Analyzing Ninjutsu

[Over years of training and combat, ninja "imprint" information about the Chakra pathways and nature transformations of their Ninjutsu into their Chakra.]

[At the same time, powerful Chakra reshapes a ninja's cells in turn.]

[The Chakra of ninja with a kekkei genkai rewrites their genetic information, making the kekkei genkai hereditary.]

Asami Ri's breathing grew heavy as he watched the text flicker before his eyes.

As someone who had transmigrated into this world, he thought of the "Kāma" from the original story.

The Ōtsutsuki Clan converted their lives into data and compressed it into Chakra marks, transforming their hosts' bodies to eventually achieve rebirth.

And the Celestial Pivot's functions were practically a simplified version of that very process.

[The core functions of the "Celestial Pivot" include analyzing microscopic information recorded in Chakra samples. Using a Chakra sample, it can reverse-engineer models of the Ninjutsu mastered by its original owner, as well as... synthesis maps for kekkei genkai Chakra.]

"Analyze... Ninjutsu? Even... Kekkei genkai?"

Asami Ri's mind reeled. Even the pain throughout his body seemed to vanish.

No one understood the value of those words better than he did.

As a civilian ninja with no connections whatsoever, his life in Konoha had been nothing short of grueling.

He had no prestigious clan's secret techniques to inherit, no renowned mentor to guide him. Even after giving everything he had, the only Ninjutsu he could access were the barely useful Three Basic Techniques.

In a world where bloodlines determined one's limits and clans monopolized knowledge, civilian ninja were nothing more than shoddily made consumables churned out on an assembly line.

But now, the Celestial Pivot had opened a door for him.

As long as he absorbed Chakra, his enemies' Ninjutsu would no longer be secrets, and their bloodlines would become fuel for his evolution!

"What's in... Raiga Kurosuki's Chakra sample?" he asked, his voice trembling and his eyes gleaming with ambition.

[Search complete. Raiga Kurosuki Chakra sample analysis progress: 1.2%...]

[Preliminary technique identified: "Lightning Release: Lightning Ball."]

[As the sample's original owner used "Lightning Release: Lightning Ball" before his death, a perfect reconstruction of this Ninjutsu is expected.]

[Estimated time remaining for preliminary reconstruction: 142 hours.]

*Lightning Release: Lightning Ball?

"Can you only analyze one Ninjutsu?"

Asami Ri was puzzled. An elite Jonin could not possibly know only one Ninjutsu.

[The amount of Chakra in this sample is too small to analyze additional Ninjutsu. Please obtain more Chakra samples.]

Asami Ri gradually calmed down.

He knew his own limits. Even if the Celestial Pivot handed him hundreds or thousands of Ninjutsu to learn right now, his meager Chakra reserves would prevent him from immediately turning them into combat strength.

In this cruel game called being a ninja, building a combat system that balanced offense and defense mattered far more than learning a few isolated techniques.

"No rush... at least I finally have some hope of staying alive."

Just as he immersed himself in plans for the future, the hospital room's door was gently pushed open.

Soft footsteps drifted in alongside a faint herbal fragrance, diluting the pungent smell of disinfectant.

"You're awake, Ri."

A gentle voice filled with concern sounded beside him.

Asami Ri laboriously turned his stiff neck, struggling to focus his vision.

The girl who came into view had short brown hair and two purple diamond-shaped markings on her cheeks.

Dressed in a pristine white nurse's uniform, she held a tray of medicine, genuine delight shining in her bright eyes.

"Rin...?"

A name surfaced in Asami Ri's mind.

"What are you doing here?"

Rin Nohara stepped forward and carefully adjusted the height of his pillow, her movements as gentle as a breeze brushing across a lake.

"Kakashi, Obito, and I just rotated off the front lines. We're on leave now," Rin Nohara explained with a smile as she checked Asami Ri's injuries. "Minato-sensei said we should all take some time to relax, so I volunteered to help at the hospital. I can look after the wounded and practice my Medical Ninjutsu at the same time."

She lightly pressed the part of Asami Ri's forehead left exposed by the bandages. Only after confirming that his temperature was normal did she sigh in relief. "Ri, you were amazing this time. Might Guy brought you back, and he said you took down Raiga Kurosuki, one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, all by yourself."

Listening to Rin Nohara's gentle words, Asami Ri recalled what had happened to Team Minato in the original story...

As he looked at the girl before him—the ghost of Konoha who had changed Kakashi's and Obito's lives—a faint ripple stirred in Asami Ri's heart.

On a battlefield where human lives were worth less than grass, Rin Nohara's smile was as pure as an impossible dream.

"I just got lucky. Raiga Kurosuki was already badly wounded. And thank you, Rin," Asami Ri said softly.

"Don't be silly. We were classmates, weren't we?" Rin Nohara winked playfully and picked up a vial from the tray. "All right, your mission now is to drink this medicine. It's a little bitter, but it really helps repair torn muscle fibers."

Asami Ri frowned as he swallowed the bitter medicine, feeling the liquid slowly travel down his throat.

As the bitter taste spread, the two began chatting about their former classmates.

Rin Nohara talked about how Obito still could not break his habit of arriving late, how Kakashi had grown increasingly withdrawn, and the names that had stopped appearing in recent battle reports.

Their brief conversation washed away the bloody atmosphere of wartime, as though they had returned to their carefree days at the Ninja Academy.

"Oh, right," Rin said as she deftly put away the medicine bottle. Turning back with a smile as though something had suddenly occurred to her, she added, "Might Guy said he'd come see you once you woke up. Yesterday, he was shouting something about 'youth' out in the hallway, and the head nurse chased him out with a broom."

Thinking of the boy with the bowl cut, Asami Ri gave a helpless smile, his face still pale. "That certainly sounds like him."

"Well, get some rest. I'll come back later to change your dressings."

Rin Nohara quietly left the room. With the soft click of the closing door, peace returned to the ward.

Gazing around the empty room, Asami Ri could not help picturing Might Guy's brilliant smile.

Back at the Ninja Academy, Asami Ri had understood the limitations of civilian ninja all too well and chosen to devote most of his energy to Taijutsu training.

That was precisely how he had caught the attention of the hot-blooded Might Guy.

They had sweated through countless sunsets together, forging a deep friendship through sparring sessions that left their muscles torn time and again.

Through Might Guy, he had entered that small circle blessed with protagonist plot armor and met Obito and Rin.

"If it hadn't been for Might Duy..."

Asami Ri lowered his eyes, his heart filled with lingering fear.

He knew very well how much the claim that he had "killed Raiga Kurosuki" stretched the truth.

If Might Guy's father, Might Duy, had not resolutely opened the Gate of Death of the Eight Gates Formation in that desperate moment and kicked the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist down to the Three Treasures, Asami Ri would not have stood the slightest chance.

By then, Raiga Kurosuki had already been gravely wounded by Might Duy, his mind and body both on the verge of collapse.

Even so, Asami Ri had only barely managed to snuff out his last breath with the Celestial Pivot's help.

Kirigakure's surprise attack could have changed the course of the war. Without Might Duy's sacrifice, the entire Konoha Camp would have suffered devastating losses.

And he, Asami Ri, would never have had the chance to lie in the sunlit Konoha Hospital, contemplating his future.

His name would have been carved into the cold Memorial Stone in the Cemetery by now, reduced to an insignificant decimal point in the war's casualty figures.

Might Duy...

Asami Ri silently repeated the name in his heart.