Cultivation

By the lake, Qing Si sat cross-legged on the ground. A large scroll lay spread out before him—the bloodline scroll containing records related to the Dead Bone Pulse, which he had just summoned using Summoning Jutsu.

"Ten-Finger Bullet... This must be the technique Father said I used unconsciously that day! Channel chakra into the finger meridians, manipulate osteoclasts to fire the finger bones from all ten fingers like bullets, then manipulate osteoblasts to control calcium concentration and accelerate the formation of new finger bones. With the Dead Bone Pulse, finger bones can grow without limit. Even if all of them are fired, they can be recreated."

"I see." The scroll's explanations of the techniques, along with their methods of use and cultivation, were extremely clear. Following its descriptions, Qing Si slowly mobilized the chakra within his body. Spreading his fingers, he aimed both hands at the lake ahead.

"Dead Bone Pulse: Ten-Finger Bullet!"

White finger bones burst from his fingertips and shot forward at high speed.

"Splash!"

A huge spray of water erupted where the lake surface was struck. "So powerful!" Qing Si exclaimed. "And it seems this technique's power is related to the intensity of chakra output. If controlled properly, it can even be fired continuously. Then let's try a higher-output version."

Qing Si gathered nearly half the chakra in his body and channeled it all into his fingertips along the route described in the scroll, using Ten-Finger Bullet once more.

"Boom!"

Accompanied by an even louder explosion, waves rose more than three meters high.

Qing Si stared dumbfoundedly at the enormous waves surging across the lake.

"So powerful," he murmured.

"Alright, then I'll first practice mastering Ten-Finger Bullet until I can control its power and fire it in rapid succession!"

At the time, neither Genji nor Qing Si before awakening his memories of his previous life understood this. Or rather, no one in the current ninja world understood that Qing Si's awakened bloodline was not the ordinary kekkei genkai of the Kaguya Clan. During its awakening, it had undergone atavism and had already begun to display some of the bloodline traits of their ancestor, Kaguya Ōtsutsuki.

This was an Ōtsutsuki bloodline, far superior in rank to that of the Kaguya Clan. Though it was newly born and exceedingly thin, it still possessed some Ōtsutsuki traits. As a result, Qing Si's talent in chakra control and learning all kinds of techniques was undeniably exceptional.

In only two days, Qing Si had already mastered Ten-Finger Bullet with great proficiency. He could freely control its power and firing speed, and switch between single shots and rapid fire at will.

Qing Si could even control it with greater precision than the Kaguya Clan's ancestors. He could regulate the number of bone bullets, firing them from only one finger or several fingers at a time.

And so, over the next year and a half, Qing Si came every day to the lake far from the village to cultivate his chakra and bloodline.

Before long, time arrived at Hidden Mist Year 27, the year his memories awakened.

At eight years old, Qing Si had grown to 140 centimeters under the effects of his bloodline awakening, and his physique had improved tremendously as well.

Though he still appeared thin and frail on the outside, strength lay deeply hidden within him and could not be underestimated. Under the effects of the Dead Bone Pulse, every joint in his body radiated power, like an ancient pine in the mountains—tough and vigorous.

Day after day of cultivation, coupled with the effects of his bloodline awakening, had greatly increased Qing Si's chakra reserves. Although exile had prevented him from fighting other ninja, he should roughly possess the combat strength of a Chunin.

(He was incomparable to that white-haired fellow who graduated at five and became a Chunin at six. His living conditions had been far too poor, and the protagonist had awakened far too late. Though his talent was excellent, he had simply started too late.)

By the lake, the young boy danced gracefully. His feet moved through mysterious, profound steps, and his body swayed with the wind. Like a free bird, he was as light as the breeze and as unrestrained as sunlight. Every turn and every leap filled the air with incomparable lightness.

Yet upon closer inspection, the dance was filled with power and tension. Every movement seemed to store energy. The dance steps flowed like water, but contained endless killing intent, leaving no room for carelessness.

The youth was Qing Si, and these dance steps were the Kaguya Clan's secret attack methods for the Dead Bone Pulse.

Over the year and a half, Qing Si had mastered most of the Dead Bone Pulse techniques through his extraordinary talent.

He had fully mastered Willow Dance, Dance of the Camellia, Dance of the Larch, and Dance of the Clematis. Although the ultimate Dance of the Bracken could not yet be performed due to his limited chakra, its method of activation was already deeply ingrained in his mind.

As for the two forbidden techniques inscribed at the end of the bloodline scroll—Dead Bone Pulse: Blood Burning Technique, and Dead Bone Pulse: Ash Bones Technique, which gathered all of his chakra and life force in the Blood Burning state for a single strike—Qing Si had mastered them both as desperate trump cards.

Dead Bone Pulse: Willow Dance: It had no fixed forms. Like willow catkins moving with the wind, it dissolved the enemy's attacks and followed with a series of attacks using bones, paired with soft taijutsu movements free of any unnecessary motion.

Dead Bone Pulse: Dance of the Camellia: Bone blades were drawn from both arms as weapons, followed by multiple consecutive attacks performed with precise, supple taijutsu.

Dead Bone Pulse: Dance of the Larch: Using the kekkei genkai to grow dozens of bones from the body, it provided high defense capable of withstanding impacts while also striking the enemy in close combat. The greater the enemy's taijutsu or charging attack, the more devastating the counterattack effect, inflicting severe damage upon them.

Dead Bone Pulse: Dance of the Clematis: Used in two stages, Vine and Flower. The spine was turned into a whip-like weapon to attack and restrain enemies. After sealing the enemy's movements, the hardest possible bone was formed outside both hands as a spear for attack. It combined control and damage, and was immensely powerful.

Dead Bone Pulse: Dance of the Bracken: It consumed a massive amount of chakra to grow sharpened bones continuously from the ground to assault the opponent. The number of bones depended on the amount of chakra, and they essentially covered the entire ground like a forest of white bones. It was a terrifying technique that attacked enemies from all directions, leaving them unable to defend against it. Even if the enemy could not be defeated with bone blades, the user could rapidly move through the grown bone forest to attack.

Dead Bone Pulse: Blood Burning Technique: A forbidden technique used on oneself. It burned one's own bloodline and transformed it into immense energy to amplify one's techniques. While active, it could allow an elite jonin to gain strength comparable to a Kage. Once the effect ended, the user's strength would decline drastically because their bloodline had been burned away.

Dead Bone Pulse: Ash Bones Technique: Derived from Kaguya Ōtsutsuki's All-Killing Ash Bones, it was a degraded technique, but still retained the property of annihilation. It was a life-risking technique carved into the Kaguya Clan's bloodline. It burned the power of the user's entire bloodline, temporarily bringing it in line with Princess Kaguya's, then condensed all chakra and life force into a single gray bone spike. Any enemy struck by it would certainly die unless they possessed a special life-saving technique. Likewise, it was a technique that guaranteed the user's death after use.

(The Uchiha had Izanagi. It was only reasonable that the Kaguya, descendants of Hamura who could contend with the Uchiha during the Warring States period, would have a weakened version of All-Killing Ash Bones.)