Lie Yang's expression remained calm.
"You already have your answer."
Orochimaru's body trembled again.
Chakra could strengthen the body.
Create fire and lightning.
Reshape the terrain.
Interfere with space.
Control souls.
Even reverse life and death.
There seemed to be almost nothing it could not do.
Yet even ninja who possessed such versatile power could not completely stop chakra from draining out of their bodies.
They could not create new chakra natures at will.
Nor could they free their descendants from the limits of their bloodlines.
Ninja appeared to control chakra.
In truth, they could only use the portion chakra allowed them to use.
"A foreign thing..."
Orochimaru slowly spoke the words.
A chill swept through his entire body as he said them.
If chakra was not an ability humans were born with,
then its appearance in the Shinobi World must have had a source.
Someone, or something, had brought chakra into this world.
It entered human bodies.
Formed chakra pathways.
Altered bloodlines.
And passed down through generation after generation.
Every ninja believed they were refining chakra.
But no one had considered that they might merely be awakening a foreign thing planted deep within life long ago.
The fervor on Orochimaru's face gradually faded.
In its place came sheer horror.
"It has locked the Shinobi World's evolution below a fixed ceiling."
"All life is confined to the same set of Rules."
"We thought we were developing Ninjutsu."
"But no matter what we develop, we're only following a path someone else left behind."
He paused, his voice growing lower.
"Chakra can record a person's will."
"It can maintain connections."
"It can even turn on its user and erode their mind."
"If all the chakra in the Shinobi World comes from a single source..."
Orochimaru did not finish the thought.
He no