Learned Paper Release Secret Technique

"Nagato..."

Yahiko keenly noticed the change in Nagato's mood, but for a moment, he did not know how to comfort him.

Seeing Nagato fall silent, Konan hesitated before speaking of her own circumstances.

"After my father and mother died, Hidden Rain Village took away the house and food, then drove me out."

Indra took a deep breath and gently patted Konan's shoulder, his heart aching for her.

"Waaah..."

Tears welled in Konan's eyes as she threw herself into Indra's arms and burst into tears.

In front of Yahiko and Nagato, she felt that they were fellow children supporting one another, so she had never cried in front of them. She did not want to trouble them.

But facing Indra this time, she felt as though she had found an elder, and she could no longer restrain her grief.

In the end, she was only a little girl of around ten, not a real adult.

Konan wanted to act spoiled with someone. She wanted someone she could rely on.

Indra said nothing. He simply listened to Konan's crying and gave her the comfort she needed.

A moment later, Konan's face was bright red after she stopped crying.

She felt that it was far too improper to lose control like this in front of a big brother she had just met!

"I'm sorry..."

Konan's apology was as faint as a mosquito's buzz, but Indra stopped her. In a low voice, he said, "You've lived on your own until now. You're really amazing, Konan."

That single word of encouragement from Indra instantly brought a smile to Konan's face.

At this, Yahiko muttered softly, "Konan wasn't alone, okay..."

But now that they had come this far, Yahiko looked at Indra expectantly.

This thing about learning ninjutsu had to work out now, right?!

"Don't get your hopes up. I'm still a student myself—how could I possibly teach you?" Indra immediately poured cold water over them.

Before they could show disappointed expressions, Indra added, "I can introduce you to someone, though. He's much stronger than I am, and he'd be suitable as your teacher."

"Really?!" Yahiko's eyes immediately lit up. As long as he could learn some skills, it did not matter who taught him!

Indra nodded, helped Konan to her feet, and wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes.

"But before that, I need to visit your home, Konan."

"My... home?"

Konan blinked her watery eyes, utterly confused.

Indra did not explain much. He could hardly tell her that he wanted to go to her house to search for the Paper Release Secret Technique.

Trusting Indra, Konan did not ask further questions. Guided by the memories in her mind, she immediately returned to the home she had left years ago.

Her parents had both once been Rain ninja, and their residence was in the central district of Hidden Rain Village.

Looking at the house before her, which had not changed much since she left, Konan clutched Indra's sleeve and hid behind him.

Though it was clearly her own home, she felt a wave of unfamiliarity and fear.

Indra swept his gaze over the place, and his keen senses picked up something amiss.

"Looks like a little rat is hiding here."

"Ruyi Force!"

Indra pushed open the door. The instant his fingertips touched it, a surge of force flowed into the door and spread through the structure of the house.

At that moment, a Rain ninja with the strength of a Chūnin was hiding inside.

After the Hidden Leaf ninja invaded Hidden Rain Village, he had returned to his own home out of fear and hidden there.

Hiding inside a wardrobe, the Rain ninja immediately nervously drew a kunai upon hearing the sounds outside.

But before he could do anything, an invisible force passed through the wall behind him.

Bang—!

The force struck him squarely in the back, like a heavy hammer slamming into his heart and stopping it cold.

The Rain ninja's eyes flew wide open as he uncontrollably tumbled out of the wardrobe and collapsed helplessly onto the floor.

By the time Indra led Konan and the others into the house, the Rain ninja had already died from cardiac arrest.

"A corpse!" Konan covered her little mouth and pointed fearfully at the Rain ninja on the floor.

Indra stood in front of Konan and placed a hand over the Rain ninja's chest. "Don't worry. I'll take care of him. Konan, go tidy up your room."

Seeing Indra insist, Konan hesitated before choosing to obey.

The furnishings inside had not changed much. This Rain ninja had been assigned this house due to Hanzō of the Salamander's policies.

Hidden Rain Village suffered from year-round rain and scarce resources, so everyone had to fight for the resources needed to survive.

Especially after Hanzō of the Salamander became leader, the situation had grown even more intense.

Konan had lost both her parents, and she wasn't a ninja herself, so naturally anyone could come and kick her while she was down.

Any policy about caring for the elderly, weak, sick, and disabled simply did not exist in the Hidden Rain Village. If you couldn't survive, then die. If you could, become a street orphan.

Now that she could return to her own home once more, Konan's feelings were easy to imagine.

Yahiko and Nagato, following behind her, also wore somewhat delighted expressions.

Living in a cold cave and living in a warm, comfortable house were fundamentally two different things.

Meanwhile, Indra was injecting chakra into the Rain ninja's corpse.

"Reverse Birth Triple Layer: Reverse Birth Qi Transformation!"

The Rain ninja's corpse gradually turned into white clouds of qi before finally vanishing into the air.

The pure chakra within was perfectly digested by Indra's six internal organs with every breath he took, transforming into nourishment that strengthened his body.

"Though it's not as disgusting as directly eating people, it still feels weird."

Trying this for the first time, Indra turned his head and coughed twice.

Just as he had expected, Reverse Birth Triple Layer and Six Treasury Immortal Thieves could also work in tandem.

"Maybe I can take this even further..."

Indra held his breath, and his palm suddenly transformed into a cloud of qi, drawing in and digesting the chakra lingering in the air.

The effect was similar to breathing, but this was an even more terrifying killing move.

If, during battle, he transformed his entire body into qi and entered someone else's body, it seemed he could devour them completely from the inside out.

"Why does that sound even more horrifying? Still, it won't be that easy.

"For a qi-transformed body to assimilate someone else's flesh would be hundreds of times more difficult than transforming a corpse into qi."

Indra let out a long breath and set the idea aside for further consideration later.

For now, he needed to find the Paper Release Secret Technique first.

Under Indra's guidance, Konan quickly found the ninjutsu scroll hidden in a concealed corner of the house.

Just as he had thought, Konan's parents had left an inheritance for her.

"Paper Release Secret Technique... Mother taught me a little of it."

Konan opened the ninjutsu scroll after receiving it, a wistful look flashing through her eyes.

Indra took the opportunity to memorize its contents and gained an understanding of this Paper Release Secret Technique.

This secret technique was clearly not as powerful as the one Konan would use in the future.

At present, the core of the Paper Release Secret Technique was teaching ninja how to infuse sheets of paper with chakra, thereby controlling the paper to attack.

There was obviously still a long way to go before it could be developed to the point of turning one's own body into paper as well.

"This likely involves the mysteries of Yang Release nature transformation." As Indra pondered, he took out over a hundred talismans.

The Paper Release Secret Technique tested chakra control precision more than anything else, but for Indra, that was the easiest part.

"Paper Clone Technique!"

The fluttering talismans gathered into a mass and formed Indra's likeness.

Synchronizing his consciousness with the paper clone, Indra controlled it as it ran outside. Only after it had traveled a full kilometer did the paper clone begin to slip out of his control.