Vanishing Facial Copy Technique

"Sage Art Chakra requires a balance between Natural Energy and bodily energy. Too little, and it cannot be formed; too much, and you'll undergo mutation. If your Chakra reserves aren't high enough, then you really can't train in it." Kenichi Amamiya rubbed his chin.

He was currently on the road to the Land of Rain.

The Land of Rain lay at the intersection of the three great nations. It was a strategic buffer zone, as well as a Small Country.

But Small Countries were miserable places. At any moment, they could become battlefields for the great nations, resulting in countless war Orphans.

Refugees were also a common sight. However, Kenichi Amamiya knew that the future Land of Rain would no longer be a Small Country incapable of protecting itself.

Still, traveling from the Land of Fire to the Land of Rain was troublesome, especially since he was now a Rogue Ninja.

Fortunately, his teacher had taught him a particularly powerful transformation ninjutsu—the famous Vanishing Facial Copy Technique. So he had directly attacked a passing Merchant and taken his identity.

He had gained a sum of money and disguised himself well enough to leave the Land of Fire. Perfect.

Seated on horseback, Kenichi Amamiya closed his eyes and sensed the Natural Energy drifting through the air. These Energies were as enthusiastic toward him as ever, like lovesick women.

No, now they were more like elderly men and women rushing to a supermarket after hearing they were giving away free eggs.

"Should I give it a try?" Kenichi Amamiya licked his lips, but remained somewhat cautious. After all, absorbing too much Natural Energy was extremely dangerous.

His teacher had mentioned what happened when one absorbed an excess of Natural Energy: it would uncontrollably cause physical deformities, eventually turning the person into a strange stone.

It sounded rather similar to the adverse reactions at Mount Myōboku.

Kenichi Amamiya pulled a bottle from his robes. Inside were several irregular white Growths—Hashirama Senju's cells.

Kenichi Amamiya had also learned the forbidden technique Impure World Reincarnation from his teacher. After conducting several experiments, he had gained a deeper understanding of it.

"If I only use an ordinary person's body, then the reincarnated First probably won't have much Combat Power, right?" Kenichi Amamiya stared at the bottle in his hand, hesitating.

When researching Impure World Reincarnation before, Kenichi Amamiya had recorded that ordinary people could also serve as sacrifices. However, the reincarnated ninja would possess almost no Combat Power and could only be used as self-destructing infantry.

Perhaps because their bodies could not bear a ninja's soul, ninja reincarnated using ordinary people were also especially prone to collapsing.

They could probably only last around thirty minutes. After thirty minutes, the technique would undo itself. Dissections of those used as sacrifices for Impure World Reincarnation revealed complete organ failure.

He wondered how long an Impure World Reincarnation of the First could last.

"Wait. If I could obtain the Sage of Six Paths' body tissue, wouldn't I be able to directly reincarnate the Sage of Six Paths?" Kenichi Amamiya suddenly slapped his palm, then promptly dismissed the thought.

What a ridiculous ninja world joke.

Madara Uchiha had already been able to release Impure World Reincarnation on his own. The Sage of Six Paths, who was even stronger and frequently peeped on the ninja world, was not someone worth considering.

"Leave your goods and get lost if you want to live!" Just as Kenichi Amamiya stared at the bottle in his hand with a conflicted expression, he heard a furious shout. Looking up, he saw four or five Bandits.

Kenichi Amamiya scratched his head. In Naruto World, there were still Bandits like these—ordinary people who frequently engaged in such business.

Such missions could also be accepted at mission halls, though the rewards were not high unless there were Rogue Ninjas among the bandits' hideout.

"This must be what they call fate." Kenichi Amamiya looked thoughtfully at the bottle in his hand.

He had just been wondering whether to reincarnate the First, and sacrifices had delivered themselves right to his door.

He had just counted them. There were exactly five Bandits—enough.

Ninja could generally kill ordinary people in an instant. Moreover, Kenichi Amamiya was quite strong now, so there was naturally no chance of him stumbling in the gutter.

Yet before Kenichi Amamiya could act, a figure appeared behind the Bandits like a ghost. Then all five collapsed to the ground, their bodies convulsing as the signs of life left them.

Kenichi Amamiya was stunned by the figure before him and failed to react for a moment. Fortunately, that made his behavior appear perfectly natural.

He now looked like an ordinary Merchant frightened senseless by Bandits.

"..." The ninja sheathed his blade. Though the other party wore a mask, Kenichi Amamiya recognized him from his silver-white hair.

Kakashi.

"Travel Permit." Kakashi extended a hand and spoke coldly.

Kenichi Amamiya could feel the bone-deep chill in those words. It seemed Kakashi had become even colder lately.

"Y-yes, yes! Lord ninja, please wait a moment!" Kenichi Amamiya hurriedly fumbled through his pockets, pulled out a Travel Permit, and handed it to Kakashi.

A Travel Permit was a credential issued to Merchants by the Land of Fire. Without one, they could not leave the country. To obtain it, Kenichi Amamiya had specifically attacked the Merchant who had said in a tavern that he would return home to marry after finishing this business trip to the Land of Rain.

It proved that one should not casually raise death flags.

"Have you seen these two?" Kakashi glanced at the Travel Permit, then at Kenichi Amamiya's face, returned the permit, and casually pulled out two Wanted Posters for him to see.

They bore his teacher's face and his own.

Kenichi Amamiya remained utterly composed. The Vanishing Facial Copy Technique was incredibly effective.

After looking at them, he shook his head and indicated that he had never seen the two people. His entire performance was flawless.

He displayed the fear and reverence an ordinary person would feel toward a ninja to perfection.

Kakashi did not ask further questions. After inspecting the goods Kenichi Amamiya carried, he left.

He even ignored Kenichi Amamiya when he caught up and offered him some compensation for his trouble, simply walking away.

"So Kakashi was sent out to hunt me and my teacher?" Kenichi Amamiya scratched his head as he looked at the lifeless Bandits sprawled on the ground.

He had not expected to encounter Kakashi so soon after setting out.

But upon further thought, it was nothing strange. His and his teacher's defection from the village had only happened recently. Even if it was merely for appearances' sake, the village had to do something, so it was perfectly normal for Anbu to be dispatched.

Now he just had to see whether he got lucky and ran into more Bandits. Otherwise, he would have to randomly select some lucky audience members.