls would usually enter their opponent's body and engage in a battle of souls. This was the first time Dan had ever found himself unable to get inside at all.
"What's there to be so shocked about? Your clan's secret technique is impressive, but every ninjutsu has a weakness," Li Yi said calmly.
After his initial shock, Dan nodded. That made sense. The God of Fire of Konoha was an incredibly powerful shinobi, so it was only natural that he had his own special tricks and keen insight.
Li Yi then pointed out some of Dan's mistakes from earlier. He also remarked, as if in passing, "It's a pity that's your clan's secret technique. Otherwise, I could help you improve it!"
Then Li Yi said, "All right, I have a general idea of your abilities. I'll put together a training plan for you."
With that, Li Yi left. What happened next depended on whether Dan could find the resolve to improve.
As a boy, Dan didn't have that much determination. But the Katō clan had always kept in touch with him, and had even