Xia Ji closed the door behind him and walked into the quiet room. On the table lay a scroll marked with bold brush strokes—Three-body Art—and beside it, a crisp piece of chakra paper he'd bought earlier.
Without hesitation, he picked up the paper.
Channeling chakra into it, he watched closely. The paper suddenly split down the middle—clean, sharp—and the piece in his hand crinkled like a dried leaf.
"Wind… and thunder?"
He wasn't surprised. His father—whom he had never met—was said to have an affinity for wind, while Sinai had once mentioned his own chakra leaned toward thunder. Apparently, he had inherited both. Not bad.
Still, Xia Ji wrinkled his brow. Feng–Lei bloodline fusion… does that even exist? He didn't recall any known bloodline born from those two elements. And even if there was one—he wasn't about to try it.
Fusing bloodlines, in his opinion, was no different from courting death. If it were easy, the world wouldn't have so few kekkei genkai users.
Every existing bloodline was either the result of a dangerous mutation or outright survival from near-death. Unless someone gave him Naruto's plot armor, Tsunade's constant supervision, and Might Guy's insane vitality, there was no way he'd risk it.
And if I had all that, why would I even need a bloodline? He smirked. I could just be reckless and win anyway.
For now, having wind and thunder was more than enough. Both the Spiral Pill Sword and Chidori fell within reach. The problem?
The Spiral Pill Sword required massive chakra reserves and Sage Mode.
Chidori demanded exceptional dynamic vision.
Without them, the first would exhaust him instantly, and the second… well, missing a Chidori meant stabbing yourself as much as the enemy.
Sage Mode was on his long-term list, but that opportunity was nowhere in sight. Dynamic vision, on the other hand, was largely dependent on bloodlines—Sharingan, Byakugan…
Transplanting another person's eyes? That was a hard no. Even if he tried, Sharingan would drain him dry in seconds. Byakugan was less demanding, but far rarer. And honestly, he didn't want either.
Still… If Sage Mode truly enhances everything… would it also boost visual perception? If so, combining it with Chidori might solve the problem. Something to test—much later.
For now—he turned his attention to the scroll.
The Three-body Art was straightforward. Iruka's handwritten notes lined the edges, offering small tips.
It consisted of three basic techniques:
Transformation Technique – one seal.Clone Technique – three seals.
Substitution Technique – five seals.
Difficulty scaled with the number of seals. But seals, Xia Ji knew, were just guides—crutches to channel chakra properly. The real key was understanding chakra transformation itself.
If one mastered the unique chakra patterns of a jutsu, theoretically, you could use it without seals at all. He thought of the masters who later performed ninjutsu with just a flick of one hand.
His plan was clear: Transformation – good enough with basic proficiency.
Clone – practice when there's time.
Substitution – main focus. It was practical, lifesaving, and worth shaving its execution from nearly two seconds to under one. Against a speed-type enemy, those seconds mattered.
Taking a deep breath, Xia Ji formed the seal for transformation. Chakra flowed, reshaping the image in his mind.
"Transform!"
With a puff of white smoke, a small, upright woman stood in the middle of the room.
Xia Ji blinked. In the mirror… 'Tifa' stared back at him. His cheeks reddened. He quickly released the technique.
…First try for success?
Well, if that worked, maybe he could experiment more. After confirming no one was around, he grinned.
One seal, quick and simple.
Again and again, white smoke filled the room. Each time, the forms became sharper, more detailed—Yasna, Misaka Mikoto, Akato… all in miniature versions.
By the time Sinai returned, Xia Ji could already use Clone and Substitution as well. Not perfectly—chakra control lagged slightly behind his sealing speed—but well enough for a first day.
Inwardly, he was impressed. Maybe I'm more talented than I thought.
"So… am I actually a genius?" he muttered under his breath.
The front door creaked open.
"Mom, welcome back." Xia Ji stepped into the living room.
Sinai smiled, waving a rolled-up scroll like a trophy. "Ding-ding-ding! Little Xia Ji, guess what this is!"
"The Shadow Clone Technique," he said instantly.
Her eyes widened. "…Shouldn't you at least pretend to be surprised?"
"I'm happy," he replied with a calm smile.
"Hmph, fine. Here you go, my little adult." She passed him the scroll, then added, "I saw my teacher today. They said Shadow Clone might not suit you."
"I think it suits me perfectly." He took the scroll, a spark of excitement flashing in his eyes.
Sinai sighed. "I knew you'd say that. Anyway, I still traded for it. But don't get used to it—if it were any other B-rank ninjutsu, no way. This one's widely known, even outside the Leaf, so it's not heavily guarded. Others? Forget it."
He nodded. That was fair. And now… his next training goal was set.
"Oh, by the way, I won't be home for dinner," Xia Ji said, remembering his promise to Iruka.
"Oh? Already tired of your mother's cooking?" she feigned wiping away tears.
"Of course not," he chuckled, then explained his plans.